Holy Theophany of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ

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Holy Theophany of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ

Introduction

The Feast of the Holy Theophany (Epiphany) of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated each year on January 6. The Feast commemorates the Baptism of Christ and the divine revelation of the Holy Trinity. At the Baptism of Christ, all three Persons of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—were made manifest. Thus, the name of the Feast is Epiphany, meaning manifestation, or Theophany, meaning manifestation of God.


Biblical Story

The Biblical story of the Baptism of Christ is recorded in all four of the Gospels: Matthew 3, Mark 1:1-9, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:31-34.

John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus and the one chosen by God to proclaim His coming, was preaching in the wilderness and was baptizing all who would respond to his message calling for repentance. As he was doing this, John was directing the people toward the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11).

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Initially, John would not do this, saying that Jesus should baptize him. Jesus said to John, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness (3:15). John consented and baptized Jesus.

When Jesus came up from the water, the heavens opened suddenly, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. The Bible records that the Spirit descended like a dove and alighted on him. When this happened, a voice came from heaven and said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” This was the voice of God the Father.

Christ’s baptism in the Jordan was “theophany,” a manifestation of God to the world, because it was the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry. It was also a “theophany” in that the world was granted a revelation of the Holy Trinity. All three Persons were made manifest together: the Father testified from on high to the divine Sonship of Jesus; the Son received His Father’s testimony; and the Spirit was seen in the form of a dove, descending from the Father and resting upon the Son.

The theme of “manifestation” or “revelation” is also expressed in Scripture with the symbolism of light. In the hymn of the Feast we sing, “Christ has appeared and enlightened the world.” Thus, January 6 is also known as the Feast of Lights. The Church celebrates on this day the illumination of the world by the light of Christ.

Icon of the feast

The Icon of the Feast of Theophany tells the story from the Gospels in images and color. On the left side of the icon we see John the Baptist (1) who is dressed in camel’s hair and has the appearance of one who lives in the wilderness. His arms are outstretched, showing an attitude of prayer and reverence, but also directing others to Christ. With his right hand he is conducting the baptism.

1. Saint John the Baptist conducts the Baptism of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2. The Heavens open, the voice of the Father is heard, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descends upon Christ.

In the center of the icon is Christ being baptized in the Jordan. He is standing in the water wearing a waistcloth, and with His right hand He is blessing the waters of the Jordan. Above His head is the Holy Spirit descending as a dove upon Him. At the top of the icon, a semicircle depicts the opening of the Heavens and the voice of the Father.

3. Angels of the Lord gathered on the shore of the Jordan River give praises to Christ.

4. An angel of the Lord receives Christ as He comes out of the water.

On the right side of the icon angels are shown with their heads bowed in reverence to Christ . They are prepared to receive Him as He comes out of the water.

The Orthodox Celebration of the Feast of Epiphany

The celebration of this Feast of our Lord begins on January 5, a day known as the Forefeast of Theophany. Depending on the day of the week, this could be an evening service with Vespers followed by the Liturgy of Saint Basil or a morning service with Matins and the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. Following the service on January 5, the service of the Blessing of the Waters is conducted. Prior to the evening or morning service the Royal Hours with the Typika are said.

On January 6, the day of the Feast, the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is conducted preceded by Matins and followed by the second Blessing of the Waters.

The Blessing of the Waters is conducted in the church; however in many places throughout the world services are conducted near open bodies of water. As a sign of blessing as Christ blessed the Jordan, holy water is poured into the body of water. An associated tradition has been the tossing of a cross into the water to be retrieved by divers.

The holy water from the church is given to the faithful to consume and to use in blessing their homes. In the weeks following the Feast, clergy visit the homes of parishioners and conduct a service of blessing using the holy water that was blessed on the Feast of Theophany.

Scripture readings for the Feast are the following: At the Vespers/Divine Liturgy on January 5: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27; Luke 3:1-18. At the Divine Liturgy on January 6: Titus 2:11-14, 3:4-7; Matthew 3:13-17.
Hymns of the Feast

Apolytikion: (First Tone)

Lord, when You were baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father gave witness to You, calling You Beloved; and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the certainty of His words. Glory to You, Christ our God, who appeared and enlightened the world.

Kontakion: (Fourth Tone)

Today You appeared to the world, and Your light, O Lord, has left its mark upon us as in fuller understanding we sing to You: “You came, You were made manifest, the unapproachable light.”

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St. John Chrysostom: On the Holy Theophany

by St. John Chrysostom

We shall now say something about the present feast. Many celebrate the feastdays and know their designations, but the cause for which they were established they know not. Thus concerning this, that the present feast is called Theophany -- everyone knows; but what this is -- Theophany, and whether it be one thing or another, they know not. And this is shameful -- every year to celebrate the feastday and not know its reason.

First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety" -- and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit 2:11-13). And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: "the sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31). Why is not that day, on which the Lord was born, considered Theophany -- but rather this day on which He was baptised? This present day it is, on which He was baptised and sanctified the nature of water. Because on this day all, having obtained the waters, do carry it home and keep it all year, since today the waters are sanctified; and an obvious phenomenon occurs: these waters in their essence do not spoil with the passage of time, but obtained today, for one whole year and often for two or three years, they remain unharmed and fresh, and afterwards for a long time do not stop being water, just as that obtained from the fountains.

Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all -- not then when He was born -- but then when He was baptised. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: "Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of" (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? "And I -- said he -- knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptise with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptiseth in the Holy Spirit" (Jn. 1:33). Thus from this it is evident, that -- there are two Theophanies, and why Christ comes at baptism and on whichever baptism He comes, about this it is necessary to say: it is therefore necessary to know both the one and equally the other. And first it is necessary to speak your love about the latter, so that we might learn about the former. There was a Jewish baptism, which cleansed from bodily impurities, but not to remove sins. Thus, whoever committed adultery, or decided on thievery, or who did some other kind of misdeed, it did not free him from guilt. But whoever touched the bones of the dead, whoever tasted food forbidden by the law, whoever approached from contamination, whoever consorted with lepers -- that one washed, and until evening was impure, and then cleansed. "Let one wash his body in pure water -- it says in the Scriptures, -- and he will be unclean until evening, and then he will be clean" (Lev 15:5, 22:4). This was not truly of sins or impurities, but since the Jews lacked perfection, then God, accomplishing it by means of this greater piety, prepared them by their beginnings for a precise observance of important things.

Thus, Jewish cleansings did not free from sins, but only from bodily impurities. Not so with ours: it is far more sublime and it manifests a great grace, whereby it sets free from sin, it cleanses the spirit and bestows the gifts of the Spirit. And the baptism of John was far more sublime than the Jewish, but less so than ours: it was like a bridge between both baptisms, leading across itself from the first to the last. Wherefore John did not give guidance for observance of bodily purifications, but together with them he exhorted and advised to be converted from vice to good deeds and to trust in the hope of salvation and the accomplishing of good deeds, rather than in different washings and purifications by water. John did not say: wash your clothes, wash your body, and ye will be pure, but what? -- "bear ye fruits worthy of repentance" (Mt 3:8). Since it was more than of the Jews, but less than ours: the baptism of John did not impart the Holy Spirit and it did not grant forgiveness by grace: it gave the commandment to repent, but it was powerless to absolve sins. Wherefore John did also say: "I baptise you with water...That One however will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Mt 3:11). Obviously, he did not baptise with the Spirit. But what does this mean: "with the Holy Spirit and with fire?" Call to mind that day, on which for the Apostles "there appeared disparate tongues like fire, and sat over each one of them" (Acts 2:3). And that the baptism of John did not impart the Spirit and remission of sins is evident from the following: Paul "found certain disciples, and said to them: received ye the Holy Spirit since ye have believed? They said to him: but furthermore whether it be of the Holy Spirit, we shall hear. He said to them: into what were ye baptised? They answered: into the baptism of John. Paul then said: John indeed baptised with the baptism of repentance," -- repentance, but not remission of sins; for whom did he baptise? "Having proclaimed to the people, that they should believe in the One coming after him, namely, Christ Jesus. Having heard this, they were baptised in the Name of the Lord Jesus: and Paul laying his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them" (Acts 19:1-6). Do you see, how incomplete was the baptism of John? If the one were not incomplete, would then Paul have baptised them again, and placed his hands on them; having performed also the second, he shew the superiority of the apostolic Baptism and that the baptism of John was far less than his. Thus, from this we recognise the difference of the baptisms.

Now it is necessary to say, for whom was Christ baptised and by which baptism? Neither the former the Jewish, nor the last -- ours. Whence hath He need for remission of sins, how is this possible for Him, Who hath not any sins? "Of sin, -- it says in the Scriptures, -- worked He not, nor was there deceit found in His mouth" (1 Pet 2:22); and further, "who of you convicteth Me of Sin?" (Jn 8:46). And His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit; how might this be possible, when it in the beginning was fashioned by the Holy Spirit? And so, if His flesh was privy to the Holy Spirit, and He was not subject to sins, then for whom was He baptised? But first of all it is necessary for us to recognise, by which baptism He was baptised, and then it will be clear for us. By which baptism indeed was He baptised? -- Not the Jewish, nor ours, nor John's. For whom, since thou from thine own aspect of baptism dost perceive, that He was baptised not by reason of sin and not having need of the gift of the Spirit; therefore, as we have demonstrated, this baptism was alien to the one and to the other. Hence it is evident, that He came to Jordan not for the forgiveness of sins and not for receiving the gifts of the Spirit. But so that some from those present then should not think, that He came for repentance like others, listen to how John precluded this. What he then spoke to the others then was: "Bear ye fruits worthy of repentance"; but listen what he said to Him: "I have need to be baptised of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" (Mt 3:8, 14). With these words he demonstrated, that Christ came to him not through that need with which people came, and that He was so far from the need to be baptised for this reason -- so much more sublime and perfectly purer than Baptism itself. For whom was He baptised, if this was done not for repentance, nor for the remission of sins, nor for receiving the gifts of the Spirit? Through the other two reasons, of which about the one the disciple speaks, and about the other He Himself spoke to John. Which reason of this baptism did John declare? Namely, that Christ should become known to the people, as Paul also mentions: "John therefore baptised with the baptism of repentance, so that through him they should believe on Him that cometh" (Acts 19:4); this was the consequence of the baptism. If John had gone to the home of each and, standing at the door, had spoken out for Christ and said: "He is the Son of God," such a testimony would have been suspicious, and this deed would have been extremely perplexing. So too, if he in advocating Christ had gone into the synagogues and witnessed to Him, this testimony of his might be suspiciously fabricated. But when all the people thronged out from all the cities to Jordan and remained on the banks of the river, and when He Himself came to be baptised and received the testimony of the Father by a voice from above and by the coming-upon of the Spirit in the form of a dove, then the testimony of John about Him was made beyond all questioning. And since he said: "and I knew Him not" (Jn 1:31), his testimony put forth is trustworthy. They were kindred after the flesh between themselves "wherefore Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, hath also conceived a son" -- said the Angel to Mary about the mother of John (Lk. 1: 36); if however the mothers were relatives, then obviously so also were the children. Thus, since they were kinsmen -- in order that it should not seem that John would testify concerning Christ because of kinship, the grace of the Spirit organised it such, that John spent all his early years in the wilderness, so that it should not seem that John had declared his testimony out of friendship or some similar reason. But John, as he was instructed of God, thus also announced about Him, wherein also he did say: "and I knew Him not." From whence didst thou find out? "He having sent me that sayeth to baptise with water, That One did tell me" What did He tell thee? "Over Him thou shalt see the Spirit descending, like to a dove, and abiding over Him, That One is baptised by the Holy Spirit" (Jn 1:32-33). Dost thou see, that the Holy Spirit did not descend as in a first time then coming down upon Him, but in order to point out that preached by His inspiration -- as though by a finger, it pointed Him out to all. For this reason He came to baptism.

