← News feed Church of Greece

September 5: Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth are celebratedtranslated

September 5, 2026 · 1 min read

Today, September 5, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of Prophet Zacharios, who was a priest and married to Elizabeth.

Lambros Skontzos, Theologian, writes

Saints Zacharias and Elizabeth: The parents of the Holy Forerunner One of the most respected holy couples of the New Testament is that of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of the Holy Forerunner. We get important information about their lives and activities from the holy Gospel of Luke, which describes in detail the birth of John the Forerunner.

They were of Jewish origin and lived in the years of Herod the Great (37 BC – 4 BC). Zacharias came from the house of Abijah, the eighth of the twenty-four houses into which the descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar were divided (1 Chron. 24,10). And his wife Elizabeth came from the priestly tribe of Aaron (Luke 1:5) and was a relative, possibly a first cousin, of the Virgin (Luke 1:36). The evangelist Luke mentions that "they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and righteousness of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1,6). They belonged to that small and select portion of the pious and righteous Jews, the...

Source: Orthodoxia News Agency · Read the full story →

⚑ Report

💬 Comments (3) 🌐 Show original

Сергей Петров

It’s interesting that Elizabeth was a relative of the Mother of God; you often forget about this. And Zechariah from the house of Abijah is the eighth lot, which means that he served in the church for only a couple of weeks a year. It’s good that Luke described everything in such detail; without him, we would know little about the Forerunner’s parents.

Magdalena Zielińska

Yes, Łukasz really left us a lot, without him we wouldn't know much. Yesterday, in my garden, I finished reading this fragment from Luke and I thought that they were both old, and yet they believed. I wonder if Elizabeth and Mary met their children more often than we think.

Ольга Виноградова

Yes, Sergei, they noted well about Avia’s lot - only two weeks a year, and the rest of the time, probably, he served in his village and lived an ordinary life. I always like how Luke lists everything exactly, as if he was there himself. Have you ever wondered why the Lord chose this moment with Zechariah in the church to communicate about John?