Laudatory speech on the beheading of the sacred head of the great Baptist of Christ and Forerunner

St. Theodore the Studite is the author of an extensive book of praise (πανηγυρική βίβλος). Only 12 sermons from this collection have survived to this day, including “A speech of praise on the beheading of the sacred head of the great Baptist of Christ and Forerunner.” The essay is a conversation on the Gospel readings. St. Theodore devotes his work to understanding the martyrdom of St. John, glorifying him as a “lamp of light” and a harbinger of Christ. He explains why the day of the beheading of St. John the Baptist is a day of joy, not sorrow. The Word attaches particular importance to polemics with iconoclasts. The author paints the scene of the burial of the body of St. John by his disciples, and also describes in detail the veneration of holy relics - hands, feet, bonds, dishes and even the earth, as a source of grace. The work ends with the glorification of the prophet. John the Baptist as the “morning star,” the “sun” among the apostles and the “sky adorned with stars of miracles” among the martyrs, whose death brings joy and edification to the entire universe. A bright and divine celebration has now gathered us for a spiritual celebration, O lovers of Christ. This celebration is worthily called bright by the very name of the one remembered, for he is a lamp of light and is called; Of course, it is not light in the sense that it illuminates our bodily eyes with material rays - for the radiance of these rays is not continuous, but on the contrary is often interrupted by the opposite eclipse - but in the sense that it always enlightens the hearts of those celebrating with the rays of divine grace, and now directs our intelligent eyes to the feat of the righteous, so that with our mental gaze we contemplate this blissful feat and make it for ourselves the basis of joy. For the blood of another, shed on the ground by a sword, would not delight the human gaze, nor a word about it, reaching the ears, would make the memory of the deceased precious: the shedding of something that is accompanied by the deprivation of life, how can it attract a person who by nature loves life? On the contrary, it, together with the sadness of the face, evokes a feeling of regret and sad speeches about suffering in every person, unless he is some kind of madman or a bestial creature, like animals, driven into a frenzy by what he contemplates: so roosters, when they kill those like them, rejoice, sing, jump, guided only by animal feeling and without reasoning that they will suffer the same fate. The blood of a righteous man is pleasing to the eyes, pleasing to the ears, and pleasing to the lips. For the shedding of it is the acquisition of participation in an ageless and better life; and not only a drop of blood, but even everything else that belongs to the saint, such as, for example, a part of some member or hair, or in general that which the righteous wore and touched, is very desirable and kind to the one who loves piety. That is why everyone tries, like some kind of treasure, to keep in private houses or in churches a part or a whole member, or the whole body (of this or that martyr), for the sake of the power of sanctification and saving protection operating in it; everyone approaches the hidden ashes with reverence and kisses the inviolable gift with fear. 2. Such is the blood of the righteous Abel for us, although for his parents it was then an unusual cause of tears: having never seen the suffering of a dying man, how could they not be amazed at the death of their son, not cry, not utter plaintive words when they unexpectedly saw him thrown to the ground, stained with the blood of the fratricide and as a result deprived of life? Such, further, is the holy blood of the prophet Amos, who, after beating for a long time, was killed by the king Amaziah (the priest of Bethel) with the sword: struck by the arrows of his prophecy, he struck the righteous man in the church with a stick and put him to death. Such is the holy blood of the prophet Micah, who boldly prophesied divine things, who was hanged and killed by Joram, the son of Ahab. For the prophet convicted him of the wickedness of his fathers, as it is written. Such is the holy blood of the prophet Isaiah, who was sawn in half by a saw under Manasseh, who persuaded the unstable and fickle Israel, which could not bear the revelations of the prophet, to idolatrous service. Such is the holy blood of the elder Eleazar with the seven youths and their godly-wise mother: this blood was shed through various tortures by Antiochus, who could not bear the courage of the invincible in defense of the commandment of God, whom the seal of death made perfect in the faith. Such is the holy blood of the prophet Zechariah, which was shed before the altar by the dissolute cruelty of the Jews, who could not bear the prophetic denunciations. And do I need to list more when it is possible to even name the holy blood of the apostles, prophets and martyrs, which many executioners shed in various ways like water throughout the entire universe and which turned out to be the extinguisher of wickedness? 3. Such is the holy blood of the Baptist of Christ and the Forerunner, about which our present word is - the blood that flowed like precious ointment from the sacred neck, filling the universe with fragrance, which was not formed by the pleasure of the belly, not by the intake of wine, not by the consumption of meat, and not by anything else that usually fattens and delights the flesh, but was formed by the grace of abstinence from the cradle to death. When he came, says Scripture, John neither poisoned nor drank (Matthew 11:18). His blood preceded the immortal cup of the Lord. For the one who turned out to be the forerunner of Light for those on earth through his grace-filled birth from a barren woman, had to appear as a luminous messenger for those who lived underground through his death. His blood, more than Abel’s death, cries out to the Lord of hosts. For the accomplishment of a deed is the echo of some mysterious voice, not emitted by sound organs, but heard by the power of activity. His blood is nobler than the blood of the patriarchs, more precious than the blood of the prophets, holier than the blood of the righteous, even more excellent than the blood of the apostles, more glorious than the blood of the martyrs, as the word of the great (hypostatic) Word testifies to this. His blood, shed for truth at the end of the Old Testament and becoming, as it were, a flower heralding the coming of Christ, adorns the Church of Christ more pleasantly than any images of flowers. 