And there is a second reason, about which He Himself spoke -- what exactly is it? When John said: "I have need to be baptised of Thee, and Thou art come to me?" -- He answered thus: "stay now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill every righteousness" (Mt 3:14-15). Dost thou see the meekness of the servant? Dost thou see the humility of the Master? What does He mean: "to fulfill every righteousness?" By righteousness is meant the fulfillment of all the commandments, as is said: "both were righteous, walking faultlessly in the commandments of the Lord" (Lk 1:6). Since fulfilling this righteousness was necessary for all people -- but no one of them kept it or fulfilled it -- Christ came then and fulfilled this righteousness.

And what righteousness is there, someone will say, in being baptised? Obedience for a prophet was righteous. As Christ was circumcised, offered sacrifice, kept the sabbath and observed the Jewish feasts, so also He added this remaining thing, that He was obedient to having been baptised by a prophet. It was the will of God then, that all should be baptised -- about which listen, as John speaks: "He having sent me to baptise with water" (Jn 1:33); so also Christ: "the publicans and the people do justify God, having been baptised with the baptism of John; the pharisees and the lawyers reject the counsel of God concerning themselves, not having been baptised by him" (Lk 7:29-30). Thus, if obedience to God constitutes righteousness, and God sent John to baptise the nation, then Christ has also fulfilled this along with all the other commandments.

Consider, that the commandments of the law is the main point of the two denarii: this -- debt, which our race has needed to pay; but we did not pay it, and we, falling under such an accusation, are embraced by death. Christ came, and finding us afflicted by it -- He paid the debt, fulfilled the necessary and seized from it those, who were not able to pay. Wherefore He does not say: "it is necessary for us to do this or that," but rather "to fulfill every righteousness." "It is for Me, being the Master, -- says He, -- proper to make payment for the needy." Such was the reason for His baptism -- wherefore they should see, that He had fulfilled all the law -- both this reason and also that, about which was spoken of before. Wherefore also the Spirit did descend as a dove: because where there is reconciliation with God -- there also is the dove. So also in the ark of Noah the dove did bring the branch of olive -- a sign of God's love of mankind and of the cessation of the flood. And now in the form of a dove, and not in a body -- this particularly deserves to be noted -- the Spirit descended, announcing the universal mercy of God and showing with it, that the spiritual man needs to be gentle, simple and innocent, as Christ also says: "Except ye be converted and become as children, ye shalt not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom" (Mt 18:3). But that ark, after the cessation of the flood, remained upon the earth; this ark, after the cessation of wrath, is taken to heaven, and now this Immaculate and Imperishable Body is situated at the right hand of the Father.

Having made mention about the Body of the Lord, I shall also say a little about this, and then the conclusion of the talk. Many now will approach the Holy Table on the occasion of the feast. But some approach not with trembling, but shoving, hitting others, blazing with anger, shouting, cursing, roughing it up with their fellows with great confusion. What, tell me, art thou troubled by, my fellow? What disturbeth thee? Do urgent affairs, for certain, summon thee? At this hour art thou particularly aware, that these affairs of thine that thou particularly rememberest, that thou art situated upon the earth, and dost thou think to mix about with people? But is it not with a soul of stone naturally to think, that in such a time thou stand upon the earth, and not exult with the Angels with whom to raise up victorious song to God? For this Christ also did describe us with eagles, saying: "where the corpse is, there are the eagles gathered" (Mt 24:28) -- so that we might have risen to heaven and soared to the heights, having ascended on the wings of the spirit; but we, like snakes, crawl upon the earth and eat dirt. Having been invited to supper, thou, although satiated before others, would not dare to leave before others while others are still reclining. But here, when the sacred doings are going on, thou at the very middle would pass by everything and leave? Is it for a worthy excuse? What excuse might it be? Judas, having communed that last evening on that final night, left hastily then as all the others were still reclining.

Here these also are in imitation of him, who leave before the final blessing! If he had not gone, then he would not have made the betrayal; if he did not leave his co-disciples, then he would not have perished; if he had not removed himself from the flock, then the wolf would not have seized and devoured him alone; if he had separated himself from the Pastor, then he would not have made himself the prey of wild beasts. Wherefore he (Judas) was with the Jews, and those (the apostles) went out with the Lord. Dost thou see, by what manner the final prayer after the offering of the sacrifice is accomplished? We should, beloved, stand forth for this, we should ponder this, fearful of the coming judgement for this. We should approach the Holy Sacrifice with great decorum, with proper piety, so as to merit us more of God's benevolence, to cleanse one's soul and to receive eternal blessings, of which may we all be worthy by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to with Whom the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and worship now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

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St. Nikolai Velimirovich On the Holy Theophany

By St. Nikolai Velimirovich

When our Lord reached thirty years from His physical birth, He began His teaching and salvific work. He Himself signified this "beginning of the beginning" by His baptism in the Jordan river.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, "The beginning of the world - water; the beginning of the Good News - Jordan." At the time of the baptism of the Lord in water, that mystery was declared to the world: that mystery which was prophesied in the Old Testament; the mystery about which in ancient Egypt and India was only fabled; i.e., the mystery of the Divine Holy Trinity.

The Father was revealed to the sense of hearing; the Spirit was revealed to the sense of sight, and in addition to these, the Son was revealed to the sense of touch. The Father uttered His witness about the Son, the Son was baptized in the water, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove hovered above the water. When John the Baptist witnessed and said about Christ, "Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29), and when John immersed and baptized the Lord in the Jordan, the mission of Christ in the world and the path of our salvation was shown. That is to say: The Lord took upon Himself the sins of mankind and died under them [immersion] and became alive again [the coming out of the water]; and we must die as the old sinful man and become alive again as cleansed, renewed and regenerated. This is the Savior and this is the path of salvation.

The Feast of the Epiphany [Theophany in Greek] is also called the Feast of Illumination. For us, the event in the Jordan river illuminates, by manifesting to us God as Trinity, consubstantial and undivided. That is one way. And, the second: everyone of us through baptism in water is illumined by this, that we become adopted by the Father of Lights through the merits of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit.

HYMN OF PRAISE: THE HOLY TRINITY

O, Holy Lord, holy in creating,
All that You create by Your Word, by Your Spirit You consecrate.
O, Mighty Lord, mighty in suffering,
For the world You walk to Your death; for the world, You resurrect.
Immortal Lord, in voice, we praise You;
Father, Son, Holy Spirit - God, have mercy on us!
The Father, Who appeared over Jordan as a Voice,
The Spirit, Who as a White Dove hovered,
The Son, Who by the Prophet John was baptized,
Three rays of light, one light shown,
The Trinity manifested, we praise You in voice:
Father, Son, Holy Spirit - God, have mercy on us!

On the Mystery of the Divine Trinity

"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth, the spirit and the water and the blood: and these three are together" (I John 5: 7-8).

When we read Holy Scripture, we should be alert to keep an eye on every word. To the rapid reader, for example, this distinction which the Evangelist draws between the Heavenly Trinity and the earthly trinity will not become apparent. Concerning the Heavenly Trinity, he says, "And these three are one;" and concerning the earthly trinity, he says, "And these three are together." There is an enormous difference between "being one" and "being together." The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are One, whereas the spirit, water and blood are only together and are not one. Even enemies could be together as one, but are not one. All the people on earth are together, but they are not one. Water and blood constitute the body and the spirit is the spirit. "For the flesh has desires against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17). However, they are not one, but they are still together. When man dies the union is broken apart and ceases to exist. Blood and water go to one side and the spirit goes to another side. Whereas the [Heavenly] Divine Trinity in the heavens not only are they together but they are also one.

There is also another trinity in the inner heaven of man which should be, not only a unity, but a oneness so that man could be blessed in this world and in the other world. That is the union of the mind, heart and will. As long as these three are only in togetherness, man will be at war with himself and with the Heavenly Trinity. However, when these three become one, so that neither one rules and that neither one is enslaved, then man becomes filled with "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), man's every word, every explanation, every fear and every sorrow. Then the small heaven in man begins to resemble that great heaven of God, and the "image and likeness of God" becomes apparent in man.

O Triune God, help us to resemble, at least, those who resemble You. To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

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The Baptism of Christ and the Baptism of Christians

By Bishop Theophilos of Campania

Preamble: The Month of January is marked by the Great Despotic Feast of Theophany (or Epiphany), which commemorates the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. This provides us with the occasion to consider both the Baptism of our Lord and also our own Baptism. The text published here is from Bishop Theophilos of Campania. Bishop Theophilos of Campania (1749-1795) was one of the brightest figures of the Church in the 18th century; distinguished for his theological and canonical expertise. He was born in Ioannina and became a Bishop in Campania, the area to the west of Thessaloniki and opposite Chalkidiki. He was probably a student of the famous teacher Eugenios Voulgaris and is particularly known for his book Tameion Orthodoxias, which ran through eight editions from 1780 to 1939. It is from this work that the text provided here is taken.

