John the Baptist
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The Baptism of Christ, by Piero della Francesca, 1449
Forerunner, Precursor, Baptist, Martyr
Born c. 6?2 BCE
Died c. 30 CE
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Anglicanism, Islam, Mandeanism
Major shrine Church of St. John the Baptist, Jerusalem
Feast June 24 (Nativity), August 29 (Beheading), January 7 (Synaxis, Eastern Orthodox), Thout 2 ( Coptic Orthodox Church)
Attributes Cross, lamb, camel-skin robe
Patronage patron saint of French Canada, Newfoundland, Puerto Rico, Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, Florence, Genoa, Jordan, Xewkija and many other places
Christianity portal
Modern version of the traditional Eastern Orthodox iconography of the Baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan River.

John the Baptist (Arabic: يحيى‎ Yaḥy? or يوحنا Yūḥannā, Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ Yokhanan) (died c 30)[1][2] was a mission preacher[3] and a major religious figure[4] who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel.[5] John followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God's justice.

Some scholars maintain that he was influenced by the Essenes, who were semi-ascetic, expected an apocalypse, and had rituals similar to baptism.[6] John's baptism was a purification rite for repentant sinners, performed in "living water" (in this case a running river) in accord with Jewish custom. John anticipated a messianic figure who would be greater than John himself.[7] Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, was among those whom John baptized. It has been suggested that Jesus may have been a follower of John.[5][8] Herod Antipas saw John as a threat and had him executed.[4] Jesus' own ministry followed John's, and some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John.[9] John, like Jesus, preached at a time of political, social, and religious conflict.

Accounts of John in the New Testament are not incompatible with the account in Josephus, whose authority is respected.[10] Here, Jesus is the one whose coming John foretold. Herod has John imprisoned for denouncing his marriage, and he is later executed.[3] Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus,[11] since in the Gospels, John announces Jesus' coming. He is also identified with the prophet Elijah,[9] and is described as a relative of Jesus.[12]

Because Scripture described John as endowed with prenatal grace, the feast day of his birth (June 24) became celebrated more solemnly than that marking his martyrdom (August 29).[3] Muslims also regard John as a prophet,[13] as do Bah?'?s[14] and Mandaeans. In art, John's head often appears on a platter because that is what Herod's stepdaughter, Salome, is said to have asked for.[15] Another theme of Christian art is his beheading.[1] He is also depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed "Ecce Agnus Dei" (Latin, "Behold the Lamb of God" ? John 1:29[16]) or bearing a book or dish with a lamb on it.[3] In Orthodox icons, he often has angel's wings, since Mark 1:2[17] describes him as ἄγγελος (angelos) or messenger.[10]

In the New Testament
Icon depicting Elizabeth leaving the infant John in the desert (John the Baptist "in the Desert" Monastery near Jerusalem, Israel).

All four Gospels record John the Baptist's ministry. They depict him as proclaiming Christ's arrival. In the Synoptics (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus is baptized. In Matthew and John, John the Baptist recognizes Jesus as the one he had fore told.

Birth and infancy
The Gospel of Luke includes an account of John's infancy, introducing him as the son of Zachariah, an old man, and his wife Elizabeth, who was sterile.[18] According to this account the birth of John was foretold by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah, while Zachariah was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem; since Zachariah is described as a priest of the course of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, as one of the daughters of Aaron[19] this would make John a descendant of Aaron on both his father's and mother's side.[20]

The Gospel of Luke states that Jesus was conceived when Elizabeth was about six months pregnant; when Mary came to tell her about her news, Elizabeth's unborn baby 'jumped for joy' in her womb.[21] Zachariah had lost his speech at the behest and prophecy of the angel Gabriel,[22] and it was restored on the occasion of Zachariah naming John.[23] On the basis of Luke's account, the Catholic calendar placed the feast of John the Baptist on June 24, six months before Christmas.[24] According to Luke, Jesus and John the Baptist were related, their mothers being cousins;[25] there is no mention of this in the other Gospels, and the scholar Raymond E. Brown has described the relationship as 'of dubious historicity';[26] G?za Vermes has called it 'artificial and undoubtedly Luke's creation'.[27]

The very close similarities between the accounts of the birth of Samuel in the Old Testament have led scholars to suggest that this is the model for the Gospel of Luke story of the birth of John and of the annunciation and birth of Jesus.[28]

Ministry
Jan Brueghel the Elder, John the Baptist preaching
All four canonical gospels relate to John's ministry, his preaching and baptism in the River Jordan. Most notably he is the one who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and on Jesus' request, baptized him. The baptism marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and (most clearly) Luke relate that Jesus came from Galilee to John and was baptized by him, whereupon the Spirit descended upon him and a voice from Heaven told him he was God's Son. Their lives (e.g., births) are believed to have been similar, although in Christianity, John is thought of as the last prophet and Jesus as the Messiah.

