Great Feast
Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
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The Church remembers the Forerunner's courageous witness to truth before King Herod.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, Orthodox Church in America — Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet John the Baptist, The Holy Gospels — Matthew 14:1–13 and Mark 6:14–30. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
The Forerunner and Prophet
Saint John was the son of the priest Zachariah and Righteous Elizabeth, born through God's promise in their old age. He lived in the wilderness in prayer and asceticism until the time appointed for his preaching.
At the Jordan he called Israel to repentance and baptized those who confessed their sins. He pointed directly to Jesus as the Lamb of God and was counted worthy to baptize the incarnate Lord.
A Voice before Herod
John rebuked Herod Antipas for taking Herodias, the wife of his brother, and was imprisoned. His defense of God's commandment was neither political ambition nor personal hostility; it was prophetic care for truth and repentance.
Herod feared and respected John but remained bound by weakness, pride and the manipulation of Herodias. At a banquet, the dancing of Herodias's daughter led to a reckless oath and the demand for the prophet's head.
Beheading and Ecclesiastical Tradition
The Forerunner was beheaded in prison, and his disciples buried his body. The Church fasts strictly on August 29, receiving the feast as a call to sobriety in contrast with the drunken banquet and murder.
Traditions concerning the finding and translation of his head are commemorated on separate feast days. Relics attributed to the Forerunner have been honored in several historic Orthodox centers, while claims about individual portions require careful ecclesiastical documentation.
Churches and Feast Day
The Church of Saint John at the Jordan and countless baptisteries, monasteries and parishes throughout the Orthodox world preserve his memory as Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord.
August 29 — Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John.
From the Orthodox Synaxarion
The Prologue from Ohrid interprets the Forerunner’s death as the final seal of his fearless preaching of repentance. He refused to make peace with Herod’s unlawful union and bore witness that divine truth stands above royal power.
Historical Record and Ecclesiastical Tradition
The imprisonment and beheading are controlled by the accounts in Matthew 14 and Mark 6. The names Herodias and Salome, the political identities of the Herods and later traditions concerning the head are kept distinct, and the feast's strict-fast character is treated as liturgical practice rather than part of the Gospel narrative.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — Beheading of Saint John the BaptistOrthodox Church in America — Beheading of the Holy and Glorious Prophet John the BaptistThe Holy Gospels — Matthew 14:1–13 and Mark 6:14–30The Prologue from Ohrid — August 29The Prologue from Ohrid — August 29