Orthodox · 7th century
Prophet Sophonius
Commemorated: December 16 (December 3, Old Style)
Life
Zephaniah is the ninth of the Minor Prophets. The first verse of his book traces his family back four generations to a Hezekiah — perhaps King Hezekiah of Judah — and dates his preaching to the reign of King Josiah (c. 640–609 BC). He warned Jerusalem against the worship of Baal and of the stars and announced the coming “day of the Lord”, “a day of wrath” (1:15); these words later gave the medieval Latin hymn “Dies irae” its opening. His book ends with the promise that a humble remnant of the people will be gathered again.
Places
- Place of birth: Jerusalem
Retold briefly in our own words from: the Roman Martyrology (1916).
The commemorations of the day: Ponomar (ponomar.net), CC BY-SA 3.0.
Places and years: Wikidata (CC0), each saint matched by hand.