Today, May 25, the Church commemorates the Third Finding of the Precious Head of Saint John the Baptist, as well as the memory of the Martyr Celestine and Saint Olbian.
John the Baptist’s Precious Head was found for the first time in Machaerus in Palestine, where Herod’s palace was located. The head was miraculously found for the second time in Emesa, kept in a pitcher, in 431.
The head was found for the third rime in Komana, Cappadocia, when a revered priest, guided by God, found it in a silver case that was buried in the ground. This event took place before the end of the 9th century and the holy relic was transferred to Constantinople, where the faithful welcomed and placed it in the famous Monastery of Stoudios.
As St. Theodore the Studite points out in his encomium, finding the holy head or other holy relics is a message from heaven and an invitation to the faithful for a life of faith and holiness with the support of the saints whom the Lord Himself has endowed them with the gift to comfort and empower people.
Especially today, with so many trials, difficulties and sorrows of everyday life, we draw strength and courage from the grace and generosity of our saints and, above all, from the ethos and straightforwardness of Saint John the Baptist.
Source: Church of Cyprus