GIOVANNI BATTISTA

JOHN THE BAPTIST. – Precursor of Jesus in preaching and in baptism, from which he derived his name (6 βαπτιστής “the baptizer”: Mt. 3, 1, etc.). Jesus extols his personality and ministry, placing him above the prophets and every man born of woman, designating him a strong and austere man and comparing him to a “burning and shining lamp” and to Elijah in spirit. John marks the end of the law and the prophets and inaugurates the new evangelical era (Mt. 11, 7-9; 11; Lc. 7, 24-28; Mt. 9, 13 sg.; 17, 12; Mc. 9, 12 sg.; Io. 5, 35). He precedes the Messiah to bear witness to him and, by preaching and baptizing the multitudes of Israel, he disposes them to the conversion of heart and to the production of good works, so that they may enter the messianic dispensation. He will then withdraw into the shadows to allow the one whom he considers infinitely greater than himself to grow (Io. 3, 29 sg.), concluding his mission with martyrdom.

A fitting preparation precedes his mission: the prophecies of Is. 40, 3 and Mal. 3, 1, the intervention of the angel Gabriel, the miracles of sanctification in the maternal womb, of birth and of the imposition of the name, the visit of the Mother of Jesus to St. Elizabeth, and an austere life spent in the deserts. A popular movement immediately forms around him, the religious authority takes notice of him and does not hinder him. He does not claim what does not belong to him, but he firmly affirms what he is: “the voice of the Precursor” (Io. 1, 19-27). At the center of his activity is the conferral of baptism on Jesus on the banks of the Jordan. Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Jud., XVIII, 5, 2) praises his preaching, his baptism, and his martyrdom. More detailed accounts come from the Gospels.

The parents of John the Baptist were the priest Zechariah (v.), who belonged to the priestly class of Abijah, and Elizabeth, who was also descended from a priestly lineage, at least on her mother’s side (Lc. 1, 5), and related (ἡ συγγενής = aunt or cousin?) to the Blessed Virgin (Lc. 1, 36). Both were advanced in years but righteous and blameless (Lc. 1, 5-6); they had no children. Like the births of Samson and Samuel, the birth of John the Baptist occurred in a miraculous manner. Lc. 1, 5-25 describes the details. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah in the “Holy Place,” at the right of the altar of incense, while he is performing the offering of incense, and communicates to him that, since his prayer (to hasten the coming of the Messiah?) has been heard, he will be the father of the Precursor of the awaited Messiah.

Gabriel reveals that John “will be great before God, filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb,” that is, freed from original sin, adorned with sanctifying grace and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit (not merely the gift of prophecy: Konrad), while still in the maternal womb (and not “from the moment of birth or infancy”: Konrad, Loisy, Plummer), according to Buzy at the moment when he “leaped” for joy. His mission resembles that of Elijah, whose spirit and power he was to possess (1 Kings 17-20), to renew the bonds of the domestic society and to bring back the unbelievers to sentiments of justice and piety, as was foretold in Mal. 3, 23-24 (Lc. 1, 17), in order to prepare a “perfect people” for the coming of the Messiah.

The angel assigns the name to be given him: “John is his name” (Lc. 1, 60). To Zechariah, who asks for a “sign” of confirmation (probably out of lack of faith), he foretells that he will be mute until the birth of the child. Elizabeth conceals her pregnancy for five months, attributing the merit of her motherhood to God. Then she receives the welcome and august visit of the Blessed Virgin, who, having learned from Gabriel himself (v. ANNUNCIATION) that her elderly and barren relative was in the sixth month of pregnancy through the power of God (“for nothing is impossible with God”), hastened to her to render her service. With rich detail, Luke recounts the scene of the meeting of the two relatives and the “leaping” for joy of John the Baptist in his mother’s womb, who was “filled with the Holy Spirit” in acclaiming Mary. Mary remained with Elizabeth for three months, and thus until the birth of John the Baptist. The place of the visitation is indicated in a general way: εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν Ζαχαρίου “into the house of Zechariah,” which is to be translated “into a city of Judah,” situated in a mountainous region. Various locations have been proposed (Macherus, Sebaste, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Hebron, Juttah, Judah of Naphtali, Beth-zur, Beit-Sakari), but the most probable is the traditional one of St. John in the Mountains, 'Ain Karim (v.), 6 km. west of Jerusalem, where two sanctuaries are venerated: that of the Birth of John the Baptist and that of the Visitation. Excavations were carried out there by the Franciscan Fathers in 1941-42.

