The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the holy righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. They came from the family of Aaron: Saint Zacharias, the son of Barachia, was a priest in the Jerusalem temple, and Saint Elizabeth was the sister of Saint Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. Righteous spouses, "acting according to all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly" (Luke 1:5-25), suffered from infertility, which was considered in Old Testament times a great punishment of God.

One day, while serving in the temple, Saint Zacharias received news from an Angel that his elderly wife would bear him a son who "will be great before the Lord" (Lk. 1, 15) and "will come before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk. 1, 17). Zachariah doubted the possibility of fulfilling this prediction and was punished with dumbness for his lack of faith. When the righteous Elizabeth had a son, she, at the suggestion of the Holy Spirit, announced that she would name the baby John, although no one in their family had ever given such a name before. The righteous Zachariah was asked, and he also wrote the name John on the tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and he, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.

When the wicked king Herod heard from the magi about the Messiah who was born, he decided to beat up all babies under the age of 2 in Bethlehem and its surroundings, hoping that the Messiah who was born would be among them. Herod was well aware of the unusual birth of the prophet John and wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the King of the Jews. But the righteous Elizabeth took refuge with the baby in the mountains. The murderers were looking everywhere for John. The righteous Elizabeth, seeing the pursuers, with tears began to pray to God for salvation, and immediately the mountain parted and hid her and the baby from the chase. During these calamitous days, Saint Zacharias fulfilled his ministry in the Jerusalem temple.

The soldiers sent by Herod tried in vain to find out from him where his son was. Then, at the command of Herod, they killed the holy prophet, stabbing him between the altar and the altar (Matthew 23:35). The righteous Elizabeth died 40 days after her husband, and St. John, kept by the Lord, stayed in the desert until the day of his appearance to the Israeli people.