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The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist. The Third Finding of the Honest Head of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John

Icon "John the Baptist"
60 - 70 years of the 16th century. Yaroslavl.

John the Baptist ended his life with martyrdom. Soon after the baptism of the Lord, John was put in prison by the Galilean king Herod Antipas (Herod Antipas was the son of that Herod the Great who killed 14,000 Bethlehem babies). John denounced King Herod for the fact that, during the life of his brother Philip, he married his wife Herodias, in gross violation of Jewish custom. Herodias became embittered with John for this and asked Herod to kill him. But Herod did not agree to this, because he considered John a great prophet and was afraid of the people, but to please her, he put him in prison. Herodias was not satisfied with this, especially since Herod himself listened with pleasure to John’s instructions and largely acted according to his words.

John the Baptist spent about a year in prison. On his birthday, Herod held a feast, which was attended by many noble guests. Salome, the daughter of the wicked Herodias, with her immodest dancing during the feast, pleased Herod and the guests reclining with him so much that the king promised with an oath to give her everything she asked for, even up to half of his kingdom. Salome, taught by her mother, asked to give her the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod was saddened, but he did not want to change his word in front of the guests, and he sent a soldier to prison to cut off John’s head.

The warrior, following the king's orders, brought the head of John the Baptist on a platter and gave it to Salome, and Salome took it to her mother Herodias.

After the beheading of John's head, his body was secretly buried by his disciples in the city of Sebastia - the city of Samaria, and the head was secretly hidden in Herod's palace by Herodias, who was afraid that when the head was united with the body, John might rise again and expose her again.

According to legend, the head continued to denounce Herod and Herodias. The frantic Herodias pierced the prophet's tongue with a pin and buried his head in an unclean place. But Joanna, the wife of the royal steward Khuza, who later became one of the myrrh-bearers, secretly dug up the holy head, put it in a vessel and buried it on the Mount of Olives, in one of Herod’s estates.

Church celebrates threefold discovery of the head of St. John the Baptist and the Baptist of Christ. The first acquisition took place in the 4th century, the second in the 5th century, and the third in the 9th century.

FIRST DISCOVERY OF THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

In the 4th century, Herod's estate was bought by the rich Christian Innocent and began to build a temple on the mountain. While digging a ditch for the foundation, he unearthed a vessel with the head of John the Baptist in the ground. Miraculous healings occurred from that head. This is how the first discovery of the honest head of the holy prophet John the Baptist took place.

Innocent kept it with the greatest reverence. But before his death, he, fearing that the shrine would be desecrated again, hid it in the same place where he found it. Over time, the Temple of Innocent fell into disrepair and collapsed.

SECOND DISCOVERY OF THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

Many years later, during the reign of Equal-to-the-Apostles Tsar Constantine the Great, when the Christian faith reigned in the world and pious Christians from everywhere began to go to holy places to worship, two monks came to Jerusalem to worship Life-giving Cross and the Holy Sepulcher. John the Baptist appeared to them in a dream, to each one separately, and said: “Go to Herod’s palace, there you will find my head resting in the ground.” In the morning they went to the Mount of Olives and found the holy relics of John the Baptist in the indicated place. Having thanked God, the monks put the head in a bag and went home.

On the way, they met a poor potter from the Syrian city of Emessa, who, due to poverty, was forced to go in search of work in a neighboring country. The monks, having found a travel companion, either through negligence or laziness, entrusted him with carrying the bag with the shrine. And he carried it to himself, until the saint who appeared to him. John the Baptist did not order to leave the careless monks and flee from them along with the bag entrusted to him by Providence itself. The potter hid from the monks and kept his honest head at home with honor. All his life he revered the holy head of John the Baptist, burned incense before it every day, lit lamps, and prayed. The Lord, for the sake of the head of John the Baptist, blessed the potter's house with all sufficiency. The potter lived his entire life, remembering what he owed and to whom, he was not proud and gave alms abundantly.

When the time of his death approached, he, at the command of the Baptist of Christ himself, put the holy head in a vessel for water, and this vessel was enclosed in an ark and, sealed, he gave it to his sister. At the same time, he told her in detail how, for the sake of this honest chapter, he got rid of extreme poverty and became a rich man. He bequeathed to his sister that she should always reverently and honestly keep this holy chapter and never open the ark until Saint John himself deigns to do so. Before her death, she had to give this treasure to some God-fearing and virtuous person. Since then, the honest head has been continuously preserved by Christians.

