[Misafir]

Christianity in Turkey

Since up to 98 percent of the population are Muslims, Christians are obviously a minority religion in Turkey. Because it is a secular country, the only MuslimConstitution guarantees religious freedom, and tolerance is the rule. The population includes members of the Armenian Apostolic and Greek Orthodox churches, Roman and Eastern Catholics, and Jews. Today, approximately 120,000 Christians and 26,000 JewsTurkey, out of 73 million of the total population.
Dispute continues, however, over what part Islam should have in Turkish life. It is one of the most controversial issues in Turkey today, and may at some point alter whether Turkish society is organized on a secular or religious basis.
After the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, many of the early Christians, escaping from persecutions in Jerusalem, came to Asia Minor and settled in different cities like Ephesus, Hierapolis and Cappadocia. St. Paul preached in Perge, Derbe, Lystra, Psidian Antioch, Ephesus and Konya. St. John stayed for a while in Ephesus together with Virgin Mary and, after he returned from Patmos where he was exiled, died in Ephesus. St. Peter settled in Antioch and build the first Christian church carved in a cave. St. Philip settled in Hierapolis but was killed together his family by the Romans.
Christianity was declared as the official religion in 380, during the reign of Theodosius I, and destruction of pagan temples was legalized. Even so, throughout the Byzantine era Christianity had great ups and downs in popularity. Many found the road to piety confusing and assorted schisms between the Roman Catholic church and the Orthodox Byzantine church certainly didn't simplify matters. Add this inter-faith bickering to the "Dhimmi" tax (50 percent of earnings for non-Muslims as opposed to the tithing for believers) for those living on MuslimOttoman-held lands, no wonder large numbers of peasants converted their faith to Islam. Islam was also a relatively simple path to follow - profess belief in One God and the mission of his Prophet Muhammed, and follow the Five Pillars of Faith.
Gradually, Christianity in Turkey disintegrated, so that when the Islamic Ottomans finally conquered the Byzantine Empire, it was inevitable that what had been a predominantly Christian region would be no more.
Another important fact for Christians is that first Ecumenical Councils were made at Nicea (Iznik today) in the Marmara Region of Turkey, between Bursa and Istanbul.

[Misafir]

The Apostle Paul

Of all the apostles, Paul stands out as the one who was the traveler par excellence. His journeys through the length and breadth of the ancient world are nothing short of remarkable and given the difficulties of traveling in these times, let alone the animosity and danger he faced trying to convert populations to the new faith, it is a credit to the endurance and tenacity of the man that he accomplished as much as he did. Paul, originally Saul, was born in Tarsus in what is now southern Turkey and changed his name after converting Sergius Paulus. He is traditionally represented as a stocky little man, with a bald head and a grey, bushy beard. He studied Jewish law in Jerusalem under the famous rabbi Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He and his parents were Roman citizens, having special rights and privileges. Roman citizens could not be imprisoned without a trial nor could they be scourged or crucified. His Roman citizenship saved Paul many times during his ministry. He made three great missionary journeys before being arrested in Jerusalem and taken to Rome where he was beheaded in AD 62.

Saul witnessed the stoning and death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and guarded the clothes of his executioners (Acts 7:58). He then started persecuting the Christians and imprisoned many of them (Acts 8:3). The followers of Jesus Christ were regarded as heretics by the Pharisees. The persecution in Jerusalem caused the believers to disperse abroad and preach the Word everywhere they went (Acts 8:4).

Saul planned to persecute Christians even abroad. He obtained letters to the synagogues in Damascus from the high priest in Jerusalem, and set out to bring Christians bound from there to Jerusalem. On the road to Damascus the most famous conversion in the history of Christianity took place, described in Acts, chapters 9,22 and 26. At midday, light shone down suddenly from heaven, encompassing Saul. He heard Jesus Christ's voice, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" This man who hated Christ and allChristians capitulated in the front of the living God. Then Jesus told him to go into Damascus, and there he would be told what to do. Paul became blind and did not eat or drink for three days. In Damascus, the Lord sent a disciple called Ananias to him, who restored his vision, filled him with the Holy Spirit and baptized him. (After his conversion, Saul is mentioned in the Bible by his Latin name, Paul.) He then began to preach about Jesus in the synagogues in Damascus. The Jews wanted to kill him, but he escaped with the help of some Christians who lowered him in a basket from the top of the city wall.

Paul went away to Arabia for a period of time, then returned to Damascus (Gal. 1:17), and after three years journeyed to Jerusalem (Gal. 1:18). The disciples there did not trust him, knowing he had previously persecuted Christians, but Barnabas took him to the apostles who were staying in Jerusalem at that time (Gal. 1:18-19, Acts 9:26-27). Paul preached boldly in Jerusalem, but after 15 days had to flee again, this time to Tarsus (Acts 9:29-30).

