PHILOKALIA MINISTRIES

John the Baptist and the terrible freedom of decreasing “He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30 There is something almost unbearable about where we find John the Baptist in this Gospel. The man of the wilderness is no longer in the wilderness. The voice that once cried out beside the Jordan is confined behind walls. The crowds are elsewhere now. Another is preaching. Another is healing. Another is gathering disciples. John cannot even go to Jesus himself. He must