June 5/May 23 – commemoration of the Third Finding of the Honest Head of the Prophet and Baptist John.translated

Sacred Tradition tells us that after the beheading of the head of Saint John the Baptist, the wicked Herodias did not allow it to be buried along with the body of the prophet, but, having violated it, buried it near her palace. His disciples secretly took the body and buried it.

The wife of King Herod’s close associate knew where Herodias buried the head. And she decided to rebury her on the Mount of Olives in one of the estates. When rumors about Jesus' preaching and the miracles he performed reached the royal palace, Herod and his wife Herodias went to check whether the head of John the Baptist was still there. Not finding her, they thought that Jesus Christ was the resurrected saint they had killed (Matthew 14:2)

Many years later, during the reign of Equal-to-the-Apostles King Constantine, his mother Saint Helena sought out and restored the Jerusalem shrines.

Many pilgrims flocked to Palestine, among whom two monks from the East came to venerate the Holy Cross and the Holy Sepulcher. They had the honor of finding the head of St. John. It is known that he appeared to them in a dream and that after finding the head in the place he indicated, they decided to return home. However, God's will was different. On the way they met a poor potter from...