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Zachariah
- Duquesne University Press
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The Lives of the Saints 220 Zachariah November 5 Honored on the same feast day as his wife Elizabeth, Zachariah was a priest of the Temple of Jerusalem. One day, while he was fulfilling his charge to burn incense in the Holy of Holies, the angel Gabriel appeared to him to announce that he would have a son who would taste “neither wine nor strong drink,” a traditional sign that the child would be consecrated to God. As he and his wife were well advanced in age, Zachariah doubted that such a miracle could come to be. The angel, irritated by such incredulity, immediately punished the priest by rendering him unable to speak, which highly impressed the faithful when Zachariah left the Temple. He recovered his speech only after the birth of his son, when, following the directives of Gabriel, he wrote on a tablet that the newborn ’s name was John. The story of the parents of Saint John the Baptist is a kind of prologue to the Gospel of Saint Luke. Like all episodes in the Gospels, it has been abundantly illustrated. Bonifazio Veronese (alias, Bonifazio Pitati) (1487–1553) The Announcement to Zachariah Galeria dell’Accademia, Venice [3.80.155.163] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 08:50 GMT) ...