Baptism of the Lord in Evangelical churches. Epiphany: history, traditions, meaning of the holiday. Traditions on the holiday

What is the Baptism of the Lord
The Baptism of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ is one of the most important Christian holidays. On this day, Christians around the world remember the gospel event - the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. The Savior was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist, who is also called the Baptist.

The second name, Epiphany, was given to the holiday in memory of the miracle that occurred during baptism. The Holy Spirit descended from heaven on Christ in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven called him Son. Evangelist Luke writes about this: The heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are My Beloved Son; My favor is in You! (Matt. 3:14-17). This is how the Holy Trinity was revealed in visible and accessible images to humans: the voice - God the Father, the dove - God the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ - God the Son. And it was testified that Jesus is not only the Son of Man, but also the Son of God. God appeared to people.

The Epiphany of the Lord is the twelfth holiday. The twelfths are holidays that are dogmatically closely connected with the events of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God and are divided into the Lord's (dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ) and the Theotokos (dedicated to Mother of God). Epiphany is the Lord's holiday.

When is the Epiphany celebrated?
The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19 according to the new style (January 6 according to the old style).
The Feast of the Epiphany has 4 days of pre-celebration and 8 days of post-celebration. Forefeast - one or several days before a major holiday, the services of which already include prayers dedicated to the upcoming celebrated event. Accordingly, after-feasts are the same days after the holiday.

The celebration of the holiday takes place on January 27 according to the new style. Giving holiday - the last day of some important Orthodox holidays, celebrated with a special service, more solemn than on ordinary days of post-feast.

Events of the Epiphany
After fasting and wanderings in the desert, the prophet John the Baptist came to the Jordan River, in which the Jews traditionally performed religious ablutions. Here he began to talk to the people about repentance and baptism for the remission of sins and to baptize people in the waters. This was not the Sacrament of Baptism as we know it now, but it was its prototype.

The people believed the prophecies of John the Baptist, many were baptized in the Jordan. And then, 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 are You coming to me?” But Christ assured him that “we must fulfill all righteousness.” During baptism, the sky opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove, and there was a voice from heaven, saying: You are My Beloved Son; My favor is in You! (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 the two Gospels - Matthew and Luke - we read that after Baptism the Savior withdrew into the desert, where he fasted for forty days in order to prepare for his mission among people. He was tempted by the devil and did not eat anything during these days, and after they were over, he finally became hungry (Luke 4:2). The devil approached Christ three times and tempted Him, but the Savior remained strong and rejected the evil one (as the devil is called).

Epiphany Christmas Eve
The Feast of Epiphany is preceded by Epiphany Eve, or the Everlasting Epiphany. On the eve of the holiday, Orthodox Christians observe strict fasting. A traditional dish of this day - sochivo, which is prepared from cereals (for example, wheat or rice), honey and raisins.

Sochivo

To prepare sochiva you will need:

Wheat (grain) – 200 g
- peeled nuts – 30 g
- poppy seed – 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.

Wash the wheat well and pour hot water, covering the grain, and cook in a saucepan over low heat until soft (or in a clay pot, in the oven), adding periodically 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, chopped nuts, raisins, fruits or berries to taste, add 1/2 cup of cream or milk or boiled water, and combine all this with boiled wheat, place in a ceramic bowl and serve chilled.

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

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

In the first centuries of Christianity, converts were baptized on Epiphany (they were called catechumens), so this day was often called the “day of Enlightenment”, “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 bless water in reservoirs on this day.

Iconography of the Baptism of the Lord
In early Christian images of the events of the Baptism of the Lord, the Savior appears before us young and without a beard; later He began to be portrayed as an adult man.

Since the 6th-7th centuries, images of angels have appeared on 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 Epiphany, an island of sky is depicted above Christ standing in the water, from which a dove in rays of light descends to the Baptized One - a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

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

Features of the Epiphany service
The clergy on the feast of the Epiphany are dressed in white vestments. The main feature of the Epiphany service is the blessing of water. The water is blessed twice. The day before, January 18, on Epiphany Eve, there was the Rite of the Great Blessing of Water, which is also called the Great Hagiasma. And the second time - on the day of Epiphany, January 19, on Divine Liturgy.

The first tradition most likely dates back to the ancient Christian practice of baptizing catechumens after the morning service of 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.

