On the Commemoration of the First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
By Fr. Daniel Sysoev
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
I congratulate you all on the feast of the first and second finding of the honorable head of John the Baptist. In our Church there are three feasts in honor of the finding of the head of John the Baptist. By God’s providence it came to pass that over the many centuries since the time when John the Baptist bore witness to his faithfulness to God — when Herod executed the Forerunner at the instigation of Herodias — his head appeared in various places.
The head of the Forerunner was cut off and taken to Herodias, who in fury and malice seized it, pierced the tongue that had denounced her lawlessness, and buried it in an unclean place on the Mount of Olives. The steward of the palace was a man faithful to God, and his wife became one of the Myrrhbearing women. He washed the head of John, placed it in a large clay vessel, and buried it near Jerusalem, on his estate on the Mount of Olives. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the burial place was lost.
The fourth century came, and the head of John the Baptist was found. The Lord revealed its burial place to a certain monk. Later the head passed to another monk, a heretic — an Arian. He denied the divinity of Jesus Christ and led people into temptation by making them venerate the vessel containing the head of John the Baptist; they were healed supposedly by his prayers, but in reality the healings occurred by the power of God acting in the incorrupt relics of John. Thus the monk used the holy object for evil. John the Baptist did not endure such desecration of his head, which during his life had proclaimed the truth about Christ, and he sent two monks who, by divine revelation, learned where the head was located and, taking it from the heretical monk, brought it to the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Later the head was kept in Jerusalem, but it was lost again. Still later it was found once more and transferred to the Caucasus. The third finding of the head of John the Baptist took place near the city of Comana (fifteen kilometers from Sukhumi). A small cave still stands at the place where the head was found. This occurred during the time when the iconoclasts were destroying holy icons and relics (under Emperor Constantine). After that, the head of John was kept in Constantinople. One part of it was taken to Mount Athos, and another part is in France, near Strasbourg. Recently a documentary film about the head of John was made; I spoke with the author of the film, Dmitry Mendeleev, who said that a comparison had been conducted between the preserved incorrupt head of John the Baptist and his existing lifetime images, and they completely coincided.
Why is the veneration of holy relics necessary? Holy relics are a testimony to the future resurrection of the flesh. They are a witness that the Lord truly rose and conquered death, destroyed evil, darkness, and corruption, and that He will restore all of us at the end of time. They are a living testimony that pours forth many miracles. The healings that occur are rays of the Life-giving God, of the God who raises people from the dead. The Lord will resurrect and heal mankind; then there will be no more illnesses. The only thing a person must do is restore his will. Let us remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah and of John the Baptist, who called everyone to prepare the way for God:
“Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:4–6).
God comes to repay us according to our deeds, to renew and transform us. The Lord has already come, has appeared on earth, and will come again to judge the universe in righteousness. Let us prepare for this and heed the call of John the Baptist, who said: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
The Kingdom of God draws nearer with each day, with each moment, and it will not appear as the Kingdom of grace, which has already come, but as the Kingdom of Glory.
Save us all, O Lord!
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