Many years later, the owner of the honest head was the priest Eustathius, who lived near Emessa, infected with Arianism (the Christian heresy of the 4th - 6th centuries). Sick people who came to him received healing from the miraculous grace emanating from the head of John the Baptist, which he kept secret. But Eustathius began, like a thief, to attribute this grace to himself and his heresy, trying to hide the true reason from people miraculous healings, and through this he seduced many into his heresy. Soon his blasphemy was discovered, and Eustathius was expelled from Emessa. Having buried the shrine in a cave near Emessa, the heretic hoped to subsequently return and take possession of it again to spread false teaching. But God did not allow this. Pious monks settled in the cave, and then a monastery arose on this place.

In 452, John himself appeared to the abbot of this monastery of Markella in a dream and indicated the place where his head was hidden. It was transferred to Constantinople. It happened second discovery of the venerable head of the holy prophet John the Baptist. Then a holiday was established on this day.

THE THIRD DISCOVERY OF THE HEAD OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

But the head did not stay in Constantinople for long. The times of iconoclasm have arrived. During the persecution of holy icons in the 8th century, the head of the Forerunner was transferred from Constantinople to Komany (near Sukhumi)- the place of exile and death of John Chrysostom - and there it is hidden in a secret place.

It was in Kamany, near Sukhumi, that the third discovery of the honest head of the Forerunner took place. During the reign of Michael, around 850, Patriarch Ignatius of Constantinople during night prayer The vision indicated the place where the prophet's head was located. The emperor sent an embassy to Comana and in the place indicated by the patriarch they found the shrine for the third time. Later, in 857, the chapter was transferred to Constantinople and placed in the court church.

The head of the Forerunner, transferred for the second time to Constantinople, was first placed in the royal chambers, and then part of it was kept in the Studii Forerunner Monastery. The top of the dome was seen in this monastery by the pilgrim Anthony in 1200. Another part of the chapter was in Petra in the monastery of Prodromus, it was transferred by the crusaders to Amiens in France, part of it was transferred to Rome and is in the church of Pope Sylvester. Other parts are located in the Athos Monastery of Dionysius and the Ugrovlahia Monastery of Kalui.

Repeatedly Saint John appeared to pious people to indicate the burial place of his venerable head. It is clear that God’s will is for us to venerate the relics of the holy saints. Through them, the Lord sends down His great and rich mercies to people.

God Himself deigns to honor and glorify the relics of the saints with many and varied miracles and signs. We find examples of this in Holy Scripture, and in the history of the Christian Church. IN Old Testament a case is described when, due to an enemy raid, a dead man who was being carried to be buried was thrown into the cave where the prophet Elisha was buried. As soon as the dead man touched the bones of the prophet, he immediately came to life (2 Kings 13:20-21). In the history of the Church, there are so many miracles performed from the relics of the holy saints of God that it is impossible to list. Usually, even the very discovery of the relics of a saint is always accomplished by a special revelation of God and is accompanied by miracles and signs.

The second reason for venerating the relics is that, as St. John of Damascus said, “the relics of the saints are given to us from the Lord Christ as saving springs that exude manifold benefits.”

Ancient miraculous icon and particles of the relics of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John are located in Ioanno-Predtechenskoe convent(metro station "Kitai-Gorod", M. Ivanovsky lane, 2).

Church veneration of the Holy Prophet John knows his gracious help and power to relieve headaches. John the Baptist heals not only headache or more severe diseases of the head by prayer to him, but he helps to repent, i.e. helps to change the way of thinking, to direct a person’s entire consciousness to Christ, and to comprehend his life in the light of Christ’s Truth.

John the Baptist (John the Baptist) - the closest predecessor of Jesus Christ, who predicted the coming of the Messiah, lived in the desert as an ascetic, then preached baptism of repentance for the Jews, baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, then was beheaded due to the machinations of the Jewish princess Herodias and her daughter Salome. Herodias was the wife of Herod Philip, but was taken from him by the tetrarch of Galilee, Herod Antipas, for which John denounced the latter. Herod Antipas imprisoned John, but did not dare to execute him (Matthew 14:3-5, Mark 6:17-20).
Herodias' daughter Salome (not named in the Gospels) on the birthday of Herod Antipas “danced and pleased Herod and those who reclined with him.” As a reward for the dance, Herod promised Salome to fulfill any of her requests. She, at the instigation of her mother, who hated John for exposing her marriage, asked for the head of John the Baptist and “The king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and those who reclined with him, he did not want to refuse her” (Mark 6:26). A squire (speculator) was sent to John’s prison, who cut off his head and, bringing it on a platter, gave it to Salome, and she “gave it to her mother.” John's body was buried by his disciples, and the death was reported to Jesus (Matt. 14:6-12, Mark 6:21-29).

