Catholic holidays - Nativity of John the Baptist among Western Christians (Saint John the Baptist Day)

Every year on June 24, Catholics around the world have a celebration of the highest ecclesiastical rank - the Nativity of John the Baptist The last Old Testament prophet is glorified - the messenger of the coming of the Messiah, and therefore is also called the Forerunner The Gospel of Luke describes the very conception of John as the greatest miracle His parents were childless Jews who lived in Judea, but Father Zakaria continued to pray even in old age And the Lord heard his request The angel who descended to him predicted the birth of not just an ordinary baby, but one endowed with a great prophetic mission, who would pave the way for the appearance of Christ Zakaria doubted this, for which he was deprived of speech until the naming of the baby, who was actually born on the promised date (6-2 BC) Historically, a little later, the ruler Herod organized an event known as the massacre of the infants John's mother fled to the mountains: only the help of the Lord helped her save the life of the great child He grew up in the desert and became an ascetic, eating locusts and wild honey, wearing clothes made of camel hair When he turned 30, he began his activities: he preached, called to repentance, and baptized those who had found the true faith The manifestation of repentance and spiritual transformation took place through washing in water He announced the imminent coming of the Messiah and, most importantly, baptized Jesus, who was his maternal relative The process of baptism itself is very important: thereby John, anticipating his death, endowed Jesus with spiritual authority in front of society And all the main Gospels tell that at that moment the Holy Spirit descended in the guise of a dove John exposed the evils of society, which caused his death around 30 AD He is considered a real historical character; his life stories in some sources are recognized as authentic texts, untouched by the conjectures of copyists His activities were displeasing to the rulers of that time, who were mired in debauchery, especially Queen Herodias, who violated Jewish law by having a criminal love affair with her husband’s brother John had very real power on the minds of people who respected him, revered him and considered him a saint These, more political than religious, motives served to arrest the Baptist and his subsequent execution A source such as the Gospel of Mark connects the moment of beheading with the legendary dance of Salome Being the faithful daughter of Herodias, for her dance she demanded from the ruler Herod Antipas as a reward the head of the saint, who at that time was imprisoned This is how women's revenge was accomplished Further details of the biography diverge from different sources, becoming overgrown with all sorts of legends: the burial place is still disputed Two fragments of the relics - the head and the incorruptible right hand - are considered revered shrines, although the number of relics centuries after the moment of death has become simply unrealistic: 12 heads, 9 hands, and many more body parts that claim to be sacred are known According to most experts, the original part of the head is kept in Amiens, France But all this did not stop people from believing and endowing the collected water with special powers on the day of the Nativity of the great Baptist John the Baptist became one of the most revered saints by the 4th century, and his 6-month age difference with Jesus was used by Catholic dogmatists as an additional symbol The birth of Jesus is timed to coincide with the winter solstice, and John - to the summer solstice This left an imprint on the ritualism of the holiday when Christianity spread at the beginning of the 1st millennium, especially in the territory of modern Europe The eradication of paganism made it possible to replace the celebration of the longest day and the worship of the sun cult on the Nativity of John, leaving similar paraphernalia - fires, bonfires kindled in settlements Catholics all over the world, after the solemn mass on June 24, celebrate until the night, glorifying the great saint, who devoted his life to serving the true faith They revere everything connected with him Thus, on the site of his parents’ house in the suburbs of Jerusalem stands a majestic Franciscan Catholic monastery In many countries where this religion is the main one, the Roman Catholic Church holds a solemn liturgy followed by processions with candles and torches