In Antioch, the capital of Syria then, Gentiles were turning to Jesus Christ, and the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas there to instruct these new believers. Barnabas in turn took Paul from Tarsus to be his companion (Acts 11:19-25). The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). Christians in Antioch sent relief funds by Barnabas and Paul back to Christians in Judea (Acts 11:27-30). They returned with young John Mark, Barnabas' nephew from there (Acts 12:25).


Paul's Letters


The New Testament contains fourteen epistles written by Paul to Christian Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews.

2008 Saint Paul Year

Pope Benedict XVI has declared 2008 the "Year of St Paul" in honour of the saint, to mark 2000 years since St. Paul's birth. The anniversary year formally begins on 28 June and it's expected to gather millions of Christian pilgrims to his birth town Tarsus, in Turkey.

PAUL'S MISSIONARY JOURNEYS

On all of his journeys he traveled along the coast of Asia Minor and there are many places along the coast where he stopped and taught, or changed boats, or sheltered from the weather. The book of Acts covers most of his exploits and journeys as well as his last voyage as a prisoner to Rome.
At the instruction of the Holy Ghost, the leaders of the church in Antioch sent out Barnabas and Paul as missionaries ( Acts 13:1-3). Paul's missionary trips are described in the Book of Acts and are divided into three separate journeys plus a last journey to Rome.


A) First journey with Barnabas and John Mark (Acts 13:4-14:28)

Paul, Barnabas and John Mark departed to Seleucia, from where they sailed to Cyprus. On Cyprus they preached in Salamis and Paphos. In Paphos a sorcerer Jew, a false prophet named Barjesus turned against them before the Roman deputy of the island, but God blinded him. As a result, the deputy became a believer in Jesus Christ. From Cyprus the three men sailed back to the mainland of Asia Minor, to Perge in Pamphylia, where John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

Paul and Barnabas journeyed to Antioch in Pisidia, where many Jews and Gentiles accepted the word of God and believed after hearing them preach. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their coasts. The same thing happened in Iconium (Konya), where unbelieving Jews and Gentiles planned to stone them. They fled to Lystra, where Paul healed a crippled man and as a result the people thought they were gods and wanted to sacrifice to them, but Barnabas and Paul managed to stop them. The same crowd later stoned Paul and left him to die, when certain Jews arrived in the city from Antioch and Iconium and stirred up the people against the apostles. Paul survived and departed with Barnabas to Derbe the next day. Then they returned again to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, Perge, to strengthen believers and ordain elders in every church. From Attalia (Antalya) they sailed back to Antioch, where they gathered the church together to tell them about their experiences and how God "opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles".


The council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-32)

Some Jewish Christians from Judea told Gentile Christians in Antioch, that they should circumcise themselves and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. To decide this fundamental question, Paul, Barnabas and some other Christians were sent from Antioch to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders. A conference was held in Jerusalem, where the church leaders, inspired by God, declared that Gentile Christians are equal to Jewish Christians and they did not have to be circumcised or keep the law to be saved, because faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient, but they should abstain from meats offered to idols, blood, strangled animals and from fornication. A letter was sent about these decisions to the Christians in Antioch by Paul and Barnabas, and two prophets, Judas Barsabas and Silas, to confirm its content.


B) Second journey with Silas (Acts 15:36-18:22)

Paul and Barnabas planned to visit the churches they planted on their first journey. Barnabas wanted John Mark to accompany them, but Paul disagreed, so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas and went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches everywhere. Paul and Silas then visited Derbe and Lystra (near Konya), where Paul chose a young Christian named Timothy to accompany them. They went through Phyrgia and Galatia and arrived in Troas, where the Lord told Paul in a vision to go to Macedonia to preach.
Luke, the evangelist probably joined them in Troas, for from this point on he begins referring to the missionaries as "we". The four men sailed to Europe to Samothracia, Neapolis and to Philippi, where a godly woman named Lydia invited them into her house after she and her household was baptized. In Philippi Paul healed a demon-possessed slave girl, who made a profit for her masters by soothsaying. As she was not able to make profit after this, her masters brought Paul and Silas to the magistrates. They were beaten and cast into prison, but at midnight, as they prayed and sang praises to God, an earthquake shook the prison, all the doors opened and everyone's bands were loosened. Paul and Silas then preached the gospel to the frightened jailer and his household, and all believed and were baptized on the same night. Paul and Silas were publicly freed by the magistrates themselves the next day.
The four men then passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and went to Thessalonica, a main seaport and an important commercial center in Macedonia, where Paul spoke in the synagogue of the Jews on three Sabbath days. Some of the Jews and many Greeks believed, but the unbelieving Jews stirred some crowds against them, so Paul and Silas had to leave the city by night. They moved on to Berea, where the Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word and searched the Scriptures to see if those things were so. Many Jews and Greeks in Berea believed, but the Jews of Thessalonica came to Berea and stirred up the people again. Afterwards, Paul went to Athens, a city full of idolatry and pagan philosophers. He disputed in the synagogue and in the market daily, and preached on the Areopagus. A few Greeks believed him but the others mocked.
Paul then journeyed to Corinth, one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, where he convinced many Jews and Greeks, among them the chief ruler of the synagogue and all his household. In a night vision Lord Jesus encouraged Paul to continue to speak in Corinth, so he preached in the city for a year and a half. The Jews there stirred up persecution against Paul and tried to indict him in front of Gallio, the Roman deputy, but Gallio did not listen to them. Paul then sailed to Ephesus, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, where he stayed for a short time. He traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover, then back to Antioch.


