Saint Elijah was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Ahab (9th century BC). According to the Books of Kings, Elijah defended the worship of Yahweh over that of the Phoenician god Baal, he raised the dead, brought fire down from the sky, and was taken up in a whirlwind. In the Book of Malachi, Elijah's return is prophesied "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord," making him a harbinger of the Messiah. This common depiction of the prophet Elijah riding a flaming chariot across the sky resulted in syncretistic folklore among the Slavs incorporating pre-Christian motifs in the beliefs and rites regarding him in Slavic culture.
Saint Elizabeth, Mother of John the Baptist is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on November 5, and in the Orthodox and Anglican traditions on September 5, on the same day with her husband Zacharias.
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