The problem that Jesus, considered by Christians to be without sin, received John's baptism, which was for the forgiveness of sins, is addressed in the Gospel of Matthew's account, which has John refusing to baptize Jesus, saying, "I need to be baptized by you," until Jesus convinces him to baptize him nonetheless (Matthew 3:13-15[29]). The Gospel of John does not describe John baptizing Jesus but has John introducing Jesus to his disciples as the "Lamb of God" (John 1:29-34[30]).
Domenico Veneziano, 1445, John casts off his normal clothes to begin his period in the wilderness

The Gospel of John reports that Jesus' disciples were baptizing and that a debate broke out between some of the disciples of John and another Jew about purification with John explaining that Jesus "must become greater" while he, John, "must become less" (John 3:22?36). The Gospel of John then points out that Jesus' disciples were baptizing more people than John (John 4:2[31]). Later, the Gospel relates Jesus regarding John as "a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light". (John 5:35).

The book of Acts portrays the disciples of John as eventually merging into the followers of Jesus (Acts 18:24-19:6[32]), a development not reported by the Gospels except for the early case of Andrew, Simon Peter's brother (John 1:35-42[33]). On various occasions the Gospels relate John denying any claim to be the Messiah and clearly acknowledging his inferiority to Jesus. However, scholars such as Harold W. Attridge contend that John's status as a "self-conscious and deliberate forerunner of Jesus" is likely to be an invention by early Christians, arguing that "for the early church it would have been something of an embarrassment to say that Jesus, who was in their minds superior to John the Baptist, had been baptized by him."[34]

Imprisonment and beheading
Main article: Beheading of John the Baptist
Caravaggio, The Beheading of St John, 1608, Valletta Co-Cathedral, Malta

According to the canonical Gospels, John the Baptist's public ministry was brought to a close when he was imprisoned on orders of Herod Antipas. The synoptic Gospels state that Herod Antipas reacted to John's condemnation of his marriage to Herodias, the former wife of his half-brother Herod II.[35] Josephus locates John's imprisonment in the fortress of Machaerus on the southern extremity of Peraea, nine miles (14 km) east of the Dead Sea (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities XVIII:5:1?2). Matthew relates that the imprisoned John sent messengers to Jesus to ask him whether he was the Messiah. Jesus indirectly answered in the affirmative and described John in terms of a return of the prophet Elijah (Matthew 11:2?15).

Regarding John's death, Josephus states that Herod had John killed to preempt a possible uprising. Matthew links John's death as well with Herodias, as he related that her daughter Salome[36]so much delighted Antipas with a dance that he vowed to grant her any wish to which, after asking her mother (Herodias), she demanded the head of John the Baptist. (Matthew 14:6?8) The Gospels date John's death before the crucifixion of Jesus. Josephus places John's death no later than 36 CE. Neither Josephus nor the Gospels state where John was buried, though the Gospels state that John's disciples took his body and placed it in a tomb and then told Jesus all that had occurred, to which Jesus replied that there had been no greater son of woman than John the Baptist (Matthew 14:3?12). In the time of Julian the Apostate, however, his tomb was shown at Samaria, where the inhabitants opened it and burned part of his bones. The rest of the alleged remains were saved by some Christians, who carried them to an abbot of Jerusalem named Philip.[37]

John the Baptist and Old Testament Prophecy
Icon of John the Baptist by Theophan the Greek, c. 1400. See gallery below for the icon in its setting.

Christians believe that John the Baptist had a specific role ordained by God as forerunner or precursor of Jesus, who they understand to be the foretold Messiah. The New Testament Gospels speak of this role. In Luke 1:17 the role of John is referred to as being "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." In Luke 1:76 as "...thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways and in Luke 1:77 as being "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins."

There are several passages within the Old Testament which are interpreted by Christians as being prophetic of John the Baptist in this role. These include a passage in the Book of Malachi 3:1 that refers to a prophet who would prepare the way of the Lord:

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. ? Malachi 3:1[38]

and also at the end of the next chapter in Malachi 4:5-6 where it says,
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

These passages are applied to John in the Synoptic Gospels.[39][40][41]

The idea of a forerunner to the Messiah was not unique to the Christians, but was widely held by the Jews at the time of Jesus. They were expecting Elijah the prophet to come, rather than John the Baptist. This is why the disciples ask Jesus in Matthew 17:10, 'Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?.' Eventually the disciples conclude that Elijah had come, as John, in a spiritual or allegorical sense.

Josephus
An account of John the Baptist is found in all extant manuscripts of the Jewish Antiquities (book 18, chapter 5, 2) by Flavius Josephus (37?100):[42]

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him.[43]

As with other passages in Josephus relating to Christian themes concern remains over whether the passage was part of Josephus's original text or instead a later interpolation. Skeptical writer Frank Zindler argues that the passage is an interpolation by a Sabian.[44] The passage dates to at least the early third century as it is quoted by Origen in Contra Celsum. It was also quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea in the fourth century.