History of acquisitions

First discovery of the head of John the Baptist
According to legend, Herodias did not allow John’s head to be buried along with his body and hid it in her palace, from where it was taken out by a pious servant (whose name was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward) and buried in an earthen jar on the Mount of Olives. Years later, the nobleman Innocent decided to build a church on that site, and while digging a ditch for the foundation, he discovered a jug with a relic, which was identified by the signs emanating from it. After finding the head, Innocent carefully kept it, but before his death, Innocent, fearing that the relic would be desecrated, hid it in his church, which then dilapidated and collapsed.

Second discovery of the head of John the Baptist
During the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great in Jerusalem, the head of John the Baptist was found by two pilgrim monks who arrived in the city to venerate the Holy Sepulcher. John the Baptist appeared to one of them and indicated the place where the head was located. The monks took it with them and put the relic in a bag made of camel hair, but, showing laziness, they gave the relic to a potter they met from the Syrian city of Emessa to carry. According to legend, the saint who appeared ordered the potter to leave the impious monks and take the shrine for safekeeping. All his life he carefully preserved the relic, lit lamps and prayed every day. Before his death, the potter, at the behest of John the Baptist, placed the head in a water-bearing vessel, sealed it and gave it to his sister. He ordered his sister to carefully preserve the relic, and before her death, give it to a pious Christian. Later, the relic ended up in the possession of an Arian priest, who, with the help of healings emanating from it, supported the authority of the Arian doctrine. When his deception was revealed, he hid the chapter in a cave near the city of Emessa. Later, a monastery arose above the cave and in 452, John, who, according to legend, appeared to the archimandrite of the monastery, pointed out the place where his head was hidden. She was found and transferred to Constantinople.

The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist (now celebrated)
From Constantinople, the head of John the Baptist, during the unrest associated with the exile of John Chrysostom, was transferred to the city of Emessa, and then at the beginning of the 9th century to Comana, where it was hidden during the period of iconoclastic persecutions. After the restoration of icon veneration at the Council of Constantinople in 842, according to legend, Patriarch Ignatius, during night prayer, received instructions about the whereabouts of the relic. By order of Emperor Michael III, an embassy was sent to Comani, which around 850 found the head of John the Baptist in the place indicated by the patriarch. After this, the chapter was transferred to Constantinople and was placed in the court church. Theodore the Studite is credited with a Speech on the Finding of the Head of John the Baptist, which describes the story of its third discovery.

Prayer to the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John

The Baptist of Christ, preacher of repentance, do not despise me who repents, but copulate with the heavenly ones, praying to the Lady for me, unworthy, sad, weak and sad, fallen into many troubles, burdened by the stormy thoughts of my mind. Because I am a den of evil deeds, with no end to sinful customs, my mind is nailed down by earthly things. What I will do, we do not know, and to whom I will resort, so that my soul will be saved, only to you, Saint John, by your namesake of grace, for you are before the Lord, according to the Theotokos, greater than all who were born: for you were deemed worthy to touch the heights of King Christ, take away the sins of the world, the Lamb of God. Pray to him for my sinful soul, so that from now on, at the first ten hour, I will bear a good burden and accept recompense with the last. To her, the Baptist of Christ, honest to the Forerunner, extreme prophet, first martyr in grace, mentor of fasters and desert dwellers, teacher of purity and neighbor of Christ, I pray to you, I come running to you, do not reject me from your intercession, but raise me up, having fallen into many sins, renew my soul with repentance, as the second With baptism, since you are the leader of both, you washed away sin with baptism, and preached repentance for the cleansing of everyone’s bad deeds; Cleanse me, defiled by my sins, and force me to enter, even if nothing bad enters, into the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

Troparion of the Forerunner

voice 4
Like a Divine treasure hidden in the earth, / Christ has opened your head to us, prophet and Forerunner. / All of us, having come together in this acquisition, / will sing the Savior with God-speaking songs, / / ​​saving us from corruption with your prayers.

