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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center

Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist Beheading

29 August - The death of the Holy and Glorious Forerunner and Prophet John the Baptist is commemorated. The Holy and Glorious Forerunner and Prophet John the Baptist was beheaded at the order of King Herod at the request of Salome,the daughter of Herodias.

The story of his death is told in Mt. 14:3-12 and Mk. 6: 14-30.
At a birthday celebration for King Herod, Salome, the daughter of Herodias, performed a dance. The king was delighted and promised Salome what she asked for. Salome asked her mother, Herodias, what she should ask for. Her mother told her to ask for the head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist. Herodias did not like Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist because he said that Herodias marriage to King Herod was void because she had been married to Herod's brother Philip. Salome asked for the head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist. King Herod was distressed about this request, but thought that he had to keep his promise. King Herod ordered the death of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist and gave the head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist on a platter to Salome. Salome gave the head to her mother.

Saint John the Baptist

The Melkite Greek Catholic Church declared that The Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist is a Martyr and a Saint. He died for the sake of holy principles and God's commandments. He proclaimed Our Lord, God and Savior,Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

Kontakion, Troparion, Exapostilarion, and Vespers Sticheron

TROPARION (TONE 2)
The memory of the just is recalled with praise. As for you, O Forerunner, the Lord's witness is enough: indeed, you were greater than the prophets since you were found worthy to baptize in the waters the One they could only announce. You have fought for the sake of truth and proclaimed to those in Hades that God who appeared in the flesh has taken away the sins of the world and bestowed His great mercy on us.

KONTAKION (TONE 3)
The beheading of the Forerunner was an act of divine providence: the occasion for him to announce the coming of the Saviour to the souls in Hades. Let then Herodias lament and weep, for she has asked for murder, prefering the present life and its pleasures to eternal life and God's law.

Where is the Head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist

Two possibilities are:

• Some Melkites believe that Head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist is in the Omayyad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria. Pope John Paul II visited the Omayyad Great Mosque in May 2001. The Mosque was a Catholic Church dedicated to the Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist.
• Some Latin Catholics and other Catholics believe that Head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist is preserved as a holy relic in the Church of St Sylvester in Rome. It is believed to have been brought there from Emessa in Syria.

Head of Holy Prophet and Glorious Forerunner John the Baptist was found Three Times

John the Baptist's head was found three times. Please see the Feast table below.

More information about the Holy and Glorious Forerunner and Prophet John the Baptist:

More information about the Holy and Glorious Forerunner and Prophet John the Baptist:

Beheading of St. John the Baptist Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Click on Feasts of Major Saints

St. John of the Desert, St. John of the Desert Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Phoenix, AZ

St. John the Baptist Catholic Encyclopedia

Ikon

Beheading of St. John the Baptist Saint Joseph Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Lawrence, Massachusetts, Click on Feasts of Major Saints

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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles), Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck), and Donna (Donna Bertha Liles Campbell). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000, Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001, and Donna fell asleep in the Lord on March 9, 2020.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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Last Updated: Wednesday, June 03, 2020, 16:48:58, CDT
The current date and time is: Tuesday, March 04, 2025, 07:34:43, CST or Tuesday, March 04, 2025, 13:34:43, GMT