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Rare among books of its time, the Life of John the Baptist can allegedly be pinpointed to an exact year: AD 390. Supposedly written by Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, this work harmonizes details of John the Baptist’s life from the Gospels and adds a great number of details; especially regarding John’s confrontation with Herod and Herodias.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: one God. Asking for God’s aid and hopeful for His support for this endeavor, we write here the history of holy John the Immerser, the son of Zechariah. May he intercede on our behalf. Amen.
1 During the reign of King Herod of Judea, there was among the people of Israel a prophet, an old man named Zechariah, who was a Levite priest from the tribe of Judah. He had a God-loving wife called Elizabeth who was a descendant of Aaron from the tribe of Levi. 2 She had no children, and both she and her husband were getting along in years. They were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 3 Zechariah was constantly officiating in the temple. When his turn came to offer incense to the Lord, he entered the temple at the time of the offering as usual. 4 Suddenly a messenger of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified and startled, but the messenger said to him, “Rejoice and do not be afraid, Zechariah, because God has heard your prayers. 5 Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son who will be named John, and he will cause you great delight and joy. 6 He will be great in the sight of the Lord; he will not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and strength of Elijah, he will go before Him to prepare the people for the Lord.” 7 When he heard these words, Zechariah was astonished and doubtful since he was [already] old and did not have any children. He did not remember Abraham, the greatest among the patriarchs, to whom God gave Isaac, although he had already passed the age of one hundred. Nor did Zechariah remember Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who was childless just like him. 8 Zechariah said to the messenger, “How will this happen? I am old and my wife is getting along in years.” 9 The messenger replied, “I am Gabriel, the messenger. I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. Because you did not believe my words, from now on you will be mute and unable to speak until the day these things occur, which will come in due time.” 10 And with this, the messenger disappeared. 11 Meanwhile, the people who were waiting outside for Zechariah were starting to wonder at his delay in the temple. When he finally came out, he could not speak to them, and they realized he had seen a vision in the temple and could only gesture at them. When his time of service had ended, he went home. 12 Elizabeth already knew of all that had transpired. 13 At that time, Elizabeth conceived, and she remained in seclusion until the fifth month because she was ashamed. She was afraid to be seen as an old woman with her belly growing and milk dripping from her breasts. So, she spent her days alone in a small room in her house with everything she needed there with her. 14 Zechariah also lived like this, and there was a locked door separating the two of them. For some time, both were completely cut off from the world.
1 When Elizabeth reached the sixth month, the messenger Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to the betrothed of a man named Joseph, of the house of David. This virgin’s name was Mary. 2 When the messenger came to her, he said, “Rejoice, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive and bear a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be great and He will be called the Son of the Most High.” 3 Mary said to the messenger, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The messenger replied, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the Child to be born of you will be holy; He will be called the Son of God. 4 And [even] now, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son, even though she is advanced in years. This is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 5 Mary let go of all her doubts and said to the commander of messengers, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” The messenger then said farewell and departed from her. 6 But Mary was still astonished at hearing about Elizabeth’s pregnancy and said to herself, “Your deeds are truly great and wonderful, O omnipotent God, for You have brought forth offspring from an old barren woman. 7 I will now go and will not stop until I meet her and see the great miracle God has performed in our times: a virgin giving birth and an old woman giving suck.” 8 At that time, Mary set out and hurried to a Judean town in the hill country. 9 She entered the house of Zechariah, and she greeted Elizabeth, who came out to meet her with delight and joy and greeted Mary with the words, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb.” 10 The pure [and] holy virgin kissed the Word’s true turtledove, and the Word immersed John while he was still in his mother’s womb. David appeared between them and said, “Mercy and justice have met, and righteousness and peace have embraced.” And John moved in his mother’s womb as if he wanted to come out to see his Lord. 11 After they finished greeting each other, the virgin stayed with Elizabeth for three months until Elizabeth was about to give birth, at which time she left and went home. 12 When the chaste Elizabeth gave birth, there was great delight and joy in her house. 13 After eight days, they were going to circumcise him and name him Zechariah. But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” They said to her, “None of your relatives bears this name.” She said to them, “Ask his father what his name should be.” He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” 14 Immediately after he finished writing, his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, praising God who gave him this great blessing. And he proclaimed prophecies concerning his son John the Immerser, since he was aware of the gift God bestowed on him.
