18 September Commemoration of the Prophet Zechariah and Righteous Elizabeth

Zechariah was the son of Barachiah. Both came from the holy family of Aaron: Zacharias, the son of Barachias, was a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, and Elizabeth was the sister of Anna, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

They lived a righteous life, strictly observing the commandments of the Lord, but for a long time they remained childless, which in Old Testament times was considered a heavy punishment of God. One day, when Zechariah was performing his service in the temple, an angel appeared to him, announcing that his wife, in spite of her advanced age, would bear him a son. This child would be ‘great before the Lord’ and would ‘come in the spirit and power of Elijah’ (Luke 1:15-17).

Zechariah did not believe what he heard and was punished with dumbness for his doubt. When Elizabeth had a son, she named him John by the Holy Spirit, though none of their ancestors had that name. Zacharias confirmed this by writing the name on a tablet, and at the same moment he regained the gift of speech. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he began to prophesy about his son, who would become the Forerunner of the Lord.

When Herod heard from the wise men about the birth of the Messiah, he ordered the killing of all the babies in Bethlehem and the surrounding area under the age of two, hoping to destroy the Saviour. Herod was also aware of John’s miraculous birth and feared that he might be the future King of the Jews. To save her son, Elizabeth fled with him into the mountains. When the pursuers approached, she prayed to God in desperation, and the mountain parted and hid them. At this time Zechariah continued his service in the temple.

Herod’s soldiers came to him, demanding to reveal the whereabouts of his son, but not receiving an answer, they killed him by stabbing him between the altar and the altar (Matthew 23:35). Forty days after the death of her husband, the righteous Elizabeth also died. And Saint John, being under the protection of the Lord, lived in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the people of Israel.