Third Finding of the Precious Head of the Holy and Glorious Forerunner and Baptist John (c. 850)

The third finding of the precious head of the holy and glorious Forerunner and Baptist John (c. 850). When Saint John Chrysostom (commemorated 13 November) was exiled, unrest broke out in Constantinople. In connection with this the precious head of Saint John the Baptist was taken to Emesa, and from there, during the Saracen raids (810–820), to Comana. When the iconoclast heresy was raging, the holy thing was buried in the ground. After the veneration of icons was restored, the place where the precious head of Saint John the Forerunner lay was revealed by the Lord to Patriarch Ignatius (847–857). The chief shepherd told the emperor of this. He sent envoys to Comana, who found the holy thing in the place the patriarch had indicated. This happened in 850. Later the Baptist’s head was brought back to Constantinople and placed in the court church of the imperial palace. A portion of it is kept on the Holy Mountain of Athos.