Первое и второе обретение честной главы Предтечи и Крестителя Господня Иоанна

When the venerable head of Saint John the Baptist was beheaded (Matthew 14:11), then the daughter of Herodias received it on a platter and took it to her mother. This wicked wife pierced the tongue of the saint with a needle, who denounced her iniquity, and, having outraged the honest head, did not allow her to be buried along with the body of the saint: Herodias was afraid that John, if his body was buried along with the head, would rise again and begin to denounce her again. The disciples of Saint John the Baptist secretly took his body and buried him at night (Matthew 14:12; Mark 6:29) in Sebastia, a city of Samaria 1584. Herodias buried the head of the holy Forerunner deeply in her palace in a secret, dishonest place. Only the wife of Herod's steward Khuza, named Joanna, whom the holy evangelist Luke mentions (Luke 8:3), knew that place. She, grieving in her heart over the murder of the great holy prophet John and the desecration of his honest head, took this chapter secretly at night, put it in a meager vessel 1585 and buried it on the Mount of Olives 1586, in one of Herod’s estates. Meanwhile, Herod heard rumors about Jesus Christ. He, together with his wife Herodias, began to think whether this was John, risen from the dead. They began to look for the head of John and, not finding it, were perplexed. Herod even said this to his family about Jesus: “This is John, whose head I commanded to be beheaded. Now he has risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him” (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:16). After a long time, a certain very noble nobleman named Innocent believed in Jesus Christ. Leaving the world, he came to Jerusalem, bought the place on the Mount of Olives that once belonged to Herod, built himself a cell there and became a monk, fulfilling the commandments of Christ. Wanting to build a small stone church for himself, he began digging a ditch for the foundation. And so, according to God’s providence, he found a meager vessel hidden in the ground with the head of the Forerunner of Christ. By various gracious signs and wonders and by revelation from God, he realized that this chapter belonged to Saint John and began to keep it with great reverence. Before his death, unbelief spread throughout that country: the kings honored idols instead of the true God and placed their images everywhere in Jerusalem and made vile sacrifices to them. Seeing this and anticipating his death, this monk again hid the holy head of the Forerunner in the depths of the earth: he was afraid that after his death someone would treat her dishonorably. He laid it in the very place where his cell and church were. After his death, that church fell into disrepair, collapsed and even razed to the ground, so that for a long time no one knew where the honest head of the Baptist John was. When the great King Constantine ascended the throne and enlightened his land with holy baptism, then his mother Saint Helena began to renew and cleanse all Jerusalem shrines 1587. It was she who brought the holy mountain into a flourishing state. At this time, two monks who labored in the East agreed to go together to Jerusalem to venerate there the Holy Cross, found by Queen Helena, and the Holy Sepulcher and see all the shrines of that land. Having reached Jerusalem, they began to go around the shrines, worshiping them and praying to the Lord. Here, in a dream vision, Saint John the Baptist appeared to one of them, revealed the place where his venerable head was buried, and commanded him to take it from the bowels of the earth. Having awakened, the monk told his friend about the vision, but he, considering it all a simple dream, did not believe it himself, and suggested the same to another. The next night, Saint John appeared a second time, but to each monk, and separately, and said: “Rise up, leave your unbelief and laziness and do what was told to you.” Having woken up, both began to tell each other what they had seen, and then went to the place that was indicated to them in the dream vision. They began to dig there and found a priceless treasure - the holy head of the Baptist of Christ. Having put it in a bag made of camel hair, they went back to their place. At this time, one poor poor man from the city of Emesa 1588 was forced, due to poverty, to leave his fatherland and wife and go to another country. On the road he met those two monks carrying with them the head of the Baptist; he joined them and continued his journey with them. The monks, having found a traveling companion, gave him to carry sackcloth 1589 with the head of the Baptist. And he, not knowing what he was carrying, calmly continued on his way. Suddenly Saint John the Baptist appeared to him and said: “Leave your companions and run away from them with the