Eight days after his birth, John was circumcised and given his name, while Zechariah, having recovered his speech, intoned among the Benedictus (v.), in which he extols the mission of the Precursor, intended to prepare the ways of the Lord and to teach the people the way of salvation through the remission of sins (Lc. 1, 68-79). According to Io. 1, 7-8, John was to “bear witness to the light,” so that all might believe through him. Lc. 1, 80 describes the physical, intellectual, and moral development of the child: “he grew and became strong in spirit.” Then he went to dwell “in the deserts.” This expression indicates a nomadic way of life, spent now in one desert, now in another, that is, in the region between el-'Asur and the southeast of the Dead Sea, where are found the deserts of Ziph, Engedi, Maon, etc. However, the term “desert” can well indicate a solitary place, even if not desolate. A tradition dating from after the 12th century places him 5-6 km. from 'Ain Karim, a picturesque spot near the village of Suba. It is not known at what age John went to live in the deserts. According to the legend, collected by the apocrypha, Elizabeth would have taken him there at the time of the massacre of the innocents, and God would have miraculously hidden her with the child inside a rock. Lc. 1, 80 could also be understood as meaning that this occurred in early childhood (cf. the liturgical hymn: Antra deserti teneris sub annis – civium turmas fugiens, petisti). The parents of John, moreover, being advanced in years, could not have survived him for long.

In the deserts the young Precursor led an austere life. At the beginning of his ministry he wore either a loincloth of rough leather around his loins and a mantle of coarse camel’s hair thrown over his shoulders, or a tunic of camel’s hair, girded at the waist with a rough leather belt. His food consisted of locusts (a lawful food: Lev. 11, 22) and wild honey (of bees, and not the vegetable honey exuded by the tamarisk: μέλι ἄγριον), that is, of whatever food fortune provided, such as the Bedouins eat. He remained in the deserts until the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea. If the 15th year is reckoned from the death of Augustus (19 August 767 of Rome), it corresponds to the year 28-29 A.D.; if, instead, it is reckoned from his association with Augustus (January 765 of Rome), it corresponds to the year 26-27 A.D.

G. B. received directly from God the command to begin his mission (Lk. 3:1–2) and settled in the desert of Judah, near the Jordan, that is, between the mountains of Judah, Jericho, and the Dead Sea. With the spirit and power of Elijah, and with the influence derived from his asceticism and divine vocation, G. B. “prepares the way of the Lord,” smoothing the hills, filling the valleys, widening and straightening the paths, by preaching the necessity of conversion (μετάνοια) and of the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, since the “Kingdom of God” is at hand. He addresses various social classes and inveighs against the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees, proclaiming that mere descent from the stock of Abraham is not sufficient for salvation but demanding positive fruits of good works. Amid an atmosphere of anxious messianic expectation, G. B. arouses great enthusiasm; crowds flock to him from Jerusalem, Judea, and the region around the Jordan, and he baptizes them by immersing them in the Jordan as they confess their sins. This mass movement gave rise to the suspicion that G. B. was the Messiah (Lk. 3:15), despite the fact that he did not belong to the lineage of David.

While G. B. was baptizing at Bethania (q.v.), beyond the Jordan, the Jewish authorities (the Sanhedrin?) sent an embassy from Jerusalem consisting of priests and Levites, among whom were some Pharisees, to ask him whether he was the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet (Jn. 1:19–28). G. B. denied this, declaring that he was only “the voice of one crying in the wilderness” foretold by Isaiah (40:3) and bearing witness to the superiority of Jesus’ mission, as he had done previously (Jn. 1:15–18) and would do again later (Jn. 1:29–37). Indeed, he considered this mission so sublime that he did not deem himself worthy even to “unloose the latchet of his shoes.” The baptism he administered was so much inferior to that of Jesus as spirit and fire are superior to water. He is the Lamb of God (q.v.) (because of his meekness and expiatory virtue), who takes away the sin of the world. He is the Messiah and the Son of God. He possesses a consuming fire, holds the winnowing fan and the sieve to sift the deeds of humanity, which he is to judge.

