Holy prophet, forerunner and baptist of the Savior John. Day of the martyrdom of John the Baptist
Day martyrdom John the Baptist of the Lord in 32 after the Nativity of Christ is remembered Orthodox Church September 11 (according to the civil calendar) is called the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist. On this day, strict fasting is established as an expression of Christian grief over the violent death of the great prophet.
The preaching of John the Baptist was short-lived. Having prepared people to accept the Savior, he ended his life with martyrdom. Shortly after the baptism of the Lord, John was put in prison by the Galilean king Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who gave the order to massacre the Bethlehem infants.
The king had a legitimate wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Arefa. Herod left her and cohabited with Herodias, his brother's wife. The Prophet John repeatedly denounced him, but the king did not dare to harm him, since he revered John the Baptist as a prophet and was afraid of the people's anger.
On his birthday, Herod arranged a rich feast, at which Salome, the daughter of Herodias, danced in front of the guests. She pleased Herod so much that he swore before the guests to give her whatever she asked. Salome went to her mother for advice. Herodias taught her daughter to ask for the head of St. John the Baptist on a platter. Herod was saddened: he feared the wrath of God, but could not break his careless oath.
St. John the Baptist's head was cut off and given to Salome. According to legend, the head continued to denounce Herod and Herodias. The evil 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 Chuza, secretly took the holy head, put it in a vessel and buried it on the Mount of Olives. Body of St. John the Baptist was taken by his disciples and also buried.
God's wrath fell on those who decided to destroy the prophet. Salome crossed the river in winter and fell through the ice. Her head, cut off by a sharp ice floe, was brought to Herod and Herodias, just as the head of St. John the Baptist, but her body was never found.
The Arabian king Arefa moved his troops against Herod and defeated him. The Roman emperor, in anger, exiled Herod along with Herodias to Spain, where they died.
Many years after the execution of St. John the Baptist, when the land in which the vessel with the holy head of the Forerunner rested became the property of the pious nobleman Innocent, this vessel was found during the construction of the church, Innocent learned about the greatness of the shrine from the miracles and signs that took place. But before his death, fearing that the shrine would be desecrated by the Gentiles, he again hid it in the same place.
Many more years have passed. During the days of Emperor Constantine, St. appeared twice to two monks who came to worship in Jerusalem. John the Baptist indicated the location of his honest head. Having dug up the shrine, the monks put it in a bag made of camel hair and went home, but on the way they met an unfamiliar potter, who was entrusted with carrying the precious burden. Then the Forerunner himself appeared to the potter and ordered him to flee from the careless monks along with the burden.
In the potter's family, the honest head was kept and passed down from generation to generation in a sealed vessel, until the priest Eustathius, infected with the Arian heresy, took possession of it. Using the miraculous power emanating from the head, he seduced many people into heresy. When his blasphemy was discovered, he fled, burying the shrine in a cave near Emessa, hoping to later take it back again. But God did not allow this. Pious monks settled in the cave, and a monastery arose.
In 452, the archimandrite of the monastery of St. John showed in a vision the place where his head was hidden, and it was found again. The shrine was moved to Emessa, and then to Constantinople. The feast of the first and second miraculous finding of the head of John the Baptist is celebrated by the Church on March 9.
Around 850, when unrest arose in Constantinople associated with the exile of St. John Chrysostom, head of St. John the Baptist was taken back to Emessa, and from there, during a Saracen raid, to Comana, where later, during the iconoclastic persecutions, she was again hidden. After the restoration of icon veneration, Patriarch Ignatius at night during prayer was shown the place where the venerable head was kept. The shrine was again found and transferred to the court church; part of it is kept on Mount Athos. Feast of the Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist is celebrated by the Church on June 7.
Among the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John occupies a special place. For believers different countries biblical events associated with this saint have great value. The Church devotes the largest number of memorial dates to the Prophet. This is the only saint whose Christmas is celebrated in church calendar how Shrines associated with the Baptist are kept not only in Catholic cathedrals and Orthodox churches, but even in the mosque. The Nativity of John the Baptist is widely celebrated in many countries and is an official day off.
Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist
The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of the most significant holidays Christianity. IN Orthodox tradition the birth of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord is celebrated on July 7 according to the new style (June 24 - old style).
John the Baptist is the son of the priest Zacharias and the righteous Elizabeth, revered by the Orthodox Church.
Zechariah learned about the future birth of his son during a service in the temple, when he had a vision of an angel announcing coming soon to the light of the great Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord. The priest did not believe it and asked for a sign. As proof and as punishment for his unbelief, Zechariah became mute until the birth of his son and was able to speak again only after he wrote the name of the born baby on the tablet.
