Celebrations

4.3. Theophany

Theophany is a great Christian feast commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and his manifestation to the world as the Son of God. The holy day is a Trinitarian feast - one of the twelve great feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is considered the third most important date of the liturgical year, after Easter and Pentecost. The celebration takes place on January 6. However, denominations following the Julian calendar observe the feast on January 19 because of the 13-day difference today between that calendar and the generally used Gregorian calendar.

The baptism of Jesus is described in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. At the time when John the Baptist baptised Jesus in the Jordan River, the sky opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in the form of a dove, and the voice of God proclaims from heaven: "This is my beloved Son, in whom is my favour." Christ immerses three times into the waters of the River and comes out of them. This symbolizes the mystery of death and resurrection: the earthly man dies along with his sins and is the divine person rises for a new life.

The baptism of Jesus is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being the Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension. The Sacrament of Baptism has been established following the Great Theophany of the Lord.

In the Orthodox tradition, the emphasis at this feast is on the revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Second Person of the Holy Trinity at the time of his baptism. According to the Sacred Tradition, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist marked one of only two occasions when all three Persons of the Trinity manifested themselves to humanity simultaneously: God the Father by speaking through the clouds, the Son being baptized in the river, and the Holy Spirit appearing as a dove descending from heaven. The only other occasion found in scripture is the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor.

The liturgical Forefeast of Theophany begins on January 1, and concludes with the Paramony on the eve of January 5. Paramony is observed as a strict fast day with a single dinner allowed in the evening. On this day the Royal Hours are celebrated, thus tying together the feasts of Nativity and Good Friday. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil is served. During the Vespers, fifteen Old Testament lections which foreshadow the Baptism of Christ are read, and special antiphons are chanted. If the Feast of the Theophany falls on a Sunday or Monday, the Royal Hours are chanted on the previous Friday, and on the Paramony the Vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated and the fasting is lessened to some degree.

Eastern Orthodox Churches perform the Great Blessing of Waters rite on Theophany. It is done twice: once on the Eve of the Feast—usually at a Baptismal font inside the church—and then again on the day of the feast, outdoors at a body of water. Following the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and the faithful form a procession with the cross to the nearest body of living water. At the end of the ceremony, the priest will bless the waters by casting a cross in it. Volunteers dive to recover the cross. The person who gets the cross first swims back and returns it to the priest, who then delivers a special blessing to the swimmer and their household.

The priest then blesses the entire church and congregation with the newly consecrated water and sets out to bless the homes of the parish.

Theophany is a traditional day for receiving the Mystery of Baptism.

The Feast is followed by an eight-day Afterfeast on which the normal fasting laws are suspended. The Saturday and Sunday after Theophany have special readings assigned to them, which relate to the Temptation of Christ and to penance and perseverance in the Christian struggle. There is a liturgical continuum between the Feast of Theophany and the beginning of Great Lent.

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