The Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist -- May 25

[Agrarian]

Apolytikion:
Fourth Tone

Christ God hath revealed to us
thy truly ven'rable head as a divine treasure
that had been concealed in the earth,
O Prophet and Forerunner.
Wherefore, as we gather on the feast of its finding,
with our hymns inspired of God,
we praise Christ the Saviour,
Who by thy mighty prayers
saveth us from every kind of harm.

Kontakion:
Second Tone

Since we have obtained thy head as a most sacred rose
from out of the earth, O Forerunner of grace divine,
we receive sure healing in every hour,
O Prophet of God the Lord;
for again, now as formerly,
thou preachest repentance unto all the world.

Reading:

Because of the vicissitudes of time, the venerable head of the holy Forerunner was lost for a third time and rediscovered in Comana of Cappadocia through a revelation to a certain priest, but it was found not, as before, in a clay jar, but in a silver vessel, and "in a sacred place."

It was taken from Comana to Constantinople and was met with great solemnity by the Emperor, the Patriarch, and the clergy and people. See also February 24.

Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA

[Agrarian]

St. John the Baptist is one of the most important and most beloved of saints in the Orthodox Church. His icon has a place of honor at the left hand of Christ on every iconostasis (the Theotokos is on Christ's right hand -- as in the Psalm.)

He is the last of the Old Testament Prophets, and the first of the martyrs for Christ.

He is often seen depicted in the icon of Christ going down to Hades to gather the souls of the righteous departed, since he died before the Resurrection of Christ.

Christ stated that there was no man born of woman who was greater than John the Baptist.

There are three conceptions commemorated on the Orthodox Calendar: Christ's conception at the Annunciation, The Theotokos's conception by St. Anna on December 8, and the Conception of St. John the Baptist.

There are many humorous quips surrounding these feasts, but the story of the findings are quite miraculous, and St. John is a great wonderworker.

[Agrarian]

Ping for the third finding of the head of St. John the Baptist...

[Kenny Bunkport]

Re: the headline...John the Baptist had three heads?

[Agrarian]

You have stumbled into one of the humorous quips I mentioned regarding these Feasts. The other one is "The First and Second Findings of the Head of St. John the Baptist."

People wanting to be funny call this "The Finding of the Third Head of John the Baptist." Others make quips about how careless the Orthodox are that they keep losing St. John's head...

Here is the story of the first and second findings from the Prologue of Ocrid (February 24):

The great and glorious Baptist John was beheaded according to the wish and instigation of the wicked Herodias, the wife of Herod. When John was beheaded, Herodias ordered that his head not be buried with his body for she feared that this awesome prophet, somehow, would resurrect. Therefore, she took his head and buried it deep in the ground in a secluded and dishonorable place.

Her maidservant was Johanna, the wife of Chuza a courtier of Herod. The good and devout Johanna could not tolerate that the head of the Man of God remain in this dishonorable place. Secretly she unearthed it, removed it to Jerusalem and buried it on the Mount of Olives. Not knowing of this, King Herod, when he learned of Jesus and how He worked great miracles, became frightened and said: "This is John whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead" (St. Mark 16:16).

After a considerable period of time, an eminent landowner believed in Christ, left his position and the vanity of the world and became a monk, taking the name, Innocent. As a monk, he took up abode on the Mount of Olives exactly in the place where the head of the Baptist was buried. Wanting to build himself a cell for himself, he dug deep and discovered an earthen vessel and in it a head, which was mysteriously revealed to him, to be the head of the Baptizer. He reverenced it and reburied it in the same spot.

Later, according to God's Providence, this miracle-working relic [The head of St. John] traveled from place to place, sunk into the darkness of forgetfulness and again was rediscovered. Finally, during the reign of the pious Empress Theodora, the mother of Michael and the wife of Theophilus and at the time of Patriarch Ignatius it was translated to Constantinople.

Many miraculous healings occurred from the relic of the Forerunner [Precursor]. It is important and interesting to note that while he was still alive, "John did no miracles" (St. John 10:41), however, his relics have been endowed with miraculous power.

[Agrarian]

I neglected to post the source and url on my original post:

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese -- Saints and Feasts

[katnip]

Thanks for posting.

[peter the great]

I heard a little story at my Church about the woman who ordered or requested the beheading of John the Baptist was beheaded herself as she drowned in a river. That story has been passed down according to tradition. Also the same handout went on to explain that how you die is a good indicator as to your sin.

[Agrarian]

Yes, as I recall, she fell into a river, broke through the ice, and and ice floe sheared her head off.

[AlbionGirl]

St. John the Baptist is most loved by me too. That passage in Scripture where he declares that he was born to give witness to the Light, and then proclaims himself not worthy to lace the sandals of he who is the Light says it all.

His Death is particularly poignant too, in that, even Herod understood that he was no ordinary man, and that his death occurred because Herod's wife (like so many of us) don't like it when we hear the truth about ourselves. We don't like to be rebuked, it gives rise to a need to avenge it.

