Zachariah the Prophet icon

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Orthodox Icon of Prophet Zachariah, Zacharias.

Commemorated September 5.

Protector Saint of : Older Couples

The Holy Prophet Zachariah and the Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of the holy Prophet, John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord. Zachariah was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple, and Elizabeth was the sister of Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos. They both were childless. During a service in the Temple, Prophet Zachariah was told by an angel that his wife would bear him a son, who will be great in the sight of the Lord (Luke 1:15) and will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias (Luke 1:17).

Zachariah doubted this prediction was punished for his weak faith by being made mute. When Elizabeth gave birth to a son, and announced that his name was John, although no one in their family had this name. They asked Zachariah and he also wrote the name John down on a tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and he began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord. King Herod knew about John's unusual birth and he wanted to kill him, fearing that he was the foretold King of the Jews. But Elizabeth hid herself and the infant in the hills. One day when Zachariah was taking his turn at the services in the Temple, soldiers sent by Herod tried discover the whereabouts of his son.

By command of Herod, they murdered this holy prophet, having stabbed him between the temple and the altar (MT 23: 35).

Reference: O.C.A

We find this name of our God in two Biblical Books. The first is in the Book of Daniel and it was a vision that Daniel's had: "I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire."A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened”.

The second is in the book of Revelation 1/A 12-18: "I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

In the art of the orthodox iconography, sometimes Christ portrayed as an Elderly, as the “Ancient of the Days”, to symbolically show His existence in eternity and some times like a young “person” to demonstrate His incarnation. This tendency of hagiography appeared in the 6th century AD, especially in the Eastern Byzantine Empire.

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