Kontakion of the Forerunner

voice 6
The luminous and Divine pillar in the world, / the lamp of the sun, / the Forerunner, his luminous and Divine head / showing at the end, / sanctifies those who faithfully worship / and cry // to the wise Christ the Baptist, save us all.

The great and glorious John the Baptist, who performed the Baptism of the Lord, was cruelly beheaded due to the evil slander of Herodias, Herod’s wife. When John was beheaded, Herodias ordered that his head not be buried with his body because she was afraid. She believed that the prophet could be resurrected. She buried his head in a hidden place, deep in the ground. The head of John the Baptist is a revered part of the saint’s relics. By various reasons The head of John the Baptist was hidden, protecting the shrine from desecration. That is why the acquisition of the honorable head of John the Baptist is celebrated by the Church more than once. On March 9, the Church celebrates the first and second discovery of the venerable head of John the Baptist, and on June 7 the third discovery. We have collected information for you about the history of the holiday.
If you carefully approach church celebrations, you will often feel a note of bitterness among the general sweetness. So, for example, the Jews could rejoice over the restoration of the Temple, but the oldest of them cried, remembering the greatness of the former Temple in comparison with the restored one. The temple rose from humiliation - good. But the bad thing is that the Temple was generally destroyed and desecrated. Exactly the same logic is appropriate in relation to the Findings of the head of the Baptist John.

Finding the head of John the Baptist. It's good that you found it, but it's bad that you lost it

It’s good that the head of the prophet was found, but it’s bad that it was lost. The story of gains, from the inside out, is the story of losses. And some losses were caused by fear, attempts to hide the shrine, and some by negligence, criminal neglect and other human filth. Then the careless monks, having received the command from the appearance of the Forerunner himself to keep his head, get tired (!) of carrying it and hand over the holy burden to a fellow traveler. Then the heretic, keeping the shrine, seduces into heresy those who receive healing from prayers before the head of John. In a word, not everything in the history of the holiday can be enjoyed. And such knowledge is sobering.

Worthy Guardians


It is extremely harmful to look at the history of the Church as an unceasing holiday and triumph of holiness. Then, out of necessity, you will look for in church everyday life that same unalloyed holiness that you imagined for yourself or enthusiastically read. But she’s not there!
Or rather, it exists, but it is not pure; it requires refining and purification, sometimes fiery. So, you need to know that besides the malice of Herodias, there are many other “human factors” that lead to the fact that shrines are lost, found, sold, stolen, and disappear forever.
In fact, Saint John for many years and centuries could not (!) find people who would be worthy guardians of his lawlessly severed head. Hence the series of losses and gains.
Lord have mercy!

Predtechevo holidays

But the Forerunner holidays, regardless of historical nuances, have one enduring feature - they herald repentance. “Again, as before in the world, you preach repentance,” says the troparion.
What is human language if not a kind of percussion? musical instrument, if not the tympanum, about which it is said: “Let them praise His name with faces, let them sing to Him on the tympanum and the harp” (Ps. 149:3) “The harp” is the vocal cords, like stretched strings, but the tympanum is the tongue . The Forerunner's language, like an alarm bell, knew no other melodies than the call to repentance. For this, Herodias, as legend says, after cutting off the head, stabbed the prophet’s tongue repeatedly with a sharp needle. For this, the Bolsheviks also deprived the bell of its voice by tearing out its tongue. So the demon does not like the call to repentance and prayer; The demon is looking for people who can fulfill his evil will and silence this voice. But the chapter is not only language. The head is the seat of the mind. The mind of the Forerunner was blessed and praying. John’s ears heard the Father saying: “On whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33) John’s eyes saw the humbled into the flesh clothed Word, and the Spirit like a dove descending on Him. They also saw thousands of eyes, moistened with tears, sparkling with faith, encouraged by hope.