C) Third journey (Acts 18:23-21:16)

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul revisited the churches in Galatia and Phyrgia to strengthen the disciples, then went to Ephesus. In Ephesus Paul found twelve followers of John the Baptist and baptized them in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. He laid his hands on them and the Holy Ghost came on them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Paul preached in the synagogue for three months, but when some hardened unbelievers spoke evil before the multitude, he separated the disciples from them and chose another place to teach daily. He continued this for two years, so that all Jews and Greeks in the Roman province of Asia (part of Asia Minor) heard the gospel of Christ. God did special miracles in Ephesus through Paul, as even the garments worn by him healed the sick and the demon-possessed. Many believed in Ephesus and many who practiced magic before brought their books together and burned them publicly. As many pagans turned to Christianity in Ephesus, formerly a center of pagan Diana worship, craftsmen and silversmiths, who manufactured idols and shrines, saw their profit diminishing. These craftsmen stirred up the pagans against Paul and his companions, but nobody was hurt in the end.
One of the most well known incidents on Paul's travels is the riot of the silversmiths in Ephesus. Towards the end of his time there Paul preached that "...gods made by human hands are not gods at all", a direct jibe at the silversmiths who made silver statuettes of Artemis and the temple for sale to pilgrims and tourists. Sales soon began to decline and one, Demetrius, a leader of the silversmiths, led a group of artisans against Paul saying "...the sanctuary of the great goddess Diana will cease to command respect; and then it will not be very long before she who is worshipped by all Asia and the civilized world is brought down from her divine pre-eminence.'' His speech caused an uproar and the band of silversmiths, and likely a number of merchants worried about the decline in business, rushed into the theatre shouting "Great is Diana of the Ephesians". Paul was not forced to leave the city by the authorities after this riot, but he evidently decided it was prudent to do so and set off for Macedonia.
Paul revisited the churches in Macedonia, then went to Greece, where he stayed for three months. As he was about to sail to Syria, some Jews laid wait for him, so he returned through Macedonia. In Troas he raised up a young man who died after he fell down from the third floor of a house where Christians were gathered. Paul departed to Assos, from where he sailed with other disciples to Miletus via Mitylene, Chios, Samos and Trogyllium. In Miletus he met with the elders of the church from Ephesus and in his moving speech he bid farewell to them, knowing he would never see them again. He charged them to feed the flock, and warned them that wolves would enter their congregation and men would speak perverse things to draw away disciples.
From Miletus they sailed to Coos, Rhodes, Patara and Tyre, Syria, where disciples inspired by the Holy Spirit warned Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Paul and his companions departed to Ptolemais, then to Caesarea, where a Judean prophet named Agabus prophesied thatPaul will be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and will be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. The disciples tried to persuade Paul not to go up to Jerusalem, but Paul answered that he is ready not only to be bound, but also to die for Jesus Christ, so they went up to Jerusalem.


Paul in Jerusalem (Acts 21:17-23:30)

In Jerusalem Christians received Paul and his companions gladly, but some Jews from Asia stirred up the people against him and accused him of bringing Gentiles into the temple. The people wanted to beat and then kill Paul. Roman guards saved Paul but at the same time took him into custody. On the stairs of the castle, before the multitude, Paul gave a speech in his defense and a testimony of his conversion in Hebrew, but when he said he was sent by Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the Jews made such an uproar, that the captain wanted to interrogate him by scourging. Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship so they did not dare touch him. The next day the captain led Paul before the Sanhedrin, where Paul told he was a Pharisee and believed in the resurrection of the dead. This divided the Pharisees and Sadducees in the council, a great dissension arose and the Romans had to rescue Paul again. Hearing that more than 40 Jews made a vow and conspired to kill Paul, the chief captain sent him by night to Caesarea to Felix the governor.


