Today is the feast day of the Holy Prophet Elijah

Today the Church celebrates the feast dedicated to the Holy Prophet Elijah, portrayed as a seer of God, miracle-worker and a zealot for God’s faith. According to tradition, he descended from the Aaronic tribe and was a native of the town of Tishbe; his father Savah, at the time of the birth, saw angels around the child wrapping him in fire and giving him to eat flame — a sign of the fiery character and of the God-given power that would mark his life.

Conflicts with the authorities and a series of miracles

Elijah spent his entire youth in prayer and retreat in the desert, seeking silence and reflection. His prophetic activity took place at a time when the Israelite kingdom was divided: the kingdom of Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem, comprised only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, while the kingdom of Israel, with its capital in Samaria, included the other ten tribes. Elijah’s greatest clash was with the Israelite king Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who led the people toward idolatry and turned them away from service to the one, living God.

Jezebel, according to the traditions, was Syrian and persuaded Ahab to erect a temple for the Syrian god Baal and to appoint priests for that false god. In response Elijah performed a series of miraculous deeds to demonstrate God’s power: he shut up the heavens and there was no rain for three years and six months; he called down fire from heaven and consumed the sacrifice of his God while the priests of Baal failed; by his prayer he brought rain; he miraculously multiplied the flour and oil in the house of the widow in Zarephath and resurrected her dead son.

Elijah foretold harsh fates for Ahab and Jezebel: he prophesied that dogs would lick Ahab’s blood and that dogs would eat Jezebel, which according to tradition indeed happened. On Horeb he spoke with God and heard His voice in the gentle, fresh breeze. Before his departure, Elijah took Elisha and appointed him as his successor in the prophetic ministry; with his mantle he parted the Jordan. In the end, according to tradition, he was taken up to heaven in fiery chariots with fiery horses.

Christian tradition also links him with the event on Mount Tabor, where together with Moses he appeared to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before the end of the world, Elijah will appear again to crush the power of the Antichrist (Rev. 11). Believers who venerate him mark his day with liturgies, prayers and local customs associated with his remembrance.

Photo: Denovi.mk