I admire so many Saints, but I don't always feel that human connection with them, when I read about them or read what they wrote. I'm not sure why that is, but that's no so with St. John the Baptist. There's much affection in my spirit for him. There is for St. Ephraim (sp?) too, because I so love his prayer.

[Kenny Bunkport]

I wasn't aware of the history behind this. Thanks.

[Kenny Bunkport]

Poetic justice, that.

[lightman]

. Also the same handout went on to explain that how you die is a good indicator as to your sin.

By that logic, what then was the sin of the Baptizer? Or that of the holy Apostle-marytrs?

[Agrarian]

The logic obviously doesn't apply to martyrs, who are directly killed because of their faith.

There are many stories in the lives of saints of heretics and persecutors of the Church (Arius springs to mind) who had awful accidental deaths or who "got what they gave" in some treacherous fashion or another.

We pray in the Orthodox Church at every liturgy and at other services for "A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless and peaceful, and a good defense at the dread judgement seat of Christ."

There are traditions (especially monastic ones) that there is a relationship between the holiness of one's life and the peacefulness of one's death. This is of course not at all an absolute. But we are encouraged each time we see it. Having had the opportunity to observe a few of those peaceful deaths, there is something to it.

[lightman]

We pray in the Orthodox Church at every liturgy and at other services for "A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless and peaceful, and a good defense at the dread judgement seat of Christ.

It is very fitting to keep the "last things" constantly before the faithful. In the Lutheran tradition such prayers are the beginning of daily Compline ("The Lord almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last") but daily use of Compline is rare in most parishes. There is also a petition in the greater Litany asking deliverance from "an unprepared and evil death."

[The_Reader_David]

Actually, I think the logic does apply to the holy martyrs. Their deaths, borne with fortitude, accepted for Christ are their glory.

The evil death, whether in pain, or in peace, is either fought by the dying, the more vigorously the greater the sin, or embraced with despair. The former is usually explained in terms of sin attaching us more firmly to this earthly life, but I suspect in the clarity of facing death, even the evil have some intution of the need to repent, and the need for more life in which to do so. The latter is absolute pride, since such despair refuses reliance on God even when no alternative of self-reliance or reliance on the other false hopes of this life remain.

[Agrarian]

Well stated, TRD. You emphasize something that is even more important than the manner of death, and more reflective of one's spiritual state: the manner of accepting it. I'm certain that that is at least a part of what we pray for in the prayer of the liturgy. While the saints often met violent deaths, the manner in which they experienced those violent and degrading deaths was peaceful and serene.

Regarding Compline, I was recently in a Lutheran church (for a recital for my daughter) for the first time in many years. While waiting, I browsed through the green hymnal, and ran across Compline. I remembered that I attended a Lutheran Compline, 25 years ago, not long after the service had been reintroduced.

In some ways, it was a service that started the liturgical part of my spiritual journey that ended nearly a decade later with Orthodoxy.

Compline is a staple of Orthodox monastic life, and is prayed by many Orthodox Christians prior to retiring for the night. Its name in Greek literally means "after supper," and the usual monastic order is Vespers, evening meal, Compline.

At our parish, Compline is chanted after Saturday evening Vespers while parishioners are going to or waiting for confession. It is a beautiful service, and it is a shame that it is not more used in Orthodox parishes.

The place where Small Compline is most commonly used today outside of monastic or personal devotion situations is as the structure onto which the Akathist to the Theotokos is grafted in modern Greek parish practice.

For anyone who is curious, here is a link where one can find the text of Small Compline as it is in the Orthodox service books, as well as some other services:

Horologion Texts in Word Format

[Salvation]

American Catholic’s Saint of the Day

August 29, 2007

Beheading of John the Baptist

The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation.

Comment:

Each of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John, and yet all of us are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world, we are called to be disciples of Christ. By our words and deeds others should realize that we live in the joy of knowing that Jesus is Lord. We do not have to depend upon our own limited resources, but can draw strength from the vastness of Christ’s saving grace.

Quote:

“So they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.’ John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:26–30).

August 29, 2007

Beheading of John the Baptist

The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom. The “voice crying in the desert” did not hesitate to accuse the guilty, did not hesitate to speak the truth. But why? What possesses a man that he would give up his very life?

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37). It is John the Baptist who has pointed the way to Christ. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and other people. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and the call that he heard from the Spirit of God speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation or repentance, of salvation.

Comment:

Each of us has a calling to which we must listen. No one will ever repeat the mission of John, and yet all of us are called to that very mission. It is the role of the Christian to witness to Jesus. Whatever our position in this world, we are called to be disciples of Christ. By our words and deeds others should realize that we live in the joy of knowing that Jesus is Lord. We do not have to depend upon our own limited resources, but can draw strength from the vastness of Christ’s saving grace.

Quote:

“So they came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him.’ John answered and said, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said [that] I am not the Messiah, but that I was sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made complete. He must increase; I must decrease’” (John 3:26–30).

[353FMG]

“....and the first of the martyrs for Christ.”

.
And what about the children that were murdered in Bethlehem by order of Herod the Great just after Jesus’ birth?

[Elsie]

...sunk into the darkness of forgetfulness...

but now it properly resides in the Ark of the Covenant.