Epiphany. Epiphany. Holy Epiphany water. The baptism of the lord (holy epiphany)

Epiphany continues a long series of January holidays, otherwise the Orthodox Church calls it Epiphany. On the night of January 18-19, Orthodox Christians celebrate an amazing event - the twelveth feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In the waters of the Jordan River, which separates Israel and Jordan today, Jesus from Nazareth once entered for baptism, and the Son of the Lord, the embodiment of the eternal dream of the human image of God, came ashore.

According to the Gospel, John the Baptist, calling the people to repentance, baptized people in Jordan. This ceremony symbolized cleansing, renunciation of sins. Christ, being sinless, did not need such a purification, but received the baptism with water, consecrating her.
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During the ceremony, a miracle was performed: "God the Father spoke from heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the holy Forerunner of the Lord John, and the Holy Spirit descended on the son in the form of a dove." That is, the Trinity of God was revealed to all, the Trinity: God from heaven named his Son; Jesus, the son of God, was baptized; and the Holy Spirit descended on him. The baptism of Christ in Jordan was the starting point from which to begin gospel story Christian religion and the whole history of mankind has taken a new path.


In Russia, it is customary to consecrate water for Epiphany. The church conducts a rite of consecration of water in church churches. But according to an old tradition, in memory of the baptism of Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, many people, despite the frost, go to the river or lake ice hole and plunge into the water, because in open natural reservoirs, water on this night itself acquires special healing properties.


It is believed that bathing in holy water gives health and washes away all sins. It is impossible to get sick after immersion in the icy Epiphany water. It's all about the special state of mind and the unusual properties of Epiphany water.
But do not think that swimming in an ice-hole for Epiphany automatically frees you from all sins. Prayer and repentance are needed. You cannot commit evil and vile deeds, and then plunge into holy water and enroll yourself in the category of the righteous.

On the eve of Epiphany, a Jordan-hole was cut in the ice of a natural reservoir. It was a kind of bowl ("radiance"), over which
towered Orthodox cross... During the service, at the sign of the priest, the ice was broken in the bowl, it was filled with water, and the cross seemed to float above the surface.


During the service, the priest lowers the cross into the water and reads a special prayer. Water acquires special properties, it is declared a great shrine. It is believed that Epiphany water possesses the same miraculous power as the waters of the Jordan when Jesus was baptized in it.
It is necessary to treat holy water as a shrine. It should be stored in glass bottle next to the icons. Do not put a vessel with holy water in the refrigerator or next to any food.
It is believed to have healing properties sacred water saves for a year. It is given to the sick to drink for healing, they wash with it, wash their wounds, sprinkle dwellings, pets.
You cannot keep holy water forever: this is a kind of confinement of a shrine. Every spring, when I come to the garden for the first time, I bring a bottle of Holy water and try to sprinkle the house, all the buildings and everything that I have planted. The holy water must return to the world.
Why Epiphany water does not deteriorate is still a mystery.

Artists: Kangin Oleg, Leonardo da Vinci, Carlo Chereza,
Alekseenko Igor, Kholin Dmitry, Pantsyreva Ekaterina, A. Ovsyannikov.

The Baptism of the Lord, or Epiphany, Orthodox Christians celebrate on January 19. On this day, the church recalls an evangelical event - how the prophet John the Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. We will tell you about the history, traditions and meaning of the holiday.

What is the Baptism of the Lord

The baptism of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ is also called the Epiphany. On this day, Christians around the world remember the events described by all four evangelists - the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. The Savior was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist, who is also called Baptist.

The second name, Epiphany, is given to the holiday in memory of the miracle that happened during baptism. The Holy Spirit descended on Christ from heaven in the guise of a dove.

The Baptism of the Lord is a twelveth holiday. The feast days are called twofold, which are dogmatically closely related to the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God and are divided into Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and Theotokos (dedicated Mother of God). Epiphany is a feast of the Lord.

Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg

When the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated

The Baptism of the Lord is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church on January 19, new style (January 6, old style).

The Feast of the Epiphany has 4 days of forefeast and 8 days of afterfeast. Forefeast - one or several days before a big holiday, the services of which already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, afterfeast is the same days after the holiday.

The giving of the holiday takes place on January 27 in a new style. The giving of the holiday is the last day of some important Orthodox holidays, celebrated with a special service, more solemn than on the usual days of the afterfeast.

Events of the Baptism of the Lord

Epiphany
Russia, XIX century. Private collection

After fasting and wandering in the wilderness, the prophet John the Baptist came to the Jordan River, in which the Jews traditionally performed religious ablutions. Here he began to speak to the people about repentance and baptism for the remission of sins and baptize people in the waters. This was not the Sacrament of Baptism as we know it now, but it was a type of it.

The people believed the prophecies of John the Baptist, many were baptized in the Jordan. And so, one day Jesus Christ himself came to the banks of the river. At that time He was thirty years old. The Savior asked John to baptize Him. The Prophet was surprised to the depths of his soul and said: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Christ assured him that "we must fulfill all righteousness." At the time of baptism, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are my beloved Son; in you is my good pleasure!(Luke 3: 21-22).

The baptism of the Lord was the first appearance of Christ to the people of Israel. It was after the Epiphany that the first disciples followed the Teacher - the apostles Andrew, Simon (Peter), Philip, Nathanael.

