John the Baptist

[Alex Haig]

It was raised recently that St John would have been in the environs of Bethlehem at the time of Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents, does anyone know of a source (preferably online) where it is explained how St John was kept safe?

With love in Christ

Alex

[George K.]

I remember reading something about this but can't recall where exactly. Probably in the Synaxarion. In any case here's something I googled:

"When Jesus Christ was born, soon afterward, with king Herod learning about this, he ordered his soldiers to massacre all infants in Bethlehem and its environs. St. Elisabeth then ran away with her son John into the desert, subsequently hiding inside a cave. St. Zacharias, who continued to execute the priest's office at the Jerusalem temple, was approached by Herod's soldiers and ordered to disclose the whereabouts of the baby and his mother. Zacharias said he didn't know and was killed.

Elisabeth hid in the desert for the rest of her life. Meanwhile St. John the Baptist was guarded by an angel in the desert until the right moment, that is, when it became necessary to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. St. John then preached repentance, subsequently baptizing Christ in the Jordan"

[Alex Goukassian]

Here (http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Feasts-and-Saints/January/Jan-07.html) is an excellent Life of St. John the Baptist from an American website

[Marie-Duquette]

George K.

Could the "angel in the desert that guarded John the Baptist" have been a member of the Essene Desert Community? Just wondering?

Blessed Feasts during this wondrous time of year!
May we all learn from the life of Blessed John the Baptist.

marie_duquette

[Alex Goukassian]

Marie,

In icons of the Life of St. John the Baptist, the angel depicted leading him to the desert is an actual angel like the Archangels Michael and Gabriel.

Alex

[Marie-Duquette]

Alex Goukassian,

Yes, it is true what you say is depicted upon the "icon" of St. John the Baptist, as one looks upon the icon.

An icon is, -- isn't it -- a symbolic expression of something that is true, a "window into heaven" -- not necessarily a fundamental likeness of the mystical reality.

I am simply asking, could it be, if one looks at the life of John the Baptist, that having excaped to the desert with his mother, Elizabeth, that perhaps both of them were housed, and given hospitality by the essenes who were a community of desert dwellers among the Hebrew Nation.

I am not disputing the way the "icon" looks, only wondering about the Essene Community in relation to the time that John the Baptist spent in the Jordinian Desert shielded by an Angel, before appearing as the Voice crying in the wilderness, as mentioned in the Gospel, the Precursor of Jesus, the Christ.

Of course, I understand that God cares providentially for all, especially His chosen ones. Why couldn't a human intervention have happened; and still be a "window into heaven" as icons are called?

marie_duquette

[John P. Nasou]

The question raised by Alex Haig regarding the whereabouts of John the = Baptizer during the slaughter of the Holy Innocents was to my knowledge = never a question that bothered Orthodox writers. Remembering that this = type of questioning was common for the Latin Catholic scholars, I looked = in the Catholic Encyclopedia and discovered that I was correct. The = following is taken from the article on John the Baptist:

"Of John's early life St. Luke tell us only that "the child grew, and = was strengthened in spirit; and was in the deserts, until the day of his = manifestation to Israel" (i, 80). Should we ask just when the Precursor = went into the wilderness, an old tradition echoed by Paul Warnefried = (Paul the Deacon), in the hymn, "Ut queant laxis", composed in honour of = the saint, gives an answer hardly more definite than the statement of = the Gospel: "Antra deserti teneris sub annis. . .petiit . . ." Other = writers, however, thought they knew better. For instance, St. Peter of = Alexandria believed St. John was taken into the desert to escape the = wrath of Herod, who, if we may believe report, was impelled by fear of = losing his kingdom to seek the life of the Precursor, just as he was, = later on, to seek that of the new-born Saviour. It was added also that = Herod on this account had Zachary put to death between the temple and = the altar, because he had prophesied the coming of the Messias (Baron., = "Annal. Apparat.", n. 53). These are worthless legends long since =