1 John grew into a beautiful child, and his mother suckled him until he was two years old. The grace of God was in his face, and he grew healthy and strong with the help of the Holy Spirit. 2 When Jesus was born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, wise men came from the East, saying, “Where is the Child who has been born King of the Jews? For we observed His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod heard this, he was frightened because of what he heard from the wise men about this King of the Jews, and he immediately wanted to kill Him. 4 A messenger of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said to him, “Get up, take the Infant and his mother, go to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you.” 5 Herod searched for the Master in order to kill Him, but did not find Him, so he started killing all the children in Beth-Lehem. 6 Elizabeth feared that her son might be killed as well, so she took him and went to see Zechariah in the temple, and she said to him, “My lord, come, let us go with our son John to some other land, lest Herod the unbeliever kills him because of Jesus the Christ. Mary and Joseph have already left for Egypt. Come, before they kill our son John and turn our joy into grief.” 7 Zechariah responded, “I cannot leave the service of the temple of the Lord and go to a foreign country where they worship idols.” 8 She said to him, “What should I do to save my little boy?” 9 The old man replied, “Rise and go to the wilderness near Ein Kerem, and if it pleases God, you will save your son. If they come looking for him, they will shed my blood instead of his.” 10 When the time came, [the boy] wept greatly that they had to be separated from each other. Zechariah held the boy to his chest, kissed him, and said, “Poor me, poor John, my son, the treasure of my old days, for they are keeping me from your grace-filled face.” 11 He then took him to the temple and blessed him, asking God to save him. Suddenly Gabriel, commander of the messengers, came down to him from Heaven, holding a scapular and a leather belt, and said, “Zechariah, take these and put them on your son. God sent them from Heaven—this scapular that belonged to Elijah and this belt worn by Elisha.” 12 Holy Zechariah took them from the messenger and prayed over them before putting them on his son, attaching them to his clothing which was made of camel’s hair. 13 He brought him to his mother and said to her, “Take him and go with him to the wilderness, for the hand of the Lord is with him. I have learned from God that he will live in the wilderness until the day he shows himself to Israel.” 14 The blessed Elizabeth took him with tears in her eyes, and Zechariah was crying as well when he said, “I know I will never see both of you again while we all live. So, go with God’s peace and may He guide you.” 15 And so Elizabeth walked away with her son; and they went to Ein Kerem where she stayed with him.
1 When King Herod sent his soldiers to Jerusalem to kill her children, they began killing them as soon as they arrived and did not stop until the evening. 2 This was on the seventh day of the month Thoth (that is the month Elul). 3 As they were about to return to their king, suddenly Satan came to them and said, “Why did you leave the son of Zechariah without killing him? He is hiding with his father in the temple. Do not let him get away; kill him, lest the king will be angry with you. Go to him, and if he tries to hide his son from you, kill him instead.” 4 The soldiers did as Satan taught them and went to the temple early in the morning. They found Zechariah serving the Lord and they said to him, “Where is your son whom you have hidden from us?” He said to them, “There is no child here with me.” They said, “But you do have a child, and you have hidden him from the king’s command.” He replied, “You fools whose king drinks blood like lionesses, how long will you continue to shed the blood of innocents?” They said to him, “Bring out your son so that we can kill him, or we will kill you in his place.” The prophet answered, “My son left for the wilderness, and I do not know where he is.”
