Synaxarion
On this same day [September 28], the commemoration of the Righteous and Prophet Baruch.
Verses
Baruch, the friend of Jeremiah the Prophet,
Joins the chorus of Christ’s Prophets in Heaven.
On this same day [September 28], the commemoration of the Righteous and Prophet Baruch.
Verses
Baruch, the friend of Jeremiah the Prophet,
Joins the chorus of Christ’s Prophets in Heaven.
Baruch the Righteous and Prophet was of the tribe of Judah and flourished around 606 B.C. His father was named Neriah, and he also had a brother named Seraiah, who was a court official of King Zedekiah. His teacher was the great Prophet Jeremiah. He was so greatly loved by him that he was regarded as the breath and consolation of Jeremiah. The two of them were known together as one soul united in two distinct bodies, because they had one and the same leader and commander, the Holy Spirit.[1]
Baruch, however, proclaimed more clearly and openly the things concerning the Incarnation of the Lord, saying: “This is our God; no other shall be accounted in comparison with Him. … After this He appeared upon the earth and lived among men” (Baruch 3:35–37). One may also find other such passages by anyone who diligently reads the Old Testament, which clearly demonstrate and present that Baruch is a Prophet. Having therefore lived a life pleasing to God, he surrendered his soul to the Lord in peace.[2]
Footnotes:
[1] For this reason, the Book of Baruch is not separated from the Book of Jeremiah. Therefore, the ancient teachers attribute the Book of Baruch to Jeremiah, and especially the passage beginning, “This is our God…” Among these are Clement the Stromateus, Cyprian, Eusebius, Basil, Augustine, Ambrose, and Cyril of Alexandria. Others, however, attribute it to Baruch and call it a divine oracle. Baruch was the secretary of Jeremiah, that is, his scribe and notary. See page 93 of Clement’s Refutation. See also Jeremiah, where it is written: “And Baruch took another scroll and wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim had burned” (Jeremiah 36:32).
[2] We note here that, according to the Divine Scripture, which is the infallible rule of truth, Jeremiah did not go to Babylon, as is written in the manuscript Synaxarion, but went down to Egypt, to Tahpanhes, and prophesied there, as is confirmed by chapter 43 of Jeremiah itself. Baruch likewise did not remain in Jerusalem, as the same manuscript Synaxarion states, but went down to Egypt as well and from there went to Babylon, as is confirmed both by chapter 43 of Jeremiah and by the first chapter of Baruch himself. Alexander Mavrokordatos also bears witness to this in his Jewish History, saying: “But Baruch, after the conquest of Babylon, to which he had come from Egypt, having heard of the murder of Jeremiah, composed the prophetic word, consisting of five chapters” (p. 239).
For these reasons, Venerable Nikodemos the Hagiorite, who translated the Synaxaria from Ancient Greek into the common tongue, having also consulted the ever-memorable Patriarch Gregory V and other Holy Fathers, did not translate what was mentioned here concerning the Prophet Baruch’s remaining in Jerusalem after its destruction by the Persians in the year 583 B.C. (See a fuller discussion of these matters on the fourth of November, in the Narrative concerning the Lamentation of the Prophet Jeremiah over the conquest of Jerusalem, in volume XI of our Great Synaxarion of the Orthodox Church, where the Prophet Baruch is also mentioned. Venerable Nikodemos deals with this subject in greater detail in the footnote to that Narrative.)
Apolytikion
Tone 4. “O ypsothis en to Stavro.”
Having been deemed worthy of the radiance of prophecy, you were joined to renowned Jeremiah, and became his companion at table, O wise one; therefore, with your divinely inspired tongue you foretold the self-emptying of the Word for the renewal of the world. Having partaken of it in true faith, we divinely honor you, O Prophet Baruch.
Kontakion
Plagal of Tone 2. “Tin yper eimon.”
Proclaiming the dispensation of the Redeemer, you, as a prophetic lyre, sang beforehand: This is our God, who was born as He was well pleased; there is no other like Him. Having appeared upon the earth, He made known the entrance into divine knowledge to those who worship His coming, O Baruch.
Megalynarion
You cast off the lowly burden and, from the weight of this life, taken wings toward heaven, O divinely inspired Baruch; therefore, as a Prophet who was seized by God, we hymn you and magnify you.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Tone 4. “O ypsothis en to Stavro.”
Having been deemed worthy of the radiance of prophecy, you were joined to renowned Jeremiah, and became his companion at table, O wise one; therefore, with your divinely inspired tongue you foretold the self-emptying of the Word for the renewal of the world. Having partaken of it in true faith, we divinely honor you, O Prophet Baruch.
Kontakion
Plagal of Tone 2. “Tin yper eimon.”
Proclaiming the dispensation of the Redeemer, you, as a prophetic lyre, sang beforehand: This is our God, who was born as He was well pleased; there is no other like Him. Having appeared upon the earth, He made known the entrance into divine knowledge to those who worship His coming, O Baruch.
Megalynarion
You cast off the lowly burden and, from the weight of this life, taken wings toward heaven, O divinely inspired Baruch; therefore, as a Prophet who was seized by God, we hymn you and magnify you.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