Paul In Caesarea (Acts 23:31-26:32)

After five days, the elders and the chief priest arrived in Caesarea and accused Paul before the governor of profaning the temple but couldn't prove anything, so Felix deferred them but left Paul in custody. After two years Felix was replaced by Festus, who asked Paul's accusers to come to Caesarea again. They couldn't prove any of their many complaints against Paul. As a Roman, Paul then appealed to Caesar. While he was waiting to go to Rome, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea, and one day Festus brought PaulActs 26 records Paul's speech, where he tells his upbringing, his former madness against Christians, his conversion on the road to Damascus and his preaching of the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. Here we find the most complete version of what Jesus said to him on the road to Damascus. King Agrippa said to Festus that Paul had done nothing wrong and he could have been set free, had he not appealed unto Caesar.

Journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:31)

Festus then sent Paul with other prisoners and soldiers on a ship to Rome. This journey is described in Acts 27 and 28: "And putting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy; and he put us therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and were come with difficulty over against Cnidus, the wind not further suffering us, we sailed under the lee of Crete, over against Salamone; And with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a certain place called Fair Havens; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea."
After many dangers and a storm, during which God's angel informed Paul in a vision that everybody on the ship would survive, the ship was wrecked on the island of Melita (Malta) but everybody escaped safe to land. Many miracles happened during their three-month stay on the island. Paul healed many diseased people and he got bitten by a viper, but this did not harm him. After three months they boarded another ship and arrived in Rome. Christians in Rome received Paul warmly. In Rome Paul was placed under house arrest. He lived in a rented house for two years and could receive visitors, so he could continue teaching and preaching God's kingdom. He invited the chiefs of the Jews to hear the gospel, after which some of them believed and some not. Paul ended his speech with the following: "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."
It was by now the beginning of winter and the voyage onwards was beset with strong and adverse winds. From Crete a gale blew them down to Malta where the ship was wrecked in what is now called St Pauls Bay. Eventually a ship brought them to Rome and there he was beheaded the same day Peter was crucified, around AD 67. It is apocryphally told that when Paul was beheaded milk and not blood flowed from his body. However dubious this may be, few could have predicted what the result of Paul's work was to be as Christianity went from strength to strength to become the dominant faith in the country where he met his end.



The Cities Where Paul Preached

Antioch: the capital of ancient Syria, the eastern capital of the Roman Empire, the modern Antakya in southern Turkey
Lystra: a city of the ancient province of Lycaonia in Asia Minor, near Konya
Antioch in Pisidia: near the border of ancient Pisidia, in Yalvac, a few miles south-west from modern Aksehir, Turkey
Miletus: a coastal city of ancient Ionia, c 30 miles (50 kms) south of Ephesus, and c 70 miles (100 kms) south of modern Izmir, Turkey Athens: the greatest city of classical Greece, capital of modern Greece
Paphos: a town in south-western Cyprus on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea
Berea: a city of ancient Macedonia, modern Veria in Greece
Perga: or Perge, the capital of ancient Pamphylia in Asia Minor during the Roman period, a few miles north of modern Antalya, Turkey
Caesarea: a seaport of ancient Palestine, capital of the Roman province, modern Tel Aviv-Yafo in Israel. Not to be confused with Kayseri - Caeserea in Turkey
Philippi: a city of ancient Macedonia, near modern Kavala, Greece Corinth: a city of ancient Greece, near modern Corinth, southern Greece
Rome: the capital of the Roman Empire and Italy, located on the Tiber River
Damascus: a city of ancient Syria, capital of modern Syria
Salamis: a town located on the east end of Cyprus, 3 miles north-west of modern Famagusta
Derbe: an ancient city in south-eastern Asia Minor, modern Turkey, near Konya
Tarsus: a city of ancient Cilicia on the river Cnydus near the Mediterranean Sea, near Adana in southern Turkey
Ephesus: a town on the western coast of Asia Minor, c 40 miles (70 kms) south of modern Izmir, Turkey
Thessalonica: a coastal city of ancient Macedonia, modern Szaloniki in northeastern Greece
Iconium: capital of the ancient province of Lycaonia in Asia Minor, modern Konya in Turkey
Troas: on the coast of northern Asia Minor, modern Turkey, near Canakkale
Jerusalem: it was the capital of the southern kingdom of Judah and the place of the temple of God, the capital of modern Israel
Tyre: a city on the central coast of ancient Phoenicia, modern Sur in southern Lebanon

[Misafir]

Letter to Ephesians

Paul's Ministry at Ephesus is recorded in Acts 18:18-21; 19:1-41; 20:17-38. Aquila and Priscilla were probably the founders of the Christian church when they came to Ephesus with Paul (Acts 18:18-19). Paul had just finished eighteen months in Corinth, at the end of his second missionary journey.
He sailed to Ephesus in company with Priscilla and Aquila. Paul went to the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus and preached (Acts 18:18-26). He then left and returned to give a report to his sending church.
Paul returned to Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:3-6). He found some followers of John the Baptist there (Acts 19:8-12).
Paul had considerable results in Ephesus.

