Zachariah the Prophet icon

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