In two Gospels - Matthew and Luke - we read that after Baptism the Savior withdrew into the wilderness, where he fasted for forty days in order to prepare for a mission among people. He was tempted by the devil and did not eat anything during those days, and after them he was hungry for the last (Luke 4: 2). The devil came to Christ three times and tempted Him, but the Savior remained strong and rejected the evil one (as the devil is called).

What you can eat at the Baptism of the Lord

There is no fasting on the feast of Epiphany. But on Epiphany Eve, that is, on the eve of the holiday, the Orthodox observe a strict fast. The traditional dish of this day is sochivo, which is made from cereals (such as wheat or rice), honey and raisins.

Baptism of the Lord - the history of the holiday

The baptism of the Lord began to be celebrated even when the apostles were still alive - we find a mention of this day in the Apostolic Statutes and Rules. But at first, Epiphany and Christmas were a single holiday, and it was called Epiphany.

Since the end of the 4th century (in different places in different ways), the Baptism of the Lord has become a separate holiday. But even now we can observe echoes of the unity of Christmas and Epiphany - in the divine service. For example, both holidays have Christmas Eve, with strict fasting and special traditions.

In the first centuries of Christianity, new converts were baptized on the Epiphany (they were called catechumens), therefore this day was often called the “day of Enlightenment”, “the feast of Lights”, or “holy Lights” - as a sign that the Sacrament of Baptism cleanses a person from sin and enlightens with the light of Christ ... Even then, there was a tradition to consecrate waters in reservoirs on this day.

Iconography of the Baptism of the Lord

In the early Christian images of the events of the Baptism of the Lord, the Savior appears before us young and without a beard; later they began to portray Him as a grown man.

Since the 6th-7th centuries, images of angels appear on the icons of Baptism - most often there are three of them and they stand on the opposite bank of the Jordan from the prophet John the Baptist. In memory of the miracle of the Epiphany, an island of heaven is depicted above the Christ standing in the water, from which a dove descends to the Baptized in the rays of light - a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The central figures on all the icons of the holiday are Christ and John the Baptist, who lays the right hand ( right hand) on the head of the Savior. The right hand of Christ is raised in a blessing gesture.

Features of the service of the Baptism of the Lord

The clergy on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is dressed in white robes. main feature Epiphany service is the consecration of water. Water is consecrated twice. The day before, January 18, on Epiphany Christmas Eve - the Rite of the Great Consecration of Water, which is also called the Great Agiasma. And the second time - on the day of Epiphany, January 19, at the Divine Liturgy.

The first tradition most likely goes back to the ancient Christian practice of Baptism of the catechumens after the Morning Service of the Epiphany. And the second is connected with the custom of Palestinian Christians to march on the day of Epiphany to the Jordan to the traditional place of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Baptism Prayers

Troparion of the Baptism of the Lord

Voice 1st

In the Jordan, Baptizing Thee, O Lord, the threefold worship appears: the Parents' voice testifying to Thee, calling the beloved Son of Thee, and the Spirit in the form of a dove, the statement of the word. Appear, Christ God, and the world of enlightenments, glory to Thee.

Translation:

When You, Lord, were baptized in Jordan, the worship of the Most Holy Trinity appeared, for the Voice of the Father testified about You, calling You the Beloved Son, and the Spirit, appearing in the form of a dove, confirmed the truth of this word. Christ God, who appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee!

Kontakion of the Baptism of the Lord

Voice 4th

Thou hast appeared this day more than the universe, and Thy light, O Lord, is signified on us, in the minds of those who sing Thee: Thou art come and Thou art an unapproachable Light.

Translation:

You have appeared now to the whole world; and Thy light, Lord, was imprinted on us, consciously singing Thee: "You came and appeared, Unapproachable Light!"

The Exaltation of the Baptism of the Lord

We magnify Thee, the Life-Giving Christ, for the sake of us now baptized by the flesh of John in the waters of the Jordan.

Translation:

We glorify Thee, Christ, the giver of life, for the fact that You are now for us baptized with flesh by John in the waters of Jordan.

Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhovo

Epiphany Cathedral is located in Moscow, at 15 Spartakovskaya Street, not far from the Baumanskaya metro station. In the XIV-XVII centuries, the village of Eloh was located here.

In the second half of the 15th century, the famous Moscow saint, Basil the Blessed, was born in the parish of the local church of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

At that time, the Epiphany Cathedral was an ordinary rural church. In 1712-1731 it was rebuilt in stone, the brick was granted to it personally by Emperor Peter I. The new building was consecrated in 1731.

V late XVIII century, the Pushkin family became parishioners of the Epiphany Church. It is known that great poet was born in the German settlement and was baptized in the old Epiphany Cathedral in 1799. The recipients were grandmother, Olga Sergeevna, nee Chicherina, and Count Vorontsov, grandson of the minister Artemiy Volynsky, who was tortured under Biron.

The old Peter's Cathedral stood until the middle of the 19th century. In the 1830s, the famous Moscow architect Evgraf Tyurin received an order for its reconstruction. The renovated cathedral was consecrated in 1853.

In years Soviet power the temple did not close. On the feast of the Meeting in 1925, His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon served a solemn Liturgy there. In 1935, the Bauman District Council decided to open a large cinema in the Epiphany Cathedral, but the decision was soon canceled.

And a few more facts from the history of the temple. The Epiphany Cathedral rests the relics of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, and His Holiness Patriarch Sergius of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia are buried. In 1992 the Epiphany Cathedral became a cathedral.

Cathedral shrines: The miraculous Kazan icon of the Mother of God, the relics of Saint Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow, the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, particles of the relics of Saint John Chrysostom, the Apostle Andrew the First-Called and Saint Peter of Moscow.