1. A great number of Jews and Greeks were converted.
2. The Gospel spread throughout the proconsul of Asia.
3. Certain exorcists attempted to work miracles in the name of Jesus whom Paul was preaching, made public confessions and burned their magical books.
4. The marked reduction of sales of silver temple of Diana excited a general alarm by the silversmiths.
5. The establishment of a large and flourishing church at Ephesus (Acts 20).

Paul warned the church to guard against heresy and false teachers.
On his third missionary journey Paul stayed in the city for about three years. At this time the Gospel spread throughout Asia Minor with Ephesus as the base of operations (Acts 19:10). Timothy was pastor of the church in Ephesus for some time (I Tim. 1:3), and was there when Paul wrote him (I and II Timothy).
In later years the Apostle John made the city his headquarters. Ephesians is one of the seven churches of Asia Minor addressed in Rev. 2:1-7.

Paul's Letter to the Ephesians

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus: 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love; 1:5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 1:6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved, 1:7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 1:8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 1:10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him; 1:11 in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will; 1:12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ: 1:13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation,in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 1:14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God´s own possession, to the praise of his glory. 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints, 1:16 don´t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 1:19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might 1:20 which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 1:21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. 1:22 He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly, 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
2:1 You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience; 2:3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 2:5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 2:6 and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 2:7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; 2:8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 2:9 not of works, that no one would boast. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
2:11 Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called circumcision, (in the flesh, made by hands); 2:12 that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 2:14 For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 2:15 having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; 2:16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. 2:17 He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. 2:18 For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 2:20 being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; 2:21 in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
3:1 For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles, 3:2 if it is so that you have heard of the administration of that grace of God which was given me toward you; 3:3 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, 3:4 by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; 3:5 which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 3:6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, 3:7 of which I was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. 3:8 To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 3:9 and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ; 3:10 to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, 3:11 according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord; 3:12 in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through our faith in him. 3:13 Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for you, which are your glory.
3:14 For this cause, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 3:16 that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 3:18 may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 3:19 and to know Christs love which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 3:20 Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 3:21 to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
4:1 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, 4:2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love; 4:3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling; 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 4:6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all. 4:7 But to each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 4:8 Therefore he says, When he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.* 4:9 Now this, He ascended, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 4:10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
4:11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; 4:12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ; 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 4:14 that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; 4:15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ; 4:16 from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 4:18 being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts; 4:19 who having become callous gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 4:20 But you did not learn Christ that way; 4:21 if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: 4:22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; 4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 4:24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another. 4:26 Be angry, and don´t sin. Don´t let the sun go down on your wrath, 4:27 neither give place to the devil. 4:28 Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need. 4:29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear. 4:30 Don´t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
5:1 Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. 5:2 Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance. 5:3 But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes saints; 5:4 nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate; but rather giving of thanks.
5:5 Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. 5:7 Therefore don´t be partakers with them. 5:8 For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, 5:9 for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, 5:10 proving what is well pleasing to the Lord. 5:11 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them. 5:12 For the things which are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of. 5:13 But all things, when they are reproved, are revealed by the light, for everything that reveals is light. 5:14 Therefore he says, Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
5:15 Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise; 5:16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 5:17 Therefore don´t be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 5:18 Don´t be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; singing, and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 5:20 giving thanks always concerning all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father; 5:21 subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.
5:22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ also is the head of the assembly, being himself the savior of the body. 5:24 But as the assembly is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their own husbands in everything.
5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it; 5:26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, 5:27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 5:28 Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. 5:29 For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord also does the assembly; 5:30 because we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones. 5:31 For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh. 5:32 This mystery is great, but I speak concerning Christ and of the assembly. 5:33 Nevertheless each of you must also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 6:2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise: 6:3 that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.*
6:4 You fathers, don´t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
6:5 Servants, be obedient to those who according to the flesh are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to Christ; 6:6 not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; 6:7 with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men; 6:8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.
6:9 You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with him.
6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world´s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 6:13 Therefore, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 6:14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 6:15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; 6:16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 6:18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: 6:19 on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Good News, 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
6:21 But that you also may know my affairs, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will make known to you all things; 6:22 whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that you may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts.
6:23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 6:24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love. Amen.

[Misafir]

St. Nicholas of Myra

St. Nicholas, called "of Bari", Bishop of Myra (Fourth Century), is the Patron of bakers, pawnbrokers, sailors, children, Greeks and Russians and his Feast day is December 6th.