sackcloth that you hold in your hands.” The saint commanded this because he saw the laziness and negligence of those monks who at first did not believe his appearance, and then did not want to bear his honest head themselves, but entrusted it to a simple man unknown to them. At the same time, the saint wanted to show benefit to this poor man and direct him to the path of a good and godly life. This man, obeying the saint, hid from the monks, fled from them and returned home to his wife, reverently carrying, as if some most precious of all earthly treasures, the venerable head of the Baptist. And the Lord, for the sake of the head of John the Baptist, blessed his house with all sufficiency. The poor man began to live among abundance, forgetting about his previous misfortunes. But he did not become proud: he gave generous alms to the poor and needy from his wealth. Firmly remembering that he received all this for the sake of reverence for Christ's Forerunner, he always revered its holy head, burned incense before it every day, lit lamps, prayed and tried to spend his entire life honestly and act according to the commandments of Christ. When the time of his death approached, he, at the command of the Baptist of Christ himself, put the holy head in a vessel for water, and this vessel was enclosed in an ark and, having sealed it, he handed over this treasure to his sister. At the same time, he told her in detail how, for the sake of this honest chapter, he got rid of extreme poverty and became a rich man. He bequeathed to his sister that she should always reverently and honestly keep this holy chapter and never open the ark until Saint John himself deigns to do so. Before her death, she had to give this treasure to some God-fearing and virtuous husband. Thus, the holy and honorable head of the Forerunner of Christ, passing for a long time from one person to another, was successively preserved among pious Christians; finally, it was handed over to a certain monk Eustathius, who lived not far from Emesa in a cave; he was infected with the heresy of Arius and had no fear of God. The sick who came to him received healing from the miraculous grace emanating from the head of John the Baptist, which he kept secret. But Eustathius began, like a thief, to attribute this grace to himself and his heresy, trying to hide from people the true reason for those miraculous healings, and through this he seduced many into his heresy. But the residents of Emesa finally recognized his evil faith. The Prince of Yemes, after consulting with the bishop, ordered to expel him from the cave and from the borders of that region. Eustathius began to beg the messengers to leave him in the cave for that day, promising to leave the next morning. When the messengers agreed to this, he hid the vessel with the holy head deep underground in that cave at night; for he hoped, after some time, to return back, take this treasure and, performing miracles with the help of the holy head of the Forerunner, again spread and establish his heresy. But the heretic's hopes did not come true. When he left the cave, certain faithful and virtuous monks settled in it, so he could not enter it and get the treasure he had left behind. After some time, the brethren gathered at that place, and a monastery was founded. But no one knew that the honest head of the Forerunner was found in this cave. Only after a long time did the Archimandrite of this Emes monastery, Markell, a man full of virtue, discover it, which he himself narrates as follows: “Blessed be God Jesus Christ! He vouchsafed me, His servant Marcellus, to see a vision during a night’s sleep. It was February 18, the Mid-Lent week of 1590, the Holy and Great Pentecost. I saw that all the gates of our monastery were open. I was overcome with horror and wanted to go out to close the gate. But at that time I saw a river flowing through the gates of the monastery. I was surprised and wondered where the water was so strong. While thinking about this, I suddenly heard the voice of many ranks who noisily walked across the water towards us from the east. All of them - each in their own special language - exclaimed: “Behold, Saint John, the Baptist of Christ appears.” With such exclamations they entered the monastery. I, overwhelmed with fear, had already forgotten to think about water; leaving the gate, I entered the top of the stairs. Standing on it, it seemed to me that I saw two courtyards in the monastery: one was to the west, the other to the south; in the midst of them stood a great church. Each rank, entering the western courtyard, headed towards the church; Having bowed here, he left through the southern door. When the procession of ranks stopped, I again heard the voice of others who cried out: “Behold the great holy John the Baptist.” I looked and saw him in the church. With him were two men who stood