Folk traditions of the Baptism of the Lord

Each church holiday is reflected in folk traditions... And the richer and more ancient the history of the people, the more complex and interesting interweaving of the folk and the church turns out. Many customs are far from true Christianity and are close to paganism, but they are nevertheless interesting from a historical point of view - in order to get to know the people better, in order to be able to separate the essence of this or that Christ's holiday from the colorful stream of folk fantasy.

In Russia, Baptism was the end of Christmas time, the girls stopped fortune-telling - a purely pagan occupation. Common people were preparing for the holiday, which was believed to cleanse them of their sins, including sins. Christmas divination.

At Epiphany, the great blessing of water was performed. And twice. The first is on Epiphany Eve. The water was consecrated by the font, which stood in the center of the temple. The second time the water was consecrated already on the very feast of Epiphany - in any local body of water: river, lake, well. They cut through the ice "Jordan" - an ice-hole in the form of a cross or a circle. Nearby they put a lectern and a wooden cross with an ice dove - a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

On the day of Epiphany, after the Liturgy, people walked to the hole with a procession of the cross. The priest served a prayer service, lowered the cross into the hole three times, asking for God's blessing on the water. After that, all the villagers took holy water from the hole and merrily poured it over each other. Some daredevils even bathed in icy water to cleanse themselves of their sins.

They consecrated not only rural reservoirs, but also rivers in big cities. For example, here is a story about how water was consecrated in Moscow on the Neglinnaya River on January 6, 1699. Emperor Peter I himself took part in the ceremony. And the Swedish envoy to Moscow Gustav Korb described the event: “The Feast of the Three Kings (Magi), or rather the Epiphany of the Lord, was marked by the blessing of the Neglinnaya River. The procession moved towards the river in the following order. The procession was opened by the regiment of General de Gordon ... The Gordon regiment was replaced by another, called the Preobrazhensky regiment, which attracted attention with new green clothes. The place of the captain was occupied by the king, who instilled high respect for his Majesty. ... a fence (theatrum, Jordan) was built on the solid ice of the river. Five hundred clergy, subdeacons, deacons, priests, archimandrites (abbates), bishops and archbishops, dressed in robes befitting their dignity and office and richly decorated with gold, silver, pearls and precious stones, gave the religious ceremony a more majestic appearance. In front of a wonderful golden cross, twelve clergymen carried a lantern in which three candles were burning. An incredible number of people crowded on all sides, the streets were full, the roofs were full of people; spectators also stood on the city walls, huddled closely to each other. As soon as the clergy filled the vast space of the fence, the sacred ceremony began, many candles were lit, and first of all, the invocation of the grace of God followed. After a worthy invocation of the mercy of God, the metropolitan began to walk with incense around the entire fence, in the middle of which the ice was broken by a foot in the form of a well, so that water was discovered. After censing it three times, the Metropolitan blessed it with a three-time immersion of a burning candle and the usual blessing. ... then the patriarch, or in his absence, the metropolitan, leaving the fence, usually sprinkles his Imperial Majesty and all the soldiers. For the final completion of the festive celebration, a volley was fired from the guns of all regiments. ... before the beginning of this ceremony, a vessel covered with red cloth was brought on six white royal horses. In this vessel, it was then necessary to take the blessed water to the palace of his Royal Affiliation. Likewise, the clergy brought a certain vessel for the patriarch and many others for the boyars and Moscow nobles. "

Holy Epiphany water

Water for Epiphany is consecrated twice. The day before, January 18, on Epiphany Christmas Eve - the Rite of the Great Consecration of Water, which is also called the "Great Agiasma". And the second time - on the day of Epiphany, January 19, at the Divine Liturgy. The first tradition most likely goes back to the ancient Christian practice of Baptism of the catechumens after the Morning Service of the Epiphany. And the second is connected with the custom of Palestinian Christians to march on the day of Epiphany to the Jordan to the traditional place of the Baptism of Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, Epiphany water is kept for a year - until the next Epiphany. They drink it on an empty stomach, reverently and with prayer.

Is all water for Baptism holy?

Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral at MGIMO, answers:

I remember that as a child we went out of the church for Epiphany and took out with us a three-liter can of Epiphany water, and then, already at home, we diluted it with tap water. And throughout the year they received water as a great shrine - with reverence.

On the night of the baptism of the Lord, indeed, as Tradition says, the entire watery nature is sanctified. And it becomes like the waters of the Jordan, in which the Lord was baptized. There would be magic just if the holy water became only where the priest consecrated it. The Holy Spirit breathes wherever it wants. And there is an opinion that at any moment of Baptism, holy water is everywhere. And the consecration of water is a visible, solemn church rite that tells us about the presence of God here on earth.

Epiphany frosts

The time of the Feast of the Epiphany in Russia usually coincided with severe frosts, so they began to be called "Epiphany". People used to say: "crack frost, do not crack, but passed VodoKreshchi."

Swimming in the ice-hole (Jordan) for Epiphany

Jordan - an ice-hole in the shape of a cross

In Russia simple people called the Epiphany "Water of Baptism" or "Jordan". Jordan - an ice-hole in the shape of a cross or a circle, cut in any body of water and consecrated on the day of the Baptism of the Lord. After the consecration, the dashing guys and men plunged and even swam in the icy water; it was believed that this way you can wash away your sins.