The great veneration with which this saint has been honored for many ages and the number of altars and churches which have been everywhere dedicated in his memory are testimonials to his holiness and of the glory which he enjoys with God. He is said to have been born at Patara in Lycia, a province of Asia Minor. Myra, the capital, not far from the sea, was an Episcopal see, and this church falling vacant, the holy Nicholas was chosen bishop, and in that station became famous by his extraordinary piety and zeal and many astonishing miracles. The Greek histories of his life agree that he suffered imprisonment of the faith and made a glorious confession in the latter part of the persecution raised by Diocletian, and that he was present at the Council of Nicea and there condemned Aryanism. The silence of other authors makes many justly suspect these circumstances. He died at Myra, and was buried in his cathedral there.
This summary account by Alban Butler tells us all that is known about the life of the famous St. Nicholas, and even a little more; for his episcopate at Myra during the fourth century is really all that seems indubitable authentic. This is not for lack of material, beginning with the life attributed to the monk who died in 847 as St. Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul). But he warns us that "Up to the present the life of this distinguished Sheppard has been unknown to the majority of the faithful", and sets about enlightening their ignorance nearly five hundred years after the saint's death. This is the least unreliable of the "biographical" sources available, and a vast amount of literature, critical and expository, have grown up around them. Nevertheless, the universal popularity of the saint for so many centuries requires that some account of these legends should be given here.
We are assured that from his earliest days Nicholas would take nourishment only once on Wednesdays and Fridays, and that in the evening according to the canons. "He was exceedingly well brought up by his parents and trod piously in their footsteps. The child, watched over by the church enlightened his mind and encouraged his thirst for sincere and true religion". His parents died when he was a young man, leaving him well off and he determined to devote his inheritance to works of charity. An opportunity soon arose. A citizen of Patara had lost all his money, and had moreover to support three daughters who could not find husbands because of their poverty; so the wretched man was going to give them over to prostitution. This came to the ears of Nicholas, who thereupon took a bag of gold and, under cover of darkness threw it in at the open window of the man's house. Here was a dowry for the eldest girl and she was soon duly married. At intervals Nicholas did the same for the second and third; at the last time the father was on the watch, recognized his benefactor and overwhelmed him with his gratitude. It would appear that the three purses represented in pictures, came to be mistaken for the heads of three children and so they gave rise to the absurd story of the children, resuscitated by the saint, who had been killed by an innkeeper and pickled in a brine-tub.