Ι. The Baptism of Christ

Christ was perfect God and as such he had the Holy Spirit within him. He was also perfect man united with God and as such he had a humanity that was totally deified. He was most pure and had no need of purification. He was also sinless, free from original sin and any other sin. But then, why was he baptized? Christ was baptized in order to reveal the truth to John the Baptist; to show the way that human beings have to follow in their life; and to sanctify the waters; “not to begin with receiving sanctification, but granting participation in sanctification,” as Gregory of Neocaesarea the Thaumatourgos says.

Christ submitted to Baptism in order to teach us how we should behave in order to attract the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is why he became an example, in all things, that he might reveal the Holy Trinity; the Father witnessing from above, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove and Christ himself bearing witness that he is the Son of God.

Like the dove which warned Noah that the deluge had passed, so the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended and gave the message that the hour had come for the deluge of idolatry to cease and for God to be reconciled with human beings, and to present Christ who was not known to the majority of people by his divine birth from the Virgin. This is why John the Evangelist says: “he stood up in the midst of the people” (John 1:26); in other words, he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Paul says that, “John baptized the people with a Baptism of repentance asking the people to believe in him who was to come after him, namely Jesus” (Acts 19:4).

So we see that Christ was baptized in order that the multitude of people who were there might know him and believe in him; but also in order that “all righteousness might be fulfilled” (Matth. 3:15), which meant that since not all were persuaded by the prophesy of John, he himself was persuaded on behalf of all. Indeed this is why he accepted the Circumcision, and kept the Sabbaths and the Feasts, and fulfilled as lawgiver all that the Law specified, so that he might not appear to be an opponent of the Law and the Types.

The appearance of the Holy Spirit at the Baptism of Christ took place so that we human beings might be persuaded that when we are baptized the Holy Spirit comes to glorify our baptism.

The Baptism of Christ taught human beings about their regeneration. Also the fact that, immediately following his Baptism, Christ went to the desert and fasted and was tempted by the Devil and conquered him as man, took place in order to teach us that it is impossible to us to undergo bravely the temptations of the Devil and conquer him unless we are based on the grace of the Holy Spirit which we receive at our Baptism.

Christ was submerged into the waters and reemerged again just once. This submersion specifies his descent into Hades and his emersion, his resurrection from the grave. Also the opening of the heavens, which is mentioned in the Gospel, –“for when Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him” (Matth. 3:16) – took place for us, in order to indicate that every time a human person is baptized the heavens are opened and that the way to heaven is now open, if we keep our Baptism undefiled.

ΙΙ. The Baptism of the Christians.

1) Christ himself ordered this Sacrament of Baptism to his disciples. He told them “to go everywhere and to teach all nations, and to baptize those who believe in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all his commandments” (Matth. 28:19); in other words, he told them first to persuade people to reject the deception of idolatry (the worship of creation and the creatures of it, including themselves, instead of the Creator) and then to baptize them. Just as a good farmer first removes the useless and harmful roots and then sows the seed.

Holy Baptism creates equality among human beings, because it is equally necessary for all, the king and his subjects, the rich man and the poor, men and women; and also because the grace it grants is the same and no one gets more or less from it in comparison to the others.

2. The element that is necessary for Baptism is water, because it says: “Can anyone forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit as we have” (Acts 10:47)? We see here that although these early Christians had already received the gift of the Holy Spirit, they still had to be baptized in water. Water hides a specific sacrament. There are many divine symbols that are fulfilled by the use of water: Christ’s tomb, death, Resurrection, life, all of which take place together. In the water we bury the old man and when we emerge from it there is a new, pure man that comes up.

The submersion into water and the emersion from it at Baptism takes place three times, because it is the power of the Holy Trinity, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that fulfills all things. Canon 49 of the Holy Apostles says: “If a Bishop or presbyter does not baptize in the manner of a triple submersion, but of one submersion only, which is connected with the death of the Lord, he should be defrocked; and this is the case because the Lord did not say baptize into my death, but, 'Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.'” The Great St. Basil also stresses the same in his Letter to Amphilochios of Iconium, in which he emphasizes the need to observe a triple submersion and emersion at Holy Baptism. And so do many other deified Fathers.

3. The triple submersion into the water at Holy Baptism reveals that as Christ remained for three days and nights at his tomb, likewise whoever is baptized becomes homeopathic by assimilation, because he is buried in the water; Christ is buried in the earth and we, in the water. It is necessary then that priests should do all baptisms, of children and of adults, by triple submersion, because this is demanded by the mystery that Holy Baptism enshrines. In other words, all precautions should be taken so that there is plenty of water and baptism is correctly done.

4. The priest pronounces the words and the power and the grace of the Holy Trinity reshapes the person who is baptized. Without being baptized no one can enter into the kingdom of heaven. One has to put off the old man with his sins and put on the new man, whose youth is rejuvenated like an eagle’s; for, as the specialists say, when an eagle gets old, it becomes blinded and his wings become heavy. When, however, he is exposed to the warmth of the sun, he goes down into a source of water and, submersing its wings in it, is rejuvenated. It is in exactly the same manner that he too that is baptized is rejuvenated pronouncing the Amen.

The Red Sea saved the Hebrews and drowned the Egyptians. Something similar takes place at Holy Baptism. It saved those who believe and are baptized, but condemns those who remain unbelievers. This is why we are obliged to cultivate the faith and never defy our Baptism lest we be condemned.

5. Various pre-figurations of Holy Baptism are found in the Old Testament: Moses’ “trench” and “washbasins” (III Kings 18:32ff and Ex. 30:18). Elisha sent Neeman the leper to be baptized in the river Jordan and be healed (II Kings 5:14). In the Gospel we read about the Pool of Siloam where sick people were healed; and also about the Baptism of the Forerunner in the River Jordan, which was done only for repentance. There are these and many other OT pre-figurations of the Holy Baptism, which takes place for the elimination of original sin and any other sin and also for the spiritual regeneration of man, as Micah predicted it: “He will submerge our iniquities and they will be thrown away into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

6. Faith and Baptism are the two ways of our salvation and remain indissolubly joined together. Faith is perfected through Baptism, so that whoever believes and is baptized is saved. Since our faith is in the Holy Trinity, we are also baptized in the Holy Trinity and thus become pure, because we actually put on Christ. This is indeed the Baptism which Isaiah prophesized about: “Wash yourselves, be clean” (Isaiah 1:16).

7. Baptism in cases of emergency: The 13th canon of the 7th Ecumenical Synod says that, “if there is an emergency a monk or a deacon can do the Baptism.” The 16th canon says that, “if there is an emergency, then a father may baptize his own child, or someone else, any simple person, because this is no sin. All this, of course, presupposes that he who baptizes is a Christian. This is the case because even a priest baptizes his children and does not depart from his wife. Canon 84 of the Synod of Trullo and Canon 7 of Carthage say that, “whenever we are not sure whether a child has been baptized or not, then we should proceed to baptize it”. Indeed, Patriarch Nicephoros says, that “in an emergency even a simple Christian can do a baptism;” and the Commentary adds “that if in a case of emergency one does a baptism of a babe in the Name of the Holy Trinity, there will be no need afterwards to read the prayers and the exorcisms, but to have the priest do the Chrismation with the Holy Myrrh and the prayers related to it.” Also, if there is no pure running water, then the water of the sea can also be used for a Baptism, because seawater is basically water.

If a babe is born in a condition that makes it unclear whether it is dead or alive, then it is baptized supposedly, and he who baptizes it says, “the servant of God, supposedly alive is baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” In all these cases of emergency there is no need of a sponsor, who is needed in normal cases. Thus, midwives and doctors who help in deliveries should be prepared to baptize the newly born in cases of emergency.

8. Baptism takes place only once in one’s life, because it is a type of Christ who was buried and rose again only once. As the Apostle Paul says, “we were baptized into his death” (Rom. 6:3); and elsewhere, “it is impossible to be reborn again with baptism if we fall into sin” (cf. Heb. 6:4). This is why the Sacrament of Repentance (or Confession) was instituted so that when a Christian sins he may repent and be cleansed from his sins.

9. Baptism is a great Sacrament: it cleanses the entire human being with an ineffable grace which is greater than any other, even that of prophesy. This is why the Forerunner said, “I am in need to be baptized by You” (Matth. 14:16); he knew that the Holy Baptism not only cleanses man from sin, whether the origin or any other, but also grant him sonship by adoption, making him a relative of God, and so many more goods. Christ not only freed us from the hands of the Devil, but also raised us to a higher position. For this reason we die; not because we are so obliged by original sin, but in order that the father of sin, the Devil, is condemned and we are transposed from the earthly and vain condition to that which is heavenly and immortal, reigning with Christ for ever.

Thus Canon 111 of the Synod of Carthage says that, “whoever thinks that baptism is only for the forgiveness of sins and not for granting the future blessings, is anathematized.” Clement the Alexandrian says, “that those who are baptized are illumined; and those who are illumined are adopted as sons; and those who are adopted as sons become perfect; and those who become perfected become immortal; because, as Scriptures says, ‘I said, you are gods and sons of God, all of you. ”

There is a multitude of miracles that have been granted with Holy Baptism to the unbelievers. From all these we may recall one that occurred during the early Christian times. It is connected with a Greek pagan person, called Porphyrios, who used to ridicule and deride the Christians and, therefore, decided to mock in his theater the Holy Baptism. He constructed a font and baptized himself in it by submersing himself three times and saying, “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” But lo and behold, as his audience was laughing at this act, he was suddenly wounded by the love of Christ, and openly confessed him as true God. This caused him many tortures in the hands of the pagans, but he refused to deny Christ. On the contrary, he shed his blood and ended his earthly life becoming a martyr of Christ.

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Miracle of St. Basil the Great Against the Arians

Commemoration of the Miracle Wrought by Saint Basil the Great at Nicaea, when by his prayer he opened the gates of the church of the Orthodox (Feast Day - January 19)

While the wicked Emperor Valens was in Nicaea, prominent Arians approached him requesting that he drive the Orthodox from the cathedral and give it to them. The ruler, himself a heretic, forcibly removed the faithful and allowed the dissenters to occupy the building, after which he left for the Imperial City. The entire community of the Orthodox, which was of considerable size, was griefstricken. While matters were in this state, the great helper and protector of all the churches, Saint Basil, arrived in Nicaea. Weeping and lamenting, the flock of true believers informed him of what the Emperor had done. The blessed one comforted them and hurried to Constantinople, where he presented himself to Valens and said, "It is written, 'The King's honour loveth judgment', and Wisdom tells us that 'the King's judgment is righteous'. Why, then, 0 Emperor, have you pronounced an unjust sentence, expelling the Orthodox from their holy church and giving it to misbelievers?"