Jesus wished to present Himself to G. B. to receive his baptism. The wondrous scene with the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is vividly described by the Synoptics (Mt. 3:13–17; Mk. 1:9–11; Lk. 3:21ff.).

According to Mt. 3:13–14, G. B. knew Jesus and His mission from the moment He presented Himself for baptism, so much so that he sought to decline the honor. According to Jn. 1:33–34, however, G. B. did not know Him but recognized Him by the sign of the descent of the Spirit. St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine, among others, have proposed various solutions (cf. Buzy [q.V. bibliography], pp. 191–95). It seems possible to reconcile the two Evangelists by understanding that at the moment G. B. began his ministry as the Forerunner, he was revealed to be the One who was to baptize with the Spirit, and as confirmation he was given the sign of the descent of the symbolic dove. “He did not know Jesus” because before that revelation he was ignorant of His mission: “ἐγένετο γὰρ νόησις καὶ ἰσχύειν καὶ ἰσχύειν καὶ ἰσχύειν καὶ ἰσχύειν καὶ ἰσχίειν καὶ ἰσχίειν καὶ ἰσχίειν καὶ ἰστέναι” (Mt. 3:13–14). G. B. knew Jesus and His mission, but prior to the revelation, and this pertains not to the person of Jesus, whom he must have known, but to His mission.

G. B. gathered disciples around him; from among these Jesus recruited the first Apostles (Andrew, Simon, John, Philip, Nathanael), all of them Galileans, which demonstrates that the influence of G. B. extended far and wide. They remained steadfast in following G. B. Besides having received his baptism, they imitated his asceticism (fasting and prayer: Mt. 9:9–14; Mk. 2:13–18; Lk. 5:27–33; Mt. 11:1), followed him to Aenon, Bethania, Machaerus, etc., and were not pleased when he was overshadowed by Jesus. G. B., however, in various instances reaffirmed his inferiority to Jesus and directed them to Him.

The beginnings of the preaching of Jesus and G. B. are described in the same terms (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). G. B. began in the wilderness; then he crossed the Jordan and went to Bethania (q.v.), where he received the embassy from the Sanhedrists (Jn. 1:28). While Jesus was preaching in Judea (Jn. 3:22) surrounded by disciples, G. B. moved to Aenon (q.v.) near Salim, rich in water (Jn. 3:23), where a dispute arose between the disciples of G. B. and a Jew regarding purification. Then they went to G. B. to point out to him, with barely concealed envy, Jesus’ great successes. G. B. responded by affirming Jesus’ superiority again, considering his own mission fulfilled; he concluded with generous humility: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:25–36), inviting them to follow Jesus.

The opinion of Goguel (La vie de Jésus [q.V. bibliography], pp. 255ff.), according to which Jesus would have been a disciple of G. B. from whom He later separated due to disagreements over purifications (baptism), and that G. B. would have regarded Him as an unfaithful disciple and almost a renegade, has no foundation. Nor are there contradictions between Jn. 3:26; 4:1 and 3:32; between 3:22; 4:1 and 4:2; nor any traces of reworking in the story of G. B. in Jn. 3:22–24, 31.

G. B. continued his mission with courage and frankness, reproving vices and calling to repentance. But when he publicly reproached Herod Antipas (q.v.), tetrarch of Galilee, for his incestuous and adulterous marriage with Herodias, his niece and the wife of his living brother Philip, the tetrarch—perhaps fearing that the powerful eloquence of G. B. might provoke an uprising among the people (certainly scandalized by his conduct)—had him arrested (at Tiberias or Livias?) and cast into the prison (according to Flavius Josephus) at Machaerus (el-Mukāwer, in the mountains of Moab, between the Zerqā Māʿin and the Arnon, 1,100 meters above the Dead Sea). It is not known how long he remained there.