Coming to the city of Myra when the clergy and people of the province were in session to elect a new bishop, St. Nicholas was indicated by God as the man they should choose. This was at the time of the persecutions at the beginning of the fourth century and "As he was the chief priest of the Christians of this town and preached the truths of faith with a holy liberty, the divine Nicholas was seized by the magistrates, tortured, then chained and thrown into prison with many other Christians. But when the great and religious Constantine, chosen by God assumed the imperial diadem of the Romans, the prisoners were released from their bonds and with them the illustrious Nicholas, who when he was set at liberty returned to Myra." St. Methodius asserts that "thanks to the teaching of St. Nicholas the metropolis of Myra alone was untouched by the filth of the Arian heresy, which it firmly rejected as death-dealing poison", but says nothing of his presence at the Council of Nicaea in 325. According to other traditions he was not only there but so far forgot himself as to give the heresiarch Arius a slap in the face. Whereupon the consular fathers deprived him of his Episcopal insignia and committed him to prison; but our Lord and His Mother appeared there and restored to him both his liberty and his office. As against Aryanism so against paganism, St. Nicholas was tireless and took strong measures: among other temples he destroyed was that of Artemis, the principal in the district, and the evil spirits fled howling before him. He was the guardian of his people as well in temporal affairs. The governor Eustathius had taken a bribe to condemn to death three innocent men. At the time fixed for their execution Nicholas came to the place, stayed the hands of the executioner, and released the prisoners. Then he turned to Eustathiujs and did not cease to reproach him until he admitted his crime and expressed his penitence.
There were present on this occasion three imperial officers who were on their way to duty in Phrygia. Later, when they were back again in Constantinople (Istanbul), the jealousy of the prefect Ablavius caused them to be imprisoned on false charges and an order for their death was procured from the Emperor Constantine. When the officers heard this they remembered the example they had witnessed of the powerful love of justice of the Bishop of Myra and they prayed to God that through his merits and by his instrumentality then might yet be saved. That night St. Nicholas appeared in a dream to Constantine, and told him with threats to release the three innocent men, and Ablavius experienced the same thing. In the morning the Emperor and the prefect compared notes, and the condemned men were sent for and questioned. When he heard that they had called on the name of the Nicholas of Myra who had appeared to him, Constantine set them free and sent them to the bishop with a letter asking him not to threaten him any more but to pray for the peace of the world. For long this was the most famous miracle of St. Nicholas, and at the time of St. Methodius was the only thing generally known about him.
The accounts are unanimous that St. Nicholas died and was buried in his Episcopal city of Myra, and by the time of Justinian there was a basilica built in his honor at Constantinople (Istanbul). An anonymous Greek wrote in the tenth century that, "the West as well as the East acclaims and glorifies him. Wherever there are people, in the country and the town, in the villages, in the isles, in the furthest parts of the earth, his name is revered and churches are built in his honor. Images of him are set up, panegyrics preached and festivals celebrated. All Christians, young and old, men and women, boys and girls, reverence his memory and call upon his protection. And his favors, which know no limit of time and continue from age to age, are poured out over all the earth; the Scythians know them, as do the Indians and the barbarians, the Africans as well as the Italians."
When Myra and its great shrine finally passed into the hands of the Saracens, several Italian cities saw this as an opportunity to acquire the relics of St. Nicholas for themselves. There was great competition for them between Venice and Bari. The last-named won, the relics were carried off under the noses of the lawful Greek custodians and their Mohammedan masters, and on May 9, 1087 were safety landed at Bari, a not inappropriate home seeing that Apulia in those days still had large Greek colonies. A new church was built to shelter them and the pope, Bd. Urban II, was present at their enshrining. Devotion to St. Nicholas was known in the West long before his relics were brought to Italy, but this happening naturally greatly increased his veneration among the people, and miracles were as freely attributed to his intercession in Europe as they had been in Asia. At Myra "the venerable body of the bishop, embalmed as it was in the good ointments of virtue exuded a sweet smelling myrrh, which kept it from corruption and proved a health giving remedy against sickness to the glory o f him who had glorified Jesus Christ, our true God." The translation of the relics did not interrupt this phenomenon, and the "manna of St. Nicholas" is said to flow to this day. It was one of the great attractions which drew pilgrims to his tomb from all parts of Europe.
It is the image of St. Nicholas more often than that of any other that is found on Byzantine seals; in the later middle ages nearly four hundred churches were dedicated in his honor in England alone; and he is said to have been represented by Christian artists more frequently than any saint except our Lady. St. Nicholas is venerated as the patron saint of several classes of people, especially, in the East, of sailors and in the West of children. The first of these patronage is probably due to the legend that during his life time, he appeared to storm tossed mariners who invoked his aid off the coast of Lycia and brought them safely to port. Sailors in the Aegean and Ionian seas, following a common Eastern custom, had their "star of St. Nicholas" and wished one another a good voyage in the phrase "May St. Nicholas hold the tiller". The legend of the "three children" gave rise to his patronage of children and various observances, ecclesiastical and secular, connected there with; such were the boy bishop and especially in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the giving of presents in his name at Christmas time. This custom in England is not a survival from Catholic times. It was popularized in America by the Dutch Protestants of New Amsterdam who had converted the popish saint into a Nordic magician (Santa Claus = Sint Klaes = Saint Nicholas) and was apparently introduced into this country by Bret Harte. It is not the only "good old English custom" which, however good, is not "old English", at any rate in its present form. The deliverance of the three imperial officers naturally caused St. Nicholas to be invoked by and on behalf of prisoners and captives, and many miracles of his intervention are recorded in the middle ages.
Curiously enough the greatest popularity of St. Nicholas is found neither in the eastern Mediterranean nor north-western Europe, great as that was, but in Russia. With St. Andred the Apostle he is patron of the nation, and the Russian Orthodox Church even observes the feast of his translation; so many Russian pilgrims came to Bari before the revolution that their government supported a church, hospital and hospice there. He is a patron saint also of Greece, Apulia, Sicily and Loraine, and of many cities and dioceses (including Galway) and churches innumerable. At Rome the basilica of St. Nicholas in the Jail of Tully (in Carcere) was founded between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh centuries. He is named in the preparation of the Byzantine Mass.

[Misafir]