He preached about the need for repentance and was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. He baptized the people of Israel in the Jordan River and prepared people for the coming of the Messiah and his teaching. Himself in the Jordan with the prophet John.
history of the holiday
Currently, the Nativity of John the Baptist is celebrated in all Christian countries, in some with the status of a public holiday.
The tradition of celebrating the birthday of John the Baptist originates in the first Christian communities. Already in the third century, the birth of John the Baptist was widely celebrated in both Western and Eastern Christianity. Since the fourth century, the date of the birth of the Baptist has been one of the official holidays of the Christian calendar.
Features of the holiday in Russia
In Russia, the Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John not only recalls the birth of the greatest prophet, but is also intertwined with the pagan holiday of the veneration of Ivan Kupala. On this day in Rus' it was customary to douse yourself with water, jump over a fire, and collect herbs. They especially tried to find and bring fern into the house; it was believed that the plant would protect against evil spirits. Pagan customs were replaced by Christian traditions. But even in modern society On the feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist, many remember the ancient rituals of paganism.
The Church condemns any pagan rituals, especially those related to fortune telling, worship of the elements of nature and unbridled festivities. Many believers believe that the very name of the holiday of the Nativity of the Baptist of the Lord insults the memory of the saint and returns human consciousness to the history of paganism with its sacrifices, worship of many gods, and ignorance.
How the Nativity of John the Baptist is celebrated in different countries
The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of the most popular holidays in Catholic Christianity, which is celebrated on June 24 and lasts all day, sometimes continuing into the night. Torches and bonfires are lit and fireworks are displayed. Believers with lighted candles or torches go to the nearest chapels for prayer services. In many regions of Spain, it is customary to burn old things, make a fire and jump over it. Such customs are explained by the proximity of the holiday to the Summer Solstice.
On the island of Menorca, in honor of the birth of John the Baptist, a festival is held where horse racing takes place, in which representatives of all social classes and classes take part.
In France, Saint John the Baptist is especially revered; his Nativity celebration lasts several days.
Orthodox holiday traditions
By Orthodox calendar The Nativity of the Forerunner and Baptist John coincides with the period of Peter's Lent, so believers abstain from noisy festivities and rich feasts. The holy prophet grew up in the desert and led an ascetic lifestyle, eating only honey and locusts. Orthodox Christians, especially in pre-revolutionary Russia, tried to celebrate the birth of the prophet John the Baptist with a particularly strict fast.
A festive service is held in churches, at which funeral and memorial prayers are not performed.
Believers offer prayers with joy and repentance at the Divine Liturgy on the Nativity of John the Baptist. The holiday not only allows Christians to remember the history of biblical events, but also calls for cleansing from sins and reminds that the sacrament of confession is a prerequisite on the soul’s path to God.
Prayer to John the Baptist
You need to pray to the holy prophet for help in church or at home. The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist can be visited in many Russian cities. There is a troparion, kontakion, magnification and a special prayer to John the Baptist. It is believed that the saint helps with headaches and diseases associated with the functioning of the brain. The prophet is prayed to before confession, he helps in repentance and improves a person’s ability to think clearly and objectively assess the situation.
Venerate to the ancient miraculous icon You can see the Baptist of the Lord in the St. John the Baptist Monastery. There are also particles of the saint’s relics.
You can pray at icons with particles of relics in other churches, for example, in the church in honor of Vladimir icon Mother of God, in honor of St. Nicholas in Pyzhi.
Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist
In Russia, in honor of the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord John, many churches, chapels, and monasteries were founded at all times. Among them there are real monuments of culture and art; in some you can touch unique shrines and ancient icons.
The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in St. Petersburg is an architectural monument of federal significance. The church building is distinguished by lightness and grace.
The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist on Presnya in Moscow was founded in 1685. At first the temple building was wooden, but at the beginning of the 18th century a stone structure was erected. The church has always been open to parishioners, even during the USSR period, thanks to which the amazing atmosphere and ancient icons have been preserved. The temple contains a unique image of John the Baptist “Angel in the Desert” from the 17th century, in which the saint has angel wings behind his back. The icon of the Nativity of John the Baptist was painted especially for the church in 1686, which is especially revered by believers. The interior decoration is decorated with monumental paintings by V. M. Vasnetsov, which was discovered after the myrrh flow of one of the frescoes on the wall.