According to Mt. 11:2, 7 and Lk. 7:18–23, at this time he heard of the progress of Jesus’ mission and decided to send two of his disciples to ask Him: “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Jesus answered the envoys, charging them to report to G. B. (after performing miracles in their presence) that “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them,” as had been foretold in Is. 35:5–6; 61:1, adding moreover: “and blessed is he who takes no offense at me.” G. B., who knew and exalted Jesus’ mission at least from the time of His baptism, cannot now begin to doubt it (Loisy). Yet his attitude is interpreted differently. Some believe that in the squalor of the prison at Machaerus he may have nurtured some doubt about Jesus’ mission, or some impatience for the Kingdom of God to be realized more swiftly (cf. Buzy, pp. 286–306); or that he wished to spur Jesus to manifest Himself more decisively and clearly. The most common opinion is that G. B. wished to elicit from Jesus an explicit declaration of His messiahship in order to persuade his own disciples. This accords with the praise that Jesus bestows upon G. B. after the envoys’ departure. Jesus indeed proclaims him the herald of the Messiah, superior to the saints of the Old Testament, the link between the Old and New Testaments; he is not “a reed shaken by the wind,” nor a man of delicate sensibilities, but an ascetic; he is more than a prophet; he is Elijah!

Antipas listened willingly to G. B. in prison, becoming increasingly disturbed by him. But Herodias hated him to death and had decided to silence him forever. Antipas did not want to allow this because he revered him and feared for the people, who regarded him as a prophet. When Antipas’ birthday was being celebrated, during the banquet given for the high officials and the aristocracy of Galilee at Machaerus, the daughter of Herodias (Salome) performed dances that pleased Antipas so much that he swore to grant her whatever she asked, “even half the kingdom.” The girl consulted her mother, who suggested that she should immediately ask for the head of G. B. to be brought to her on a platter. Antipas was saddened, but because of the oath he had made in front of the guests, he deemed it necessary not to contradict her. The executioner beheaded G. B. in prison and brought the head to Salome, who delivered it to her mother. St. Ambrose, with poetic accents, highlights the value of G. B.’s martyrdom and the cruelty of those who ordered it (De Virg., III: PL 16, 233 ff.).

The disciples took care to retrieve and bury the body. Later, Antipas and the people believed that G. B. had risen and was performing miracles in the person of Jesus (Lk. 9:7-9; Mk. 6:14-16). According to Flavius Josephus (Antiq. Jud., XVIII, 7, 2), Antipas’ crime deeply impressed the people, who regarded him as “a good man,” and many saw in the bloody defeat of Antipas’ army by Aretas, king of the Nabataeans and former father-in-law of Antipas (who had been replaced by Herodias), a divine punishment for the killing of G. B.

The relics of G. B. underwent various vicissitudes (Sebaste in Palestine, Alexandria in Egypt, Samaria, Constantinople). The places where he had preached were soon venerated by the faithful (Aenon, Sapas, the Jordan, Sebaste, ‘Ajn Kárim, Zifata).

The disciples of G. B., who were not organized like the Apostles, may have converted to Christianity after the death of their master. According to Acts 19:1-7, a group of twelve believers in Ephesus had received only the baptism of G. B.; the case of Apollos is well known (Acts 18:24-26). Later, mention is made of the sects of the Mandaeans, the Hemerobaptists, and others (cf. Buzy, pp. 370-72). G. B. occupies a prominent place in the theological conceptions of the Mandaeans (v.). Rome has dedicated its cathedral to him (St. John Lateran, “the mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world”).

Rationalist criticism has attempted to cast doubt on the historicity of G. B.’s miraculous birth, treating it as “prehistory,” and to minimize his ministry, considering his martyrdom as a popular legend (Goguel). However, the historicity of the Gospel accounts cannot be doubted, as they are rich in detail and meet all the requirements of credibility; this is further confirmed by Flavius Josephus.

According to Catholics, the baptism administered by G. B. differed from that of Jesus because it was meant to urge repentance and symbolize interior purity, remitting sins not *ex opere operato* but *ex opere operantis*—that is, by virtue of the individual’s dispositions, *intuitu meritorum Christi*.

G. B. was neither an Indian yogi (Renan) nor an Essene (Graetz, Rubinstein). He represents the Old Testament purified in the desert of Judah, as in the time of Moses on Sinai, dwelling there in a state of vigor and simplicity like Adam and Eve in the earthly Paradise, and emerging with the strength of a lion to preach the necessity of purification and good works in preparation for the Messiah who establishes the Kingdom of God. G. B. is not the light, but the prism that reflects it (Jn. 1:8); he is not the Messiah, but the one who echoes His voice (Jn. 1:20-23); he is not the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom who presents the bride to Him (Jn. 3:29); he does not have the Baptism in the Spirit (Mt. 3:11), but baptizes with the one who gives life in the Spirit (Mt. 3:13-17); he is “the greatest among those born of women” (Mt. 11:11).