Holy Epiphany water
Water is blessed twice on Epiphany. The day before, January 18, on Epiphany Eve, there was the Rite of the Great Blessing of Water, which is also called the “Great Hagiasma.” And the second time - on the day of Epiphany, January 19, at the Divine Liturgy. The first tradition most likely dates back to the ancient Christian practice of baptizing catechumens after the morning service of Epiphany. And the second is connected with the custom of Christians of the Jerusalem Church to march on the day of Epiphany to the Jordan to the traditional place of the baptism of Jesus Christ.

According to tradition, Epiphany water is stored for a year - until the next Epiphany holiday. They drink it on an empty stomach, reverently and prayerfully.

When to collect Epiphany water?
Water is blessed twice on Epiphany. The day before, January 18, on Epiphany Eve, there was the Rite of the Great Blessing of Water, which is also called the “Great Hagiasma.” And the second time - on the day of Epiphany, January 19, at the Divine Liturgy. When to bless the water is completely unimportant.

Is all the water for Epiphany holy?
Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church at MGIMO, answers:

I remember when I was a child, we left the church for Epiphany and took with us a three-liter can of Epiphany water, and then, at home, we diluted it with tap water. And all year they accepted the water as a great shrine - with reverence.

On the night of the Epiphany of the Lord, indeed, as Tradition says, all aquatic nature is sanctified. And it becomes like the waters of the Jordan, in which the Lord was baptized. There would be magic if the water became holy only where the priest consecrated it. The Holy Spirit breathes wherever it wants. And there is an opinion that at any moment of Epiphany, holy water is everywhere. And the blessing 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 Epiphany holiday in Rus' usually coincided with severe frosts, so they began to be called “Epiphany”. People said: “The frost is crackling, not crackling, but Vodokreshchi has passed.”

Swimming in an ice hole (Jordan) for Epiphany
In Rus', ordinary people called Epiphany “Vodokreshchi” or “Jordan”. Jordan is 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 Epiphany. After the consecration, the brave boys and men plunged and even swam in the icy water; It was believed that this way one could wash away one’s sins. But that's just folk superstition. The Church teaches us that sins are washed away only by repentance through the sacrament of Confession.

And swimming is just a tradition. And here, firstly, it is important to understand that this tradition is completely optional. Secondly, one should remember the reverent attitude towards the shrine - Epiphany water. That is, if we nevertheless decide to swim, we must do it wisely (taking into account our state of health) and reverently - with prayer. And, of course, not replacing swimming as a substitute for attending a festive service in church.

The Feast of Epiphany or Epiphany, along with Easter, is the oldest Christian holiday. It is dedicated to the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Since ancient times, this holiday has been greeted by Christians with great enthusiasm because it reminded them of their own baptism and encouraged them to better understand the power of this sacrament.

The very event of the Lord’s baptism consisted of the following: when the time approached for the Lord Jesus Christ to enter His public ministry, God sent the prophet John the Baptist with a sermon of repentance to prepare Jewish people to the acceptance of the expected Messiah. The beginning of the preaching of John the Baptist, according to the Evangelist Luke, occurred in the 15th year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. It was approximately the 779th year from the founding of Rome or the 30th year of the Christian era. At this time, the Lord Jesus Christ still lived in His city of Nazareth, in the northern part of the Holy Land - Galilee, where the Holy Family had settled since the time of Herod’s massacre of the Bethlehem infants.

The sermon of the prophet John was simple, but it penetrated into the very soul of the listeners: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” said the prophet. The place where John preached was the Judean desert, a sparsely populated area that occupied the western banks of the Jordan and Dead Sea, dotted with rocky hills and dry streams, with very sparse vegetation, which is why it was called a desert. The Prophet John, the son of the righteous Zechariah and Elizabeth, was orphaned early and grew up in this desert. There he got used to the harshest way of life. He wore clothes made of camel's hair and girded himself with a leather belt. His food was locusts (a genus of locust) and wild honey.

After the boring instructions of the Jewish scribes, who talked mainly about the correct performance of various religious rites, the sermon of John the Baptist swept through Judea like a stream of fresh air. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, Judea, and even Galilee and Samaria rushed in crowds to hear the living and inspired word of the prophet of God.

Even 700 years before the birth of Christ, the famous prophet Isaiah predicted in his book about the preaching of John the Baptist. Isaiah calls the prophet John “the voice of one crying in the wilderness,” who was supposed to “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” The last Old Testament prophet Malachi, who lived 400 years before the birth of Christ, also predicted about John the Baptist. He calls John the Angel of the Lord, speaking on behalf of God: “Behold, I am sending My Angel, and he will prepare the way before Me.”

