A day of fasting and prayer for Orthodox Christians who celebrate today, September 11, the “Beheading of St. John the Baptist, the Precursor of the Lord”, reports IPN.
The Church says that on this day the tragic event of the death of Saint John the Baptist is commemorated. From the Holy Gospel, it is known that Herod ordered the beheading of Saint John the Baptist at the request of Herodias. The decapitation came as a revenge because John had rebuked Herod for his illegitimate cohabitation with Herodias, who was his brother’s wife. Herodias advised her daughter, Salome, to dance in front of the guests and Herod and to ask for the head of the Baptist as a reward.
John the Baptist is the foremost follower of our Lord Jesus Christ and his baptizer. He is the one who urges the world towards baptism. The Church honors him as the first martyr.
Priests urge Christians to observe a strict fast, primarily, to be similar to John, who spent his life in fasting and prayer. The second reason is to distinguish themselves from Herod, who, due to his immoderate feasting, asked Salome to dance for him and as a reward offered her the head of Saint John the Baptist.
The popular superstitions, according to which nothing red is cut or consumed on this day, are not supported by the Church.