BONAVENTURA MARIANI

LITURGY. - Our Lord’s praise of St. JOHN THE BAPTIST (Mt 11:11) and the singular circumstances of his imprisonment and death (Mt 14:1–12) gave, from the fourth century onward, an exceptionally universal character to the cult of the Forerunner. This was further enhanced by the discovery and rapid spread of his relics—whether genuine or presumed—and by the interest monks took in their prototype. In keeping with his role as the Baptist, oratories in baptisteries were preferentially dedicated to him. In Palestine, by the close of the fourth century, sanctuaries stood on sites sacred to the Forerunner, such as at the place where he baptized Christ at Qasr el-Yehūd and at the tomb believed to exist at Sebaste (cf. St. JEROME, *Comm. in Osee* and *Comm. in Michaeam*, I, 1: PL 25, 825, 1156). From the same period onward, both East and West saw a growing number of sacred buildings dedicated to him, which multiplied extraordinarily in the Middle Ages. In Constantinople, for example, there were some fifteen such structures, including oratories, baptisteries, and churches, among them the church of Heldomo where the emperor Theodosius is said to have deposited his head. In Rome, at least ten were counted: noteworthy is the oratory of the Lateran Baptistery and, later, the basilica of the same dedication, which was dedicated to the Saviour, of which the Forerunner became the co-patron; in the late Middle Ages, it was believed that the head was preserved in S. Silvestro “in capite.” At Ravenna, under Galla Placidia, a basilica was erected in his honour; St. BENEDICT and Theodolinda dedicated others at Monte Cassino and Monza.

As regards his festal cycle, it must be noted that this was established in relation to the Nativity of Christ on 25 December. The Conception (23 September in the East, 24 September in the West), recorded in the *Martyrologium Hieronymianum* and the *Synaxaria*, is today a feast proper to the East. Mozarabic calendars record the *Decollatio* on 24 September (cf. J. Vives–A. Fabre, *Calendarios hispánicos anteriores al siglo XII*, in *Hispania sacra*, 2 [1949], p. 27; id., *...anteriores al siglo XII*, ibid., pp. 22, 28, 34, 40; the articles have their own numbering). The *Natale genuinum*, the Nativity (24 June, reckoned as *VIII Kal. Iul.* = 24 June, *VIII Kal. Oct.* = 24 September, *VIII Kal. Ian.* = 25 December), and the *Passio*, the Beheading (29 August—a date that commemorates not the beheading itself but a translation of relics), are feasts still common to both Churches and are already attested by St. AUGUSTINE (*Serm.* 196, 287, 288–93: PL 38, 1021, 1301–35), the *Martyrologium Hieronymianum*, the Roman Sacramentaries (the *Leonianum* has only the 24th, not the 29th; the *Gelasianum* has both), the *Synaxaria*, and the *Menologia*. The *Synaxaria* also record a synaxis in his honour on the day after Epiphany. The Council of Agde (can. 21) of 506 lists the feast of 24 June among the major feasts and it remained of pre-eminent rank until the early twentieth century. The feast, preceded by a vigil with fasting and followed by an octave, was, especially in Rome, a poly-liturgical one until about the eleventh century (double nocturnal Office, cf. Amalarius, *Liber de ordine Antiphonarii*, 59; three or two Masses, one of which was *ad fontem*, cf. the various Sacramentaries). The hymns of the Office are by the Cassinese monk PAUL THE DEACON (d. 799); from him Guido d’Arezzo took the names of the musical notes.

