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Prophet · 1st BC century

Prophet Zachariah

Commemorated as

The Holy and Glorious Prophet Zachariah, Priest and Father of the Forerunner

1st century BC – 1st century AD

Also known as Zacharias · the Priest Zachariah · father of St. John the Forerunner

The priest and prophet, father of St. John the Forerunner; struck mute for doubting the angel’s promise of a son, and by tradition later slain in the temple.

Life

Zachariah (Hebrew Zəḵaryā, 'Remember Yah') was a Jewish priest who served in the Temple at Jerusalem during the reign of Herod the Great, and the father of John the Forerunner (John the Baptist). He belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, one of the twenty-four courses of temple service established by King David, and was married to Elizabeth, herself of priestly descent from Aaron. Both are described in the Gospel of Luke as righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments.

While serving his assigned week of temple duty, Zachariah was selected by lot to burn incense at the altar of incense — an honor that came to a priest only once in a lifetime. As he performed this duty, the angel Gabriel appeared and announced that his barren and aged wife Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son named John, who would be great before the Lord and would go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah. Zachariah questioned the promise, citing his and Elizabeth's advanced age, and Gabriel struck him mute until the day the prophecy would be fulfilled.

At the child's circumcision on the eighth day, when relatives intended to name the boy Zechariah after his father, Elizabeth declared that his name would be John. When the protesting kin appealed to Zachariah, he wrote on a tablet, 'His name is John,' and his speech was immediately restored. He then uttered the prophetic canticle known as the Benedictus, recorded in Luke, blessing God for redeeming His people and foretelling his son's role as prophet of the Most High. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates Zachariah on September 5, together with Elizabeth.

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Timeline

Reign of Herod the Great Priestly service in the Temple Zachariah serves as a priest of the division of Abijah at the Temple in Jerusalem, married to Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron; both are recorded as righteous and blameless before God.
During a week of temple duty The vision of Gabriel Chosen by lot to burn incense at the altar of incense, Zachariah is met by the angel Gabriel, who announces that the aged Elizabeth will bear a son named John. Doubting the promise, Zachariah is struck mute until its fulfillment.
Eighth day after John's birth Naming of John and the Benedictus At the circumcision, Zachariah writes 'His name is John,' his speech is restored, and he prophesies the canticle known as the Benedictus, blessing God and foretelling his son's calling as prophet of the Most High.
By apocryphal tradition Martyrdom in the Temple According to the Gospel of James (Protevangelium), during Herod's Massacre of the Innocents, Zachariah refuses to disclose the hiding place of the infant John and is slain 'between the temple and the altar.'

Contributions & Legacy

Historical Context

Zachariah served within the structured priesthood of Second Temple Judaism. As a member of the division of Abijah, he belonged to one of the twenty-four priestly courses that King David had established to organize temple service. Selection by lot to offer incense at the altar of incense was a rare distinction, often falling to a given priest only once in his lifetime.

His wife Elizabeth also came from a priestly family descended from Aaron, and the Gospel of Luke identifies her as a kinswoman of the Theotokos. The events of Zachariah's life are set during the reign of Herod the Great, and his prophetic canticle situates the birth of his son John within the broader expectation of Israel's redemption.

Miracles & Traditions

Historically Documented: The Gospel of Luke records that Zachariah was struck mute after doubting Gabriel's announcement and that his speech was miraculously restored at the moment he confirmed the child's name as John. His subsequent prophecy, the Benedictus (from the Latin for 'Blessed'; Greek Eulogetos), is preserved in Luke and blesses God for redeeming His people while foretelling John's role as prophet of the Most High.

Traditional Accounts: An apocryphal tradition preserved in the second-century Gospel of James (Protevangelium), chapters 22–24, relates that Zachariah was martyred during Herod's Massacre of the Innocents. When Herod's soldiers came demanding to know where the infant John was hidden, Zachariah refused to reveal the child and was murdered 'between the temple and the altar' — a phrase echoing the Gospel reference to the blood of Zechariah slain between the sanctuary and the altar. The same source recounts the election of Simeon as Zachariah's successor.

Relics & Shrines

Several locations have claimed to hold the remains of Zachariah. The church of San Zaccaria in Venice venerates his body as its primary, dedicatory relic; by tradition the relic was given by the Byzantine Emperor Leo V the Armenian (reigned 813–820) and is kept beneath the second altar on the right. Doge Giustiniano Participazio founded the first church on the site specifically to house it, and the church grew into a prestigious Benedictine nunnery tied to Venice's ruling families. In 855, Pope Benedict III took refuge there and donated further relics, including remains of Athanasius of Alexandria and a piece of the True Cross. The current building dates to the fifteenth century in late Gothic and Renaissance style; annual Easter ceremonies were held there with the Doge until Napoleon's invasion in 1797.

Other sites have likewise claimed his remains, including Gandzasar monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh. A fourth-century inscription at the Tomb of Absalom in Jerusalem identifies it as 'the tomb of Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John.'

Related Saints

Righteous Elizabeth · His wife; parents of St. John the Forerunner, jointly commemorated September 5

Notes

Father of St. John the Forerunner; his song of praise is the Benedictus (Luke 1). Jointly commemorated Sep 5 with his wife; split into separate rows for finder clarity. See OS-2752 (Righteous Elizabeth).

Sources: Synaxarion; Gospel of Luke