Holy Prophet Zachariah

Life

The father of Saint John the Forerunner. The son of Barachias, of the line of Abijah, of the tribe of Aaron. He was the chief of the priests of the line of Abijah, who held the eighth course of service in the Temple of Jerusalem. His wife was Elizabeth, the daughter of Sophia, the sister of Saint Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. In the time of King Herod the child-slayer, Zachariah was serving one day according to his course in the Temple of Jerusalem. And there appeared to him in the sanctuary an angel of God, of whom Zachariah was afraid. But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachariah (Luke 1). And the angel announced to Zachariah that his wife Elizabeth would bear him a son, in answer to their prayers. But both were old, both Zachariah and Elizabeth. When Zachariah doubted the words of the heavenly messenger, the angel said to him: I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God. And Zachariah was struck dumb from that hour, and did not speak until his son was born and he wrote on a tablet: His name is John. Then his mouth was opened and he magnified God. Later, when the Lord Jesus was born and when Herod began to slay the children of Bethlehem, Herod sent men to find the son of Zachariah as well and to slay him. For Herod had heard of all that had happened with Zachariah and how John was born. Seeing the soldiers, Elizabeth took John in her arms — he was then a year and a half old — and fled with him from the house, through rocky and desolate places. And when she saw the soldiers pursuing her, she cried out to the mountain: "Mountain of God, receive a mother and her child!" And the rock opened and hid within itself the mother and the child. Enraged that John had not been slain, Herod ordered that Zachariah be killed before the altar. The blood of Zachariah poured out upon the marble and hardened like stone, and so remained as testimony to the crime of Herod. And there where Elizabeth hid with John, a cave opened, and water flowed forth, and a fruit-bearing palm tree grew up by the power of God. Forty days after the death of Zachariah, blessed Elizabeth also reposed in the Lord. And the infant John remained in the wilderness, fed by an angel and guarded by God's Providence until that day when he was to appear at the Jordan.

From the Hymn of Praise

What is that which shines so at midnight on the sea?What fearful flame shoots up from the water?It is the tongue of malice speaking with fire.It is a great ship burning on the water.