According to this passage, the execution of John was blamed for a defeat Herod suffered ca. 36 CE. Divergences between the passage's presentation and the Biblical accounts of John include baptism for those whose souls have already been "purified beforehand by righteousness" is for purification of the body, not general repentance of sin (Mark 1:4). Biblical scholar John Dominic Crossan differentiates between Josephus's account of John and Jesus like this: "John had a monopoly, but Jesus had a franchise." To get baptized, Crossan writes[clarification needed], you went only to John; to stop the movement one only needed to stop John (therefore his movement ended with his death). Jesus invited all to come and see how he and his companions had already accepted the Government of God, entered it and were living it. Such a communal praxis was not just for himself, but could survive without him, unlike John's movement.[45]

In the main Christian traditions

Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox icon John the Baptist ? the Angel of the Desert (Stroganov School, 1620s) Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.

The Eastern Orthodox believe that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge between that period of revelation and the New Covenant. They also teach that, following his death, John descended into Hades and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming, so he was the Forerunner of Christ in death as he had been in life. According to Sacred Tradition, John the Baptist appears at the time of death to those who have not heard the Gospel of Christ, and preaches the Good News to them, that all may have the opportunity to be saved. Orthodox churches will often have an icon of St. John the Baptist in a place of honor on the iconostasis, and he is frequently mentioned during the Divine Services. Every Tuesday throughout the year is dedicated to his memory.

The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order in which they occur during the church year (which begins on September 1):

* September 23 ? Conception of St. John the Forerunner[46]
* January 7 ? The Synaxis of St. John the Forerunner. This is his main feast day, immediately after Theophany on January 6 (January 7 also commemorates the transfer of the relic of the right hand of John the Baptist from Antioch to Constantinople in 956)
* February 24 ? First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
* May 25 ? Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
* June 24 ? Nativity of St. John the Forerunner
* August 29 ? The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner

In addition to the above, September 5 is the commemoration of Zechariah and Elisabeth, St. John's parents. The Russian Orthodox Church observes October 12 as the Transfer of the Right Hand of the Forerunner from Malta to Gatchina (1799).

Roman Catholic Church
The presumed 'Head of St John', enshrined in Rome
Head of John the Baptist - Residenz - Munich
Tomb of St. John the Baptist at a Coptic monastery in Lower Egypt. The bones of St. John the Baptist were said to have been found here.

‎The Roman Catholic Church commemorates St. John the Baptist on two feast days:

* June 24 ? Nativity of St. John the Baptist
* August 29 ? Beheading of St. John the Baptist

Relics
According to ancient tradition, the burial-place of John the Baptist was at Sebaste in Samaria, and mention is made of his relics being honored there around the middle of the fourth century. The historians Rufinus and Theodoretus record that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate around 362, the bones being partly burned. A portion of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, then to Alexandria, where on 27 May 395, they were laid in the basilica that was newly-dedicated to the Forerunner on the former site of the temple of Serapis. The tomb at Sebaste continued, nevertheless, to be visited by pious pilgrims, and St. Jerome bears witness to miracles being worked there.

What became of the head of John the Baptist is difficult to determine. Nicephorus[47] and Symeon Metaphrastes say that Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus (in accordance with Josephus). Other writers say that it was interred in Herod's palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine I, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453. However, the decapitation cloth of St. John is kept at the Aachen Cathedral. The Coptic Christian Orthodox Church also claim to hold the relics of St. John the Baptist. These are to be found in a monastery in Lower Egypt between Cairo and Alexandria. It is possible, with permission from the monks, to see the original tomb where the remains were found.

Over the centuries, there have been many discrepancies in the various legends and claimed relics throughout the Christian world. Several different locations claim to possess the severed head of John the Baptist. Among the various claimants are:[48]

* The Knights Templar. In medieval times it was rumored that they had possession of the saint's severed head, and multiple records from their Inquisition in the early 1300s make reference to some form of head being worshiped by the Knights.[49]
* San Silvestro in Capite in Rome
* Amiens Cathedral, France, brought home by Wallon de Sarton from the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople
* Turkish Antioch
* The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus[48]
* The Residenz Museum in Munich, Germany, the official residence of the Wittelsbach Family, the rulers of Bavaria, from 1385 to 1918. The Schatzkammer (Treasury) portion of the museum has treasures and relics accumulated over ten centuries. The museum currently claims to have and are displaying the head of St. John the Baptist, and his mother.

Istanbul claims to possess the saint's arm and a piece of his skull in the Topkapi Palace, as does the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt,[50] while John's right hand, with which he baptised Jesus, is said to be in the possession of the Serbian Orthodox Cetinje monastery in Montenegro, and also at the Romanian skete of the Forerunner on Mount Athos. Armenians believe that Gandzasar Monastery's Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, in Nagorno Karabakh, too contains or contained in the past St. John's head. A discussion about how St. John's head ended up in medieval Armenia's province of Artsakh, and in Gandzasar, can be found in the ?History of the Land of Aghvank,? a collection of texts attributed to the medieval Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi....

For original text with references see Wikipedia, "St. John the Baptist."

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