The Emperor replied, "Have you come to insult me, Basil? It does not behoove you to speak thus."

"It would certainly behoove me to die for the truth," retorted Basil.

The chief cook of the palace, whose name was Demosthenes, was standing nearby, and wishing to abet the Arian cause, interjected and crudely reviled the saint. "Behold," laughed Basil, "a new Demosthenes, this one an illiterate!" The humiliated cook muttered something, to which the blessed one responded, "Your business is pots and pans, not the dogmas of the Church."

Furious with Basil, but knowing that he had acted wrongly, the Emperor commanded, "Return to Nicaea and judge between the factions, but do not show favoritism to your party."

"If I judge wrongly, send me to prison, expel my co-believers, and give the church to the Arians," said the man of God.

Basil went back to Nicaea with an imperial decree, assembled the Arians, and announced, "The Emperor has given me authority to decide whether you or the Orthodox should have the church you took by force."

The Arians replied, "Judge, then, but as the Emperor would."

"Come, Arians and Orthodox," exclaimed Basil; "we will lock the church! Both sides will affix their seals and set strong guards of men they trust. Then pray for three days and nights, you Arians, and return. If you can open the doors by your supplications, the church will be yours in perpetuity. If you cannot, we shall pray for a single night and go to the church, chanting a Litia. We shall have permanent control of the building if the doors open for us; otherwise, it will be yours again."

This proposal pleased the Arians, but the Orthodox were vexed with the saint, protesting that he gave the heretics an unfair advantage out of fear of the Emperor. Nevertheless, both sides agreed, locked the church, sealed it, and set guards. The Arians prayed for three days and nights, but their prayers achieved nothing; so they continued to entreat God's mercy until noon of the fourth day, crying, "Lord have mercy!" When the doors failed to open, they dispersed, hanging their heads in shame. Meanwhile, the great Basil assembled the Orthodox men, women, and children, and led them to the Church of the Holy Martyr Diomedes, outside the city. He celebrated an All-Night Vigil there, then proceeded with the crowd to the cathedral, chanting, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us." Halting before the portals, he commanded the people, "Raise your hands to heaven and cry with heartfelt ardor, 'Lord have mercy!'" After they had prayed, the saint ordered that there be silence. He made the sign of the Cross over the doors thrice and shouted, "Blessed is the God of the Christians, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages." The people answered, "Amen." Suddenly the earth quaked, the locks broke apart, the bars fell to the floor, the seals split, and the doors flew open, slamming against the wall as though a mighty wind were blowing or a fierce tempest raging. Chanting, "Lift up your gates, 0 ye princes; and be lifted up, ye everlasting gates, and the King of Glory shall enter", Basil hurried into the building with the whole congregation of the Orthodox. After celebrating the divine service, he joyfully dismissed the faithful. Many Arians (who had returned in great numbers to see how matters would end) renounced impiety and joined themselves to the true believers. When the Emperor learned of Basil's judicious handling of affairs and the glorious miracle, he marveled greatly and denounced vile Arianism; nevertheless, blinded by malice, he did not turn to Orthodoxy. Later, he perished miserably. Defeated and wounded in a battle in Thrace, he fled and cowered in a barn full of straw. His pursuers surrounded the building and set it on fire. The Emperor was burned alive, and his soul departed to everlasting flames. The tyrant's demise took place after the death of our holy father Basil, but in the same year.

The subject of the altarpiece is St. Basil Celebrating Liturgy in the presence of the Arian Emperor Valens. St. Basil is so involved in his devotion at Liturgy during the Feast of the Epiphany in 372 that he does not notice Emperor Valens enter with his retinue.

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Bump for those in the central states!

Forgive me my friends for my failings...

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Tomorrow we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! A blessed day to everyone!

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Hippolytus: Discourse on the Holy Theophany

By St. Hippolytus of Rome

1. Good, yea, very good, are all the works of our God and Saviour— all of them that eye sees and mind perceives, all that reason interprets and hand handles, all that intellect comprehends and human nature understands. For what richer beauty can there be than that of the circle of heaven? And what form of more blooming fairness than that of earth's surface? And what is there swifter in the course than the chariot of the sun? And what more graceful car than the lunar orb? And what work more wonderful than the compact mosaic of the stars? And what more productive of supplies than the seasonable winds? And what more spotless mirror than the light of day? And what creature more excellent than man? Very good, then, are all the works of our God and Saviour. And what more requisite gift, again, is there than the element of water? For with water all things are washed and nourished, and cleansed and bedewed. Water bears the earth, water produces the dew, water exhilarates the vine; water matures the grain in the ear, water ripens the grapecluster, water softens the olive, water sweetens the palm-date, water reddens the rose and decks the violet, water makes the lily bloom with its brilliant cups. And why should I speak at length? Without the element of water, none of the present order of things can subsist. So necessary is the element of water; for the other elements took their places beneath the highest vault of the heavens, but the nature of water obtained a seat also above the heavens. And to this the prophet himself is a witness, when he exclaims, "Praise the Lord, you heavens of heavens, and the water that is above the heavens."

2. Nor is this the only thing that proves the dignity of the water. But there is also that which is more honourable than all— the fact that Christ, the Maker of all, came down as the rain, and was known as a spring, and diffused Himself as a river, and was baptized in the Jordan. For you have just heard how Jesus came to John, and was baptized by him in the Jordan. Oh things strange beyond compare! How should the boundless River that makes glad the city of God have been dipped in a little water! The illimitable Spring that bears life to all men, and has no end, was covered by poor and temporary waters! He who is present everywhere, and absent nowhere— who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men— comes to the baptism according to His own good pleasure. When you hear these things, beloved, take them not as if spoken literally, but accept them as presented in a figure. Whence also the Lord was not unnoticed by the watery element in what He did in secret, in the kindness of His condescension to man. "For the waters saw Him, and were afraid." They wellnigh broke from their place, and burst away from their boundary. Hence the prophet, having this in his view many generations ago, puts the question, "What ails you, O sea, that you reddest; and you, Jordan, that you were driven back?" And they in reply said, We have seen the Creator of all things in the "form of a servant", and being ignorant of the mystery of the economy, we were lashed with fear.

3. But we, who know the economy, adore His mercy, because He has come to save and not to judge the world. Wherefore John, the forerunner of the Lord, who before knew not this mystery, on learning that He is Lord in truth, cried out, and spoke to those who came to be baptized of him, "O generation of vipers, why do you look so earnestly at me? I am not the Christ; I am the servant, and not the lord; I am the subject, and not the king; I am the sheep, and not the shepherd; I am a man, and not God. By my birth I loosed the barrenness of my mother; I did not make virginity barren. I was brought up from beneath; I did not come down from above. I bound the tongue of my father; I did not unfold divine grace. I was known by my mother, and I was not announced by a star. I am worthless, and the least; but after me there comes One who is before me — after me, indeed, in time, but before me by reason of the inaccessible and unutterable light of divinity. There comes One mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. I am subject to authority, but He has authority in Himself. I am bound by sins, but He is the Remover of sins. apply the law, but He brings grace to light. teach as a slave, but He judges as the Master. I have the earth as my couch, but He possesses heaven. I baptize with the baptism of repentance, but He confers the gift of adoption: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. Why do you give attention to me? I am not the Christ."

4. As John says these things to the multitude, and as the people watch in eager expectation of seeing some strange spectacle with their bodily eyes, and the devil is struck with amazement at such a testimony from John, lo, the Lord appears, plain, solitary, uncovered, without escort, having on Him the body of man like a garment, and hiding the dignity of the Divinity, that He may elude the snares of the dragon. And not only did He approach John as Lord without royal retinue; but even like a mere man, and one involved in sin, He bent His head to be baptized by John. Wherefore John, on seeing so great a humbling of Himself, was struck with astonishment at the affair, and began to prevent Him, saying, as you have just heard, "I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me? What are you doing, O Lord? You teach things not according to rule. I have preached one thing (regarding You), and You perform another; the devil has heard one thing, and perceives another. Baptize me with the fire of Divinity; why do you wait for water? Enlighten me with the Spirit; why do You attend upon a creature? Baptize me, the Baptist, that Your pre-eminence may be known. I, O Lord, baptize with the baptism of repentance, and I cannot baptize those who come to me unless they first confess fully their sins. Be it so then that I baptize You, what have You to confess? You are the Remover of sins, and will You be baptized with the baptism of repentance? Though I should venture to baptize You, the Jordan dares not to come near You. I have need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?"

5. And what says the Lord to him? "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Suffer it to be so now, John; you are not wiser than I. You see as man; I foreknow as God. It becomes me to do this first, and thus to teach. I engage in nothing unbecoming, for I am invested with honour. Do you marvel, O John, that I am not come in my dignity? The purple robe of kings suits not one in private station, but military splendour suits a king: am I come to a prince, and not to a friend? Suffer it to be so now for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness: I am the Fulfiller of the law; I seek to leave nothing wanting to its whole fulfilment, that so after me Paul may exclaim, Christ is the fulfilling of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness. Baptize me, John, in order that no one may despise baptism. I am baptized by you, the servant, that no one among kings or dignitaries may scorn to be baptized by the hand of a poor priest. Allow me to go down into the Jordan, in order that they may hear my Father's testimony, and recognise the power of the Son. Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfil all righteousness." Then at length John suffers Him. "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and the heavens were opened unto Him; and, lo, the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and rested upon Him. And a voice (came) from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

6. Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have lost, if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John, and declined baptism? For the heavens were shut before this; the region above was inaccessible. We would in that case descend to the lower parts, but we would not ascend to the upper. But was it only that the Lord was baptized? He also renewed the old man, and committed to him again the sceptre of adoption. For straightway "the heavens were opened to Him". A reconciliation took place of the visible with the invisible; the celestial orders were filled with joy; the diseases of earth were healed; secret things were made known; those at enmity were restored to amity. For you have heard the word of the evangelist, saying, The heavens were opened to Him, on account of three wonders. For when Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it was meet that the bridal-chamber of heaven should open its brilliant gates. And in like manner also, when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice spread everywhere, it was meet that the gates of heaven should be lifted up. And, lo, the heavens were opened to Him; and a voice was heard, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

7. The beloved generates love, and the light immaterial the light inaccessible. This is my beloved Son, He who, being manifested on earth and yet unseparated from the Father's bosom, was manifested, and yet did not appear. For the appearing is a different thing, since in appearance the baptizer here is superior to the baptized. For this reason did the Father send down the Holy Spirit from heaven upon Him who was baptized. For as in the ark of Noah the love of God toward man is signified by the dove, so also now the Spirit, descending in the form of a dove, bearing as it were the fruit of the olive, rested on Him to whom the witness was borne. For what reason? That the faithfulness of the Father's voice might be made known, and that the prophetic utterance of a long time past might be ratified. And what utterance is this? "The voice of the Lord (is) on the waters, the God of glory thundered; the Lord (is) upon many waters." And what voice? "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is He who is named the son of Joseph, and (who is) according to the divine essence my Only-begotten. "This is my beloved Son"— He who is hungry, and yet maintains myriads; who is weary, and yet gives rest to the weary; who has not where to lay His head, and yet bears up all things in His hand; who suffers, and yet heals sufferings; who is smitten, and yet confers liberty on the world; who is pierced in the side, and yet repairs the side of Adam.