The incorrupt relics of the saint
The Baptist was executed by order of King Herod by cutting off his head at the request of Queen Herodias and her daughter Salome. Currently, according to most experts, the original head of John the Baptist is in a cathedral in France in the city of Amiens. Many pilgrims from different countries come to worship the shrine. The chapter is kept under glass on a special silver dish. Above the left eyebrow there is a hole, a mark from the dagger with which Herodias, in a fit of anger, pierced the already severed head.
The front part of the head is kept in France, the other half is in a mosque in Damascus.
Another important relic of Christian culture is the right hand of John the Baptist. The right hand of the holy prophet is incorruptible and is kept in a monastery in Montenegro. In accordance with biblical history, Saint John, performing the rite of baptism, laid right hand on the head of Jesus Christ, which is why the relic is especially revered by Christians around the world.
Today, January 20, Ukraine celebrates Orthodox holiday in honor of John the Baptist, or the Baptist, which is installed in the Cathedral of John the Baptist, the Cathedral of the Baptist and Baptist of the Lord John. The event immediately follows the feast of the Epiphany, or Epiphany.
The Story of John the Baptist
The Prophet John the Baptist is the most revered saint after the Virgin Mary. According to the Gospel, he was the son of the priest Zechariah (from the family of Aaron) and the righteous Elizabeth (from the family of King David).
His relatives lived near Hebron (in the Highlands), south of Jerusalem. The Prophet John was a relative of Jesus Christ on his mother's side and was born six months earlier than the Lord.
The story goes that he escaped death among the thousands of murdered infants in and around Bethlehem. Saint John grew up in the wild desert, preparing himself with fasting and prayer for great service. He wore rough clothes secured with a leather belt and ate wild honey and locusts. John remained a desert dweller until the Lord called him at the age of thirty to preach to the Jewish people.
Then he followed his calling and 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. Then John preached 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.
With the baptism of the Savior, the prophet John completed and sealed his prophetic ministry. He fearlessly and strictly denounced vices as ordinary people, so powerful of the world this.
However, King Herod Antipas (the son of King Herod the Great) could not tolerate this and ordered the prophet John to be put in prison for accusing him of abandoning his lawful wife (the daughter of the Arabian king Aretha) and for illegally cohabiting with Herodias.
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 pleased Herod and the guests reclining with him so much that the king promised with an oath to give her everything she asked, even up to half of his kingdom.
The dancer asked to give her the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod respected John as a prophet, so he was saddened by such a request. But he could not break the oath 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 the mud.
Later, followers of John the Baptist buried his body in the Samaritan city of Sebastia.
For his crime, Herod received retribution in 38 AD. His troops were defeated by Arethas, who opposed him for dishonoring his daughter, whom he abandoned for Herodias, and in next year The Roman Emperor Caligula exiled Herod to prison.
A few years later, pious Joanna found the head of John the Baptist and placed it in a vessel on the Mount of Olives. Then one pious ascetic, while digging a ditch for the foundation of the 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 Finding of the Head of John the Baptist.
From that moment on, the Orthodox Church established the custom on the next day of the great feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God to venerate the saints who most closely served this sacred event in history.
Celebrating the Day of John the Baptist
First thing in the morning, believers went to church for service. Then people celebrated “dedications” - that is, they switched to the usual rhythm of work and celebrated the holiday of Ivan the Baptist.
The animals were fed leftovers from festive table and worked around the house. The housewives took out their repairs, which they hid out of harm's way before Christmas, "so that the dashing force of the threads would not get tangled."
After the dedications one could visit taverns or taverns. Also, women were already allowed to fetch water, which they could not do on holidays.
After Jordan, a several-week meat-eating period began, during which a wedding could be celebrated and songs could be sung. After meat-eating, the strictest period of Lent begins.
Earlier, the portal "Znayu" wrote that in Kyiv they equipped a dozen places for immersion in ice water at religious holiday Baptism.
September 23/October 6 is remembered by the Orthodox Church Saint John the Baptist, Baptist of the Lord. A holiday was established in memory of the amazing event and is called “The Conception of the honest, glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John.” The Holy Church honors John the Baptist above all saints after the Mother of God.
He is called John the Baptist and John the Baptist. Baptist - as the one who baptized Jesus Christ, Forerunner - as the one who came preaching before the Savior in accordance with Old Testament prophecies. Saint John the Baptist is most often depicted on personalized icons for men called Ivans.
The icon will protect you from enemies and from deception. They pray to John the Baptist with a request that the erring person repent and return to God. It is also known that the image of the Baptist relieves even the most severe headaches.