4. But how, for whose sake and for what reason this blood was shed - this is what the story of the Holy Gospels will tell us. Herod took John, bound him, and put Herodias in prison for the sake of his brother Philip’s wife. For John said to him: You are not worthy to have it. And wanting to kill him, he was afraid of the people: because he had him as a prophet (Matthew 14:3-5). First of all, we must investigate who this Herod is, since the sameness of the name creates ambiguity in identifying the real person (who is being discussed here). Obviously, this is a tetrarch, for his father, the murderer of the children of Bethlehem, had long been dead. Why was he rebuked by John? - Because he expelled his legally married wife, that is, the daughter of King Aretas, and unlawfully married Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. For he could have taken a childless woman into cohabitation to restore his brother’s seed, according to the Law of Moses, but she had children - in no case, and she had a daughter - of the same name, Herodias, the fiend of the asp, the devil’s instrument of her own destruction. So, John’s rebuke is fair, a reminder rebuke, not an arrogant one, a healing one, not a wounding one. For this is what he says: you are not worthy to have it (Matthew 14:4), and he turns it to the divine law, saying: look and find out what the law commands you: If the brethren live together, and one of them dies, it will not be his seed, lest the wife of the deceased be related to another husband; let her husband’s brother come in to her and understand I want you to be my wife, and let him live with her. And if the child is born, he will be installed in the name of the deceased, and his name will not perish from Israel (Deut. 25:5). This is what the law commands you, but you brought into the house one who has a child by your brother. Do not transgress the decree of the Lawgiver and do not stain the purple (royal) robe with illicit blood; called to be an image of goodness for others, do not be a cause of lawlessness for your subjects; for this you will suffer a fair punishment, for the stronger will be more severely tortured (Wis. 6:6). 5. Herod, clothed with power, forgot about the existence of God, became enraged, inflamed with anger, and rejected reproof. He did not follow the example of David, who, having been convicted by the prophet Nathan for the sin of adultery, said the well-known words: those who have sinned against the Lord (2 Sam. 12:13), to whom, for the sake of his humility, the Lord forgave his sin. But eat John, bind him, and throw him into prison (Matthew 14:3). He defeated the invincible by wisdom, conquered by the passion of debauchery; the one unbound by any passion was bound by the one bound by the spell of intemperance; The guard and messenger of the Church was thrown into prison by the captive of the unclean deed of Herodias for the sake of his brother Philip’s wife (Matthew 14:3), - for the sake of Herodias, whose disposition was similar to Delilah, a collaborator of the devil. For she aroused her husband, and a stranger at that, to hatred against John: I cannot, she says, being a queen, endure the reproof from the son of Zechariah, put in prison the tongue that denounces me, now pierce with a spear the man who inflicts wounds on my soul with words like arrows. And wanting to kill him, he was afraid of the people, because they had him as a prophet (Matthew 14:5). For even kings, when they want to commit something unjust, do not immediately carry out their desire, being subject to shame and fear of their subjects, but in their souls they wait for the opportune time for the crime. 6. The days of Herod's Nativity were past, and Herodias' daughter danced in the middle, and pleased Herod. In the same way, swear an oath to her, even if she asks him (Matthew 14:6). When he should have given glory to God for seeing the light, then he loved the works of darkness. For him it was a time of spiritual joy, and not dancing, and, moreover, a woman dancing in the presence of men. What happened from here? Oath. And from here? - Murder. Pluck out the root of evil, and there will be no fruit of iniquity; if the first one has increased, then, undoubtedly, the end of the matter will follow. Dance Herodiadin's daughter in the middle, and please Herod. And what could a frivolous daughter learn from her mother, if not to dance? - and she was so trained in the art of dancing that she pleased Herod, which is why he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. For such is the thoughtlessness of those possessed by the passions of wickedness that they foolishly talk about everything as soon as they please. She, warned by matter, chose a bloody death, which the offspring of the echidna, Herodias, had long wanted to commit. Getting excited, she told her own daughter the following: here, child, the desired time has come; with your feet you have done a kind deed for me; With your skillful singing you consoled my old age. Let us hide the one who accuses us in the ground. Go quickly and say this: give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter (Matthew 14:8). Oh, the request of extreme madness! The bacchante and murderer is unhappy that she has not yet enjoyed the murderous spectacle. For it is not enough for you that you wished for the sword to cut off the sacred neck; but he is still busy making sure that the sacred head is served to you on a platter. Oh, godless and more cruel in character than Jezebel! 