Epiphany eve

The Epiphany Feast is preceded by Epiphany Christmas Eve, or the Induction of the Epiphany. On the eve of the holiday, Orthodox Christians observe strict fasting. The traditional dish of this day is sochivo, which is made from cereals (such as wheat or rice), honey and raisins.

Sochivo

To make soch, you will need:

• wheat (grain) - 200 g
• peeled nuts - 30 g
• poppy seeds - 150 g
• raisins - 50 g
• fruits or berries (apple, blackberry, raspberry, etc.) or jam - to taste
• vanilla sugar to taste
• honey and sugar to taste
• cream - 1/2 cup.

Rinse the wheat well, pour hot water, covering the grain, and simmer in a saucepan over low heat until soft (or in a clay pot, in the oven), periodically adding hot water... Rinse the poppy seeds, steam with hot water for 2-3 hours, drain the water, grind the poppy seeds, add sugar, honey, vanilla sugar or any jam, crushed nuts, raisins, fruits or berries to taste, add 1/2 cup cream or milk or boiled water, and combine all this with boiled wheat, put in a ceramic bowl and serve chilled.

Folk omens and sayings about the Baptism of the Lord

• Epiphany frosts: "crack frost, do not crack, but VodoKreshchi has passed."
• The sun plays five times a year: at Christmas, Epiphany, Annunciation, Bright Resurrection, John's birth.
• If during the liturgy, especially while walking on the water, it snows, then the next year is expected to be grain-growing, and there will be many swarms of bees.
• There will be a thaw - for the harvest.
• Until three days, before the first Savior and after Baptism, linen is not rubbed.
• If fog goes to open water, there will be a lot of bread.
• The wind will blow from the south - there will be a stormy summer.
• If dogs bark a lot at Epiphany, there will be plenty of all kinds of animals and game. If the weather is clear and cold on this day, the summer will be dry; cloudy and fresh - to a bountiful harvest.
• A full month is a big spring flood.
• Starry night - summer will be dry, harvest for peas and berries.
• A clear day is a bad harvest.
• They do not feed chickens so that they do not dig gardens.

Sermons

What are life-giving and what terrible waters are ... At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we read about how the breath of God was hovering over the waters and how all living beings arose from these waters. Throughout the life of all mankind - but so vividly in the Old Testament - we see waters as a way of life: they preserve the life of the thirsty in the desert, they revive the field and the forest, they are a sign of the life and mercy of God, and in the sacred books of the Old and New Testaments water represent an image of purification, ablution, renewal.

But what terrible waters there are: the waters of the Flood, in which all who could no longer resist the judgment of God perished; and the waters that we see throughout our lives, the terrible, destructive, dark waters of floods ...

And so Christ came to the waters of Jordan; into these waters no longer a sinless land, but our land, to its very depths defiled by human sin and betrayal. People who repent from the preaching of John the Baptist came to wash in these waters; how heavy these waters were because of the sin of the people who were washed by them! If only we could see how those washing these waters gradually grew heavy and became terrible with this sin! And Christ came to these waters to plunge at the beginning of His exploit of preaching and gradual ascent to the Cross, to plunge into these waters, bearing all the weight of human sin - He is sinless.

This moment of the Baptism of the Lord is one of the most terrible and tragic moments of His life. Christmas is the moment when God, out of His love for man who wants to save us from eternal destruction, is clothed in human flesh, when human flesh is permeated by the Divine, when it is renewed, it becomes eternal, pure, radiant, that flesh that is through the Cross, Resurrection , Ascension will sit at the right hand of God and the Father. But on the day of the baptism of the Lord, this preparatory path is completed: now, the Lord, already ripe in His humanity, who has reached the full measure of His maturity, the Man Jesus Christ, united by perfect love and perfect obedience with the will of the Father, goes free will, freely fulfill what the Eternal Council intended ... Now the Man Jesus Christ sacrifices this flesh and as a gift not only to God, but to all mankind, takes on His shoulders all the horror of human sin, human fall, and plunges into these waters, which are now the waters of death, the image of destruction, carry in themselves all evil, all poison and all sinful death.

Baptism of the Lord, in further development events closest to the horror of the Garden of Gethsemane, the excommunication death on the cross and the descent into hell. Here, too, Christ is so united with human destiny that all its horror falls on him, and the descent into hell is the last measure of His unity with us, the loss of everything - and the victory over evil.

That is why this majestic holiday is so tragic, and that is why the waters of Jordan, carrying all the weight and all the horror of sin, by touching the body of Christ, the sinless body, all-pure, immortal, permeated and shining with the Divine, the body of the God-man, are purified to the depths and again become primary, primitive waters of life, capable of cleansing and washing away sin, renewing a person, returning him to incorruption, communing him with the cross, making him a child no longer of the flesh, but of eternal life, the Kingdom of God.

How thrilling this holiday is! That is why, when we sanctify the waters on this day, we look at them with such amazement and reverence: these waters are made by the descent of the Holy Spirit by the waters of the Jordan, not only the primeval waters of life, but waters capable of giving life not only temporary, but also eternal; that is why we partake of these waters reverently, reverently; that is why the Church calls them a great shrine and calls on us to have them in our homes in case of illness, in case of spiritual sorrow, in case of sin, for purification and renewal, for communion with the newness of a purified life. Let us taste these waters, let us touch them reverently. The renewal of nature, the consecration of creatures, the transformation of the world began through these waters. Just as in the Holy Gifts, and here we see the beginning of the century to come, the victory of God and the beginning of eternal life, eternal glory - not only of man, but of all nature, when God becomes everything in everything.