With his call to “repent,” the prophet John instilled in the Jews the need to deeply understand the wrongness of their actions, condemn their sinful life and begin a new one, based on the commandments of God. The word “repent” – metanoin in Greek – means “to change the way of thinking”, to begin to look at life in a new way. At the same time, the prophet John insisted that repentance be sincere, complete, accompanied by self-correction and good deeds. “Create fruit worthy of repentance,” the prophet said to the Jews. To the frequently asked question “what should I do?”, the prophet answered: “He who has two clothes, give to the poor,” in other words: do good, help those in need. The prophet urged publicans (tax collectors) not to demand more taxes than required. Voinov taught not to offend anyone, not to slander and to be content with his salary.

However, not all Jews came to the prophet with a thirst to hear the living word of God and the intention to correct themselves. Some came to him out of idle curiosity, or to find fault with some of his careless words and accuse the prophet before the authorities. The prophet's ill-wishers included the Jewish scribes and Pharisees, who were jealous of the prophet's glory and were afraid of losing their authority among the people. They were proud of their knowledge of the law, their ritual “righteousness”, but looked at simple and unlearned people with contempt. The Prophet John, seeing the hypocrisy and malice of the Jewish leaders, their reluctance to turn to God, denounced them openly and very strictly, saying: “You brood of vipers! Who inspired you to flee from the future wrath (of God)?

Those who repented and confessed (openly declared) their sins were baptized by the prophet John in the Jordan River. Baptism consisted of prayerfully immersing the repentant in water, which symbolically meant the cleansing of sins. The baptism of the prophet John was not yet a grace-filled Christian baptism, but only a preparation for it.

By calling the approaching Kingdom of the Messiah Heavenly, the prophet John made it clear that the Messianic Kingdom would not be what many of the Jews incorrectly imagined as a powerful and wealthy state. The Kingdom of the Messiah will be precisely heavenly - spiritual, attracting people to God and delivering moral renewal to people.

Some Jews, looking at John, asked themselves: was he the expected Messiah? But the Prophet John resolutely rejected this title, explaining to them that his task was only to prepare people to accept the coming Messiah. He, John, baptizes them in water as a sign of repentance. The Messiah will baptize them “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” In other words, the new baptism will not be a simple symbolic washing, like John’s baptism, but will be precisely the grace-filled rebirth of a person. In Messianic baptism, the Holy Spirit Himself, like fire, will burn away the sinful impurity of people and kindle in their souls a fiery desire to serve God. Those who accept the Messiah will be gathered into His Kingdom by God, just as wheat is gathered into a barn; those who oppose Christ, God will burn like stubble with unquenchable fire.

Further, the Evangelists narrate that during one of the sermons of the forerunner John on the banks of the Jordan River, “Jesus comes from Galilee to John to be baptized by him.” Why did the sinless Jesus come to be baptized? We find the answer to this question from John the Baptist himself, who several times before explained to the members of the Sanhedrin: “For this purpose I came to baptize in water, so that He (Christ) might be revealed to Israel,” in other words, so that at baptism it would be revealed who He is. . Until this time, Jesus Christ lived in the quiet of Nazareth, known only to the inhabitants of his small town as the son of Mary and the carpenter Joseph. Now Christ was thirty years old, and He received the right, according to Jewish laws, to teach the people and be called “rabbi” - mentor. The time has come to reveal Himself to the people, and the people to hear the testimony of Him as the long-awaited Messiah. This was now happening on the banks of the Jordan.

However, when the Lord approached John, he felt His great, divine holiness, and said to Jesus: “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” To which the Lord replied: “Leave it now, for this is how it becomes for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus Christ calls the will of God truth. It was the will of God that all who wished to become members of the blessed Messianic Kingdom should be baptized. Baptism received the meaning of “door” to the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ, being the founder of the new humanity revived by Him, was to be the first to enter the Kingdom that He founded, to open the path to salvation for people and teach them to do the will of God.

At the same time, the immersion of the Savior in water at the moment of His baptism was also intended to sanctify baptism, to make this symbolic rite a grace-filled, regenerating Christian sacrament.

Everyone who came to John first confessed their sins and then immersed themselves in water. Jesus alone, as sinless, came to John directly for baptism. Having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water and began to pray on the shore. Here He, as the Son of God, asked His Heavenly Father to bless the beginning of His public ministry. Suddenly, while Jesus was still praying, the sky opened, and from there the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a white dove. At the same time, the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven, saying: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” These words of God the Father were an indication to John and the people present of the Divine dignity of the Messiah, who was not only a man, but also the Only Begotten Son of God.

