Changes

The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in [[Nazareth ]] (Matt. 3:5), and he came from [[Galilee ]] to Jordan to be baptized by John, on the special ground that it became him to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:15). John's special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now "increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however, for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out to his [[disciple]]s, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip (Luke 3:19). He was shut up in the castle of Machaerus, a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9 miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded at the instigation of Herodias; later tradition also implicates Salomé. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave, went and told Jesus all that had occurred (Matt. 14:3-12). John's death occurred apparently just before the third [[Passover]] of Jesus' ministry.

Jesus himself testified regarding John that he was a "burning and a shining light" ([[Gospel of John|John]] 5:35). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge figure between that period of revelation and Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his death, John descended into [[Hell ]] and there once more preached that Jesus the [[Messiah ]] was coming.

*[[October 12]] - The [[Russian Orthodox Church]] observes the [[Translation (relics)|Transfer ]] of the Right Hand of the Forerunner from Malta to Gatchina (1799).

== Relics ==[[File:Finding the head of John the Baptist (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|right|thumb|Miniature of the Finding of the head of St. John the Baptist (''Menologion of Basil II, 10th c.'').]] The First Uncovering of the Head of St. John the Baptist took place in the fourth century at the time when Saint [[Constantine the Great]] and his mother, St. [[Helen]], began restoring the holy places of Jerusalem. The Second Finding of the Precious Head of St. John the Baptist of took place on on February 18, 452, at Emesa.  After the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), which reestablished the veneration of icons, the head of St. John the Baptist was returned to the Byzantine capital in around the year 850. The Church commemorates this event on May 25/June 7 as the Third Finding of the Precious Head of St. John the Baptist.  His [[relics]] are kept in several places including:*St. Demetrios Church, Neo Phaleron, Piraeus*Benaki Museum, Athens*Sacred Relics Room, Topkapi Museum, Constantinople(entire right arm and cranium)*Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria*Cetinje Monastery, Montenegro (right palm) ==See also==* [[Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner]]

*[http://www.tenthousandfilms.com/ The Baptism of Christ - Uncovering Bethany beyond the Jordan - 47 min Documentary; includes interviews with various Eastern Orthodox representatives, incl. Greek Orthodox Bishop Vindictus of Jordan]*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/j/saintsj.htm#phi05 Several Beautiful Icons of St. John the Baptist and Forerunner, mostly by Living American Iconographers]*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102952 Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist] - [[OCA]] Website.* Priest Maxim Massalitin. [http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/52051.htm The Untold Story of the Head of St. John the Baptist]. Pravoslavie.ru (Translation by OrthoChristian.com). 07/03/2012.