1 When Zechariah said goodbye to Elizabeth and his son John, he blessed him and made him a priest. Then he handed him to his mother, and she said to him, “Pray over me, my holy father, so that my journey in the wilderness is easy.” He said to her, “May he who gave us a child in our old age guide your path with him.” 2 So she took him and went to the wilderness where no one else lived. 3 O blessed Elizabeth, your story is truly wondrous and righteous, for you did not ask another adult to accompany you, although you did not know where to go or where to find shelter. You did not worry about having bread or little water for the child to drink. You did not say to his father Zechariah, “To whom are you sending me in the wilderness?” 4 There were no monasteries in the wilderness at that time, or any communities of monks, so you could not say, “I will go and stay with them together with my son.” 5 Tell me, blessed Elizabeth, what did you rely on, for the evangelist testifies that you grew old without having children, yet now you have been giving suck to this child for three years. 6 Listen to the answer the blessed Elizabeth gave. She said, “Why are you astonished that I would go alone into the wilderness? I am not afraid of anything, because I have one of God’s relatives in my arms; and Gabriel travels with me and paves the way before me.” 7 She said, “I rely on the kiss I received from Mary, mother of the Lord, because as I greeted her, the baby in my womb leaped with delight and joy and I heard both of them kissing each other in our wombs.” 8 And Elizabeth said, “I went and dressed my son in a garment made of camel hair and a leather belt, so that the mountains in the holy wilderness may become inhabited, communities of monks grow and multiply, and offerings be made in them in the Name of the Lord. 9 So if God sustained Hagar and her son Ishmael, who were slaves, as they wandered through the desert, how can He not be bound by a rule He Himself established?”
1 We have described to you [the] virtues of holy Elizabeth; let us now return to holy Zechariah, the holy martyr, and explain to you his many virtues. 2 Me, I wish to recount your true story, but I am afraid that I will only hear your reproach, just like the happy Elizabeth did. 3 I am in awe of you, pious Zechariah! When Herod’s soldiers came to you asking, “Where is your little boy, the son whom you had at an advanced age?” You did not deny him, nor did you say, “I do not know him”; you said, “His mother took him to the wilderness.” 4 And when Zechariah said this about his son to the soldiers, they killed him inside the temple. The priests shrouded his body, and they placed it next to the body of his father Berechiah in a hidden tomb out of fear of the wicked. 5 But his blood boiled on the ground and continued to do so for fifty years until Titus Vespasian, the king of Rome, destroyed Jerusalem and killed the Israelite priests for the blood of Zechariah as the Lord ordered him.
1 As for blessed John, he wandered in the wilderness together with his mother. God prepared locusts and wild honey for him to eat in accordance with the instructions Elizabeth received not to let anything unclean enter his mouth. 2 After five years, the blessed, and pious, [and] venerable Elizabeth died. Holy John sat down to cry over her because he did not know how to shroud her or how to bury her, as he was only seven years and six months old. Herod also died the same day blessed Elizabeth passed away. 3 Lord Jesus, whose eyes see heaven and earth, saw His relative John sitting next to his mother crying. He also started crying and cried for a long time, but no one knew why. 4 When Jesus’ mother saw him crying, she said to him, “My son, what happened? Why are You crying? Did Joseph or somebody else make You upset?” 5 The mouth filled with life said to her, “No, mother, it is your relative, the venerable Elizabeth. She left my beloved John [as] an orphan, and he is now crying over her body which is lying in the mountains.” 6 When the virgin heard this, she started crying for her relative, but Jesus said, “Do not cry, My virgin mother, for you will see her with your own eyes this very hour.” And as He was talking to His mother, suddenly a cloud filled with light appeared and landed between them. 7 Jesus said, “Get Salome; we will take her with us,” and they mounted the cloud, and it flew with them to the wilderness near Ein Kerem, to the place where the body of blessed Elizabeth was together with holy John. 8 The Savior said to the cloud, “Set us down here,” and immediately the cloud stopped and descended to earth. The sound it made reached the ears of blessed John who became afraid, left the body of his mother, and ran. 9 Immediately, a voice reached him which said, “Do not be scared, John, My beloved. It is Me, Jesus your Lord, Jesus your relative. I have come to you with My beloved mother to fulfill the command of your blessed mother Elizabeth, because she is a relative of My mother.” When he heard this, the blessed John turned back and the Christ and His mother both kissed him. 10 The Savior said to His virgin mother, “You and Salome, come and wash her body.” So they washed the body of blessed Elizabeth in the spring from which she and her son used to draw water. The pure virgin Mary held the Blessed One, cried with Him, and cursed Herod for the many evils he had committed. 