Finding the Head of John the Baptist


Having found the head of John, as if holding it in our hands, what will we think about ourselves, what will we pray for?
Let's think about our head, that is, about our thoughts, about our ears, about our tongue, about our eyes.
What do we see and what do we seek to see? Are we not sick, along with the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, and also the lust of the eyes (1 John 1:16) We are sick, of course. Lord have mercy!
What enters our ears and then, like a forbidden delicacy, penetrates our hearts? What speeches do we eagerly listen to? Lord have mercy!
If our sense organs are the windows and doors to our spiritual home, then didn’t Jeremiah say about us: “Death enters our windows, invades our palaces” (Jer. 9:21)
What are we saying? What words do we allow to rise from the bottom of our hearts and fly from the tip of our tongue? Isn't our tongue a source of poison mixed with honey? With the tongue “we bless God and the Father, and with it we curse men, created in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and curse: it must not be so, my brethren” (James 3:9-10)
What are we thinking about? What a flea market, what a second-hand warehouse we are turning our mind and memory into, humiliating their royal dignity!
When else can you see your weakness if not in fast days. In the abstinence of the tongue, in the purification of the mind, what other chapter should we take an example from, if not from the chapter of the Forerunner?

Take us by the hand, John

Saint John, who bowed his head under the sword, bow our exalted pride to the ground of humility. Having not eaten tasty food, support us in fasting, so that by drying out the belly and not delighting the larynx, we can feel the sweetness of the Word of God. Calling people to correction and change, turn your voice to us. Call us to the right path, and let our heart hear you crying: “Repent.” You who brought people to the Lamb, like the Bride to the Bridegroom, take us by the hand, Joanna. Bring us to the Sweetest Jesus, so that we will bow to the ground before Him, and we will bring repentance to Him, and we will hear from Him: “And I do not condemn you; Go and sin no more" (John 8:11)

The commemoration in honor of the third discovery of the head of John the Baptist is celebrated by the Church on June 7 (May 25, old style).

The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist. history of the holiday

Exist legends about the three discoveries of the head of John the Baptist, a separate celebration has been established in honor of each. The first discovery took place in the 4th century, the second in the 5th century, and the third in the 9th century. The subsequent history of the shrine remains unclear. Adherents of Islam (John the Baptist is revered by them as the prophet Yahya ibn Zakariya) believe that the head of John the Baptist is in the Umayyad mosque in Damascus, and Catholics are sure that the honest head of the prophet is kept in the church of San Silvestro in Capite. In addition, there is mention of the front part of the skull, which was brought from the fourth crusade and is kept in the Amiens Cathedral.

John the Baptist was the closest predecessor of Jesus Christ; he predicted the coming of the Savior. John led an ascetic life in the desert, and then went out to preach repentance for the Jews, baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, and then was beheaded due to the machinations of the Jewish princess Herodias and her daughter Salome. Herodias was the wife of Philip, the brother of King Herod, but was taken from him by the tetrarch of Galilee, Herod Antipas, for which John denounced the latter. Herod Antipas imprisoned John, but did not dare to execute him (Matthew 14:3-5, Mark 6:17-20). Herodias' daughter, Salome, danced on Herod Antipas' birthday, which pleased Herod and the guests. As a reward, Herod promised her to fulfill any of her requests. She, taught by her mother, asked for the head of John the Baptist. “The king was saddened, but for the sake of the oath and those who were reclining with him, he did not want to refuse her” (Mark 6:26). In prison, they cut off the head of John and brought it to Salome on a platter, and she gave it to her mother. The body of John the Baptist was buried by his disciples, and Jesus was informed of his death (Matthew 14:6-12, Mark 6:21-29).

The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist took place after the end of the period of iconoclasm. From Constantinople, the head of John the Baptist, during the unrest associated with the exile of John Chrysostom, was transferred to the city of Emessa, and then at the beginning of the 9th century to Comana, where it was hidden during the period of iconoclastic persecutions. After the restoration of icon veneration at the Council of Constantinople in 842, according to legend, Patriarch Ignatius (c. 797 - 877) received instructions about the location of the shrine during night prayer. By order of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III (840-867), an embassy was sent to Comana, which around 850 found the head of John the Baptist in the place indicated by the patriarch. After this, the head was transferred to Constantinople and placed in the court church. The Venerable Theodore the Studite (759-826) is credited with a speech on the discovery of the head of John the Baptist, which describes the story of its third discovery. In a small grotto at the site of the third discovery of the head there is an image of John the Baptist, revered as not made by hands.

The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist. Troparion and kontakion for the holiday

Troparion, tone 4

Ћ the divine treasure is hidden in8 the earth2, although the rock is our head2 more and3 more. Everything that has come into being has been acquired, with songs of praise let us sing of the Lord who saves us, with your prayers.

