== Relics ==[[File:Finding the head of John the Baptist (Menologion of Basil II).jpg|right|thumb|Miniature of the Finding of the head of St. John the Baptist (''Menologion of Basil II, 10th c.'').]] The First Uncovering of the Head of St. John the Baptist took place in the fourth century at the time when Saint [[Constantine the Great]] and his mother, St. [[Helen]], began restoring the holy places of Jerusalem. The Second Finding of the Precious Head of St. John the Baptist of took place on on February 18, 452, at Emesa.  After the Seventh Ecumenical Council (787), which reestablished the veneration of icons, the head of St. John the Baptist was returned to the Byzantine capital in around the year 850. The Church commemorates this event on May 25/June 7 as the Third Finding of the Precious Head of St. John the Baptist.  His [[relics]] are kept in several places including:*St. Demetrios Church, Neo Phaleron, Piraeus*Benaki Museum, Athens*Sacred Relics Room, Topkapi Museum, Constantinople (entire right arm and cranium)*Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria*Cetinje Monastery, Montenegro (right palm) ==See also==* [[Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner]]

*[http://www.tenthousandfilms.com/ The Baptism of Christ - Uncovering Bethany beyond the Jordan - 47 min Documentary; includes interviews with various Eastern Orthodox representatives, incl. Greek Orthodox Bishop Vindictus of Jordan]*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/j/saintsj.htm#phi05 Several Beautiful Icons of St. John the Baptist and Forerunner, mostly by Living American Iconographers]*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?SID=4&ID=1&FSID=102952 Translation of the relic of the Right Hand of John the Baptist] - [[OCA]] Website.* Priest Maxim Massalitin. [http://www.pravoslavie.ru/english/52051.htm The Untold Story of the Head of St. John the Baptist]. Pravoslavie.ru (Translation by OrthoChristian.com). 07/03/2012.