11 Suddenly, Michael and Gabriel came down from Heaven and dug a grave. The Savior said to them, “Go and bring the soul of Zechariah and the soul of Simeon the priest so that they will chant hymns while you bury her body.” Michael brought the souls of Zechariah and Simeon, and they buried Elizabeth’s body and sang over it for a long time while Jesus’ mother and Salome cried. 12 The priests then made a sign of the Cross and prayed over her three times before laying her to rest. Then they sealed the grave with the sign of the Cross and went back to where they came from in peace. 13 Jesus and His mother then sat down next to the blessed John and consoled him for seven days because of his mother. They also taught him how to get by in the desert. 14 And the blessed Elizabeth passed away on the fifteenth day of the month Mechir [(Shevat)]. 15 Jesus said to His mother, “Come, let us go to a place where I can complete My mission.” But the virgin cried because John was all alone and still a small child. And Mary said, “Son, let us take him with us, he is an orphan and has no one.” Jesus said to her, “This is not the will of My Father in Heaven. He will stay in the wilderness until the day he shows himself to Israel. 16 Instead of wild beasts, he will find a wilderness filled with multitudes of messengers and prophets. I have ordered Gabriel, the commander of messengers, to watch over him and give him the power of Heaven. I will also make the water in this spring sweet as his mother’s milk. 17 Who was it who watched over him since he was a small child? Was it not Me, because I love him, o mother, more than the world itself? Zechariah loved him as well, and I had him come and ask about him, for his body is buried in the ground, but his soul lives on. His mother Elizabeth will come see him regularly to take care of him and comfort him as if she had not died at all. 18 She truly is blessed, o mother, because she bore My beloved. Her mouth will never succumb to rot because she kissed the pure lips. Her tongue will not fall apart in the ground because she spoke a prophecy concerning you which said: And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord. Her insides will not putrefy in the ground, but her body will remain free of decay just like her soul. And my beloved John will persevere as he gazes on her and he will be comforted.” 19 This is what the Christ said to His mother while John was in the desert. 20 They mounted the cloud while John was looking at them crying. Mary cried with him and said, “O poor John, you will be all alone in the wilderness! Where is your father Zechariah? Where is your mother Elizabeth? Let them come and cry with me today.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Do not cry for John, mother, because I will not forget him.” And as He said this, the cloud lifted them up and flew with them until they arrived in Nazareth where He lived to become fully human in all things except for sin.
1 While holy John lived in the desert, God and His messengers were with him. He led a strict ascetic life in great devotion, did not eat anything but grass and wild honey, and prayed and fasted constantly, waiting for the salvation of Israel. 2 In the second year of his reign, King Herod the Younger, who ruled over the province of Judea, took the wife of his brother for his own. He did not do so openly, but found opportunity to send for her and usher her into his private chambers filled with filth where the two of them perpetrated their perversions. 3 At that time, in the desert Gabriel, the commander of messengers, taught John the son of Zechariah to say, “O king, you must not take the wife of your brother while he is alive.” He kept repeating this in a loud voice as the messenger taught him in the wilderness. 4 At night, people could hear his voice, and Herodias would light a lamp and search her rooms believing there was somebody there with the two of them. But she could never find anyone and only heard the voice. 5 Both of them were distraught over this, and she said to Herod, “Go and send your soldiers to the wilderness near Ein Kerem to kill John because this is his voice.” But God was with him, and He delivered him from their hands. 6 When she learned this, she could not find any rest in what she was doing. The wicked one then said to her, “If we hear this voice again, I will summon the magicians and order them to capture and kill him in secret.” But the voice did not stop. 7 The wicked Herodias said to Herod, “Who is this John who wanders around in the wilderness and the desert and whose body is not worthy of wearing the clothes of people, but has to dress in camel’s hair? Who is he to rebuke the king of a province and the ruler of a region?” 8 Herodias then pressed on and said to Herod, “Whatever you want to do, do it openly and do not think anyone in this province will blame you if you do it except for John. And if we find an opportunity, we will get rid of him.” This is how this adulteress wooed the heart of Herod to commit this sin and seduced him until he sent his brother to his death and married her openly. 9 And John remained in the desert and continued to rebuke Herod until he was thirty years old.