ARCHAEOLOGY. - Early Christian art represented the Forerunner in scenes of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In the Catacomb of Callistus, in the region called of Lucina, JOHN THE BAPTIST is beardless and wears the *exomis* (Wilpert, *Pitture*, pl. 29, p. 237); in the same catacomb, in cubicle A3, he wears only the *exomis* tunic (id., op. cit., pl. 23, 3, p. 238), as in the catacomb “ad duas lauros” (id., *Ein Cyclus christologischer Gemälde aus der Katakombe der heiligen Petrus und Marcellinus*, Freiburg im Br. 1891, pls. 1–4; id., *Pitture*, p. 238). In the Catacomb of Pontianus, the Baptist is nimbed, with long hair and beard; he wears the *exomis* and holds a long staff in his left hand (id., op. cit., pl. 259). On sarcophagi he is bearded and wears only the pallium, as on a sarcophagus lid in the Lateran Museum, in the sarcophagus of S. Maria Antiqua (Wilpert, *Sarcofagi*, pp. 18, 21 and pl. 8, 2), while on the front of sarcophagus 119 of the same Museum he is clad in a lion’s skin (id., op. cit., p. 24 and pl. 8, 4), as in a fragment in the Museum of Arles (id., op. cit., p. 21 and pl. 11, 2); in a sarcophagus at the Royal Academy of Madrid he wears the *exomis* tunic (id., op. cit., p. 22 and pl. 11, 1), which is also found on the lid of the sarcophagus of Gorgonius in the cathedral of Ancona (id., op. cit., p. 23, pl. 14, 3). In an interstice of the columns on the lower tier of the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, both the Lord and JOHN THE BAPTIST are depicted as lambs (F. Gerke, *Der Sarkophag des Iunius Bassus*, Berlin 1936, pl. 45). JOHN THE BAPTIST, pointing to Christ as the awaited Messiah, was represented in the basilica of SS. John and Paul on the Caelian (498–514); the Cambridge sylloge preserves the text (A. Silvagni, *La silloge epigrafica di Cambridge*, in *Riv. di arch. crist.*, 20 [1943], p. 91). Bearded, with long hair, and clad in an animal skin with a staff in his left hand, he appears in the mosaic of the baptistery of the Arians at Ravenna, while in the baptistery of the Orthodox he also has a nimbus and holds a long jewelled cross in his left hand.

In the apse of the oratory of St. Venantius at the Lateran (G. B. De Rossi, *Musaei christiani delle chiese di Roma anteriori al sec. XV*, Rome 1899, pl. 19) and in the mosaic of the cathedral of Poreč, JOHN THE BAPTIST is nimbed, wears a tunic and pallium, makes the orans gesture with his right hand and holds a long cross in his left (Wilpert, *Mosaiken*, p. 928, fig. 442).

In a miniature of the *Cosmas Indiopleustes* codex in the Vatican Library (8th–9th cent.), JOHN THE BAPTIST is represented nimbed, bearded, with long hair, in tunic and pallium; he holds a long cross in his left hand (C. Stornajolo, *Le miniature della topografia di Cosmas Indiopleustes*, Milan 1908, f. 76).

On the ivory throne of Maximian in Ravenna, surrounded by the four Evangelists, stands the Forerunner; he is bearded, in tunic and pallium, and over this a camel’s skin; in his left hand he holds a discus on which the divine Lamb is incised. He also appears in sacred vestments in an *aedicula* of the Museum of Lyon (G. De Jerphanion, *La voix des monuments*, Paris 1930, pl. 33); he has a nimbus in addition in the frescoes of Deledjlar Kilissé (id., op. cit., pl. 34), Elmale Kilissé, Toqale Kilissé, and Djémil in Cappadocia (id., op. cit., pl. 35, 1 and 2); in the miniatures of the Gospel of Iviron, in the Vatican Urbino Gospel, in the Syriac ms. 535 of the Bibliothèque nationale de Paris, and in the baptismal font of Liège. Nimbed, bearded, with long hair, and in tunic and pallium, he appears in the apse mosaic of the Lateran of the year 1290 (G. B. De Rossi, *Musaei christiani*, pl. 37).

The martyrdom of GIOVANNI BATTISTA is depicted in the Evangelary of Sinope (6th cent.), now in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, illustrating the Gospel of St Matthew which narrates the crime of Herod (14:6-12); later in a miniature of a Missal from Chartres of the 9th cent. (J. Psichari, *Salomé et la décollation de St Jean-Baptiste*, in *Revue de l'histoire des religions*, 72 [1915], pp. 131-58). Strzygowski proposed to recognize the head of the Precursor in a fragment of papyrus on which is painted a severed head resting on a dish (Eine alexandrinische Weltchronik, in *Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosoph.-Histor. Klasse*, Vienna, 51 [1906], p. 153, fig. 12 and pl. 8). In the museums of St Mark’s in Venice, too, Salome is shown holding the dish with the head of GIOVANNI BATTISTA on her head.