The triple miracle that took place here - the opening of heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove and the testimony of God the Father - completely convinced the prophet John that Jesus Christ was the expected Messiah. The prophet John was waiting for this visible descent of the Holy Spirit on the Messiah, because God, at the very beginning, sending the prophet to preach, told him: “On whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” Thus, from that moment on, the prophet John the Baptist could, without the slightest doubt, testify to everyone about Jesus as the Messiah and the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world. Soon after the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet John yielded to Him several of his disciples: brothers Andrew (the First-Called) and Peter, and brothers James and John (the Theologian). Having joined the Savior, they became His first disciples and apostles.

The cheerful mosaic of the post-Christmas holidays is crowned by the great twelfth holiday. On January 19, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, or, as it is also called, Holy Epiphany.

We all know that at this midnight it is customary to draw water and in the morning, after the service, to plunge into the ice hole. True believers perform these rituals in order to cleanse themselves of sins, and cunning people - in order to “stock up” on health and simply, just in case.

There are many more signs and traditions that our ancestors have collected for centuries; we invite you to familiarize yourself with the main and most interesting of them.

The meaning of the Feast of the Epiphany

The essence of this religious holiday is clear from its name. The events to which this day is actually dedicated are described in detail in the gospels (John, Luke, Matthew). We will not retell the holy books, we will only briefly dwell on the main facts.

On the day of his thirtieth birthday, the Son of God came to the Jordan and was baptized in the waters great river from John. There is another important point that gave the holiday its second name (Epiphany): when Jesus went ashore, the Holy Spirit descended to him in the form of a dove, the heavens opened and the voice of the Lord was heard, announcing that this was his beloved son.

According to legends, after these events, Christ spent 40 days in the desert, praying and fasting, not succumbing to devilish temptations. Upon his return he began great mission to save humanity.

Historically, this holiday is one of the first to which church services are dedicated (mentions from the 2nd century AD). Initially, it combined several important moments for Christians: Christmas, the appearance of the trinity of God and the Baptism of Jesus.

The division occurred in the 6th century, but not in all branches of Christianity, there are also some differences in dates (other options: January 6th or the Sunday closest to this date).

On the holiday, church ministers dress in solemn white clothes and conduct the blessing of water (on January 18th - in the church, on January 19th, after the Liturgy, - at a nearby reservoir). Recently appeared new rite– releasing white doves into the sky, symbolizing the Holy Spirit.

Baptism of the Lord: traditions, customs

The day before, as well as before Christmas, is called Christmas Eve. Believers fast until the evening and have “hungry” kutia for dinner. According to the canons, the dish is prepared from steamed wheat and uzvar (unsweetened compote), additional components: honey, ground poppy seeds, walnuts.

At Epiphany, people sit down at the table after attending a service and swimming in an ice hole. The menu is at the discretion of the owners. However, according to tradition, it is customary to prepare cookies in the shape of crosses. By the way, in some houses these sweets were given special significance.

Housewives wished for a cookie for each family member, and then watched how the year would go for the household members: if after baking the cross turned out even and ruddy, everything would be wonderful; if it got burnt, it meant illness and trouble.

You are not allowed to work on Epiphany.

In the evening on Christmas Eve, all the shoes were brought from the entryway into the house; boots or felt boots forgotten at the threshold foreshadowed health problems. No money was lent during the entire Christmas season, otherwise the family would be in need all year long.

Unmarried girls awaited the holiday with special trepidation, the reason for this being the bridesmaid ceremony, which was held in the church or near the Jordan ice hole. An engagement that took place on Epiphany was considered a guarantee of a long and prosperous life. family life.

signs and fortune telling for baptism

Our ancestors noted the features of this day, using them to predict various future events, weather, and harvest.

Here are some examples:

Snow and a blizzard on Epiphany are harbingers of a good “grain” year.
The clear starry sky on the night before Epiphany symbolizes the rich harvest of berries and peas.
Hunters paid special attention to dog barking; the better you can hear it, the more game there will be. The modern interpretation of this sign is curious: barking and yapping mean profit as such.
Birds knocking on the window on this day are identified with the souls of deceased loved ones. Such an event happened, a memorial must be distributed.

Young ladies who took care of their appearance collected snow at night and then washed themselves with it so that “the skin would shine and the cheeks would blush.”

