Church celebrates the Nativity of John the Baptist

John the Baptist. Photo: open sources

Orthodox Christians on July 7 celebrate the Nativity of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John. The feast is dedicated to the miraculous birth of the herald of Christ’s coming, who prepared humanity to receive the Messiah.

The story of the greatest of the prophets began in the ancient city of Hebron, in the family of the righteous priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. The couple had reached old age but remained childless because of Elizabeth’s barrenness, which at that time was regarded as a source of shame among the Jewish people.

While serving in the Jerusalem Temple, Zechariah saw the Archangel Gabriel standing at the right side of the altar. The heavenly messenger announced that he would have a son, John, who would be “great in the sight of the Lord” and would turn many of the children of Israel to God. The priest doubted the prophecy, pointing to his advanced age and that of his wife. Because of this unbelief, the archangel struck Zechariah mute until the day the promise would be fulfilled.

Soon afterward, Elizabeth conceived. In the sixth month of her pregnancy, she was visited by her kinswoman, the Virgin Mary, who had already received the news that she would become the Mother of the Savior. As soon as Mary greeted Elizabeth, the unborn John leapt in his mother’s womb, worshipping Christ even before his birth. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth became the first person to call Mary the Mother of the Lord.

When the time came, Elizabeth gave birth to a son. On the eighth day, relatives gathered for the rite of circumcision and the naming of the child. Those present wanted to name the boy Zechariah after his father, but his mother firmly declared, “His name is John.”

The relatives were astonished, since no one in their family bore that name, and they turned to the mute father for confirmation. Zechariah took a writing tablet and wrote the same words: “His name is John.” At that very moment, his speech was restored, and he began to prophesy about the coming Messiah and the ministry of his son.

The young John grew up in the wilderness and remained there until the time of his public preaching. He devoted himself to prayer and strict fasting, preparing for his great mission – calling the people to repentance and proclaiming the imminent coming of the Savior of the world.

Read also