8. But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all you kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from corruption. And how, says one, shall we come? How? By water and the Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form of a dove.

9. This is the Spirit that at the beginning "moved upon the waters"; by whom the world moves; by whom creation consists, and all things have life; who also wrought mightily in the prophets, and descended in flight upon Christ. This is the Spirit that was given to the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. This is the Spirit that David sought when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Of this Spirit Gabriel also spoke to the Virgin, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you." By this Spirit Peter spoke that blessed word, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." By this Spirit the rock of the Church was established. This is the Spirit, the Comforter, that is sent because of you, that He may show you to be the Son of God.

10. Come then, be begotten again, O man, into the adoption of God. And how? Says one. If you practise adultery no more, and commit not murder, and serve not idols; if you are not overmastered by pleasure; if you do not suffer the feeling of pride to rule you; if you clean off the filthiness of impurity, and put off the burden of sin; if you cast off the armour of the devil, and put on the breastplate of faith, even as Isaiah says, "Wash, and seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow. And come and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow; and though they be like crimson, I shall make them white as wool. And if you be willing, and hear my voice, you shall eat the good of the land." Do you see, beloved, how the prophet spoke beforetime of the purifying power of baptism? For he who comes down in faith to the layer of regeneration, and renounces the devil, and joins himself to Christ; who denies the enemy, and makes the confession that Christ is God; who puts off the bondage, and puts on the adoption,— he comes up from the baptism brilliant as the sun, flashing forth the beams of righteousness, and, which is indeed the chief thing, he returns a son of God and joint-heir with Christ. To Him be the glory and the power, together with His most holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all the ages of the ages. Amen.

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A Theological Analysis of the Iconography of the Theophany/Epiphany



By Hieromonk Silouan Peponakis

The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River by John the Forerunner is also called an "epiphany". The word "Theophany" (manifestation of God) comes from the apostolic passage: "God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory (1 Tim. 3:16), and is more related to the Nativity of Christ. The word "Epiphany" (appearance) comes from the apostolic passage: "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people" (Tit. 2:11), and refers to the Baptism of Christ, because it was then that people came to know the grace of the Godhead.

With the appearance of the Holy Trinity and the confession of the Honorable Forerunner we have the official confession that the Son and Word of God is "of the Trinity", who was incarnated for the salvation of the human race from sin, the devil and death.

It is known that in the ancient Church on this day, January 6th, the feasts of Christmas and Theophany were celebrated together. These feasts were divided in the fourth century, and Christmas was transferred to December 25th. Theophany is also called the Feast of Lights due to the baptism and illumination of catechumens as well as the display of lights.

The icon shown above is a fresco from the Sacred Church of Protaton in Karyes of the Holy Mountain, by the paintbrush of the leading artist Michael Panselinos. At the top of the icon there is a hand that blesses in glory. Below this the Holy Spirit is illustrated "like a dove" and just below this Christ is in the waters of the Jordan being baptized by John the Forerunner, who is not looking at Christ, but has his gaze in the heavens from where he hears the voice of the Father in the Holy Spirit bearing witness: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased."

This depiction is very important, because here we have the revelation of the Holy Trinity to Saint John the Forerunner. From here we will make much reference to the book by His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos titled The Despotic Feasts. The manifestation of the Triune God to man shows among other things that only man is an earthly initiate and worshipper of the Holy Trinity, and the only one created by the Triune God in His image. Saint Gregory Palamas teaches that animals do not have a mind and reason but an animated spirit, that is not self-subsistent, which means that when animals die they lose their spirit, since they don't have essence but only energy. However, man has a reasonable mind and a spirit that animates attached to the body, which is why he alone is in the image of the tripartite God.

Saint Gregory Palamas interprets the phrase "in Whom I am well-pleased" as how the grace of God is one, but sometimes it acts in good pleasure, since God wills it, and sometimes by concession. God knew that the fall of man would take place, and did not create him for this but separated him, because God Himself willed it for man. God does not abolish the freedom of man. So there is the will of God according to good pleasure and the will of God according to concession. With this in mind the affirmation of the Father: ""This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased" shows that the incarnation was the will of God according to good pleasure.

The testimony of God the Father for His Son shows that the Son is the "radiance of the glory of the Father", since there is a common essence and energy in the Triune God.

The appearance of the Holy Spirit "like a dove" shows us that the Holy Spirit is not a dove, but He appeared as a dove because the Holy Spirit is not created but uncreated like the other persons of the Holy Trinity. That the Holy Spirit together with the voice of the Father sat on Christ shows that the persons of the Holy Trinity are consubstantial, and it also shows that the Messiah was not Saint John the Forerunner, but Christ.

It is known that Christ had no need for baptism, since the baptism of John led people to become aware of their sins. Christ, writes Saint John of Damascus, was not baptized because He had need for purification, but "to bury human sin by water," to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and finally, to sanctify "the nature of water" and to offer us the form and example of Baptism. Christ was baptized to crush the heads of the dragons in the water, because it was believed that demons dwell in the water. This is why we see in the icon of the Baptism water monsters that have turned their backs on Christ because of the fire of the deity. Christ was baptized to wash away sin and bury the entire old Adam in the water.

Many icons of the Baptism in conjunction with the hymnography of the feast present Christ completely naked, thus indicating how Christ humbled himself for the sake of people. He became naked that He may clothe man in an incorruptible garment.

Another main person who took part in the baptism was Saint John the Baptist. He was made worthy by God to hear the voice of the Father, and to see the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The "and behold the heavens were opened to Him" of Matthew the Evangelist, and the "he saw the heavens tear apart" of Mark the Evangelist indicate the superiority of the uncreated over the created, as well as the restoration of an "open" relationship between God and man after its "closure" due to sin.

Many things can be said based on the teachings of the Fathers of the Church regarding a theological analysis of the icon of the Baptism. My main point though is that Christ gave us each the possibility to acquire the Grace of sonship, a Theophany in our personal life.

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Bump!

In 2 days, Christians far and wide will be celebrating the ancient Feast of Holy Theophany, thus concluding the 12 days of Christmas with this blessed and great Feast!

[heavenlyboy34]

Bump!

In 2 days, Christians far and wide will be celebrating the ancient Feast of Holy Theophany, thus concluding the 12 days of Christmas with this blessed and great Feast!

Blessed Theophany to you, brother! ~hugs~

[wizardwatson]

Wherefore also the Spirit did descend as a dove: because where there is reconciliation with God -- there also is the dove. So also in the ark of Noah the dove did bring the branch of olive -- a sign of God's love of mankind and of the cessation of the flood. And now in the form of a dove, and not in a body -- this particularly deserves to be noted -- the Spirit descended, announcing the universal mercy of God and showing with it, that the spiritual man needs to be gentle, simple and innocent, as Christ also says: "Except ye be converted and become as children, ye shalt not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom" (Mt 18:3). But that ark, after the cessation of the flood, remained upon the earth; this ark, after the cessation of wrath, is taken to heaven, and now this Immaculate and Imperishable Body is situated at the right hand of the Father.

There just aren't enough teachers these days that can connect the stories in the way they ought to be connected as this one here has.

So much is lost in the gospel when we squabble over the letter of the law and don't have the spiritual insight to preach it boldly and with passion.

[Christian Liberty]

TER, do you HAVE to post pictures of "Jesus" on these threads? I know you don't think they violate the 2nd commandment, but some of us are convinced they do. Speaking for myself, I would be more likely to actually read these posts if you didn't put offensive images in them. Its kind of like (not exactly the same but comparable enough for me to say it) putting pornographic images in a piece that's supposed to be spiritually encouraging. Which ruins it.

[heavenlyboy34]

TER, do you HAVE to post pictures of "Jesus" on these threads? I know you don't think they violate the 2nd commandment, but some of us are convinced they do. Speaking for myself, I would be more likely to actually read these posts if you didn't put offensive images in them. Its kind of like (not exactly the same but comparable enough for me to say it) putting pornographic images in a piece that's supposed to be spiritually encouraging. Which ruins it.

1) They're icons, not "pictures". "Pictures" are for museums, homes, etc. for enjoyment. Icons are for churches, prayer corners, and other such places. They come from a tradition of "writing scripture" and other "text" for the illiterate. (hence icons are always said to be "written", not "painted") 2) you can copypasta the text into an empty open office or other text editor if you are skeered of the icons.

[Christian Liberty]

1) They're icons, not "pictures". "Pictures" are for museums, homes, etc. for enjoyment. Icons are for churches, prayer corners, and other such places. They come from a tradition of "writing scripture" and other "text" for the illiterate. (hence icons are always said to be "written", not "painted") 2) you can copypasta the text into an empty open office or other text editor if you are skeered of the icons.

I'm not going to take extra effort to find a way to read it. It will go unread if you EOs are going to be that inconsiderate. Consider Romans 14 as well even if you think you are right.

[heavenlyboy34]

[Christian Liberty]

So there was heterdox teaching as early as 150 AD. So what?

I'm going to block you both if you don't cut this blasphemy out. I do not want to be exposed to it. Say what you want, but stop shoving 2CV in my face.

