The never-ending call for repentance resounded again from the 1000-year-old home of St. John the Baptist near Radika. This powerful call summoned the faithful to prayer at his Sanctuary, in honour of the memory of the beheading of the honourable Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Our Lord – Saint John. A call needed like never before, a call that reunites us and brings us back to God’s embrace. A call that gives us the grace of forgiveness. A call that all faithful hearts heard and joined with sincere repentance the monastic prayer, for the blessing of the whole world.
And there was no heart in the midst of that multitude, that remained indifferent to the Forerunner’s call, which is a mysterious way sounded from the enlightened contemplative word of our beloved elder and Bishop Parthenius, who reminded us once again of the essence of our Christian faith – repentance and testimony of the Truth of Christ:
As a spiritual father, I have witnessed the falling apart of so many marriages, including Christian ones. The Christian marriage and the entire society in general, is in a state of terrible erosion and crisis. Today, perhaps more than ever after Christ, the call of Saint John to repentance is so relevant and necessary. Where does this crisis come from? It is all due to the fact that people do not pay attention to the way they use the modern technology, the mobile phones, the Internet and the social networks. The virtual world and the comfort behind the keyboard stimulate human passions and nurture egoism. That is why fasting and restraining from the excessive use of technology and the idleness of social networks today is necessary more than ever. We Christians have different periods of fasting, mainly four times a year, as well as every Wednesday and Friday, however, sadly, I have noticed that many faithful are obsessed with their restraint from food and completely neglect the other forms of fasting that are equally as important. However, if we do not refrain from this monstrous appearance of fantasy through technology, all our fasting with food and going to church will be in vain. - Bishop Parthenius, Abbot of Bigorski
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