Posted on 08/29/2011 6:15:54 AM PDT by markomalley
The beheading of St. John the Baptist, whom Herod ordered to be headed about the Feat of the Pasch; but his memory is solemnly kept on this day, on which his venerated head was found for the second time. It was afterwards translated to Rome and is preserved in the church of St. Silvester in Capite and honoured by the people with great devotion. (from The Roman Martyrology) We intend, in this article, to attempt something new for the New Theological Movement blog we will look at several icons of St. John the Baptist and briefly discuss the theology contained therein. The head(s) of St. John the Baptist
This recalls the tradition of depicted martyrs together with reminders of their martyrdom hence, St. Bartholomew is often depicted with his flayed skin and St. Simon Zelotes with a saw.
St. John the Baptist with wings You will notice that the Baptist often is depicted in iconography with wings. These do not symbolize that the Precursor was literally an angel (for he was not, contrary to the error of Origen), but rather call to mind that the Baptist served a quasi-angelic office. For the angels are appointed as the ministers between God and men, and it was St. John who went before our Lord to prepare his way. The very word angel means messenger, and this fits well with St. John's role as the voice crying out in the wilderness.
The Baptist fulfills what had been prophesied through Malachi (3:1) regarding the angel of the Lord [the first part of the prophecy is from Malachi, the second from Isaiah]: As it is written in Isaias the prophet: Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John was in the desert baptizing, and preaching the baptism of penance, unto remission of sins. (Mark 1:2-4) The Precursor holding the Christ Child On occasion, one will come across an icon of St. John the Baptist holding not his own head but a chalice containing a child. This babe is the Christ Child, and the image calls to mind that St. John leapt in the womb and so testified that the unborn Child whom Mary carried was indeed the Son of the Most High.
St. John the Baptist, pray for us! |
My question is this: The disciples took John's body and buried it. Was his head reunited with the body?
I saw a picture last night with two angels, one on each side of John, the Baptist — the voice in the desert calling out, “Repent, for the day of the Lord is near.”
The traditional burial site of this Great Christian Saint is in Damascus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_Mosque
Of course, the site has been usurped by the you-know-whos.
It matters not whether the actual BONES of St. John are buried there, but that it was the legendary site.
So of course, an ancient church was built there.
Which was all the you-know-whos NEEDED to build a gigantic mosque on the site. (and destroy the Church!)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.