7. And the king was sad: for the sake of and for the sake of those reclining with him, he commanded to give it and sent John to be beheaded in prison. And you brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl: and you took it to your mother (Matthew 14:9-11). Oh, the fulfillment of the devil's malice! Who raised a deadly sword over the sacred head! The second Doeg, a criminal minister, is not an imitator of those who wisely opposed King Saul when he ordered the killing of the prophets of God. And she brought his head on a platter. What should we call this treat - a feast or a massacre? How to call the drunkards reclining together - guests or executioners? Oh, shameful sight, oh, criminal vision! At the feast, the bird was served, and here the head of the prophet was brought in; there whole wine was poured, and here righteous blood flowed in abundance. What terrible news, what a terrible story! And give it to the girl, and take it to your mother. Oh madness! A priceless head was given for a dishonest deed - given to a cursed and unclean woman - a pure, inviolable and venerable head for the angels themselves. And she took it to her mother, i.e. as if she offered the death of the prophet to the greedy mother as food, saying: eat, mother, the flesh of the fleshless one, drink the blood of the bloodless one, here is the forever silenced tongue of the man who denounced us!... 8. And his disciples came and took his body and buried it (Matthew 14:12). Imagine, inquisitive person, the depiction of the coffin of a righteous man, and denounce the iconoclasts as enemies of the truth. Carefully examine the story and benefit for yourself: how the saint was led out of prison, bound with iron bonds, how the executioner fiercely raised his sword over the sacred neck, how the cut off myrrh-bearing head was handed over to the raging Herodias, how the sacred body of John was buried by the hands of his disciples, who cry, grieve mentally and surround the body, with one holding the legs, the other putting the head to the body, and the other censing and sings funeral songs. There, listeners, I too am present with my mental gaze and see the tomb of the righteous in the world (Wisdom 3:4), according to what is written: I see his angelic face, whose eyes are like two suns that have set, and the whole appearance of his face reveals an image of beauty; I see him lifeless, devoid of earthly vitality, but all the more powerfully emitting the fragrance of divine grace. I kiss the sacred hands: touching them is impermissible for sin, and their finger indicates to people to take away the sin of the world. I worship the beautiful feet: their purpose was to preach the good news on earth, and through them the path of the coming of the Lord was prepared. May the honorable bonds with which the angel revered among men was bound by me be presented to me for worship; may the honorable dish appear on which the most precious gold of the all-sacred head was offered. And even if I found the executioner’s sword passing through the sacred neck, I would not leave it without worship, and I would embrace the very earth in which this treasure is hidden as a source of grace. Oh, blessed coffin and pleasant stone, possessing a blessed body, more than many emeralds and margaritas, protected inside! So, the face of the disciples was apparently present there, but invisibly there were many angels glorifying the angel of the same name in the flesh, the ever-present friend of the Lord, the bridegroom of the Bridegroom, the constantly shining lamp of the ineffable Light, the living voice of the great Word, higher than the prophet, greatest among those born of women - glorifying, crowning, raising him to heaven and transferring him to immortal joy. Such is the peaceful tomb of the Righteous One, joyful and saving for the world. 9 . But did the mad Herod really escape the punishment of the court here on earth? - Not at all; but, as it is related, he was killed for this at a time when he was pacifying the uprising of the entire people: for as a warning to future kings, so that they would not fall under similar passions, God frightened them through what was with Herod. But let’s leave this and call out the following in accordance with the present day: now John the Baptist, truncated into a head for the truth, is pleased, but the wicked Herod, ridiculed, is reproached. Now John the Baptist is revered in the tongues of all people through the narrative of reproof, but the insane Herod is disgraced, convicted of adultery by everyone who fears the Lord. Now the head of John the Baptist on a platter is offered as a sacred sacrifice, and the harlot Herodias is eternally exposed against her will. Now the blood of John the Baptist is shed for the protection of the divine law, and the opponent of the Baptist, for the sake of the opposite cause, lawfully triumphs. Now John the Baptist, for the sake of boldness before Herod for the truth, is killed, and the kings of the earth, admonished, do not divorce their spouses, but punish those who divorce. Now John the Baptist is raising a sign on earth and preaching that every man should be content with his wife and not go further than her. Now John the Baptist descends into hell, and the dead hear the unspoken joyful news of Christ’s coming. Now the heavens rejoice at John the Baptist, who was beheaded for the truth of God, while people on earth sing celebratory songs to him - and it seems to me that the great Forerunner of the Lord looks at us from heaven and, like his singers, bestows divine gifts. Among the prophets he is like the morning star, sweeping and illuminating; among the apostles, like the sun among suns, shining earlier and more than others; among the martyrs, like the sky, variously decorated with stars of miracles; among the righteous, like the cedar of Lebanon, covered with many branches of virtue. Now he proclaims joy to the universe. For if many rejoice on the feast of his birth, according to the Scriptures, then it is fair that on the feast of his death the same joy should be shared by us, priests, hermits, monks and lay people, since the memory of this death brings joy to everyone, especially to us, the inhabitants of this sacred monastery. Oh, that we would more diligently resort to his prayers, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the Father and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the endless ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: