On September 11, the Church will celebrate the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and the All-Russian Day of Sobriety.translated

On September 11, 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church will commemorate two holidays – the Beheading of St. John the Baptist and the All-Russian Day of Sobriety.

On this day, believers will remember how St. John the Baptist suffered for rebuking the sins of the people of Israel, including even its rulers, King Herod Antipas, who was living in an unlawful union with his brother's wife, Herodias.

For this, according to Herodias' instigation, St. John the Baptist was beheaded by King Herod at a drunken feast.

It is this event that the Church commemorates on September 11, and it is celebrated as a feast because in the Church, the memory of the saint is kept not on his birthday, but on the day he entered into God's Kingdom.

The Day of Sobriety, which is also observed on September 11, was restored in Russia in 2014 after a century. It was first celebrated annually from 1914.

On this day, there is strict fasting. In Russia, wine shops were closed, and the sale of alcoholic beverages ceased.

By decision of the Holy Synod, on September 11 in Orthodox churches...