Like a divine treasure hidden in the earth, Christ opened your head to us as a prophet and forerunner. All who have come together to find this, let us sing with God-voiced songs the Savior, who saves our lives through your prayers.

Kontakion, tone 2

P rrbche b9ii, and 3 p®tche blagodati. Yours is the gift of the most sacred, the earth and the earth, and the healing we always accept. and 4 for just as before, in the 8th world you preach the same.

Prophet of God, Forerunner of grace, your head as a gift has been consecrated on earth, healing is always acceptable. For again, first of all, he preaches repentance in the world.

The third discovery of the head of John the Baptist. Icons

Thanks to the threefold acquisition, a rich and varied iconography of events emerged. The first to form was the iconography of the third finding of the head of John the Baptist, which exists in several versions depicting different moments discovery: two laymen dig up a shrine from a black cave, a procession of transferring the shrine led by the emperor and the censing patriarch with his retinue, a divine service over the venerable head. In the 9th century, based on the third discovery, the iconography of the first and second discovery was formed: two monks dig out a chapter from a cave with picks (either one of them, kneeling down, takes a bowl with a chapter), or the chapter lies on the ground, surrounded by three people in long monastic robes holding lighted candles and reverently looking at the head. In the late Middle Ages, short cycles of the Life of John the Baptist usually used collective images of acquisitions: a single stamp with an image of acquisition, showing how two monks dig a chapter out of a cave.

In Russian icon painting of the late Middle Ages, an independent tradition of depicting the finding of the head of John the Baptist developed. A number of monuments of the second half of the 16th century stand out, in particular, the Yaroslavl icon “St. John the Baptist Angel of the Desert, with a life in 20 hallmarks" from the Yaroslavl St. Nicholas Church (Nicholas Nadeina) (1551, YaMZ), in which the story of the discovery is divided into three episodes: in the first hallmark, monks are sleeping in a cave, John the Baptist is leaning towards them, reporting location of the shrine; in the second mark, two monks dig out an honest head with spades; in the third episode, one or two people are again depicted sleeping, and below them in the cave is the head of John the Baptist, surrounded by a halo, John the Baptist is bending over the sleeping people.

Hello, dear TV viewers! Today, June 7, Orthodox Church celebrates the third discovery of the head of the holy, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.

Prophet John the Baptist is the most revered saint after the Virgin Mary. They were installed in his honor next holidays(new style): October 6 - conception, July 7 - Christmas, September 11 - beheading, January 20 - the Council of John the Baptist in connection with the feast of Epiphany, March 9 - the first and second finding of his head, June 7 - the third finding of his head chapter, October 25 is the celebration of the transfer of his right hand from Malta to Gatchina.

The Prophet John the Baptist was the son of the priest Zechariah (from the family of Aaron) and the righteous Elizabeth (from the family of King David). His parents lived near Hebron (in the Highlands), south of Jerusalem. He was a relative of the Lord Jesus Christ on his mother's side and was born six months before the Lord.

As the Evangelist Luke narrates, the Archangel Gabriel, appearing to his father Zechariah in the temple, announced the birth of his son. And so the pious spouses, deprived of the consolation of having children until old age, finally have a son, whom they asked for in prayers.

By the grace of God, he escaped death among the thousands of murdered infants in and around Bethlehem. Saint John grew up in the wild desert, preparing himself for great service through a strict life of fasting and prayer. He wore rough clothes secured with a leather belt and ate wild honey and locusts (a genus of locust). He remained a desert dweller until the Lord called him at the age of thirty to preach to the Jewish people.

Obeying this calling, the prophet John appeared on the banks of the Jordan to prepare the people to receive the expected Messiah (Christ). To the river before the festival of purification in large quantities people gathered for religious ablutions. Here John turned to them, preaching repentance and baptism for the remission of sins.

The essence of his preaching was that before receiving external washing, people must be morally cleansed and thus prepare themselves to receive the Gospel. Of course, John's baptism was not yet the grace-filled sacrament of Christian baptism. Its meaning was spiritual preparation for the future baptism of water and the Holy Spirit.

According to one church prayer, the prophet John was a bright morning star, which in its brilliance surpassed the radiance of all other stars and foreshadowed the morning of a blessed day, illuminated by the spiritual Sun of Christ (Mal. 4: 2). When the expectation of the Messiah reached its highest degree, the Savior of the world Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, came to John to the Jordan to be baptized. The baptism of Christ was accompanied by miraculous phenomena - the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the voice of God the Father from heaven: “This is My beloved Son...”