[Miss Annie]

I haven't read all of it yet TER, it might take me a couple of nights to process it all, but it looks very interesting so far! I can certainly agree that the baptism of Christ and the manifestation of the Trinity is certainly something to be celebrated and honored.

Thank you for sharing!

[Sola_Fide]

1) They're icons, not "pictures". "Pictures" are for museums, homes, etc. for enjoyment. Icons are for churches, prayer corners, and other such places. They come from a tradition of "writing scripture" and other "text" for the illiterate. (hence icons are always said to be "written", not "painted") 2) you can copypasta the text into an empty open office or other text editor if you are skeered of the icons.

Oh that's nice. Where is one instance of any Christian using an icon to pray with in the Bible?

[Christian Liberty]

Oh that's nice. Where is one instance of any Christian using an icon to pray with in the Bible?

I think it was in 2 Opinions or something like that.

[TER]

So there was heterdox teaching as early as 150 AD. So what?

I'm going to block you both if you don't cut this blasphemy out. I do not want to be exposed to it. Say what you want, but stop shoving 2CV in my face.

Hi CL. I am sorry that you find images of Christ very disturbing. As I have warned you in the past very clearly, if you click on threads I have started, there is a very good chance you will find images and icons of the Lord. It would be best, therefore, for you not to click on my threads. Or, you could block me and put me on your ignore list. I am sorry you would have to do that, but am okay with it.

[TER]

I haven't read all of it yet TER, it might take me a couple of nights to process it all, but it looks very interesting so far! I can certainly agree that the baptism of Christ and the manifestation of the Trinity is certainly something to be celebrated and honored.

Thank you for sharing!

You are very welcome! I hope you find the articles enlightening!

[RJB]

Oh that's nice. Where is one instance of any Christian using an icon to pray with in the Bible?

You have that backwards. Icons depict Bible stories.

[TER]

Happy Theophany to my brethren in Christ!

[TER]

A Homily for the Day of Lights


By St. Gregory of Nyssa

Now I recognize my own flock: today I behold the wonted figure of the Church, when, turning with aversion from the occupation even of the cares of the flesh, you come together in your undiminished numbers for the service of God—when the people crowds the house, coming within the sacred sanctuary, and when the multitude that can find no place within fills the space outside in the precincts like bees. For of them some are at their labours within, while others outside hum around the hive. So do, my children: and never abandon this zeal. For I confess that I feel a shepherd’s affections, and I wish, when I am set upon this watch-tower, to see the flock gathered round about the mountain’s foot: and when it so happens to me, I am filled with wonderful earnestness, and work with pleasure at my sermon, as the shepherds do at their rustic strains. But when things are otherwise, and you are straying in distant wanderings, as you did but lately, the last Lord’s Day, I am much troubled, and glad to be silent; and I consider the question of flight from hence, and seek for the Carmel of the prophet Elijah, or for some rock without inhabitant; for men in depression naturally choose loneliness and solitude. But now, when I see you thronging here with all your families, I am reminded of the prophetic saying, which Isaiah proclaimed from afar off, addressing by anticipation the Church with her fair and numerous children:—“Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves with their young to me”? Yes, and he adds moreover this also, “The place is too strait for me; give place that I may dwell.” For these predictions the power of the Spirit made with reference to the populous Church of God, which was afterwards to fill the whole world from end to end of the earth.

The time, then, has come, and bears in its course the remembrance of holy mysteries, purifying man,—mysteries which purge out from soul and body even that sin which is hard to cleanse away, and which bring us back to that fairness of our first estate which God, the best of artificers, impressed upon us. Therefore it is that you, the initiated people, are gathered together; and you bring also that people who have not made trial of them, leading, like good fathers, by careful guidance, the uninitiated to the perfect reception of the faith. I for my part rejoice over both;—over you that are initiated, because you are enriched with a great gift: over you that are uninitiated, because you have a fair expectation of hope—remission of what is to be accounted for, release from bondage, close relation to God, free boldness of speech, and in place of servile subjection equality with the angels. For these things, and all that follow from them, the grace of Baptism secures and conveys to us. Therefore let us leave the other matters of the Scriptures for other occasions, and abide by the topic set before us, offering, as far as we may, the gifts that are proper and fitting for the feast: for each festival demands its own treatment. So we welcome a marriage with wedding songs; for mourning we bring the due offering with funeral strains; in times of business we speak seriously, at times of festivity we relax the concentration and strain of our minds; but each time we keep free from disturbance by things that are alien to its character.

Christ, then, was born as it were a few days ago—He Whose generation was before all things, sensible and intellectual. Today He is baptized by John that He might cleanse him who was defiled, that He might bring the Spirit from above, and exalt man to heaven, that he who had fallen might be raised up and he who had cast him down might be put to shame. And marvel not if God showed so great earnestness in our cause: for it was with care on the part of him who did us wrong that the plot was laid against us; it is with forethought on the part of our Maker that we are saved. And he, that evil charmer, framing his new device of sin against our race, drew along his serpent train, a disguise worthy of his own intent, entering in his impurity into what was like himself,—dwelling, earthly and mundane as he was in will, in that creeping thing. But Christ, the repairer of his evil-doing, assumes manhood in its fullness, and saves man, and becomes the type and figure of us all, to sanctify the first-fruits of every action, and leave to His servants no doubt in their zeal for the tradition. Baptism, then, is a purification from sins, a remission of trespasses, a cause of renovation and regeneration. By regeneration, understand regeneration conceived in thought, not discerned by bodily sight. For we shall not, according to the Jew Nicodemus and his somewhat dull intelligence, change the old man into a child, nor shall we form anew him who is wrinkled and gray-headed to tenderness and youth, if we bring back the man again into his mother’s womb: but we do bring back, by royal grace, him who bears the scars of sin, and has grown old in evil habits, to the innocence of the babe. For as the child new-born is free from accusations and from penalties, so too the child of regeneration has nothing for which to answer, being released by royal bounty from accountability. And this gift it is not the water that bestows (for in that case it were a thing more exalted than all creation), but the command of God, and the visitation of the Spirit that comes sacramentally to set us free. But water serves to express the cleansing. For since we are wont by washing in water to render our body clean when it is soiled by dirt or mud, we therefore apply it also in the sacramental action, and display the spiritual brightness by that which is subject to our senses. Let us however, if it seems well, persevere in enquiring more fully and more minutely concerning Baptism, starting, as from the fountain-head, from the Scriptural declaration, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Why are both named, and why is not the Spirit alone accounted sufficient for the completion of Baptism? Man, as we know full well, is compound, not simple: and therefore the cognate and similar medicines are assigned for healing to him who is twofold and conglomerate:—for his visible body, water, the sensible element,—for his soul, which we cannot see, the Spirit invisible, invoked by faith, present unspeakably. For “the Spirit breathes where He wills, and thou hearest His voice, but canst not tell whence He cometh or whither He goeth.” He blesses the body that is baptized, and the water that baptizes. Despise not, therefore, the Divine laver, nor think lightly of it, as a common thing, on account of the use of water. For the power that operates is mighty, and wonderful are the things that are wrought thereby. For this holy altar, too, by which I stand, is stone, ordinary in its nature, nowise different from the other slabs of stone that build our houses and adorn our pavements; but seeing that it was consecrated to the service of God, and received the benediction, it is a holy table, an altar undefiled, no longer touched by the hands of all, but of the priests alone, and that with reverence. The bread again is at first common bread, but when the sacramental action consecrates it, it is called, and becomes, the Body of Christ. So with the sacramental oil; so with the wine: though before the benediction they are of little value, each of them, after the sanctification bestowed by the Spirit, has its several operation. The same power of the word, again, also makes the priest venerable and honourable, separated, by the new blessing bestowed upon him, from his community with the mass of men. While but yesterday he was one of the mass, one of the people, he is suddenly rendered a guide, a president, a teacher of righteousness, an instructor in hidden mysteries; and this he does without being at all changed in body or in form; but, while continuing to be in all appearance the man he was before, being, by some unseen power and grace, transformed in respect of his unseen soul to the higher condition. And so there are many things, which if you consider you will see that their appearance is contemptible, but the things they accomplish are mighty: and this is especially the case when you collect from the ancient history instances cognate and similar to the subject of our inquiry. The rod of Moses was a hazel wand. And what is that, but common wood that every hand cuts and carries, and fashions to what use it chooses, and casts as it will into the fire? But when God was pleased to accomplish by that rod those wonders, lofty, and passing the power of language to express, the wood was changed into a serpent. And again, at another time, he smote the waters, and now made the water blood, now made to issue forth a countless brood of frogs: and again he divided the sea, severed to its depths without flowing together again. Likewise the mantle of one of the prophets, though it was but a goat’s skin, made Elisha renowned in the whole world. And the wood of the Cross is of saving efficacy for all men, though it is, as I am informed, a piece of a poor tree, less valuable than most trees are. So a bramble bush showed to Moses the manifestation of the presence of God: so the remains of Elisha raised a dead man to life; so clay gave sight to him that was blind from the womb. And all these things, though they were matter without soul or sense, were made the means for the performance of the great marvels wrought by them, when they received the power of God. Now by a similar train of reasoning, water also, though it is nothing else than water, renews the man to spiritual regeneration, when the grace from above hallows it. And if any one answers me again by raising a difficulty, with his questions and doubts, continually asking and inquiring how water and the sacramental act that is performed therein regenerate, I most justly reply to him, “Show me the mode of that generation which is after the flesh, and I will explain to you the power of regeneration in the soul.” You will say perhaps, by way of giving an account of the matter, “It is the cause of the seed which makes the man.” Learn then from us in return, that hallowed water cleanses and illuminates the man. And if you again object to me your “How?” I shall more vehemently cry in answer, “How does the fluid and formless substance become a man?” and so the argument as it advances will be exercised on everything through all creation. How does heaven exist? how earth? how sea? how every single thing? For everywhere men’s reasoning, perplexed in the attempt at discovery, falls back upon this syllable “how,” as those who cannot walk fall back upon a seat. To speak concisely, everywhere the power of God and His operation are incomprehensible and incapable of being reduced to rule, easily producing whatever He wills, while concealing from us the minute knowledge of His operation. Hence also the blessed David, applying his mind to the magnificence of creation, and filled with perplexed wonder in his soul, spake that verse which is sung by all, “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works: in wisdom hast Thou made them all.” The wisdom he perceived: but the art of the wisdom he could not discover. Let us then leave the task of searching into what is beyond human power, and seek rather that which shows signs of being partly within our comprehension:—what is the reason why the cleansing is effected by water? and to what purpose are the three immersions received? That which the fathers taught, and which our mind has received and assented to, is as follows:—We recognize four elements, of which the world is composed, which every one knows even if their names are not spoken; but if it is well, for the sake of the more simple, to tell you their names, they are fire and air, earth and water. Now our God and Saviour, in fulfilling the Dispensation for our sakes, went beneath the fourth of these, the earth, that He might raise up life from thence. And we in receiving Baptism, in imitation of our Lord and Teacher and Guide, are not indeed buried in the earth (for this is the shelter of the body that is entirely dead, covering the infirmity and decay of our nature), but coming to the element akin to earth, to water, we conceal ourselves in that as the Saviour did in the earth: and by doing this thrice we represent for ourselves that grace of the Resurrection which was wrought in three days: and this we do, not receiving the sacrament in silence, but while there are spoken over us the Names of the Three Sacred Persons on Whom we believed, in Whom we also hope, from Whom comes to us both the fact of our present and the fact of our future existence. It may be thou art offended, thou who contendest boldly against the glory of the Spirit, and that thou grudgest to the Spirit that veneration wherewith He is reverenced by the godly. Leave off contending with me: resist, if thou canst, those words of the Lord which gave to men the rule of the Baptismal invocation. What says the Lord’s command? “Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” How in the Name of the Father? Because He is the primal cause of all things. How in the Name of the Son? Because He is the Maker of the Creation. How in the Name of the Holy Ghost? Because He is the power perfecting all. We bow ourselves therefore before the Father, that we may be sanctified: before the Son also we bow, that the same end may be fulfilled: we bow also before the Holy Ghost, that we may be made what He is in fact and in Name. There is not a distinction in the sanctification, in the sense that the Father sanctifies more, the Son less, the Holy Spirit in a less degree than the other Two. Why then dost thou divide the Three Persons into fragments of different natures, and make Three Gods, unlike one to another, whilst from all thou dost receive one and the same grace?