The simplest way of Epiphany divination is to conceive a dream. Another interesting option to predict the events of the current year is to prepare 6 cups with symbolic objects:

water – calm, routine;
coin - to financial profit, well-being;
ring - of course, this is a wedding, well, or great love;
sugar – success in everything, “sweet” life;
salt – sadness, failure, loss;
match - birth of a child.

Fortune tellers blindfolded make a choice and then interpret the future.

You can also pour a handful of crumbs or seeds onto the floor, while making your most cherished wish. After collecting and counting, if the number is even, everything will come true, and vice versa.

Great Blessing of Water and Epiphany Bathing

Even ardent skeptics do not argue with the fact that ordinary water on a festive night acquires special properties. It is customary to collect the healing liquid at midnight and consecrate it in the church in the morning. Store separately at home, preferably near icons.

Many people are interested in the permissible volumes; churchmen usually answer this question: be it a barrel or a bottle, but then they remind you that greed is a sin.

Let's see how this special water is used:

sprinkle the home;
before breakfast on January 19, everyone in the family is given a spoon to drink;
added to medicine if someone gets sick.

Some people start every morning with a sip of consecrated liquid and a slice of prosphora.

Nowadays it is fashionable to swim in an ice hole at Epiphany in order to wash away all sins. Jordans are carved in the shape of a cross; there is usually a priest nearby who reads prayers, so the people have a misconception that three-time ablution (you must dive headlong) is a church rite. In fact, this is a near-pagan tradition, and sins are forgiven only after repentance.

For those who have decided to improve their health in this way, we present a list of simple safety measures:

Do not use before swimming alcoholic drinks.
Do not take a running jump into the ice hole, undress and warm up first physical exercise.
A minute of ablution is quite enough, and you don’t need to plunge to the very top of your head - just enter the body of water up to your shoulders.
Afterwards, rub yourself vigorously with a towel, immediately get dressed and drink hot tea.
For hypertensive patients, rheumatic patients, and ulcer sufferers, such experiments are strictly prohibited.

Night bathing in your own bath is a completely worthy alternative, and from the point of view of the church too.

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The Orthodox holiday Epiphany is celebrated on January 19. Why is this holiday extremely important for Christians? The thing is that on this day Christians remember the event recorded in the Gospel - the baptism of Christ. This happened in the waters of the Jordan River, where at that time John the Baptist, or Baptist, was baptizing Jews.

history of the holiday

The Orthodox holiday of the Baptism of the Lord is also called Epiphany as a reminder of the miracle that took place: the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and touched Jesus Christ immediately as he emerged from the water after immersion and a loud voice said: “Behold, this is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3:13). -17).

Thus, during this event, the Holy Trinity appeared to people and it was witnessed that Jesus is the Messiah. That is why this holiday is also called Epiphany, which refers to the twelve, i.e. those celebrations that are designated by Church doctrine as events related to the life of Christ.

The Orthodox Church always celebrates Epiphany on January 19 according to the Julian calendar, and the holiday itself is divided into:

4 days of pre-feast - before the Epiphany, during which liturgies dedicated to the upcoming event are already heard in churches;
8 days of post-feast - days after the great event.

The first celebration of Epiphany began in the first century in the First Apostolic Church. The main idea of this holiday is the memory and glorification of the event in which the Son of God appeared in the flesh. However, there is another purpose for the celebration. As is known, in the first centuries many sects arose that differed in dogmatic principles from the true church. And heretics also celebrated Epiphany, but explained this event differently:

Ebionites: as the union of the man Jesus with the Divine Christ;
Docetes: they did not consider Christ to be half-man and spoke only about His Divine essence;
Basilidians: did not believe that Christ was half-god and half-man and taught that the dove that descended was God's mind, which entered into a simple man.

The teachings of the Gnostics, who had only half-truths in their teaching, greatly attracted Christians and their a large number of turned into heresy. To stop this, Christians decided to celebrate Epiphany, simultaneously explaining in detail what kind of holiday it was and what happened at that time. The Church called this holiday the Epiphany, confirming the dogma that then Christ revealed himself to be God, being originally God, One with the Holy Trinity.

In order to finally destroy the Gnostic heresy regarding Baptism, the Church combined Epiphany and Christmas into a single holiday. It is for this reason that until the 4th century these two holidays were celebrated by believers on the same day - January 6, under the general name of Epiphany.

