St. John the Baptist at Church of St. Augustine / Sv. Jan Krtitel u kostela Sv. Augustina - Valtice (South Moravia) - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque statue of St. John the Baptist (Sv. Jan Krtitel) is located at the SW corner of Convent Church of St. Augustine (klášterní kostel Sv. Augustina) in center of town Valtice.

The life-size sandstone John the Baptist statue on simple pedestal, work of unknown local Baroque sculptor from 1734, was originally situated in adjacent convent cemetery. After cemetery abolition in 1760 was statue moved to its current location at the church's corner.

John the Baptist was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions.

John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.

According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. [wiki]

Baroque Church of St. Augustine (kostel Sv. Augustina), part of Brothers Hospitallers convent built in 1668-1671, is nowadays filial church of Valtice Roman Catholic parish.