The scene of his martyrdom was also depicted in the mosaic of the atrium of the Basilica of St John Lateran, from the time of Alexander III (1159-81; Wilpert, *Mosaiken*, p. 212).

Iconography. — While in antiquity the type of the B. in camel-skin or dressed in skins alternates with the type in sacred vestments of tunic and pallium, during the Middle Ages the two types are fused, and the B. is represented wearing skins while pointing to the lamb with the cross or to the figure of Christ who is generally beside him (v. VERONICA).

The figure of the Precursor enjoyed particular favour during the Renaissance, and the reason for this may be sought in the preference which artists of this period had for naturalistic forms, so much so that, as has been noted, the B. is the most represented saint after St Sebastian and St Jerome. In this preference we may also find the reason why the figure of the B. in Italian art became humanized, losing definitively the hieratic quality with which the Byzantines had treated him — a humanization already exemplified in the 14th cent. in those representations of St John not conducted into the desert by the angel, such as the Rimini panel in the Vatican Pinacoteca.

There are countless isolated representations of the B., from the sculptural work of Ghiberti in Orsanmichele, to that of Benedetto da Maiano in the National Museum in Florence, and the various works by Donatello; in painting one may cite those by A. Vivarini in the Accademia in Venice, the solemn work by Cima da Conegliano, and the heroic nude by Titian in the Accademia in Venice. As a preacher of the desert, famous is the representation by Veronese in the Borghese Gallery or that by D. Dossi in Brera. Also much represented during the Renaissance is St John as part of the numerous Holy Families, in which the little saint, often with the characteristic signs of his future activity, plays and frolics with the Child Jesus, as in the most famous works by Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.

Cyclic representations, frequent especially in baptisteries (v. that of Florence and that of St Mark’s in Venice), present the unfolding of the life of the B. from his birth (often confused, because iconographically very similar, with that of the Virgin) to his beheading; certainly among the best known and artistically most elevated are the frescoes by Masolino in the Collegiata of Castiglion d’Olena. Among other important cycles are those by Filippo Lippi in the cathedral of Prato, by D. Ghirlandaio in S. Maria Novella, and by A. del Sarto in the cloister of the Scalzo in Florence.

In the painting of the Baroque period, Bazzani, the two Tiepolos, and, outside Italy, P. Troghier, among others, left interesting depictions of events in the life of the B.

Folklore. — The feast of St GIOVANNI BATTISTA gives rise to the most important and characteristic manifestations of popular devotion in all the countries of Europe, from Scandinavia to Malta, from Russia to Spain and Greece. It is an entire cycle of ritual forms and customs which begins on the eve, 23 June, and closes with the feast of St Peter (29 June). The cycle also includes intermediate feasts (St Eligius, 25 June; Sts John and Paul, 26 June). On the evening and night of the vigil, the fires of St John are lit, bonfires made of heaps of straw or brushwood or stacks of logs, sometimes, as in many parts of France, piled around a central pole adorned with garlands of flowers. They are preferably lit on heights, but also in squares, crossroads, near churches, etc. Around them, groups of young men and women and common folk sing and dance, leaping over the flames with the idea of healing various ailments (backache, fever, etc.). Cattle are also driven over the fires or their ashes, always for prophylactic purposes. Extinguished brands are kept in houses and exposed against storms. The smoke rising from the fires or from the garlands thrown into them is also believed to have therapeutic virtues. Torches, bundles of burning straw, candles, lights, rockets and fireworks are the mobile forms assumed by the element of fire, characteristic of the feast.

In a wide area of central Europe extending to the Alps, wooden burning discs are rolled down mountain slopes (in Carnia called *cidulis*), amid shouts of joy and good wishes; in certain countries of west-central Europe large burning and garlanded wooden wheels are rolled down. It is a widespread belief that on the night of St John waters and herbs acquire supernatural powers: the dew of that night is therefore considered particularly beneficial for healing various ailments; hence the common folk roll in the meadows damp with that dew and drive their cattle and flocks through them; women expose their garments and fabrics to the open air, believing that the dew will preserve them from moths for the whole year. The waters of rivers and particular springs acquire extraordinary healing powers, and people repeatedly bathe in them or immerse their herds; the water of the sea becomes sweet and yields the same beneficial effects. Various kinds of herbs are also believed to have exceptional curative powers on that night: the common people gather them and keep them for future use. Such herbs are steeped in a basin exposed to the night sky, and it is believed that this increases their efficacy; in the morning people wash with that water. The herbs of St John vary according to place: among the most common are St John’s wort (*hypericum perforatum*), mint, vervain, camomile, thyme, linden, melilot, elder, and mugwort.