Glory to God for his infinite mercy, for His Divine condescension, for the feat of the Son of God, who became the Son of man! Thank God that he renews both man and our destinies, and the world in which we live, and that we can still live with the hope of the victory already won and the joy that we are waiting for the day of the Lord, great, wonderful, terrible when the whole world will shine with the grace of the received, and not only the given Holy Spirit! Amen.

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Sermon on the Baptism of the Lord

With what a sense of reverence for Christ and gratitude for our relatives, who lead us to faith, we recall our Baptism: how wonderful it is to think that since our parents or people close to us discovered faith in Christ, vouched for us before the Church and before God, we Christ became the Sacrament of Baptism, we are called by His name. We bear this name with the same reverence and amazement as a young bride bears the name of a man whom she loved for life and death and who gave her his name; how we cherish this human name! How dear it is to us, how holy it is to us, how frightening it would be for us to act, to give it to our ill-wishers to blaspheme ... and this is how we unite with Christ, our Savior Christ, our God, who became man, gives us to bear His name. And just as on earth, according to our actions, they judge all the race, which bears the same name, so here, according to our actions, according to our life, they judge Christ.

What a responsibility this is! The Apostle Paul almost two thousand years ago warned the young Christian Church that for the sake of those of them who live unworthy of their calling, the name of Christ is blasphemed. Isn't it so now? Aren't millions of people around the world who would like to find the meaning of life, joy, depth in God, do not move away from Him, looking at us, seeing that, alas, we are not a living image of the gospel life - neither personally, nor as a society ?

And on the day of the Baptism of the Lord, I want to speak before God and call on everyone to say to whom it was given to be baptized in the name of Christ: remember that you have now become bearers of this holy and divine name, that God, your Savior, Savior of all will be judged by you. what if your life is my life! - will be worthy of this gift of God, then thousands around will be saved, and if it is unworthy, they will be lost: without faith, without hope, without joy and without meaning. Christ came to Jordan sinless, plunged into these terrible Jordanian waters, which seemed to become heavy, washing away human sin, figuratively became dead waters- He immersed himself in them and joined our mortality and all the consequences of human fall, sin, humiliation in order to make us able to live worthy of our human vocation, worthy of God Himself, Who called us to be dear to Him, children, to be dear to Him and our own ...

Let us respond to this work of God, to this call of God! Let us understand how high, how majestic our dignity, how great our responsibility, and we will enter the year that has already begun so as to be the glory of God and the salvation of every person who touches our life! Amen.

Saint Theophan the hermit. Thoughts for every day of the year - The Baptism of the Lord

Epiphany (tit 2, 11-14; h, 4-7; mt h, 13-17). The baptism of the Lord is called the Manifestation of God because in it the one true God worshiped in the Trinity revealed himself so tangibly: God the Father - with a voice from heaven, God the Son - incarnate - by baptism. God the Holy Spirit - by the descent on the Baptized. Here the mystery of the relationship of the persons of the Holy Trinity is also revealed. God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son and does not proceed from Him. It is also revealed here that the embodied economy of salvation was accomplished by God the Son incarnate, I will associate with Him the Holy Spirit and God the Father. It is also revealed that the salvation of everyone can be accomplished only in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, by the grace of the Father. All Christian sacraments shine here with their divine light and enlighten the minds and hearts of those who perform this great feast with faith. Come, let us wisely lift sorrow, and let us immerse ourselves in contemplation of these mysteries of our salvation, singing: in the Jordan, baptizing You, O Lord, Trinity worship appears, - salvation arranges us threefold and saves us threefold.

How did the baptism of Jesus Christ take place? What is the meaning of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord? You can find out about this by reading our article!

How did the baptism of Jesus Christ take place?

Until His thirty years of age, the Lord Jesus Christ lived with His Mother in small town Nazareth. Helping the aged Joseph in the carpentry work, He did not show Himself in any way, and people considered him to be one of Joseph's children. But now the time has come for Him to begin His public ministry. Then, in a special vision, God commands the prophet John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness, to preach a nationwide sermon of repentance and to baptize all repentant in Jordan as a sign of their desire to be cleansed from sins. The place where the prophet John began his ministry was called “the desert of Judea,” which lay on the western coast of the Jordan and the Dead Sea.

Luke the Evangelist communicates valuable historical information this turning point in historical moment, namely that at that time Palestine, which was part of the Roman Empire, was ruled by four rulers, tetrarchs. The emperor then was Tiberius, the son and successor of Octavian Augustus, under whom Christ was born. Tiberius ascended the throne after the death of Augustus in the 767th year from the founding of Rome, but two years before that, in 765th, he had already become a co-ruler and, therefore, the fifteenth year of his reign began in the 779th year, when the Lord turned 30, the age required for a teacher of faith.

In Judea, instead of Archelaus, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate ruled; in Galilee - Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, who beat up babies in Bethlehem; his other son, Philip, ruled in Iturea, a country located east of Jordan and Trachonitis, located northeast of Jordan; in the fourth region, Avilinee, adjoining Galilee from the northeast, at the foot of Antilevan, Lisanius ruled. Anna and Caiaphas were high priests at this time. The high priest was, in fact, Caiaphas, and his father-in-law Anna, or Anan, removed from office by the civil authorities, but enjoying authority and respect among the people, shared power with his son-in-law.