As, however, examples always render an argument more vivid to the hearers, I propose to instruct the mind of the blasphemers by an illustration, explaining, by means of earthly and lowly matters, those matters which are great, and invisible to the senses. If it befell thee to be enduring the misfortune of captivity among enemies, to be in bondage and in misery, to be groaning for that ancient freedom which thou once hadst—and if all at once three men, who were notable men and citizens in the country of thy tyrannical masters, set thee free from the constraint that lay upon thee, giving thy ransom equally, and dividing the charges of the money in equal shares among themselves, wouldst thou not then, meeting with this favour, look upon the three alike as benefactors, and make repayment of the ransom to them in equal shares, as the trouble and the cost on thy behalf was common to them all—if, that is, thou wert a fair judge of the benefit done to thee? This we may see, so far as illustration goes, for our aim at present is not to render a strict account of the Faith. Let us return to the present season, and to the subject it sets before us.

I find that not only do the Gospels, written after the Crucifixion, proclaim the grace of Baptism, but, even before the Incarnation of our Lord, the ancient Scripture everywhere prefigured the likeness of our regeneration; not clearly manifesting its form, but fore-showing, in dark sayings, the love of God to man. And as the Lamb was proclaimed by anticipation, and the Cross was foretold by anticipation, so, too, was Baptism shown forth by action and by word. Let us recall its types to those who love good thoughts—for the festival season of necessity demands their recollection.

Hagar, the handmaid of Abraham (whom Paul treats allegorically in reasoning with the Galatians), being sent forth from her master’s house by the anger of Sarah—for a servant suspected in regard to her master is a hard thing for lawful wives to bear—was wandering in desolation to a desolate land with her babe Ishmael at her breast. And when she was in straits for the needs of life, and was herself nigh unto death, and her child yet more sore for the water in the skin was spent (since it was not possible that the Synagogue, she who once dwelt among the figures of the perennial Fountain, should have all that was needed to support life), an angel unexpectedly appears, and shows her a well of living water, and drawing thence, she saves Ishmael. Behold, then, a sacramental type: how from the very first it is by the means of living water that salvation comes to him that was perishing—water that was not before, but was given as a boon by an angel’s means. Again, at a later time, Isaac—the same for whose sake Ishmael was driven with his mother from his father’s home—was to be wedded. Abraham’s servant is sent to make the match, so as to secure a bride for his master, and finds Rebekah at the well: and a marriage that was to produce the race of Christ had its beginning and its first covenant in water. Yes, and Isaac himself also, when he was ruling his flocks, digged wells at all parts of the desert, which the aliens stopped and filled up, for a type of all those impious men of later days who hindered the grace of Baptism, and talked loudly in their struggle against the truth. Yet the martyrs and the priests overcame them by digging the wells, and the gift of Baptism over-flowed the whole world. According to the same force of the text, Jacob also, hastening to seek a bride, met Rachel unexpectedly at the well. And a great stone lay upon the well, which a multitude of shepherds were wont to roll away when they came together, and then gave water to themselves and to their flocks. But Jacob alone rolls away the stone, and waters the flocks of his spouse. The thing is, I think, a dark saying, a shadow of what should come. For what is the stone that is laid but Christ Himself? for of Him Isaiah says, “And I will lay in the foundations of Sion a costly stone, precious, elect:” and Daniel likewise, “A stone was cut out without hands,” that is, Christ was born without a man. For as it is a new and marvellous thing that a stone should be cut out of the rock without a hewer or stone-cutting tools, so it is a thing beyond all wonder that an offspring should appear from an unwedded Virgin. There was lying, then, upon the well the spiritual2134 stone, Christ, concealing in the deep and in mystery the laver of regeneration which needed much time—as it were a long rope—to bring it to light. And none rolled away the stone save Israel, who is mind seeing God. But he both draws up the water and gives drink to the sheep of Rachel; that is, he reveals the hidden mystery, and gives living water to the flock of the Church. Add to this also the history of the three rods of Jacob. For from the time when the three rods were laid by the well, Laban the polytheist thenceforth became poor, and Jacob became rich and wealthy in herds. Now let Laban be interpreted of the devil, and Jacob of Christ. For after the institution of Baptism Christ took away all the flock of Satan and Himself grew rich. Again, the great Moses, when he was a goodly child, and yet at the breast, falling under the general and cruel decree which the hard-hearted Pharaoh made against the men-children, was exposed on the banks of the river—not naked, but laid in an ark, for it was fitting that the Law should typically be enclosed in a coffer. And he was laid near the water; for the Law, and those daily sprinklings of the Hebrews which were a little later to be made plain in the perfect and marvellous Baptism, are near to grace. Again, according to the view of the inspired Paul, the people itself, by passing through the Red Sea, proclaimed the good tidings of salvation by water. The people passed over, and the Egyptian king with his host was engulfed, and by these actions this Sacrament was foretold. For even now, whensoever the people is in the water of regeneration, fleeing from Egypt, from the burden of sin, it is set free and saved; but the devil with his own servants (I mean, of course, the spirits of evil), is choked with grief, and perishes, deeming the salvation of men to be his own misfortune.

Even these instances might be enough to confirm our present position; but the lover of good thoughts must yet not neglect what follows. The people of the Hebrews, as we learn, after many sufferings, and after accomplishing their weary course in the desert, did not enter the land of promise until it had first been brought, with Joshua for its guide and the pilot of its life, to the passage of the Jordan. But it is clear that Joshua also, who set up the twelve stones in the stream, was anticipating the coming of the twelve disciples, the ministers of Baptism. Again, that marvellous sacrifice of the old Tishbite, that passes all human understanding, what else does it do but prefigure in action the Faith in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and redemption? For when all the people of the Hebrews had trodden underfoot the religion of their fathers, and fallen into the error of polytheism, and their king Ahab was deluded by idolatry, with Jezebel, of ill-omened name, as the wicked partner of his life, and the vile prompter of his impiety, the prophet, filled with the grace of the Spirit, coming to a meeting with Ahab, withstood the priests of Baal in a marvellous and wondrous contest in the sight of the king and all the people; and by proposing to them the task of sacrificing the bullock without fire, he displayed them in a ridiculous and wretched plight, vainly praying and crying aloud to gods that were not. At last, himself invoking his own and the true God, he accomplished the test proposed with further exaggerations and additions. For he did not simply by prayer bring down the fire from heaven upon the wood when it was dry, but exhorted and enjoined the attendants to bring abundance of water. And when he had thrice poured out the barrels upon the cleft wood, he kindled at his prayer the fire from out of the water, that by the contrariety of the elements, so concurring in friendly cooperation, he might show with superabundant force the power of his own God. Now herein, by that wondrous sacrifice, Elijah clearly proclaimed to us the sacramental rite of Baptism that should afterwards be instituted. For the fire was kindled by water thrice poured upon it, so that it is clearly shown that where the mystic water is, there is the kindling, warm, and fiery Spirit, that burns up the ungodly, and illuminates the faithful. Yes, and yet again his disciple Elisha, when Naaman the Syrian, who was diseased with leprosy, had come to him as a suppliant, cleanses the sick man by washing him in Jordan, clearly indicating what should come, both by the use of water generally, and by the dipping in the river in particular. For Jordan alone of rivers, receiving in itself the first-fruits of sanctification and benediction, conveyed in its channel to the whole world, as it were from some fount in the type afforded by itself, the grace of Baptism. These then are indications in deed and act of regeneration by Baptism. Let us for the rest consider the prophecies of it in words and language. Isaiah cried saying, “Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your souls;” and David, “Draw nigh to Him and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be ashamed.” And Ezekiel, writing more clearly and plainly than them both, says, “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be cleansed: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I give you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh, and my Spirit will I put within you.” Most manifestly also does Zechariah prophesy of Joshua, who was clothed with the filthy garment (to wit, the flesh of a servant, even ours), and stripping him of his ill-favoured raiment adorns him with the clean and fair apparel; teaching us by the figurative illustration that verily in the Baptism of Jesus all we, putting off our sins like some poor and patched garment, are clothed in the holy and most fair garment of regeneration. And where shall we place that oracle of Isaiah, which cries to the wilderness, “Be glad, O thirsty wilderness: let the desert rejoice and blossom as a lily: and the desolate places of Jordan shall blossom and shall rejoice”? For it is clear that it is not to places without soul or sense that he proclaims the good tidings of joy: but he speaks, by the figure of the desert, of the soul that is parched and unadorned, even as David also, when he says, “My soul is unto Thee as a thirsty land,” and, “My soul is athirst for the mighty, for the living God.” So again the Lord says in the Gospels, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink;” and to the woman of Samaria, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” And “the excellency of Carmel” is given to the soul that bears the likeness to the desert, that is, the grace bestowed through the Spirit. For since Elijah dwelt in Carmel, and the mountain became famous and renowned by the virtue of him who dwelt there, and since moreover John the Baptist, illustrious in the spirit of Elijah, sanctified the Jordan, therefore the prophet foretold that “the excellency of Carmel” should be given to the river. And “the glory of Lebanon,” from the similitude of its lofty trees, he transfers to the river. For as great Lebanon presents a sufficient cause of wonder in the very trees which it brings forth and nourishes, so is the Jordan glorified by regenerating men and planting them in the Paradise of God: and of them, as the words of the Psalmist say, ever blooming and bearing the foliage of virtues, “the leaf shall not wither,” and God shall be glad, receiving their fruit in due season, rejoicing, like a good planter, in his own works. And the inspired David, foretelling also the voice which the Father uttered from heaven upon the Son at His Baptism, that He might lead the hearers, who till then had looked upon that low estate of His Humanity which was perceptible by their senses, to the dignity of nature that belongs to the Godhead, wrote in his book that passage, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the voice of the Lord in majesty.” But here we must make an end of the testimonies from the Divine Scriptures: for the discourse would extend to an infinite length if one should seek to select every passage in detail, and set them forth in a single book.

