Blessed feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist

Icon with a part of the head of John the Baptist in one of the oldest monasteries in Jerusalem

Blessed feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist (commemorated Sept.11/Aug. 29). By the prayers of the Virgin and John the Baptist our God have mercy on us.

"What shall we call you, Prophet? Is it an angel, an apostle, or a martyr? An angel, because he lived like an incorporeal one, an apostle because he taught the nations, a martyr, because your head was truncated for Christ."

Here is an Akathist:

https://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2012/01/akathist-to-st-john-forerunner.html?fbclid=IwAR0-ODdDm0seQVGJOZIHNUy2NnkLwqhyyN6uOkU7fFGWySQowlSGv3vH2uA