John is the hinge between the Old Testament and the New, and the gospels are visibly careful with him because he had his own movement and his own disciples, some of whom did not join the Christians. Josephus mentions his execution independently of the gospels, which makes him one of the best-attested figures in the story. Eastern Christianity gives him extraordinary honour: he is the Forerunner, he stands opposite the Virgin on every iconostasis in the deesis composition interceding for the world, and he has more feast days than any other saint. The winged icon type — a man with wings, sometimes holding a platter with his own head on it — comes from the prophecy about a messenger sent ahead, since the Greek word for messenger and angel is the same. The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran, a separate religion entirely, also revere him, and reject Jesus, which makes them the only surviving group who kept the Baptist and not the one he baptised.