01 — Foundations
The priestly and prophetic ground from which the Forerunner comes: his father Zacharias, a priest of the division of Abijah, and his mother Elizabeth, “of the daughters of Aaron,” both “righteous before God” yet childless and advanced in years (Luke 1:5–7); the annunciation of his birth to Zacharias in the Temple (Luke 1:8–25); the Visitation, in which the unborn John leaps in his mother’s womb at the voice of the Theotokos (Luke 1:39–45); and the conception (Sept. 23) and Nativity (June 24) marked by the silencing and loosing of Zacharias’s tongue and the Benedictus (Luke 1:57–80).
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Forerunner)
John is born into the priesthood of the Old Covenant and is from the womb appointed to be the prophet who closes it. This section establishes the Gospel infancy narrative on which everything else rests: the barren and aged parents in whom the births of the patriarchal age are recalled, the angelic annunciation in the sanctuary, the leaping of the child before the Lord he will one day baptize, and the two feasts — Conception and Nativity — by which the Church keeps these events. It sets out what the Gospel of Luke gives and how the liturgical tradition reads it.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Zacharias and Elizabeth | The priestly parents (Luke 1:5–7); the annunciation by Gabriel at the altar of incense, Zacharias’s doubt and silencing (Luke 1:8–22); Elizabeth’s conception and the Visitation, when John leaps in the womb and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:39–45). |
| The Conception and Nativity | The conception of the Forerunner (feast Sept. 23) and his Nativity (June 24); the birth, the dispute over the name, the loosing of Zacharias’s tongue, and the Benedictus, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel” (Luke 1:57–80); the placing of the Nativity six months before Christ’s. |
See Also
- The Wilderness Years — the child who “grew and became strong in spirit” and was in the desert (Luke 1:80)
- The Cycle of Feasts — the Conception and Nativity within the six feasts of the Forerunner
- Holy Scripture — the Lukan infancy narrative as Gospel source
References
- The Gospel According to Luke 1:5–80. Revised Standard Version.
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew and Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles. Trans. in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vols. 10–11.
- The Festal Menaion. Trans. Mother Mary and Kallistos Ware. London: Faber & Faber, 1969 (for the services of the feasts of the Forerunner).