Life
The Holy Prophet Habakkuk lived in the seventh century before Christ, at a time when the Kingdom of Judah was sinking into spiritual crisis, and the shadow of the Babylonian power that would crush Jerusalem and lead the Jewish people into captivity already loomed on the horizon of history. He came from the tribe of Levi of the lineage of Simeon, and according to Church tradition he was the son of the Shunammite woman whom the Prophet Elisha raised from the dead. This detail, whether historical or typological, suggestively points to Habakkuk’s living relationship with the grace of God that accompanied him from youth.
Habakkuk’s prophetic book is brief — only three chapters — yet exceptionally rich in theological content and poetic force. It opens with a moving dialogue between the prophet and God: Habakkuk boldly complains to the Lord about the injustice reigning on earth, about the violence of the strong against the weak, about God’s silence before iniquity. God responds by revealing the coming of the Babylonians as an instrument of His judgment upon wayward Israel, but then discloses to the prophet that even the pride of Babylon will not go unpunished, for “the just shall live by his faith” — a word that the Apostle Paul would take up as the core of the Gospel message.
The crown of Habakkuk’s book is the third chapter — a solemn prayer and psalm-like vision in which the prophet beholds God coming from the south, from Mount Paran, clothed in glory and brightness. This theophany is one of the most sublime songs in the entire Old Testament and has always held a special place in Orthodox worship. The seventh ode of the canon at Matins is sung precisely from Habakkuk’s prayer; the seventh and eighth odes of the canon are based on Habakkuk’s words. The Orthodox Church therefore regards him not only as a prophetic voice but as a model suppliant whose words continue to resound in the temple.
The Old Testament tradition and the deuterocanonical books also testify to another of Habakkuk’s exploits: an angel of God took the prophet by the head and transported him to Babylon, where the Prophet Daniel was in the lions’ den, so that he might bring him food. This account, preserved in the book of Bel and the Dragon (the Greek addition to the Book of Daniel), speaks of Habakkuk’s total surrender to God, who uses him as His messenger even when nature itself must be traversed. The Church has always interpreted this event typologically: as a foreshadowing of the diaconal and priestly calling to carry Christ — the Bread of Life — to those who are in suffering and darkness.
The relics of the Prophet Habakkuk were found in the time of Emperor Theodosius the Great, at a place called Kilia in Palestine, together with the relics of the Prophet Micah. The translation of relics is commemorated on the same day, December 2, in memory of the old prophets who preceded the coming of Christ. Habakkuk is depicted in Orthodox iconography as an elder in a long robe, with a scroll in hand, often bearing an inscription from his prophecy about God coming in glory.
Tropar (Tone 2)
Thy Prophet, O Lord, Habakkuk, mindful of Thy mercy, anointed the revelation with an inexpressible vision; having seen afar off Thy coming and proclaimed Thee from the shady mountain: glory to Thy power, O Lord.
Kontakion (Tone 4)
The divine Prophet Habakkuk, standing on the spiritual watch-post, heard the voice of the Lord and proclaimed: from the south, from the shady mountain comes Christ the God-Man. To Him alone we sing.
About the Feast
The Holy Prophet Habakkuk is not widely venerated as a patron feast in the Serbian people, but his name and prophecy live on in the Church’s tradition through the liturgical canticles of Matins, which are based on his words.