Please join us to celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. “As noted early in the 20th century, “The commemoration of his Nativity is one of the oldest feasts, if not the oldest feast, introduced into both the Greek and Latin liturgies to honour a saint” (Charles Souvay, 1910). Because Luke reports that Elizabeth became pregnant six months before Mary, the feast is observed by these historic churches on June 24.
In Cranmer’s first prayer book, he penned a new collect for this feast day; in modern spelling, it says:
ALMIGHTY God, by whose providence thy servant John Baptiste was wonderfully borne, and sent to prepare the way of thy son our saviour, by preaching of penance; make us so to follow his doctrine and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
To keep reading, check out THIS article, “Singing of the Baptist” in The North American Anglican (2020).