on either side of him. At this time, the ranks began to approach Saint John and receive blessings from him. And I decided to approach the Baptist and receive a blessing from him. With fear and trembling, I was the last to enter through the special doors, bowed to the ground before the Baptist and touched his feet. He ordered me to stand up, lovingly hugged me, touching my face, took a vessel filled with honey, and handed it to me with the words: “Receive the blessing!” Having said this, he left. As I was about to follow him, I noticed a pillar of fire preceding the saint. I woke up in horror from such a vision. When the next evening came, I commanded the brethren to sing the verses of the psalms laid down in the usual rule. During this singing, one brother named Isaac, looking up, saw through the window that a fire was burning in the cave church, where the honest head of St. John was hidden. Seeing this, he exclaimed: “Father! Look, there is a fire burning in the holy cave.” “Don’t be afraid, brother,” I told him, “but having marked yourself with the sign of the cross, keep silence about it.” Five days passed after that. On the night of the sixth day, when I fell asleep, a certain hand pushed me three times on my right side and a voice rang out: “Behold, I have been given to you; Having risen, follow the star that will go before you, dig out the place where it will lead you, and you will find me.” With trepidation and fear, I arose from sleep, sat down on my bed and saw: a star was shining in front of the door of my cell. I was horrified, but, having made the sign of the cross, I went out; the star walked before me; following her, I entered the cave; when I reached the place where the honest head of the Forerunner was, the star suddenly became invisible. I fell to the ground and praised the Lord. After a long prayer, I lit a candle, burned incense and began to dig, calling on the name of the Lord. When I was digging, a great noise and knocking was heard, but the earth was hard as copper. I worked for a long time; at last I found the bricks; Having taken them away, I saw a stone tablet; with great difficulty I could take it out of the hole - and there I found the sacred vessel where the honest head of the Forerunner rested: rejoicing, but at the same time horrified, I took the candle and incense, dared to take the vessel, bowed and, closing it again, left the cave. I was met at the door by Archimandrite Gennady, who had come to our monastery. He led me into the cave and, having said a prayer, began to tell me about his vision. “I saw,” he began his story, “as if we were both standing in the very place where we are now. There was a lot of barley bread, which was cleaner and brighter than the sun. Many people entered the cave and took this bread from our hands. However, its quantity not only did not decrease, but on the contrary, it kept increasing.” Gennady told me this. Then I realized that this vision was from God to him, and that it signified the inexhaustible grace of the Baptist of Christ, which would be abundantly given to everyone in that place. Therefore, I told him about my vision and showed him the priceless treasure that I had acquired. Seeing this, he rejoiced and we began to discuss how best to proceed. I advised at first not to tell anyone about this, not even to the chief shepherd of the church, Bishop Uratius of Emes, but first of all to inform the blessed elder Stephen, who, while staying in the Daromi monastery, labored as a fast. He must also inform the bishop about this, with whom he was on great friendship. But, having arrived at the Daromiysky monastery, we did not find Stefan there, who went to inspect his other monasteries. Then we sent for Deacon Kyriakos, who occupied the first place in the cathedral church of that city. Having come to us, Cyriacus welcomed us in Christ and told us about his vision. It was in every way similar to what Gennady saw. Then we told him our secret. Both of them, Gennady and Kiriak, began to say that this should be told to the bishop, but I began to wait for Stefan’s return. 5 days have already passed. On the sixth day - it was Saturday - we all sat together and talked. Suddenly I fell to my knees: some kind of illness suddenly struck me. I couldn't even get up or move. My companions, marveling at this incident, began to pray to the Lord for me. Having finished the prayer, they said to me: “Didn’t we tell you that you should have told the bishop about the secret?” I myself realized then that I had acted badly by not telling the bishop about such a secret, which should have been told for the sake of the glory of God; and yet my illness did not go away. In the evening, after performing the usual prayer singing, Gennady and Kiriak came to me and said: “We made a promise to ourselves: to tell the bishop about your secret during Matins before sunrise.” - Good