St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist

Saint John the Divine as the son of Zebedee, and his mother's name was Salome [Matthew 4:21, 27:56; Mark 15:40, 16:1]. They lived on the shores of the sea of Galilee. The brother of Saint John, probably considerably older, was Saint James. The mention of the "hired men" [Mark 1:20], and of Saint John's "home" [John 19:27], implies that the condition of Salome and her children was not one of great poverty.
SS. John and James followed the Baptist when he preached repentance in the wilderness of Jordan. There can be little doubt that the two disciples, whom Saint John does not name (John 1:35), who looked on Jesus "as he walked," when the Baptist exclaimed with prophetic perception, "Behold the Lamb of God!" were Andrew and John. They followed and asked the Lord where he dwelt. He bade them come and see, and they stayed with him all day. Of the subject of conversation that took place in this interview no record has come to us, but it was probably the starting-point of the entire devotion of heart and soul which lasted through the life of the Beloved Apostle.
John apparently followed his new Master to Galilee, and was with him at the marriage feast of Cana, journeyed with him to Capernaum, and thenceforth never left him, save when sent on the missionary expedition with another, invested with the power of healing. He, James, and Peter, came within the innermost circle of their Lord's friends, and these three were suffered to remain with Christ when all the rest of the apostles were kept at a distance [Mark 5:37, Matthew 17:1, 26:37]. Peter, James, and John were with Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. The mother of James and John, knowing our Lord's love for the brethren, made special request for them, that they might sit, one on his right hand, the other on his left, in his kingdom [Matthew 20:21]. There must have been much impetuosity in the character of the brothers, for they obtained the nickname of Boanerges, Sons of Thunder [Mark 3:17, see also Luke 9:54]. It is not necessary to dwell on the familiar history of the Last Supper and the Passion. To John was committed by our Lord the highest of privileges, the care of his mother [John 19:27]. John [the "disciple whom Jesus loved"] and PeterPeter was restrained by awe, John impetuously "reached the tomb first." were the first to receive the news from the Magdalene of the Resurrection [John 20:2], and they hastened at once to the sepulchre, and there when
In the interval between the Resurrection and the Ascension, John and Peter were together on the Sea of Galilee [John 21:1], having returned to their old calling, and old familiar haunts.
When Christ appeared on the shore in the dusk of morning, John was the first to recognize him. The last words of the Gospel reveal the attachment which existed between the two apostles. It was not enough for Peter to know his own fate, he must learn also something of the future that awaited his friend. The Acts show us them still united, entering together as worshippers into the Temple [Acts 3:1], and protesting together against the threats of the Sanhedrin [Acts 4:13]. They were fellow-workers together in the first step of Church expansion. The apostle whose wrath had been kindled at the unbelief of the Samaritans, was the first to receive these Samaritans as brethren [Luke 9:54, Acts 8:14].
He probably remained at Jerusalem until the death of the Virgin, though tradition of no great antiquity or weight asserts that he took her to Ephesus. When he went to Ephesus is uncertain. He was at Jerusalem fifteen years after Saint Paul's first visit there [Acts 15:6]. There is no trace of his presence there when Saint Paul was at Jerusalem for the last time.
Tradition, more or less trustworthy, completes the history. Irenaeus says that Saint John did not settle at Ephesus until after the death SS. Peter and Paul, and this is probable. He certainly as not there when Saint Timothy was appointed bishop of that place. Saint Jerome says that he supervised and governed all the Churches of Asia. He probably took up his abode finally in Ephesus in 97. In the persecution of Domitian he was taken to Rome, and was placed in a cauldron of boiling oil, outside the Latin gate, without the boiling fluid doing him any injury. [Eusebius makes no mention of this. The legend of the boiling oil occurs in Tertullian and in Saint Jerome]. He was sent to labor at the mines in Patmos. At the accession of Nerva he was set free, and returned to Ephesus, and there it is thought that he wrote his gospel. Of his zeal and love combined we have examples in Eusebius, who tells, on the authority of Irenaeus, that Saint John once fled out of a bath on hearing that Cerinthus was in it, lest, as he asserted, the roof should fall in, and crush the heretic. On the other hand, he showed the love that was in him. He commended a young man in whom he was interested to a bishop, and bade him keep his trust well. Some years after he learned that the young man had become a robber. Saint John, though very old, pursued him among the mountain fastnesses, and by his tenderness recovered him.
In his old age, when unable to do more, he was carried into the assembly of the Church at Ephesus, and his sole exhortation was, "Little children, love one another". He also brought Virgin Mary up on Panaghia Kapulu (Bülbül Dag, Nightingale Mountain) to protect her from the persecutions.
The date of his death cannot be fixed with anything like precision, but it is certain that he lived to a very advanced age. He is represented holding a chalice from which issues a dragon, as he is supposed to have been given poison, which was, however, innocuous. Also his symbol is an eagle.
After his death he was buried nearby Ephesus. In the 4th century Byzantines build a small church over his tomb and finally in the 6th century Justinian I build a cathedral which was destroyed by the Arab raids between 7th and 8th centuries. Today his grave is recognized as a shrine by Vatican and it stands in Selcuk, nearby Izmir, in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is one of the many religious sites in Anatolia.


St. John the Baptist

John the Baptist was the son of Zachary, a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, a kinswoman of Mary who visited her. He was probably born at Ain-Karim southwest of Jerusalem after the Angel Gabriel had told Zachary that his wife would bear a child even though she was an old woman. He lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea until about A.D. 27. When he was thirty, he began to preach on the banks of the Jordan against the evils of the times and called men to penance and baptism "for the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand". He attracted large crowds, and when Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized Him, saying, "It is I who need baptism from You". When Christ left to preach in Galilee, John continued preaching in the Jordan valley. Fearful of his great power with the people, Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Perea and Galilee, had him arrested and imprisoned at Machaerus Fortress on the Dead Sea when John denounced his adultrous and incestuous marriage with Herodias, wife of his half brother Philip. John was beheaded at the request of Salome, daughter of Herodias, who asked for his head at the instigation of her mother.
John inspired many of his followers to follow Christ when he designated Him "the Lamb of God," among them Andrew and John, who came to know Christ through John's preaching. John is presented in the New Testament as the last of the Old Testament prophets and the precursor of the Messiah. His feast day is June 24th and the feast for his beheading is August 29th.