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[[image:Johnforerunner.jpg|right|thumb|St John the Forerunner, the cousin of Christ and last of the prophets.]]The glorious [[Prophet ]] and Forerunner '''John the Baptist''' is also refered referred to as '''John the Forerunner''' because he was the forerunner of [[Christ]]. He was an [[ascetic ]] and great prophet, who baptized [[Christbaptism|baptized]] Christ and became one of the most revered saints [[saint]]s in the [[Orthodox Church]]. John is a cousin of Christ through his mother [[Elizabeth ]] who was the daughter of Zoia. Zoia is the sister of Christ's [[Anna|grandmother]]. He was later beheaded by Herod in the first century to statisfy satisfy the request of his Herod's stepdaughter, Salome, and wife Herodias. Because he baptized Christ, he is the [[patron saint]] of [[godparentsgodparent]]s. He is sometimes called the ''Angel of the Desert''; because of this title, he is sometimes depicted with wings.
[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah ]] 40:3-5 is commonly read as a prophecy of John. His father, [[Zacharias]], was a [[priest]] of the course of Abia ([[I Paraleipomenon|1 Chr. ]] 24:10), and his mother, [[Elizabeth]], was of the Daughters daughters of Aaron ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke ]] 1:5). John held the priesthood of [[Aaron]], giving him the authority to perform baptisms of God.
His birth took place six months before that of Jesus, and according to the [[Gospel ]] account was expected by prophecy ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matt. ]] 3:3; Isa. 40:3; [[Book of Malachi|Mal. ]] 3:1) and foretold by an [[angel]]. Zacharias lost his power of speech because of his unbelief over the birth of his son, and had it restored on the occasion of John's circumcision (Luke 1:64).
John was a [[Nazarite]] from his birth (Luke 1:15; [[Numbers|Num. ]] 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judea lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matt. 3:1-12). He led a simple life, wearing rope (gamla) fiber clothing and eating "locusts and wild honey" (Matt. 3:4).
As an adult John started to preach in public, and people from "every quarter" were attracted to his message. The essence of his preaching was the necessity of repentance and turning away from selfish pursuits. He denounced the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers," and warned them not to assume their heritage gave them special privilege (Luke 3:8). He warned tax collectors and soldiers against extortion and plunder. His doctrine and manner of life stirred interest, bringing people from all parts to see him on the banks of the Jordan River. There he baptized thousands unto repentance.
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 disciples[[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.
== Feast days ==
[[Image:Nativity of St John the Baptist.JPG|right|thumb|Nativity of St John the Baptist]]
The Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate [[feast day]]s, listed here in order of the [[church calendar|church year]] which begins on [[September 1]]:
His [[relics]] are kept in several places including:*August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the ForerunnerDemetrios 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]]
== Relics External links==*[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. Demetrios ChurchJohn the Baptist and Forerunner, Neo Phaleron, Piraeusmostly 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.
