MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti, Ivan Korzun) - Russia is commemorating on Friday the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church held a liturgy in the cathedral in the Volga city of Nizhny Novgorod.

Nizhny Novgorod Region governor Valery Shantsev, clergy and thousands of believers attended the service led by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia today, which is a day for strict fasting in commemoration of St. John's martyrdom.

St. John, the last Old Testament prophet, opened the era of the New Testament, preparing people for the coming of Jesus Christ. Also called John the Forerunner, he baptized Jesus in the River Jordan, which marked the beginning of Jesus' ministry.

According to the Gospels, tetrarch Herod Antipas imprisoned John, because the latter reproached him for abandoning his wife and unlawfully living with his brother Philip's wife Herodias.

When Herod celebrated his birthday, Herodias' daughter Salome's dancing pleased Herod and he promised her anything, up to half his kingdom. Her mother told her to ask Herod that John's head be served on a platter. Herod agreed and ordered to execute the saint in the year 32.

Western Christians commemorate the event on August 29 due to differences in calendars used by Eastern and Western Christianity. St. John is also venerated by Muslims.