1 As for Jesus, He grew in wisdom, stature, and grace with God and people. He did not show any signs of His divine nature, but acted humbly toward all. 2 When He reached the age of twelve, He began to rebuke the Jews and the teachers who led people astray. 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, who ruled after Augustus, when Herod was the tetrarch of Galilee and Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, in that year, the word of God came down to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He came to the lands around the Jordan River, preaching, “Convert, for the kingdom of the heavens has come near.” 4 People from all over Judea and Jerusalem came to him and let themselves be immersed by him, confessing their sins. 5 At that time, the Savior came down from Galilee to the Jordan River to see him and said to him, “Immerse Me.” When John saw God standing before him asking to be immersed, he became very afraid and said to Him, “He who led the children of Israel through the Red Sea and gave them sweet water to drink from solid rock, He is now standing before His servant who himself needs to be immersed by His divine hand and says to him, Immerse Me.” 6 And with this, John began to turn away from Him. But Jesus said to him, “Stay, this is how we must finish it now.” 7 The two of them went down into the water and holy John immersed Him with these words: “I immerse the one who was sent by the Father to fulfill a great mystery.” At that moment, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove which came face to face with John. Then the voice of the Father rang, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; obey Him.” 8 The Savior climbed out of the water and went straight to the desert. Holy John stayed near the Jordan River and continued to immerse everyone who came to him.
1 At that time, Herod rebelled against his brother Philip and slandered him to the emperor, saying to him, “My king, the one whom you appointed over the province of Trachonitis, that is Philip, plundered your province and said, I will not pay tribute to the king ever again because I am a king as well.” 2 The emperor was filled with rage and ordered Herod to take Philip’s province, and all his property, and his house from him without any pity, even for his soul. 3 Herod did as the king ordered and stole the province that belonged to his brother Philip, as well as his house and everything that he had, and assumed power over all that Philip had ruled. 4 Philip had a wife whose name was Herodias, and she had a daughter with Philip whose name was Arcostariana. Only the mother was more perverted than the daughter. 5 When Philip became poorer than anyone else, Herodias hated him very much, and she said to him, “I will not stay with you any longer. I will be with Herod the king, your master who does not lack in security, because he is better than you.” 6 And she immediately wrote a letter to Herod: “Herodias writes to Herod. Now you rule over all of Syria and all the inhabited world, yet you still have not taken me for your wife, even though I am very beautiful and better than all the women of Judea. 7 I also have a daughter whose beauty and stature cannot be matched in all of the inhabited world. I wish to be your wife because I have come to hate your brother very much and because I am loyal to your kingdom.” 8 When these crafty words reached the ear of the wicked king, he liked what he had heard and arranged for her and her daughter to be taken from Philip’s house. 9 When Philip saw his wife taken from him by force, he said to his daughter: “Stay with your father, even though your mother is taken from me.” The little whore said to him: “I will not stay with you, but I will accompany my mother wherever she goes.” 10 So they were both taken and brought to Herod who was greatly pleased with them because he was a whoremonger. And they performed deeds of Satanic trickery, and the perverted Herod whored with both of them day after day. 11 News of this reached holy John the Immerser from her husband Philip. People considered John a prophet, and he was greatly respected by everyone because he preached to people proclaiming, “Bear fruit worthy of conversion, for every tree that does not bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 12 When John heard this from Philip, he was saddened by their damnation—that is, of Herod and Herodias—and he immediately wrote to them the following: “John the son of Zechariah, called the Immerser, says to you: Herod, you may not marry the wife of your brother while he is still alive.” 13 When Herod heard this, he was afraid and disturbed. He went to see Herodias and said to her, “Herodias, what are we going to do? The news of our sin has reached John, and now he has rebuked us. We are doomed, because our sins have increased greatly and reached the ears of the prophets.” 