Byzantine Saints: 1st & 2nd Finding of the Head of the Forerunner and Baptist John (24 February)

About this sermon

On February 24, the Church commemorates the First and Second Finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, Saint John the Baptist. After the martyrdom and beheading of St. John on August 29, his holy body was buried in Sebaste, while his venerable head was secretly hidden by Herodias. Through divine providence, St. Joanna — wife of Chuza, King Herod’s steward (Luke 8:3) — rescued and buried the holy head on the Mount of Olives. Years later, the sacred relic was miraculously uncovered by a monk named Innocent — the First Finding. Fearing desecration, he hid it again before his death. During the reign of St. Constantine the Great, two monks were divinely led to uncover it once more. After providential events involving a humble potter, the holy head was preserved by devout Christians until it fell temporarily into the hands of a heretic. By God’s will, it was hidden again. In the year 452, St. John the Baptist appeared to Archimandrite Marcellus, revealing the relic’s location — the Second Finding. The holy head was transferred to Emesa and later to Constantinople, where it became a source of healing and grace for the faithful. This powerful history reminds us: • God preserves His saints • Truth cannot be buried • Holiness triumphs over heresy • Divine providence guides the Church St. John the Baptist — the greatest born of women — continues to call us to repentance and faithfulness. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) May the Holy Forerunner intercede for us. 00:00 – Introduction 00:19 – The Beheading of St. John the Baptist (Aug 29) 00:33 – The Holy Head Hidden by Herodias 00:41 – St. Joanna Rescues and Buries the Relic 00:54 – The Monk Innocent and the First Finding 01:16 – The Relic Hidden Again 01:29 – St. Constantine’s Era & Divine Revelation 01:44 – The Monks Discover the Holy Head 01:50 – The Potter and the Miraculous Intervention 02:13 – Preservation Through Devout Christians 02:21 – The Arian Heretic Eustathius 02:49 – Monastery at the Cave 02:55 – St. John Appears to Archimandrite Marcellus 03:05 – The Second Finding (Year 452) 03:07 – Transfer to Emesa and Constantinople 03:15 – Spiritual Significance for Us Today https://www.oca.org/saints/lives 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SensusFidelium.TV - https://sensusfidelium.tv/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StJohnTheBaptist #JohnTheForerunner #CatholicSaints #OrthodoxSaints #FeastDay #February24 #ChurchHistory #HolyRelics #ChristianTradition #LivesOfTheSaints