Evangelists call John the Baptist "the voice of one crying in the wilderness," because He loudly cried out to people: "Prepare the way for the Lord, make His way straight." These words are taken from the speech of the prophet Isaiah, where he comforts Jerusalem, saying that the time of his humiliation is over, and the glory of the Lord will soon appear, and “all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Isaiah 40: 5). John the Baptist (John 1:23) explains this prophecy in the form of a type: the Lord walking at the head of His people returning from captivity means the Messiah, and the messenger means His Forerunner, John. The people of Israel itself are a desert in the spiritual sense, and the irregularities that should be eliminated as obstacles to the coming of the Messiah are human sins and passions; that is why the essence of the entire preaching of the Forerunner was reduced to one, in fact, an appeal: Repent! This is a typical prophecy of Isaiah. The last of Old Testament prophets, Malachi speaks directly, calling the Forerunner “the Angel of the Lord,” preparing the way of the Messiah.

John the Baptist conditioned his preaching about repentance with the approach of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the Kingdom of the Messiah (Matt. 3: 2). By this Kingdom, the Word of God understands the deliverance of man from the power of sin and the reign of righteousness in his heart (Luke 17:21; cf. Rom. 14:17). Naturally, the grace of God, taking root in the hearts of people, unites them into one society, or the Kingdom, also called the Church (Matt. 13: 24-43, 47-49).

Preparing people to enter this Kingdom, which will open soon with the coming of the Messiah, John calls everyone to repentance, and baptized those who responded to this call with “the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3: 3). This was not yet a grace-filled Christian baptism, but only immersion in water, as a symbol of the fact that the penitent desires cleansing from sins, just as water cleanses him of bodily impurity.

John the Baptist was a strict ascetic who wore a coarse robe of camel hair and ate acrida (a kind of locust) and wild honey. He was in stark contrast to the contemporary mentors of the Jewish people, and his preaching about the approach of the Messiah, whose arrival so many were eagerly awaiting, could not fail to attract everyone's attention. Even the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius ​​testifies that “the people, delighted with the teachings of John, flocked to him in great numbers,” and that the power of this man over the Jews was so great that they were ready to do everything on his advice, and even King Herod himself [Antipas ] feared the power of this great teacher. Even the Pharisees and Sadducees could not calmly watch how the masses of the people went to John, and they themselves were forced to go into the desert to him; but hardly all of them walked with sincere feelings. Therefore, it is not surprising that John meets them with a stern accusatory speech: “Generation of vipers! Who inspired you to flee from future wrath? " (Matt. 3: 7). The Pharisees skillfully covered up their vices by strictly observing the purely external prescriptions of the Mosaic Law, and the Sadducees, indulging in carnal pleasures, rejected what was contrary to their Epicurean way of life: the spiritual world and the afterlife.

John denounces their arrogance, their confidence in their own righteousness and inspires them that their hope of descent from Abraham will not benefit them if they do not create fruits worthy of repentance, for “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire ”(Matt. 3:10; Luke 3: 9), as if good for nothing. The true children of Abraham are not those who descend from him in the flesh, but those who will live in the spirit of his faith and devotion to God. If you do not repent, then God will reject you and call to your place new children of Abraham in spirit (Matt. 3: 9; Luke 2: 8).

Confused by the severity of his speech, people ask: “What should we do? ”(Luke 3:11). John replies that it is necessary to do deeds of love and mercy and refrain from all evil. This is “Fruits worthy of repentance” - that is. good deeds that are the opposite of the sins they have committed.

Then there was a time of general expectation of the Messiah, and the Jews believed that the Messiah, when he comes, will baptize (John 1:25). Not surprisingly, many began to wonder if John himself was the Christ? To this John replied that he baptizes with water in repentance (Matt. 3:11), that is, as a sign of repentance, but the Strongest of him follows him, Whom he, John, is unworthy to untie his shoes, as servants do for their master. “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; cf. Mark 1: 8) - in His baptism the grace of the Holy Spirit will act like a fire that burns away all sinful filth. “His shovel is in His hand, and He will cleanse His threshing floor, and He will gather His wheat into the barn, and He will burn the straw with unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12; Luke 2:17), that is, Christ will cleanse His people as a master He cleanses his threshing floor, from tares and rubbish, but the wheat, that is, those who believe in Him, He will gather into His Church, as into a barn, and all those who reject Him will give up to eternal torment.

Then, among other people, Jesus Christ from Nazareth of Galilee came to John to be baptized by him. John had never met Jesus before and therefore did not know Who He was. But when Jesus approached him for baptism, John, as a prophet, felt His holiness, sinlessness and infinite superiority over himself, and therefore, in bewilderment, objected: “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me? "-" Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness, "the Savior answered meekly (Matt. 3:15). With these words, the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to say that He, as the founder of the new mankind revived by Him, had to show people by His own example the necessity of all Divine institutions, including baptism.

However, “being baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water” (Matt. 3:16), because He did not need to confess, as did the rest of the baptized, remaining in the water during the confession of their sins. Having been baptized, Jesus, according to the Evangelist, apparently prayed that the Heavenly Father would bless the beginning of His ministry.

“And behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God, who descended like a dove and descended on Him. “Obviously, the Spirit of God was seen not only by John, but also by the people who were at the same time, since the purpose of this miracle was to show people the Son of God in Jesus, who until then had been in obscurity. That is why on the day of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, also called the Epiphany, in the church service it is sung: “Thou art appeared to the universe ...” According to the Evangelist John, the Spirit of God not only descended on Jesus, but also remained on Him (John 1:32).