14 The wicked woman said to him, “Calm yourself, my king. Who is this John, who wears camel’s hair, to contradict a mighty king like you? He surely deserves to have his tongue pulled out.” 15 He said to her, “So what are we going to do? I cannot bear the rebuke of someone as mighty as him.” 16 She answered, “Have him brought here and kill him, then we can continue to give pleasure to each other.” And she did unspeakable things to him and performed acts of devious perversion. So Satan turned his heart against John and he had him arrested and thrown into a prison. 17 Herodias then had him brought to her, and she said to him, “What is your problem with me, you chaste man? Do you want to keep me and the king apart? I conjure you by the God of your fathers not to trouble me like this ever again. And I promise you, if you stop talking about me and stop making your accusations, I will release you from this prison right away and shower you with riches and honors.” 18 Holy John said to her, “I am telling you, Herodias, you should not be with Herod while Philip is alive.” 19 When the wicked woman heard this, she became angry and said to him, “I will kill you dead. I will put the hair from your head into the pillow I lie on with Herod every night and I will bury your head where I wash myself every time I sleep with him.” 20 John said to her, “You will kill me, since God wills it, but you will not lay eyes on my head. It will stay with me after my death, and it will proclaim your humiliation and your shame to all the world. You will suffer for my unjust murder because your ruin is near.” 21 She said to his guards, “Take him and throw him in prison in chains. And if he escapes, you will pay with your lives.” The guards took him and put him in prison.
1 Herodias tried to get Herod to kill him, but he said to her, “I cannot kill him just like that. The people will rise up against me, chase me out, and bring accusations against me with the king who will then take my kingdom from me like he did with my brother Philip.” And he said to her, “Show me a better way to kill him.” 2 She said to him, “I will tell you something and when you hear it, you will find a way to kill him.” He said to her, “Tell me.” 3 She said to him, “Well, king’s envoys are staying with you, so go and prepare a feast for them and invite all the high officials as well, since your birthday is near. Once everyone is happy, and they all start getting drunk with wine, I will send in my daughter dressed in her best clothes to dance before you, my king, with her beautiful face. 4 When she does that, tell her: Ask for whatever you wish; and you will swear to her by the king’s life: Whatever you wish for, I will give it to you. She will then ask for the head of John, and you will have found a way to take his head.” 5 This is how Herod was tricked by the reasoning of the adulteress, and he began to fulfill her wish because he loved her for her ruthlessness and her devilish cunningness. 6 That very day, he prepared a feast and the king’s envoys were sitting right next to him. When they started to get drunk, the cursed Uxatriana entered the room wearing necklaces of gold and silver, perfumes, and many jewels, and she presented herself to all assembled. She danced in devilish ecstasy, and Satan filled their hearts with evil and lust through her evil trickery, so they all were enthralled with her. 7 Herod was proud of her and said to her, “If you ask for whatever you want, by the life of Emperor Tiberius, I will give it to you, even if it were half of my kingdom and my possessions.” She said to him what her mother had taught her: “What I want here is the head of John the Immerser on a platter.” 8 He was greatly saddened because he swore on the king’s life, and it was clear to his dinner companions that he could not break the oath. And so, he ordered the executioner to go to the prison and take his head on a platter—this was the second day of the month of Thoth (Elul)—and they brought it to Herod. Herod gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
1 Before the king’s men came with the executioner to take his head, John said to his disciples, “Look, the king has sent for my head. The king’s men went out with unsheathed swords in their hands, carrying lanterns, and torches, and weapons. What is happening now will also happen on the night the Christ will be betrayed. 2 As for me, they will take my head and present it on a platter. As for the Christ, He will be nailed to a cross, so that He will purify all with His pure blood. 3 As for me, I will go to where I am going; but woe to the king who ordered my head to be cut off, for many calamities will befall him, and the people of Israel will be scattered because of him. 4 As for you, do not be afraid, for no one will be able to harm you.” 5 He then opened his mouth, and praised God, and glorified Him for His incomprehensible gifts, saying, “I bless You and praise You, invisible Father, visible Son, and consoling Holy Spirit.”
