March 9 / February 24

First (4th c.) and Second (452) Findings of the Precious Head of Saint John the Baptist

The great and glorious Baptist John was beheaded at 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 would somehow resurrect. There- fore, she took his head and buried it deep in the ground in a secluded and dishonorable place. Her maidservant was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, a courtier of Herod. The good and devout Joanna could not tolerate that the head of the man of God should remain in this dishonorable place. She secretly unearthed it, took it to Jerusalem and buried it on the Mount of Ol- ives. Not knowing of this, King Herod became frightened when he learned of Jesus and how He worked great miracles, and said: It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead (Mark 6:16). After a considerable period of time, an eminent landowner came to faith 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 his abode on the Mount of Olives, in the exact place where the head of the Baptist was buried. Wanting to build a cell for him- self, he dug deeply and discovered an earthen vessel containing a head, which was mysteriously revealed to him to be the head of the Baptist. He reverenced it and reburied it in the same spot. Later, according to God’s providence, this miracle-working head traveled from place to place, then sank into the darkness of forgetfulness and was again rediscovered. Finally, at the time of Patriarch Ignatius, during the reign of the pious Em- press Theodora (the mother of Michael and the wife of Theophilus), it was trans- lated to Constantinople. Many miraculous healings occurred from the head of the Forerunner. It is important and interesting to note that, while he was still alive, John did no miracle (John 10:41), but that his relics have been endowed with miraculous power.

The Venerable Erasmus of the Kiev Caves (ca. 1160)

Erasmus was a monk in the Monastery of the Kiev Caves. He inheeited great wealth from his parents and spent it all on adorning churches, especially on silver-plating and gilding icons. When he had become im- poverished and was left without anything, he was despised by all. The devil whispered to him that he had squandered his estate in vain: instead of distributing his wealth among the poor, he had given it for the adornment of churches. Erasmus succumbed to this temptation and believed it. Be- cause of this he came to despise himself, fell into a state of despair and began to live aimlessly and lawlessly. When the hour of his death approached, the brethren assembled around him and discussed his sins, of which he himself was not conscious. All at once he straightened up in bed and said: “Fathers and brothers, it is as you say: I am sinful and unrepentant, but behold, Saints Anthony and Theodosius appeared to me, and after that the All-holy Mother of God, and they told me that the Lord has given me more time for repentance.” The Mother of God also spoke these encouraging words to him: “The poor you have with you in every place, but my churches you do not.” Erasmus lived for three more days, repented and fell asleep in the Lord. This teaches us that zeal for the Church and adornment of the churches is a task pleasing to God. St. Erasmus reposed in the year 1160.

• Martyrs Montanus, Lucias, Julian, Victoricus, Flavian, and their companions, at Carthage (259).
• Cummain Ailbe, abbot, of Iona (669).
• Uncovering of the relics (1486) of Romanus, prince of Uglich (1285).

HYMN OF PRAISE

Saint John the Baptist

To John, let us pray:
The glorious Baptizer,
The trumpet of the Savior,
The servant of the Creator,
Sent by God to help us
However he can.

To preserve the Faith,
O John, help us:
That we may be bread
All our days and unto the end,
That in every sheaf we may see,
The footstep of God!

To John, awesome and holy,
Let us pray,
So that through him
God the Most High will help us.
Help us, O John,
Wherever danger threatens!

When night falls, let it dawn.
O John, help us sinners,
That we may repent
Before we reach the end,
Before the Day of Judgment dawns,
O John, help us! *

* A traditional Serbian toast honoring St. John the Baptist.—Trans.

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