The icon and prayer to St. John the Baptist will help every person to successfully cope with any work and fulfill their duty with dignity. If you have not yet found your path in life, you should also turn to the icon of John the Baptist. With it, it will be easier for you to discover your destiny, following which a person finds happiness and health.
Conception of the prophet and baptist John the Baptist
The priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who lived in a mountainous country near the city of Hebron, did not have children for a long time. As the years passed, it seemed they had no hope of becoming happy parents. They were already desperate and stopped asking God to give them a child. One day, when Zechariah was left completely alone in the temple, a man appeared before him. Light came from him and great power, the priest saw wings behind his shoulders. It was Archangel Gabriel. He said that soon Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a son who would be a great prophet, and he would have to baptize the Messiah, and the baby should be named John. Zechariah doubted the possibility of what was said, because he and his wife were already in old age. The archangel was outraged by disbelief; he exclaimed: “Know that the Savior will soon come, and before Him will be your son, who will prepare the way for the Messiah, becoming a prophet like Elijah. But because you didn’t believe me, you will remain mute until what I said comes true.”
The tradition of glorifying John the Baptist on the days of his birth and martyrdom developed in the first Christian communities. Since the 3rd century, the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist has already been widely celebrated by both Eastern and Western Christians - it was called a “bright celebration” and “Day of the Sun of Truth.” At the beginning of the 4th century, the holiday was introduced into the Christian calendar.
The Church classifies the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist into the category of great holidays: it is less significant than the Twelves, but is more revered among the people compared to the others.
This event is reflected in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which tells how the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, who lived in Hebron, grew old, but, due to Elizabeth’s barrenness, had no children.
One day, during a service in the Temple of Zechariah in Jerusalem, Archangel Gabriel appeared to the priest and predicted to the priest that he would soon have a son who would become the herald (forerunner) of the expected Messiah.
Zechariah, hearing the words of the Archangel Gabriel, doubted them and asked for a sign. To this, Archangel Gabriel replied: “You will remain silent and will not be able to speak until the day this comes true, because you did not believe my words, which will come true in due time” (Luke 1:20). And a sign was given to him, being at the same time a punishment for unbelief: Zechariah was struck dumb until the time the words of the Archangel were fulfilled.
Saint Elizabeth conceived, but hid her pregnancy for five months, until the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, who was her distant relative, visited her to share her and her joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, greeted the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God. And Saint John, who was still in his mother’s womb, leaped joyfully in the womb (Luke 1:44).
The time came, and Saint Elizabeth gave birth to a son. On the eighth day, according to the law of Moses, his circumcision took place. When his mother named him John, all his relatives were surprised, since no one in their family bore this name. When Saint Zechariah was asked about the name chosen for his newborn son, he asked for a tablet and wrote on it: “His name is John.” As soon as Zechariah did this, the bonds that bound his speech according to the prediction of the Archangel were resolved, and Saint Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, glorified God and uttered prophetic words about the Messiah who appeared in the world and about his son John, the Forerunner of the Lord.
After the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ and the worship of the shepherds and wise men, the wicked king Herod ordered the death of all babies. Hearing about this, Saint Elizabeth fled with her son into the desert and hid there in a cave. And Saint Zechariah, continuing his priestly service, was in the Jerusalem temple when Herod sent soldiers to him with orders to reveal the whereabouts of the baby John and his mother. Zechariah replied that he did not know it, and was killed right in the temple (Matthew 23:35). Righteous Elizabeth remained with her son in the desert and died there.
When John was thirteen years old, he left the desert, came to the Jordan Valley and began his preaching. “Repent,” said the prophet, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2). The Prophet spoke about the Judgment of the world, and everything around John seemed to breathe a premonition of the proximity of great events. His words immediately found a wide response in the souls of the Jews. Crowds of people walked from the surrounding cities to the Jordan River, in which John baptized the people with water. John chose the rite of immersion in the waters of the Jordan as a symbol of entry into the Messianic faith. Just as water washes the body, so repentance cleanses the soul. John demanded that people re-evaluate their entire lives and sincere repentance. Before washing, people confessed their sins.
The holy prophet John the Baptist preached many other things, teaching the people who came to him (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-18; Luke 3:1-18; John 1:15-28). And Jesus Christ himself received Baptism from John.
People call this day Ivan Kupala or Midsummer's Day - one of the important holidays of the Slavic calendar, celebrated on the day of the summer solstice, in the Christian tradition - a holiday in honor of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the Baptist of the Lord.
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