But do ye all, as many as are made glad, by the gift of regeneration, and make your boast of that saving renewal, show me, after the sacramental grace, the change in your ways that should follow it, and make known by the purity of your conversation the difference effected by your transformation for the better. For of those things which are before our eyes nothing is altered: the characteristics of the body remain unchanged, and the mould of the visible nature is nowise different. But there is certainly need of some manifest proof, by which we may recognize the new-born man, discerning by clear tokens the new from the old. And these I think are to be found in the intentional motions of the soul, whereby it separates itself from its old customary life, and enters on a newer way of conversation, and will clearly teach those acquainted with it that it has become something different from its former self, bearing in it no token by which the old self was recognized. This, if you be persuaded by me, and keep my words as a law, is the mode of the transformation. The man that was before Baptism was wanton, covetous, grasping at the goods of others, a reviler, a liar, a slanderer, and all that is kindred with these things, and consequent from them. Let him now become orderly, sober, content with his own possessions, and imparting from them to those in poverty, truthful, courteous, affable—in a word, following every laudable course of conduct. For as darkness is dispelled by light, and black disappears as whiteness is spread over it, so the old man also disappears when adorned with the works of righteousness. Thou seest how Zacchæus also by the change of his life slew the publican, making fourfold restitution to those whom he had unjustly damaged, and the rest he divided with the poor—the treasure which he had before got by ill means from the poor whom he oppressed. The Evangelist Matthew, another publican, of the same business with Zacchæus, at once after his call changed his life as if it had been a mask. Paul was a persecutor, but after the grace bestowed on him an Apostle, bearing the weight of his fetters for Christ’s sake, as an act of amends and repentance for those unjust bonds which he once received from the Law, and bore for use against the Gospel. Such ought you to be in your regeneration: so ought you to blot out your habits that tend to sin; so ought the sons of God to have their conversation: for after the grace bestowed we are called His children. And therefore we ought narrowly to scrutinize our Father’s characteristics, that by fashioning and framing ourselves to the likeness of our Father, we may appear true children of Him Who calls us to the adoption according to grace. For the bastard and the supposititious son, who belies his father’s nobility in his deeds, is a sad reproach. Therefore also, methinks, it is that the Lord Himself, laying down for us in the Gospels the rules of our life, uses these words to His disciples, “Do good to them that hate you, pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” For then He says they are sons when in their own modes of thought they are fashioned in loving kindness towards their kindred, after the likeness of the Father’s goodness.

Therefore, also, it is that after the dignity of adoption the devil plots more vehemently against us, pining away with envious glance, when he beholds the beauty of the new-born man, earnestly tending towards that heavenly city, from which he fell: and he raises up against us fiery temptations, seeking earnestly to despoil us of that second adornment, as he did of our former array. But when we are aware of his attacks, we ought to repeat to ourselves the apostolic words, “As many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into His death.” Now if we have been conformed to His death, sin henceforth in us is surely a corpse, pierced through by the javelin of Baptism, as that fornicator was thrust through by the zealous Phinehas. Flee therefore from us, ill-omened one! for it is a corpse thou seekest to despoil, one long ago joined to thee, one who long since lost his senses for pleasures. A corpse is not enamoured of bodies, a corpse is not captivated by wealth, a corpse slanders not, a corpse lies not, snatches not at what is not its own, reviles not those who encounter it. My way of living is regulated for another life: I have learnt to despise the things that are in the world, to pass by the things of earth, to hasten to the things of heaven, even as Paul expressly testifies, that the world is crucified to him, and he to the world. These are the words of a soul truly regenerated: these are the utterances of the newly-baptized man, who remembers his own profession, which he made to God when the sacrament was administered to him, promising that he would despise for the sake of love towards Him all torment and all pleasure alike.

And now we have spoken sufficiently for the holy subject of the day, which the circling year brings to us at appointed periods. We shall do well in what remains to end our discourse by turning it to the loving Giver of so great a boon, offering to Him a few words as the requital of great things. For Thou verily, O Lord, art the pure and eternal fount of goodness, Who didst justly turn away from us, and in loving kindness didst have mercy upon us. Thou didst hate, and wert reconciled; Thou didst curse, and didst bless; Thou didst banish us from Paradise, and didst recall us; Thou didst strip off the fig-tree leaves, an unseemly covering, and put upon us a costly garment; Thou didst open the prison, and didst release the condemned; Thou didst sprinkle us with clean water, and cleanse us from our filthiness. No longer shall Adam be confounded when called by Thee, nor hide himself, convicted by his conscience, cowering in the thicket of Paradise. Nor shall the flaming sword encircle Paradise around, and make the entrance inaccessible to those that draw near; but all is turned to joy for us that were the heirs of sin: Paradise, yea, heaven itself may be trodden by man: and the creation, in the world and above the world, that once was at variance with itself, is knit together in friendship: and we men are made to join in the angels’ song, offering the worship of their praise to God. For all these things then let us sing to God that hymn of joy, which lips touched by the Spirit long ago sang loudly: “Let my soul be joyful in the Lord: for He hath clothed me with a garment of salvation, and hath put upon me a robe of gladness: as on a bridegroom He hath set a mitre upon me, and as a bride hath He adorned me with fair array.” And verily the Adorner of the bride is Christ, Who is, and was, and shall be, blessed now and for evermore. Amen.

[Miss Annie]

Happy Theophany to my brethren in Christ!

Happy Theophany TER!

[heavenlyboy34]

You have that backwards. Icons depict Bible stories.

^^This. Their function is the same as the written gospel. Icons were all that anyone had in "writing" until Mark's Gospel account c. 40-70 AD, depending who you ask. And even when it was written, few besides the clergy could read it.

[TER]

Link

In the East the feast of Epiphany, January 6, originally included Christ’s birth, the adoration of the magi, and Christ’s baptism, a pattern that survives in the Armenian Church to the present day. When St. Gregory wrote his orations, the two festal dates of the Nativity and Epiphany were just beginning to be reorganized. The following excerpts—taken from St. Gregory’s Oration 38, originally titled “On the Theophany,” and his Oration 39, originally titled “On the Holy Lights”—address both the Incarnation and Baptism of our Lord. St. Gregory’s edifying words illumine our spiritual paths as we continue to meditate upon both recent feasts.

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Oration 38

1 Christ is born, give glory; Christ is from the heavens, go to meet him; Christ is on earth, be lifted up. “Sing to the Lord, all the earth,” and, to say both together, “Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice,” for the heavenly one is now earthly. Christ is in the flesh, exult with trembling and joy; trembling because of sin, joy because of hope.

3 Now is the feast of Theophany, and so also of Nativity; for it is called both, since two names are ascribed to one reality. For God appeared to human beings through birth.

4 This is our festival, this is the feast we celebrate today, in which God comes to live with human beings that we may journey toward God, or return—for to speak thus is more exact—that laying aside the old human being we may be clothed with the new, and that as in Adam we have died so we may live in Christ, born with Christ and crucified with him, buried with him and rising with him.

17 Run after the star, and bring gifts with the magi, gold and frankincense and myrrh, as to a king and a God and one dead for your sake. With the shepherds give glory, with the angels sing hymns, with the archangels dance.

18 Travel blamelessly through all the stages of Christ’s life and all his powers, as a disciple of Christ. Be purified, be circumcised, that is remove the veil that has surrounded you since birth. After this teach in the temple, drive out the traders in divine things, be stoned if necessary that you suffer this; you will escape from those throwing the stone, I know well, and you will flee through the midst of them like God. For the Word is not stoned. If you are brought before Herod, do not answer for the most part. He will revere your silence more than the long discourses of others. If you are scourged, seek the other tortures. Taste the gall. Drink the vinegar, seek the spittings, accept the blows, the beatings; be crowned with the thorns through the harshness of life in accord with God. Put on the scarlet robe, accept the reed, and the worship of those who mock the truth. Finally, be crucified with him, die with him, be buried with him willingly, so as also to be resurrected with him and glorified with him and reign with him, seeing God as far as is possible and being seen by him, who is worshipped and glorified in the Trinity, whom even now we pray to be manifest to us as clearly as is possible to prisoners of the flesh, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and sovereignty unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Oration 39

1 The holy day of lights, to which we have come and which we are deemed worthy to celebrate today, takes its origin from the baptism of my Christ, the true light, which illumines every human being coming into the world, effects my purification, and strengthens the light we received form him from the beginning, which we darkened and blotted out through sin.

2 Therefore listen to the divine voice, which resounds very strongly in me, the initiate and the initiator of these mysteries; and may it also resound in you: “I am the light of the world.” And because of this “come near to him and be illumined and your faces will not be ashamed,” being marked with the sign of the true light. It is the time for rebirth; let us be born from above. It is time of refashioning; let us receive again the first Adam. Let us not remain what we are but become what we once were.