The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove because this image was most befitting of His attributes. According to the teaching of St. John Chrysostom, “the dove is a particularly meek and pure being. And since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of meekness, He appeared in this form. " According to the explanation of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, “just as under Noah, the dove announced the end of the flood, bringing an olive twig, so now the Holy Spirit announces the permission of sins in the form of a dove. There is a twig of olive, here is the mercy of our God. "

The Voice of God the Father: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased," pointed out to John the Baptist and the present people to the Divine dignity of the Baptized One, as the Son of God in the proper sense, the Only Begotten, on Whom the grace of God the Father eternally dwells; and at the same time these words were the answer of the Heavenly Father to the prayer of His Divine Son for a blessing on the great feat of salvation of mankind.

Our holy Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord on January 19 n. with. (January 6 SS), calling this holiday the Epiphany, since in this event the whole Holy Trinity revealed Himself to people: God the Father - with a voice from heaven, God the Son - with the baptism from John in Jordan, God the Holy Spirit - descended upon Jesus Christ dove. Epiphany, along with Easter, is the oldest Christian holiday. It is always met by Christians with great enthusiasm, because it reminds them of their own baptism, which encourages a deeper understanding of the power and significance of this sacrament.

For a Christian, says Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the father of the Church of the first centuries, the waters of baptism are "both a grave and a mother." A sepulcher for his former sinful life outside of Christ and the mother of his new life in Christ and in the Kingdom of His infinite righteousness. Baptism is the door from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light: "The elites were baptized into Christ, put on Christ." - He who is baptized into Christ is clothed in the robe of Christ's righteousness, becomes like Him, becomes a participant in His holiness. The power of baptism lies in the fact that the baptized person receives the ability and power to love God and his neighbors. This Christian love draws the Christian to a righteous life and helps him to overcome attachment to the world and its sinful pleasures.

The baptism of the Lord is one of the main Christian holidays... The Epiphany is the end of the Christmastide, which lasts from January 7 to January 19.
The holiday begins on the evening of January 18, when all Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany Eve. The beginning of the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord dates back to apostolic times.
He is mentioned in the Apostolic ordinances. The testimony of St. Clement of Alexandria about the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord has been preserved from the 2nd century
and the night vigil performed before this holiday. The Feast of Baptism is also called the Epiphany because at the Baptism of the Lord the world appeared Holy Trinity –
God the Father is a verb from heaven about the Son; The Son was baptized by the Forerunner John, and the Holy Spirit was descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. Since ancient times, this holiday was called
the day of Enlightenment and the feast of Lights, because God is Light and appeared to enlighten "those who sit in darkness and the shadow of deaths" (Matthew 4:16) and to save the fallen by grace
human race. On the day of the holiday and on the day of the Epiphany, the Great Blessing of Water is performed! It is believed that holy water does not deteriorate, and helps the sick with diseases!

A baptismal font is a large bowl-shaped vessel. Serves for the sacrament of baptism in Christian Church... The hot tub can be made from various materials and plays an important
role in creating interior decoration church premises. Often, the baptismal font is a work of art. The “Jordan” is also called a boulder - an ice hole,
in which they bathe on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.

Feast of the Epiphany

Holy Water: Church Traditions and Church-Related Superstitions

How to spend Epiphany Christmas Eve

Will holy water cleanse us?

The meaning of the feast of Epiphany.

Baptism of the Lord - before entering new life you need to repent

Traditions, memories, miracles.

The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, or Epiphany, is also called the Day of Enlightenment and the Feast of Lights - from ancient custom to do on the eve of it (in the Eve)
the baptism of the catechumens, which is, in essence, spiritual enlightenment. Description of the event of Baptism is given by all four Evangelists
(Matthew 3, 13-17; Mark 1: 9-11; Luke 3, 21-23; John 1, 33-34),
and also in many stichera and troparions of the holiday. “This day, Heaven and earth, the Creator comes to the Jordan in flesh, asking for baptism, the sinless ... and is baptized by a servant
Lord of all ... ". “To the voice of one crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord (that is, to John) you came, Lord, receive the sight of a servant, asking for baptism,
not knowing sin. " The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the closest connection with all His Divine-human work of saving people, it constitutes a decisive
and full start this ministry.

Christ the Savior in Baptism bestows (by water) grace "resolute souls and bodies". The baptism of the Lord in the redemption of the human race had
great salutary ontological significance. Baptism on the Jordan exudes forgiveness to mortals, absolution, enlightenment, re-creation of the human
nature, light, renewal, healing and, as it were, a new birth (pakibenie).

"New creatures earth-born, New Adam was a Sodetel, by fire and Spirit and water, making a strange rebirth and a wonderful renewal ...". The baptism of Christ in the waters of the Jordan
had not only the meaning of a symbol of purification, but also a transforming, renewing effect on human nature. By His immersion in the waters of the Jordan, the Lord sanctified
"The whole nature of waters" and the whole earth. Here the Lord reveals Himself as the Founder of a new, grace-filled Kingdom, which, according to His teaching, cannot be entered without Baptism
(Matthew 28: 19-20)

"With Me, if anyone descends and is buried in Baptism, with Me he will enjoy glory and resurrection, Christ now proclaims."

The triple immersion (of every believer in Christ) in the sacrament of Baptism depicts the death of Christ, and the coming out of the water - communion with His three-day Resurrection.

At the Baptism of the Lord in Jordan, the true worship of God (religion) was revealed to people, the hitherto unknown mystery of the Trinity of the Divine was revealed,
the mystery of One God in three Persons, and the worship of the Most Holy Trinity was revealed.

