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'''John the Baptist''' is also refered to as John the Forerunner because he was the forerunner of Christ. He was an ascetic and great prophet, who baptized Christ and became one of the most revered saints in the Orthodox Church. He was later beheaded by Herod in the first century to statisfy the request of his stepdaughter, Salome, and wife Herodias. Because he baptized Christ, he is the patron saint of godparents. Isaiah 40:3-5 is commonly read as a prophecy of John. His father, [[Zacharias]], was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr. 24:10), and his mother, [[Elizabeth]], was of the Daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5). John held the priesthood of Aaron, giving him the authority to perform baptisms of God.
His birth took place six months before that of Jesus, and according to the Gospel account was expected by prophecy (Matt. 3:3; Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1) and foretold by an angel. Zacharias lost his power of speech because of his unbelief over the birth of his son, and had it restored on the occasion of John's circumcision (Luke 1:64).
Jesus himself testified regarding John that he was a "burning and a shining light" (John 5:35). John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, thus serving as a bridge figure between that period of revelation and Jesus. They also embrace a tradition that, following his death, John descended into Hell and there once more preached that Jesus the Messiah was coming.
== Feast Days ==
The Orthodox Church remembers Saint John the Forerunner on six separate feast days, listed here in order of the church year which begins on September 1:
*August 29 - The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
== Relics ==
*St. Demetrios Church, Neo Phaleron, Piraeus
*Benaki Museum, Athens
*Topkapi Museum, Constatinople
* Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria
