Birthplace of John the Baptist

To the southwest of Jerusalem, for one hour and a quarter drive, in a vast mountain hollow, between gardens and cultivated fields, is beautifully located the village of Ain Karim (in ancient times it was called the Mountain City, or the Mountain City of Judah); this is the birthplace of the Forerunner of Christ John. On the site where the greatest of the Prophets born of women was born, there is now a Franciscan monastery. The church here has three altars; the left altar stands above the birthplace of John the Baptist. From the church, along eight marble steps, one descends into the cave, where under the marble board of the altar burn six inextinguishable lamps, and under them there is a star carved from marble with a Latin inscription: "Here was born the Forerunner of the Lord." The vault and walls of the cave are lined with marble and covered with rich fabric, and the floor is decorated with mosaics. The main altar of the temple stands on the place where the happy elder Zachariah sang his song of thanksgiving: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel..." (Luke 1:67 ff.). Behind the monastery at the end of the village you can see under the shade of fig trees a reservoir called "Mary's Spring". Legend says that the Mother of God went here to draw water when she was visiting Her relative Elizabeth.

Not far from this reservoir were the ruins of the house of Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth.

Now in the Upper Russian Mission there is a shelter for Orthodox worshippers and a convent for Orthodox Christians, with a church.

(Synaxarion for June 24)

227. Chrysostom's Praise of the Holy Apostle Paul

"If it behooves me to boast, I will boast of my weakness" (2 Corinthians 11:30). Do you see that the Apostle Paul never boasts of miracles, but always of persecutions and temptations? The Jews took up arms against him, the pagans rebelled against him, false brethren disputed with him, and weak brethren insulted him. Everywhere there was confusion and indignation against him, both from his own and from strangers. "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the message... For I am not lying," he says. — ... the pagan prince Arethas the king guarded the city of Damascus, and let me go" (2 Corinthians 11:31-32). See what a battle it is, if the prince guarded the city for its sake. But when I speak of battle, I mean Paul's zeal. If Paul had not breathed such a fire of jealousy, he would not have kindled such a fury in the governor of the province/He endured so much, and never wavered, but endured everything that came to him, he bore courageously, yet he did not recklessly enter into danger and did not flee to meet them. See what means he agreed to in order to avoid the siege: "... the window in the pocket was hung." Though he wished to transmigrate from this life, he also sought salvation with the help of men, in order to save himself for preaching. But here again he ascribed everything to God.

This is the glorious victory, these are the victorious signs of the Church! Thus the devil is overthrown by our sufferings. The more the devil brought dangers upon Paul, the more he was defeated. He plunged him into labor, then into sorrow, then into fear, then into illness, then into all of a sudden; but Paul was victorious in all things. It was not with such force that the multitude of trumpets shook the stone walls of the city of Jericho and destroyed them, with which the voice of Paul overthrew the strongholds of the devil with his sound, and, having taken away from him a multitude of captives, Paul himself armed them, formed his army out of them, and with the help of it conquered miraculously. Like a lion roaring and emitting flames from his mouth, he was intolerable to everyone. He constantly appeared everywhere. He came to some, hurried to others, appeared to them, was transported to others, flew faster than the wind. And ruling the world as one house or one ship, he brought out the drowning, then strengthened the faint, now gave orders to the shepherds of the Church: "All things were to save all" (25th discourse on the Epistle of 2 Corinthians), and the demons fled, and the sickness departed, and wherever Paul appeared, everything gave way to him, and like those who had been defeated many times in war, tremble at the very sight of the weapon that wounded them, just as the demons withdrew at the sight of Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons (13th discourse on the Epistle of 1 Corinthians).

He endured everything in order to free others from evil. And notice, he was shipwrecked to stop the shipwreck of the universe; and the day was in the depths of the sea, to bring people out of the depths of deception; he was in labor to calm the workers; he endured wounds in order to heal those who were wounded by the devil; He sat in prisons, that those who sit in chains and darkness might be brought to light; he was at the point of death many times in order to save others from a cruel death; five times he received forty lashes without one, in order to deliver from the scourges of the devil those who scourged him, he was beaten with rods in order to bring others under the rod of Christ; he was pelted with stones in order to free others from senseless stones; was in the wilderness to bring out of the wilderness; he was on journeys in order to stop the lost and open the way leading to heaven; he was exposed to dangers in the cities in order to indicate the mountain city; he endured hunger and thirst in order to deliver him from the fiercest hunger; he was naked, that he might clothe those naked with sin in the garment of Christ; He suffered an attack from the people in order to divert them from the demonic attack, he was lowered in a basket through the window along the wall in order to raise the defeated valu... Shall we say more, when we do not know all that Paul endured? A martyr dies once, but this blessed one endured so many misfortunes with one body and one soul that they can make even the strongest soul tremble (25th Discourse on the Epistle of 2 Corinthians).

And this is Paul, who solemnly exclaims: "His (Christ's) grace, which is in me, was not in vain, but above all they laboured" (1 Corinthians 15:10); it is this Paul, humble-minded, who says: "For I am the least of the Apostles, who is worthy to be called an Apostle" (1 Corinthians 15:9). Do you see an example of the greatest humility? See how Paul humbles himself, how he calls himself the least of the Apostles! Ponder who uttered these words?

Paul, a heavenly citizen, although still clothed with a feeble body, a pillar of the Churches, an earthly Angel, a heavenly man.. (Discourse on Repentance). This Paul, when necessity compelled him to tell about his merits, touched them slightly; and even if he could have written many books, if he had begun to expand on each podvig, to enumerate the Churches for which he cared, to speak about the prisons and his exploits in them, about the detailed circumstances of each labor, about the attacks on it, yet he did not want to do this (25th discourse on the Epistle of 2 Corinthians).

I love to talk about this husband and contemplate the beauty of his virtue! The rising sun does not so much illuminate my eyes with its bright rays as Paul's face illuminates my soul. The sun illuminates the eye, and Paul delights the mind to the very vaults of heaven. He elevates the soul above the sun and moon (Discourse on Repentance).

Oh, who would allow me now to touch Paul's body, to cling to the tomb and see the dust of that body which bore the wounds of the Lord Jesus and sowed everywhere the preaching of the Gospel, the dust of the body through which Christ spoke, through which Paul pronounced these longed-for words: "I prayed that I myself be excommunicated from Christ for my brethren..." (Romans 9:3), through which he spoke before kings and was not ashamed! Thunder is not so much terrible for us as Paul's voice and even clothes are terrible for demons. This voice bound the demons, cleansed the universe, stopped diseases, expelled vices, and instilled truth — in this voice Christ Himself rested.. Oh, how I would like to see the dust of these lips, through which Christ spoke great and ineffable mysteries, which cast out demons, cleansed sins, stopped the mouths of tyrants, bound the tongues of the wise, brought the universe to God.. I would also like to see the dust of this heart, which, without sinning, can be called the heart of the universe, the source of innumerable blessings. For from this heart the spirit of life poured out to everything. It was so vast that it contained entire cities, tribes, and nations, burned with sorrow for each of those who perished, was tormented by the sickness of birth for imperfect children... — a heart higher than the heavens, more extensive than the universe, more brilliant than the rays of the sun, hotter than fire, harder than diamonds.. In this heart there was a fountain flowing and watering not the face of the earth, but the souls of men... It lived a new life, not this one of ours, it was the heart of Christ, the tablet of the Holy Spirit, the book of grace.. I would like to see the dust of these hands, both those who bore the chains, and through the laying on of the Holy Spirit, and those who wrote these letters: "See, I have written to you with many books by my hand" (Gal. 6:11). And the dust of these eyes, which at first suffered darkness, but received their sight for the salvation of the universe, were vouchsafed to see Christ while still in the body; who looked at earthly things, but did not see them, beheld the invisible, but did not know sleep, were awake at night!

I would also like to see the dust of these feet, which flowed around the world, but did not labor, the feet which, when they were hammered into the stock, the prison was shaken, and which went about the whole earth and measured it several times with their feet.. Oh, how I would like to see the tomb in which all these members rest, truly Christ's, members nailed by the fear of God, bearing the wounds of Christ..