Having received a revelation about Jesus Christ, the prophet John told the people about Him: Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world(John 1:29). Hearing this, two of John's disciples joined Jesus Christ. They were the apostles John (the Theologian) and Andrew (the First-Called, brother of Simon Peter).

With the baptism of the Savior, the prophet John completed and, as it were, sealed his prophetic ministry. He fearlessly and strictly denounced vices as ordinary people, so powerful of the world this. For this he soon suffered.

King Herod Antipas (the son of King Herod the Great) ordered the prophet John to be imprisoned for denouncing him for abandoning his lawful wife (the daughter of the Arabian king Aretha) and for illegally cohabiting with Herodias. Herodias was previously married to Herod's brother, Philip.

On his birthday, Herod held a feast, which was attended by many noble guests. Salome, the daughter of the wicked Herodias, with her immodest dancing during the feast, pleased Herod and the guests reclining with him so much that the king promised with an oath to give her everything she asked for, even up to half of his kingdom.

The dancer, taught by her mother, asked to be given the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod respected John as a prophet, so he was saddened by such a request. However, he was embarrassed to break the oath he had given and sent a guard to the prison, who cut off John’s head and gave it to the girl, and she took the head to her mother.

Herodias, having outraged the cut off holy head of the prophet, threw it into a dirty place. The disciples of John the Baptist buried his body in the Samaritan city of Sebaste.

For his crime, Herod received retribution in 38; his troops were defeated by Arethas, who opposed him for dishonoring his daughter, abandoned for the sake of Herodias, and in next year The Roman Emperor Caligula exiled Herod to prison.

As legend tells, Evangelist Luke, going around different cities and villages preaching Christ, took from Sebaste to Antioch a particle of the relics of the great prophet - his right hand. In 959, when the Muslims captured Antioch (under Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitus), the deacon transferred the hand of the Forerunner from Antioch to Chalcedon, from where it was transported to Constantinople, where it was kept until the conquest of this city by the Turks. After right hand John the Baptist was kept in St. Petersburg in the church Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace.

The holy head of John the Baptist was found by the pious Joanna and buried in a vessel on the Mount of Olives. Later, one pious ascetic, while digging a ditch for the foundation of a temple, found this treasure and kept it with himself, and before his death, fearing the desecration of the shrine by unbelievers, he hid it in the ground in the same place where he found it.

During the reign of Constantine the Great, two monks came to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Sepulcher, and John the Baptist appeared to one of them and pointed out where his head was buried. From that time on, Christians began to celebrate the first discovery of the head of John the Baptist.

About the prophet John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ said: of those born of wives did not rise(prophet) greater than John the Baptist(Matt. 11:11). John the Baptist is glorified by the Church as “an angel, and an apostle, and a martyr, and a prophet, and a candle-bearer, and a friend of Christ, and a seal of the prophets, and an intercessor of old and new grace, and the most honorable and bright voice of the Word among those born.”

The third discovery of the venerable head of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John took place around the year 850. During the unrest in Constantinople in connection with the exile of St. John Chrysostom, the head of St. John the Baptist was taken to the city of Emesa. From there, during the Saracen raids, it was transferred (around 810-820) to Comana and there, during the period of iconoclastic persecutions, it was hidden in the ground.

When icon veneration was restored, Patriarch Ignatius, during night prayer, was shown in a vision the place where the head of St. John the Baptist was hidden. The high priest informed the emperor about this, who sent an embassy to Comana, and there the head was found for the third time, in the place indicated by the patriarch, around 850. Later, the chapter was again transferred to Constantinople and here on May 25, according to the old style, it was placed in the court church; part of the holy chapter is located on Holy Athos.

Dear brothers and sisters, today the memory of the saints is also celebrated:

St. Innocent, Archbishop. Kherson;

sschmch. Ferapont, bishop. Cyprus;

prmts. Elena Korobkova;

prmch. Tavrion Tolokontsev.

I heartily and warmly congratulate everyone who bears these holy names on their namesake day! I wish you peace of mind, physical health and unfailing help from God through the prayers of your heavenly patrons! Be protected by God! Many happy summers to you!

Hieromonk Dimitri (Samoilov)