1 Now let us return to the head of the blessed John. 2 When his head was brought to Herodias, the eyes of holy John were open, and his eyes heard as well as they did when he was still alive. 3 The whore then spoke before the head, seething with anger, “Here is the eye that was not ashamed to look into the eyes of the king and answer him. I will pluck you out with my own hand and put you on a platter. I will pull out the tongue that used to say to the king, You are not permitted to take Herodias, the wife of your brother. And I will take the hair from your head and your beard and sweep it under the feet of my bed.” She said this without any shame or hesitation, and with her outstretched hand she tried to grab John’s head and do with it as she said. 4 Suddenly, the head of the blessed John let the locks of its hair loose from the plate, spread them, and flew to the center of the room in front of the king and his high officials. At that very moment, the roof of the building opened, and John’s head flew high in the air. 5 As for Herodias, her eyes were pulled out from her head and fell on the ground. Her room collapsed on top of her, the ground opened its mouth, and its throat swallowed her, and then she sank to the depths of Hell, still alive. 6 Herodias’ daughter went mad and broke all the vessels that were there at the feast. 7 In her madness, she went to a frozen lake and danced on it. The Lord ordered the ice under her to break, and the lake swallowed her. 8 Soldiers tried to pull her out and could not, because the Lord did not want her to be rescued. Finally, they cut off her head using the sword with which holy John was killed. At that very moment, a whale appeared and threw her out of the lake, dead. May God have no mercy on her! 9 Immediately after that, Herod suffered a stroke in front of his dinner companions. 10 When his aide saw these great miracles, he quickly went to the prison, took the body of John, and handed it over to his disciples. They took it and buried it in the city of Sebaste next to the body of the prophet Elisha. 11 His head, however, flew over Jerusalem and preached to the city for three years, saying, “Herod, you may not marry the wife of your brother while he is still alive.” 12 Once three years of preaching over Jerusalem had passed, it left for the whole world to shout and announce Herod’s scandalous actions, with the words “Herod, you may not marry the wife of your brother while he is still alive” until fifteen years since his murder had passed. 13 When fifteen years had passed, it stopped preaching and came to rest in the city of Homs. The faithful in that city took it and buried it with a great ceremony. 14 Sometime after that, an assembly was built over it which to this day is still standing in Homs. The head of holy John the Immerser was buried there fifteen years after the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, and it is still there.
1 After four hundred years had passed, during which the body of the holy one whose feast we are celebrating today (that is, John the Immerser) was buried in Sebaste, at that time there was an infidel king by the name of Julian who reigned over Syria. 2 He was a Christian at the beginning of his reign, but after some time, Satan filled his heart, and he abandoned the faith of our Lord and Savior and worshiped fire. At that time, he ordered that pagan temples and sanctuaries where idols would be worshiped should be built everywhere. 3 He also ordered that a pagan temple be built in Sebaste where the body of John was, but he could not build it or worship idols there because of the bodies. 4 They gathered and informed him that bodies of holy men were buried there and prevented them from building the pagan temple. He said to them, “Go burn them down and build the temple.” So they set the place on fire, but the fire would not come near the coffins of the prophets. 5 Many treasures were found there, including a vessel above the coffins which contained a leather belt, a garment made of camel’s hair, and a scapular with two leather belts. 6 The faithful present there immediately understood that these coffins were those of John the Immerser and Elisha the prophet. They wanted to take them from that place, but they were not able to do so because they were afraid of the wicked king. 7 Then God brought him down with a death more wretched than anyone had ever endured. 8 After his death, righteous men gathered, took the coffins, and went with them to the sea, planning to take them to Alexandria to the holy father Athanasius, because they said that at that time, there was no one in the whole world who was worthy of taking possession of them except Anba Athanasius, the patriarch in Alexandria. 9 When they came to the seashore and found a ship sailing for Alexandria, they boarded and brought the coffins with them. They sailed on the sea until they dropped anchor in the port of Alexandria, and when they landed, they could not reveal their purpose to anyone, because [their] time was short. 10 So they went to the patriarch and told him of everything that had happened and how they were moved by the Holy Spirit to bring the coffins to him. 11 The patriarch was overjoyed to have them and venerated them greatly. He went out to the ship with his brother at night, and took the remains in a kerchief, and brought them to his living quarters in the cathedral in secret. 12 This holy father wished to build a chapel for them, but could not because of the trouble at the time caused by the wicked.
