In July, the Orthodox Church celebrates two great feasts dedicated to John the Baptist and the holy apostles Peter and Paul. In addition, there are several special days in the church calendar when solemn services are performed in Orthodox churches.
On July 7, the Orthodox Church celebrates the great feast of the birth of John the Baptist. In church liturgical practice, this day is called the Nativity of the Honest Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. John the Baptist was called by Christ himself the great holy man who ever lived on earth. John prepared the Jewish people for the coming of the Savior. The holy prophet baptized people in Jordan, as well as the Savior himself. The saint was born miraculously from Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were already in their advanced years. Archangel Gabriel announced to Father John that their child would be great before the Lord. It was John the Baptist who was honored to begin a sermon on repentance just before Christ's coming into the world.
Another great Orthodox church holiday in July is the day of the holy foremost apostles Peter and Paul (12 July). On this day, St. Peter's Lent ends for Orthodox Christians. In churches, solemn divine services are performed in honor of the great apostles, after the service, believers break their fast with various food products (unless the holiday falls on Wednesday and Friday, in which case the fast is preserved). The Apostle Peter had the most fervent and emotional character of the other apostles. He denied Christ three times, then all his life he repented of this after being restored by the risen Lord in the apostleship. The Apostle Peter walked on the waters, witnessed many miracles of the Savior, he himself raised Aeneas. Peter is also the author of two Epistles of the Council. The Apostle Paul worked the most in missionary preaching. There are four known missionary journeys of the holy apostle through the Roman Empire. He is the author of 14 epistles included in the canon of the New Testament. Some specific Christian communities as well as individuals served as the addressee.
In addition to these main church holidays in July, the following dates can be distinguished. July 1 - memory of the Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God, July 3 - Kosinskaya icon of the Theotokos, July 6 - Vladimirskaya icon of the Mother of God, July 8 - memory of the noble princes Peter and Fevronia (family day), July 9 - celebration of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, July 18 is a special holiday in honor of St. Sergius of Radonezh (abbot of the Russian land), July 24 is the day of St. Olga Equal to the Apostles (grandmother of the Holy Prince of Kiev Vladimir), August 28 is the memory of Prince Vladimir Equal to the Apostles.
