Beheading of St. John the Baptist

The collect for today, the Feast of the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O God, who didst send thy messenger, John the Baptist, to be the forerunner of the Lord, and to glorify thee by his death: Grant that we, who have received the truth of thy most holy Gospel, may bear our witness thereunto, and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Jeremiah 1:17-19
The Gospel: St. Mark 6:17-29

Giovanni Baronzio, The Feast of Herod and the Beheading of the BaptistArtwork: Giovanni Baronzio, The Feast of Herod and the Beheading of the Baptist, c. 1330-35. Tempera on wood, gold ground, and silver, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

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