St. ElizabethMother of John the Forerunner
This blog is dedicated to my patron saint, the righteous St. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. I was raised in the Southern Baptist Church as a child. Upon entering college and entering adult life, I struggled with "the Church" that I had grown up in. I knew that there was something missing and hoped to one day find it. In 1989, I was introduced to the Orthodox Church by husband (though we were only dating at this time). Upon entering the Church, I knew I had found it. I converted to Orthodoxy in November of 1990 and have been on my journey of Orthodox Christianity ever since.
"St Elizabeth was from the lineage of
Aaron and was the sister of St
Anna, the mother of the
Most Holy Theotokos. She and her husband
Zachariah, walking in all the commandments of the Lord (
Luke 1:6), suffered barrenness, which in those times was considered a punishment from
God.
When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, through the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit she announced that his name would be John, although no one in their family had this name. They asked
Zachariah, who had been rendered mute because of his disbelief when an
angel (traditionally the
Archangel Gabriel) informed him that his wife would soon bear a child, what the child's name was, and he wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.
When King Herod heard from the Magi about the birth of the Messiah, he decided to kill all the infants up to two years old at Bethlehem and the surrounding area, hoping that the newborn Messiah would be among them. The king knew about John's unusual birth and wanted to kill him, fearing that John was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. The murderers searched everywhere for John. Elizabeth, when she saw her pursuers, began to implore God for their safety, and immediately the hill opened up and concealed her and the infant from their pursuers.
In these tragic days St Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple. Soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to learn from Zachariah the whereabouts of his son. Then, by command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet Zachariah, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (
Matthew 23: 35). Elizabeth died forty days after her husband, and St John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.
On the Greek calendar, Sts Zachariah and Elizabeth are also commemorated on
June 24, the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist."
HymnsTroparion (
Tone 2)
The memory of Your prophets Zachariah and Elizabeth
We celebrate today, O Lord.
By their prayers, we beseech You,
O Christ God, save our souls!
Kontakion (Tone 4)
As the full moon brightly reflects the light of the sun,
You reflected the glory of the Messiah, the Light of wisdom!
With Zachariah you walked in all of the Lord¹s commandments, Elizabeth, beloved by God.
So as we bless you with fitting songs,
We praise the Lord, the bountiful Light, who enlightens all.
Here are more links on St. Elizabeth:
September 14th