1 The bodies remained hidden in the well where Anba Athanasius placed them until the day the holy father passed away. 2 After his death, he was succeeded by Anba Peter who was followed on the patriarchal see by Anba Timothy who appointed me, your unworthy father Serapion, to this office, even though I do not deserve it. When he passed away, he was succeeded by Anba Theophilus who is now sitting on the patriarchal see. 3 During his time, God’s grace and faith manifested themselves and were strengthened by the pious Theodosius, and God through His love united the king and the patriarch. They opened the doors of pagan temples, which stored many treasures, notably the great pagan temple in Alexandria which opened before them. Inside, they found much gold and great amounts of silver. 4 The pious Theodosius honored the patriarch by appointing him to oversee all the treasures; and he said to him, “Anba Theophilus, take this and use it to build assemblies from here to Aswan, for the greater glory of God and His holy ones.” And indeed, the patriarch began to build assemblies. 5 The first one to be built was an assembly dedicated to John the Immerser in Alexandria, which he adorned and made a beautiful church because he wished to place the body of John there. 6 When he completed it, he wanted to consecrate it, and he wrote to all the overseers who were under his jurisdiction to gather and witness the consecration of the assembly he had built. I, the unworthy, also received the invitation and went with all the overseers to the Pope, Anba Theophilus. 7 When the news reached him that all the overseers had come to the city, Theophilus was pleased with us like someone who has found many riches. He went out to meet us, together with many of those who were in the city, and led us into the city where we stayed with him for some time. 8 After that, he began to consecrate the assembly, and he took us to see it, and we found it to be a wonderful building. 9 And he said to us, “This is the place where Athanasius wanted to build it, but time was not in his favor.” 10 Anba Theophilus then said, “I was walking with them when I was just an acolyte, and I attended to him. When we came to this place, he said to me: My son Theophilus, when you find an opportunity, build an assembly here dedicated to John the Immerser and place his bones in it. 11 After I had built this place, I remembered the words of this man of God, Anba Athanasius, especially when I remembered that my father Athanasius was like David the prophet who wanted to build a temple to the Lord, but he was not allowed to because of wars he fought. The Lord said to him: David, you will not be the one who builds My temple, but the one who comes out of your loins will; and this was Solomon. 12 Therefore, when I ceased waging wars on idolaters, I became worthy of building this assembly, which is dedicated to John the Immerser, the morning star.” 13 When the second day of the month Payni came, he took us to the place where the body was hidden. We did not know exactly where it was, but after a prayer, God showed it to us. 14 When he brought it out, he called to him all the inhabitants of the town. They gathered around him with many lanterns and lamps so that the night shone like day. 15 He let overseers carry the coffins on their heads, and the patriarch walked before them with servants singing hymns until we came with them to the assembly with a great ceremony. 16 The patriarch took the coffins, embraced them, and let all the people be blessed by the holy bodies. Then he put the coffins in the chapel on a chair at the side of the altar and prepared the consecration for that very day. 17 He consecrated the chapel, we said mass, and all of us received communion from the patriarch. This was the second day of the month Payni. 18 After this, the patriarch said goodbye to us, and we left the city—each of us going to his own country in God’s peace. Amen. 19 The body of holy John the Immerser performed miracles, proofs, and healings among the Christian people, as witnessed by many wondrous stories. 20 Praise, and glory, and power are due to You—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—one in nature, now, always, and forever and ever. Amen. Praise to God always. Amen.