Having been baptized by John, Christ fulfilled the "righteousness", that is, faithfulness and obedience to the commandments of God. Saint John the Baptist accepted from God the command to baptize the people as a sign
cleansing of sins. As a man, Christ had to "fulfill" this commandment and, therefore, be baptized by John. By this He confirmed the holiness and greatness of John's actions,
and to Christians for everlasting time he gave an example of obedience to the will of God and humility.

Forefeast

The Epiphany has been one of the great twelve feasts since ancient times. Even in the Apostolic Decrees (book 5, ch. 12) it is commanded: “May you have a day in great respect,
in which the Lord has revealed the Godhead to us. "
This holiday in Orthodox Church is performed with equal grandeur as the feast of the Nativity of Christ. Both of these holidays, connected by "Svyatki" (from December 25 to January 6),
make up, as it were, one celebration.
The eve of the holiday - January 5 - is called the Eve of the Epiphany, or Christmas Eve. The services of the Vigil and the holiday itself are in many ways similar to the service of the Vigil and the holiday
Nativity of Christ.

On the Christmas Eve of the Epiphany on January 5 (as well as on the Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ), the Church enjoins a strict fast: eating once after the blessing of water.

“Wash yourself, and you will be clean” (Isa. 1: 16-20).

The Orthodox Church has been performing the great blessing of water since ancient times, and the grace of blessing water on these two days is always the same. Consecration of water on the very holiday
got its beginning in the Jerusalem Church and in the IV - X centuries. took place only in her alone, where there was a custom to go out to the Jordan River for the consecration of water in remembrance of the Baptism of the Savior.
Therefore, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the blessing of water on the Eve is performed in churches, and on the very holiday it is usually performed on rivers, springs and in wells.
(the so-called "Walking to Jordan"), for Christ was baptized outside the temple.
The Apostolic Decrees also contain the prayers pronounced at the consecration of water. So, in the book. The 8th says: “The priest will call on the Lord and say:
"And now sanctify this water, and give it grace and strength"

The succession of the great consecration of water consists in invoking the blessing of God on the waters and immersion in them three times. Of the Life-giving Cross Lord's.

The Epiphany holy water is called in the Orthodox Church the great Agiasma - the great Shrine.

Since ancient times, Christians have had great reverence for blessed water. The church prays:
"About the hedgehog, sanctify this waters, and grant them the grace of deliverance (salvation), the blessing of Jordan, by the power and action and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ..."
"About the hedgehog of this water being, the sanctification of the gift, the deliverance of sins, for the healing of souls and bodies to those who draw and eat, for the sanctification of houses ... and for every good (strong) ...".

The sanctity of water is evident to everyone also in the fact that it remains fresh and intact for a long time. Back in the 4th century about this in the 37th conversation
at the Baptism of the Lord, St. John Chrysostom: " Christ was baptized and sanctified the nature of waters; and therefore on the feast of Baptism, everyone, drawing water at midnight,
bring it home and store it all year round. And so the water in his being does not deteriorate from the continuation of time, gleaned now whole year, and often two and three years
remains fresh and intact, and after a little time does not yield to the waters just drawn from the source».

The Russian Orthodox Church and the people have such an attitude towards the Epiphany water that they accept it only on an empty stomach as a great Shrine, i.e. like an antidor,
prosphora, etc.

This Shrine is used by the Church for sprinkling temples and dwellings, during incantatory prayers for exile evil spirit like medicine; appoints it to drink to those
who cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. With this water and the Cross, the clergy on the feast of the Epiphany used to visit the houses of their parishioners, sprinkling them
and dwellings and, thus, extended blessing and sanctification, starting with the temple of God, to all the children of the Church of Christ.

As a sign of special reverence for the Epiphany water as a precious great Shrine on Epiphany Christmas Eve, a strict fast was established, when or not at all.
eating food before Epiphany water, or it is allowed to take a small amount of food. However, with proper reverence, with the sign of the cross and prayer, you can drink
holy water without any embarrassment and doubt, and to those who have already tasted something, and at any time as needed. Church in liturgical Rule (see: Typikon, January 6)
gives on this score a clear and definite instruction and explanation: those who excommunicate themselves from holy water for the sake of premature eating of food, "do not do good."
“We do not have uncleanness in us for eating for the sake of food (food), but from our wicked deeds; Let us cleanse this holy water of these without a doubt. "

The ritual of bathing for Epiphany is written in the Gospel. On this day, it is customary to plunge into the ice-hole (Jordan) three times. The light of the Holy Gospel shone from the Jordan, for "from that time"
that is, from the time of Baptism, Jesus began to preach.
Usually the night after Divine Liturgy parishioners, along with the rector, a procession of the cross and the singing of the festive troparion, go to the river or lake to the baptismal font.
in the form of a cross on a shallow (chest-deep) place, wooden gangways were built, and the ice on the gangways and along the edges of the font is covered with straw. The abbot standing at the edge, three times with his head
immerses a person in the water of a reservoir consecrated in advance. Sometimes the gangway is not built, and the afflicted are immersed three times on a pole as well. In some settlements, baptismal bathing by the church
is not practiced and then the residents arrange a "wild" unorganized bathing.

In general, it is believed that on Epiphany night all the water is holy, so if you don't have a font, you can just get up under the shower or take a bucket of water three times.
May the power of the Lord, the Faith of the Lord, Hope and Love be with you!

Do not yawn at Epiphany,

Dip the body into the hole.

Until the next baptism

the sensations remained.