Saint John the Baptist

Saint John the Baptist (c. 1st century BC – c. 30 AD), known in the Orthodox Church as the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John, is venerated as the greatest of the prophets and the last of the Old Testament saints. He was chosen before his birth to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, as foretold by the Prophet Isaiah and the Angel Gabriel.

Born to the elderly and barren Zacharias and Elizabeth — a kinswoman of the Theotokos — Saint John lived as an ascetic in the Judean desert from his youth, clothed in camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey. He preached repentance and baptized multitudes in the Jordan River, and it was he who baptized the Lord Jesus Christ, witnessing the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice of the Father from heaven.

Saint John was imprisoned and ultimately beheaded by King Herod Antipas at the request of Herodias and her daughter Salome. He is commemorated numerous times throughout the Orthodox liturgical year, including his Nativity (June 24), his Beheading (August 29), and the First and Second Finding of his Head. His feast days are among the most solemn in the Orthodox calendar. Browse our handcrafted Orthodox icons and devotional items honoring Saint John the Baptist, made in our Ohio workshop using traditional Byzantine embroidery techniques.