It was transferred to Komana during the Saracen raids (about 820-820) and it was hidden in the ground during a period of iconoclastic persecution. When the veneration of icons was restored, Patriarch Ignatius (847-857) saw in a vision the place where the head of Saint John the Forerunner was hidden. The patriarch communicated this to the emperor, who sent a delegation to Komana. There the head was found a third time around the year 850.
Afterwards the head was again transferred to Constantinople, and here on May 25 it was placed in a church at the court. Part of the head is on Mt. Athos. The Third Discovery of the Head of John the Baptist is commemorated on May 25.
Troparion — Tone 4
As a divine treasure hidden in the ground / Was your head revealed to us by Christ, O prophet and forerunner. / We have gathered in commemoration of this finding / With inspired hymns of praise to the Savior, / Who saves us from corruption through your prayers!
Kontakion — Tone 4
By giving your venerable head to a sinful woman, / Herod broke the law of God. / But we behold it and cry out for joy, / And say to you, O forerunner: / Pray to the Lord that He may grant mercy to us all!
