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 Zachariah, the son of Barachiah, was a priest in the Jerusalem temple, and Saint Elizabeth was the sister of Saint Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. The righteous spouses, "acting blamelessly according to all the commandments of the Lord" (Luke 1:5-25), suffered from infertility, which was considered a great punishment of God in the Old Testament times. """One day, while serving in the temple, Saint Zachariah received news from an Angel that his elderly wife would bear him a son who would "be great before the Lord" (Luke 1:15) and "stand before him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). Zachariah questioned 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. They asked the righteous Zachariah, and he also wrote the name John on the tablet. Immediately, the power of speech returned to him, and filled with the Holy Spirit, he 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 had been born, he decided to beat up all the babies under the age of 2 in Bethlehem and its surroundings, hoping that the Messiah who had been 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 searched everywhere for John. The righteous Elizabeth, seeing the pursuers, tearfully began to pray to God for salvation, and immediately the mountain parted and hid her and the baby from pursuit. During these calamitous days, Saint Zachariah 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, protected by the Lord, remained in the desert until the day of his appearance to the Israeli people.