On this night, too, lots are drawn, especially by marriageable girls. The methods are the same as those used at New Year or Epiphany, such as casting molten lead into water and deducing from the shape it assumes the profession or condition of the future spouse. At crossroads, too, the words of passers-by are listened to and oracles for good or ill are drawn from them.

Among friends or acquaintances, or even between people of different sexes and among children, it is customary to form a spiritual kinship (*comparatico*). This is accomplished through special rituals and customs: in Sardinia, from as early as April 10th, a young man asks a girl to be his *comare*, and on the day of St. John (June 24th), they go in procession to the church outside the village, accompanied by a series of festive customs.

**JOHN THE BAPTIST – St. John the Baptist with wings in relation to the text *Ecce... mitte angelum meum... praeparabit viam* from Mal. 3:1, applied to St. John the Baptist. *Mt. 11:10; Mk. 1:2; Lk. 7:27*. Russian painting. Priory of Amay-sur-Meuse.**

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(Idioms, songs, dances) celebrate the *comparatico*. In Sicily, children take hold of each other’s right little finger, each pulls out a hair, ties it together, and throws it away while singing a little song that recalls the duties of the *compari*. In many regions, especially in southern Italy, the *comparatico* formed on St. John’s Day is a very strong moral bond, and breaking it is considered sacrilegious.

Extraordinary phenomena are believed to occur on the night of St. John’s Day. Animals are satisfied with nothing: horses speak. Fern blooms and withers within a few hours. Water turns into wine. Hidden treasures reveal their presence. Mournful voices emerge from the bowels of the mountains. Sunken cities and castles become visible; lit torches can be seen circling church towers before vanishing.

On the same night, witches are abroad, endowed with extraordinary powers: some Roman folk songs sung on St. John’s Eve allude to this belief. A similar belief is widespread in Norway regarding *trolls*, malignant spirits that emerge from the cavernous depths of mountains magically opened that night. In coastal regions, people anxiously await the moment when the sun rises from the waves: it is said that the sun, as it emerges, dances on the sea—not only at its rising but up to a certain height; or that it plunges three times into the sea, and each time a little white cloud dries its face. In the orb of the sun, the face of St. John is seen washing in the sea within a golden basin, or even his head dripping with blood.

By the principle that ethnologists call the "ambivalence of the sacred," St. John can also bring about all manner of unforeseen accidents, as if the extraordinary forces at work on this day could also act in a malevolent sense. Thus, misfortunes and drownings are feared, and special formulas are recited to ward off storms.

For a long time, the prevailing theory held that the feast of St. John had supplanted an earlier solar cult and ancient midsummer rites; however, recent research tends to invalidate such views and explains the complex of folk customs as residues of agrarian rites of purification, prophylaxis, and propitiation. Nevertheless, in some countries where Christianity took root late, particularly in Northern Europe, traces of pre-Christian rites are still visible, and references to pagan deities or mythical figures persist: Kupalo in Russia, Ligo in Latvia, Balder in Norway.

In Italy, in ancient times, the feast of St. John gave rise to grand celebrations in some cities. In Florence, preparations began as early as May, and the festivities lasted several days, featuring jousts, exhibitions, gifts, public tributes to the chapter of St. John, processions, illuminations, the lighting of bonfires in Piazza della Signoria, and sacred plays. In Rome, the Pope celebrated Mass at St. John Lateran and blessed the people from the loggia. In Ravenna, an annual fair drew large crowds. Today, all these customs are rapidly disappearing or fading, though some revivals and adaptations can be observed, such as in Rome, where popular recreation institutions have revived the feast in the St. John district with songs, floats, fireworks, and libations—characteristic food includes snails.

The Church has sought to integrate, as far as possible, the main celebrations into liturgical forms, with processions, blessings of fires and springs, and so on.

— See plates XLII–XLIII.

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