decision; let it be as you said. At the same time that I agreed with them, I felt completely healthy: my illness was gone. The next morning we all went to the city together and found the bishop at the very time when he was leaving the church after Matins, and we told him everything about the discovery of the honest head of the Baptist of Christ, John. The bishop rejoiced greatly at this news. However, he forbade us to tell others about this for now and ordered us to return to our monastery. In the morning he himself came there with the elders and deacons. Having performed the Divine Liturgy together, he proceeded to the place where the vessel with the venerable head was located. When the deacon exclaimed: “Let us bow our knees and pray to the Lord,” everyone fell on their faces. Bishop Uranius offered a prayer at this time; Having finished it, he took the vessel with the honest head and carried it out of the ground. One of the presbyters who were with the bishop, named Malchus, did not believe this, saying: “Where could the head of the Forerunner appear here?” Saying this, he boldly put his hand on the vessel and touched the hair of the venerable head of the Baptist. Suddenly, because of his unbelief, his hand withered and stuck to the vessel. Seeing this, everyone was quite horrified. The bishop and everyone present began to diligently offer prayer to God. Then Malchus, with great difficulty, could take his hand away from the vessel, but he himself remained sick. Uranius, with all the church clergy, took the sacred vessel with the treasure lying in it, transferred it to the holy church and placed it in the altar in the deaconry 1591. Here this shrine was kept until a special church, splendidly decorated in 1592, was built in Emes in honor of the Forerunner of Christ. Shortly before the transfer of the holy head to this church, John the Baptist appeared in a vision to the unbelieving presbyter Malchus and commanded him, while transferring the head, to touch the sacred vessel with his hand. The presbyter, having done this, received healing.” This ends the story of Blessed Marcellus. Another writer, Saint Simeon Metaphrastus 1593, in the life of the Venerable Matrona, also tells the following about the discovery of the honest head of the Forerunner. “At that time, one man, plowing his field, noticed that in one place - exactly where the cave and the monastery were once - fire was coming from the ground. He saw this more than once: for many days, fire continuously came out of the ground. On Sunday, the very same day when Marcellus, together with Gennadius and Cyriacus, arrived at the bishop, this man also came to the city of Emesa and told Bishop Uranius about the miraculous fire. The bishop, together with the clergy, headed to that place - it was the cave where the heretic Eustathius once lived. Having said a prayer, the bishop ordered to dig in that place. When his order was carried out, a vessel was found in that place. It was not gold or silver, but it contained a treasure much more precious than all earthly treasures - the head of the holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. The rumor about this spread everywhere: not only the residents of Emesa, but also the inhabitants of all the surrounding cities and villages began to gather here. The Venerable Matrona, along with all the sisters, came here from her monastery to worship the venerable head. The honorable head of the Baptist of Christ exuded fragrant myrrh, with which the priests anointed the heads of the gathered people in a cross pattern. The Reverend Matrona took a certain part of that world into a small ark, wanting to take it to her monastery for blessing. But many people crowded around her: everyone wanted to receive a blessing from the priests and be anointed with myrrh. Some, noticing that the Venerable Matrona was carrying myrrh in the ark, asked her to anoint them with myrrh, for they themselves could not reach the priests, and she fulfilled their request. Among the people there was a certain blind man who had not seen daylight since birth. And he turned to the Reverend Matrona so that she would commemorate him with the sacred world. She anointed his eyes, and he immediately received his sight. This is how Saint Simeon Metaphrastus reports the discovery of the head of the Forerunner. After some time, the holy head of John the Baptist was transferred from Emesa to Constantinople. Here, on a place called Evdom, by royal command, a beautiful church was built, in which they laid the venerable chapter. During the heresy of the iconoclasts, when many holy icons were burned, others were thrown into the sea and rivers, trampled underfoot and dishonored in various ways, then some pious Christians, fleeing from Constantinople filled with heretics, secretly took with them the head of the Baptist and brought it to Comana 