The
honorable head of John the Forerunner, which excites reverence from the Angels,
was first buried in the house of Herod, who had imprisoned him and decapitated
him on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, since John had
rebuked Herod for his illicit relationship with his brother's wife. When the
disciples of John buried his body in Sebaste, Herodias kept his head to mock it
and secretly buried it on the grounds of the palace in an unclean place. By
this she wished to keep the head separated from the body, in order to prevent
his possible resurrection and further rebuke. One of the women of her household
was Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward, who also was a follower of the Lord
Jesus and was among the myrrhbearers. Distressed over the mistreatment of the
honorable head of the Forerunner, she became privy to the hiding place where
the head of the Forerunner was buried, so she secretly retrieved it one night
and took it to the Mount of Olives, and buried it on the grounds there of one
of Herod's estates.
Shortly
before Constantine the Great ascended the throne of the Roman Empire in 324, a
certain Christian named Innocent resolved to forsake the world and live an
ascetic life on the Mount of Olives, where he purchased some land on property
that formerly belonged to Herod. There he built a cell and a chapel to pray in.
During construction, a trench was needed for the foundation, and while
excavating he discovered an earthenware vessel containing a skull. The identity
of this skull he learned by divine revelation, accompanied by works of power
and grace, having performed many miracles. Before the repose of the monk
Innocent, he reburied the honorable skull on the grounds of his cell and
chapel. Over a number of years, this site fell into ruin and the location of this
precious relic became unknown.
The First Finding of the Head of the
Forerunner at the Mount of Olives
After
Constantine came to the throne, and his mother Helen made the Holy Land a
center of pilgrimage with the discovery of the True Cross and the Holy
Sepulcher, among other places, two Monks decided to make a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Places. One night while the monks were sleeping
in Jerusalem, one of them was granted a visitation from Saint John the
Forerunner. He revealed to the Monk the exact location of his head on the Mount
of Olives, and commanded him to find it. When he awoke and told his fellow Monk
about this divine revelation, he convinced him that it was nothing but a mere
dream and they ignored it. The next night, however, the Forerunner appeared to
both Monks separately and rebuked them for their disbelief, commanding them to
rise and do what he commanded. Stirred from sleep, they went to the location
indicated to them and began to dig. Before long, they discovered the
earthenware vessel with the skull. Placing it in a sack made of camel's hair,
they returned to Jerusalem.
During
this time there was a potter living in Emesa (Homs) of Syria, who had fallen
into poverty and was looking for another form of occupation. Leaving his wife
and home, he went to look for work, and on the road encountered the two Monks
who had now left Jerusalem to return to their homeland with the honorable
skull. Seeking companionship in his travels, the potter followed the Monks and
carried the sack which contained the skull of the Forerunner after he was asked
to, though it was not divulged to him what was in the sack. As they walked and
the Monks became a little separated from the potter, the Holy Forerunner
appeared to the potter on the road, and said to him, "Know that I am John,
the Lord's Forerunner. The sack, the one that you bear in your hand, contains
my head. I bid you to flee the company of your fellow travelers." After
confirming that the sack contained a skull, the potter obeyed without
hesitation and returned to his home and wife in Emesa. As for the reason why
the Holy Forerunner bid the potter to take the relic from the Monks, it has
been suggested that it was because these Monks were too negligent and
unbelieving to properly care for the precious skull. This was shown by the fact
that they gave the sack to a stranger to carry, when they should have kept it
and guarded it with their lives. The potter, however, submitted to the Monks
and carried the sack with care. It has also been suggested that these Monks may
have belonged to a heretical sect.
The
potter returned to his home and told his wife about everything that took place
along the road. They both understood that the most precious of treasures was in
their home, so they daily burned incense and lit a lamp before it. For this the
Forerunner blessed their home, and their poverty became a faint memory.
However, they were not overcome with pride, but made sure to properly
distribute their wealth to the poor and needy, understanding that they were
blessed by God through the Forerunner. At length his wife of many years reposed
in the Lord, and as his own end drew near, the Holy Forerunner appeared to him
and said, "The time of the end of your earthly sojourn is at hand. Place my
head in an empty water vessel. Seal the jug and entrust it to your sister. I do
not wish for my head to be enshrined in gold or silver reliquaries." The
devout potter obeyed and gave the sealed jug to his sister, bidding her not to
open it unless the Forerunner willed for her to do so. After the potter
reposed, his sister faithfully kept the precious treasure in her home. And when
she reposed she handed it over to another devout and virtuous Christian.
Over
time, the precious relic passed from one devout Christian to another. At one
point, the honorable head came into the possession of an Arian hieromonk named
Eustathios, who lived in a cave. The holy relic was responsible for numerous
wonders and miracles and healings, however the heretic Eustathios ascribed
these to himself rather than the Holy Forerunner, in order to promote his
godless heresy. By this many people were lured into believing that Arianism was
true and accepted the heresy. Over time however, the people of Emesa came to
understand the evil intentions of Eustathios, and they sought to drive him out
of his cave. When the officers were informed they went to have him removed, but
Eustathios convinced them to wait for a few hours until he got his things in
order and then he would leave. During this time he took the jug which contained
the skull and buried it in a deep hole in his cave. His intention was to return
at some point and retrieve the relic, which brought him such prestige and fame,
in order to continue his fraud. However, with the departure of Eustathios,
certain Orthodox monks took up their habitation in this cave, and Eustathios was
unable to retrieve the relic.
The Second Finding of the Head of the
Forerunner in the Cave of Emesa
As time
passed, the site of the cave of the heretic Eustathios became the site of a
growing brotherhood of monks. However, no one was aware of the precious
treasure contained within the cave. In the middle of the fifth century,
Archimandrite Markellos, who was the superior of this community, during the
time that Uranios was Bishop of Emesa, was granted a vision of the Holy
Forerunner. According to the account of Markellos, which has been preserved, we
learn that on February 18th, during the Great Fast, the Holy Forerunner first
appeared to him in a vision and blessed him. Then on February 24th the location
of the skull of the Forerunner was revealed to him in another vision of a star
which he was told to follow and which led him into the cave. Where the star
disappeared he began to dig on that spot, and there he found the water jug
which contained the holy relic. He then reverently took the honorable skull as
a priceless treasure, and brought it to the Bishop, who rejoiced upon learning
of this discovery. Soon a church was built in Emesa to honor Saint John the
Forerunner. Inside this church a crypt was built, and the honorable head was
placed therein, where it was venerated by the faithful, and became responsible
for many being healed of illnesses and diseases.
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
The
Forerunner's sacred head, having dawned forth from the earth, doth send
incorruption's rays unto the faithful, whereby they find healings of their
ills. From on high he gathereth the choirs of the Angels and on earth he
summoneth the whole race of mankind, that they with one voice might send up
glory to Christ our God.
Kontakion in the Second Tone
Since we
have obtained thy head as a most sacred rose from out of the earth, O
Forerunner of grace divine, we receive sure healing in every hour, O Prophet of
God the Lord; for again, now as formerly, thou preachest repentance unto all
the world.
Source: www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2016/02/the-first-and-second-finding-of.html
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