On September 5, the Orthodox Church honors Zechariah and Elizabeth, the elderly couple whose long-awaited son would become John the Baptist—the prophet who prepared the way for Christ.
The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth begins with a couple who had spent many years without children.
Zechariah was a priest descended from Aaron, serving in the Temple in Jerusalem. Elizabeth was also from a priestly family. The Gospel of Luke describes both as righteous before God, yet they were childless and advanced in age.
Their situation changed dramatically when Zechariah was chosen to enter the Temple sanctuary and burn incense. There, an angel appeared to him and announced that Elizabeth would have a son.
The angel identified himself as Gabriel and told Zechariah that the child was to be named John. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would have a special mission: to turn people back to God and prepare them for the coming of the Lord.
Zechariah struggled to believe the announcement. As a sign, Gabriel told him that he would be unable to speak until the promise was fulfilled.
Elizabeth Finally Becomes a Mother
Elizabeth soon became pregnant, fulfilling the extraordinary promise made to her husband.
Her pregnancy also became part of another remarkable moment in the Gospel. When the Virgin Mary, already carrying Jesus, visited Elizabeth, the unborn John is described as leaping in his mother’s womb. Elizabeth recognized Mary as the mother of her Lord and blessed her.
Months later, Elizabeth gave birth to a son.
When relatives gathered for the child’s circumcision, they assumed he would be named after his father. Elizabeth insisted that his name was John.
They turned to Zechariah, who was still unable to speak. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote: “His name is John.”
At that exact moment, his speech returned.
The Gospel presents this as the fulfillment of Gabriel’s earlier announcement. Zechariah’s first words were words of praise to God, and he then delivered a prophecy about the future mission of his son.
The Prophet Who Would Prepare the Way
John would become far more than the long-awaited son of an elderly couple.
In Christian tradition, he is regarded as the last of the Old Testament prophets, standing at the threshold between the age of the prophets and the coming of Christ. His mission was not to become the center of the story, but to prepare the way for the one who would follow.
John would later preach in the wilderness, calling people to repentance and baptizing them in the Jordan River. His preaching would make him one of the most recognizable figures at the beginning of the New Testament.
Why September 5 Matters
The Orthodox Church commemorates Zechariah and Elizabeth on September 5, remembering not only the parents of John the Baptist but a story centered on faith, doubt, patience and the fulfillment of a promise.
Their story begins with years of silence and disappointment—and reaches its most striking moment when a father who had lost his ability to speak suddenly finds his voice again after confirming the name foretold by an angel.
John was to be called John—and Zechariah’s voice returned when the promise was fulfilled.
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