1594, where Saint John Chrysostom once reposed. Here they again hid it in the bowels of the earth, placing it in a silver vessel. This precious shrine was kept here in obscurity until the time of Tsar Michael, son of Theophilus, and his mother, Queen Theodora, who re-established Orthodoxy in 1595. During the reign of Michael, this shrine was rediscovered in 1596 by Divine will and transferred to Constantinople by Patriarch Ignatius, in honor and glory of Christ our God, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. Having risen from the earth, the Forerunner's head emits rays of incorruption, healing the faithful, gathers many Angels from above, and then convenes the human race, unanimously sending glory to Christ God. Prophet of God and Forerunner of grace, having found your head like the most sacred thorn from the earth, healing is always acceptable, for again, as before in the world, you preach repentance. Sebastia is the main city of Samaria, donated by Augustus to Herod the Great, who completely restored and decorated it and, in gratitude to Augustus, named it Sebaste or Sebastia, which means the city of Augustus. According to legend, the holy evangelist Luke, preaching Christ in Sebaste, begged from the inhabitants the right hand of John the Baptist and transferred it to Antioch. In the 10th century, the right hand of the Baptist was transferred to Constantinople, and in 1798, the Order of St. John brought it as a gift to Emperor Paul I and is still kept in the church of the Winter Palace. (More details on this will be published on October 12.) Skudelny – clay; skudnik - potter, potter. The Mount of Olives, or Mount of Olives, is one of the Judean mountains east of Jerusalem; It got its name from the many olive trees that grew on it. Constantine the Great - saint and equal to the apostles - was proclaimed emperor in 306; in 312 he declared the Christian faith dominant in the Roman Empire; in 325 he convened the First Ecumenical Council; died in 337. Saint Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, became famous for her zeal for the spread of the faith of Christ and the splendor of the churches of God; in 326 she traveled to Jerusalem, found the Cross of the Lord there, and adorned the Holy Cross. churches are places in Palestine glorified during the earthly life of the Savior; died in 327. The memory of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen is celebrated on May 21. Emesa is a city in Syria east of the Orontes River, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in northwestern Syria. Sackcloth is a bag made of sackcloth or string, rags, hair shirt. Mid-Lent Week is the name given in the Church Charter to the middle (fourth) week of Great Lent; This same week is also called the veneration of the cross. Deaconnik - the southern section of the altar, in which there is a place for storing sacred things under the supervision of the deacon, such as vestments, sacred vessels, altar gospels and crosses, tabernacles, etc. The second discovery of the head of Saint John the Baptist occurred in 452. According to the testimony of Archimandrite Marcellus, St. the chapter was revealed to him on February 18, was carried by Bishop Uranius to the church deacon on February 24, and on October 26 of the same 452 was transferred to the church created in honor of his name. Symeon Metaphrastus is a famous church writer of the 10th century. († 940), compiler and collector of the lives of saints; his works in this area subsequently served as the main source for four menias of St. Demetrius of Rostov. Comani is a city in the province of Ponte, in the northeast of Asia Minor. Theodora is the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus, an iconoclast. After the death of the latter, she ruled the state together with her son Mikhail. Emperor Michael III reigned from 842 to 867; took the throne at the age of 4, and therefore the state was ruled by his mother, Queen Theodora, until 855. At the Council of Constantinople in 842, under Queen Theodora, the veneration of icons was restored and the triumph of Orthodoxy was established, celebrated on the first week of St. Pentecostals. This third discovery of the head of the Baptist took place around the year 850; celebrated by the Church on May 25. The venerable head of the Forerunner, transferred for the second time to Constantinople, was first laid in the royal chambers, and then part of it in the Studii Forerunner Monastery; in this monastery the top of the chapter was seen by the pilgrim Anthony in 1200; the other part of the chapter was in Petra in the monastery of Prodromus, it was transferred by the crusaders to Amiens in France, part of it was transferred to Rome and is in the church of Pope Sylvester. Other parts are located in the Athos Monastery of Dionysius and the Ugrovlahia Monastery of Kalui. You might be interested in: