The Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

Saint John, called the greatest of the prophets by our Lord, concluded the history of the Old Testament and opened the epoch of the New Testament. John was a kinsman of the Lord, the son of the Priest Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, and his birth was heralded by the Archangel Gabriel. Born six months before Christ Jesus, Saint John was filled with the Holy Spirit and spent his life in the wilderness preparing for his great service through fasting and prayer. At the age of 30, he appeared on the banks of the Jordan, preaching repentance and giving witness concerning the arrival of the Only-Begotten Son of God, incarnate in the flesh. Saint John was deemed worthy to baptize Christ in the waters of the Jordan and witnessed the manifestation of the Most Holy Trinity on the day of the Baptism of the Savior. Soon afterwards, Saint John was imprisoned and then died a martyr's death, beheaded on orders of King Herod at the request of his daughter Salome.