They were first divided into two different celebrations only in the first half of the 5th century by clergy under the leadership of Pope Julius. Christmas began to be celebrated on January 25 in the Western Church, so that the pagans would turn away from celebrating the birth of the sun (there was such a pagan celebration in honor of the sun god) and began to cleave to the Church. And Epiphany began to be celebrated a few days after, but since Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas in the new style - January 6, then Epiphany is celebrated on the 19th.

Important! The meaning of Epiphany remains the same - this is the appearance of Christ as God to his people and reunification with the Trinity.

Icon "Baptism of the Lord"

Events

The Feast of Epiphany is dedicated to the events that are set out in the 13th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew - the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan River, as it was written by the prophet Isaiah.

John the Baptist taught the people about the coming Messiah, who would baptize them into fire, and also baptized those who wished in the Jordan River, which symbolized their renewal from the old law to the new one that Jesus Christ would bring. He spoke about the necessary repentance, and washing in the Jordan (which the Jews had done before) became a prototype of Baptism, although John did not suspect it at the time.

Jesus Christ began his ministry at that time; He turned 30 years old, and he came to the Jordan to fulfill the words of the prophet and announce to everyone the beginning of His ministry. He asked John to baptize Him too, to which the prophet, very surprised, replied that he was not worthy to take off Christ’s shoes, and He asked him to baptize. John the Baptist already knew then that the Messiah himself was standing before him. Jesus Christ responded to this that they should do everything according to the law so as not to confuse people.

While Christ was immersed in the waters of the river, the sky opened, and a white dove descended on Christ, and everyone nearby heard the voice “Behold my Beloved Son.” Thus, the Holy Trinity appeared to the people in the form of the Holy Spirit (dove), Jesus Christ and the Lord God.

After this, the first apostles followed Jesus, and Christ himself went into the desert to fight temptations.

Traditions on the holiday

The Epiphany service is very similar to the Christmas service, since when the Church adheres to strict fasting until the consecration of the water. In addition, a special liturgy is served.

Others are also observed church traditions- blessing of water, a religious procession to a reservoir, as was done by Palestinian Christians who went in a similar way to baptism to the Jordan River.

Liturgy on the day of Epiphany

As on any other important Christian holiday, a festive liturgy is served in the church, during which the clergy dresses in festive white vestments. Main feature The service becomes the blessing of water, which occurs after the service.

On Christmas Eve, the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served, after which the font in the church is consecrated. And at Epiphany, the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is served, after which communion is celebrated and the water is re-blessed and a religious procession to the nearest body of water for consecration.

About other significant Orthodox holidays:

The troparia that are read tell about the division of the Jordan by the prophet Elijah and about the baptism of Jesus Christ all in the same river, and also point to the fact that believers are spiritually renewed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Passages from Scripture are read about the greatness of Christ (Acts, the Gospel of Matthew), the power and authority of the Lord (Psalms 28 and 41, 50, 90), as well as about spiritual rebirth through baptism (the prophet Isaiah).

Bishop's service for Epiphany

Folk traditions

Today, Orthodoxy resembles the mixing of two rivers with clear and muddy water: the clean one is doctrinal Orthodoxy, and the muddy one is folk Orthodoxy, in which there are extremely many admixtures of completely non-church traditions and rituals. This happens because of the rich culture of the Russian people, which is mixed with the theology of the church, and as a result, two lines of traditions are obtained - church and folk.

Important! It’s worth knowing folk traditions, because they can be separated from the true, church ones, and then, knowing the culture of your people is simply a must for everyone.

According to folk traditions, Epiphany marked the end of Christmastide - at this time the girls stopped fortune telling. Scripture prohibits fortune telling and all witchcraft, therefore Christmas fortune telling is only a historical fact.

On Epiphany Eve the font in the church was consecrated, and on the 19th the reservoirs were consecrated. After the church service, people walked in procession to the ice hole and, after prayer, plunged into it to wash away all their sins. After the consecration of the ice hole, people collected water from it in containers to take the consecrated water home, and then plunged themselves.

Swimming in an ice hole is purely folk tradition, unconfirmed by the doctrinal teaching of the Orthodox Church.

What to put on the holiday table

Believers do not fast on Epiphany, but do so in advance - on Epiphany Eve, the eve of the holiday. It is on Epiphany Christmas Eve that it is necessary to observe strict fasting and eat only Lenten dishes.

Articles about Orthodox cuisine:

On Epiphany you can put any dishes on the table, but on Christmas Eve only Lenten ones, and the presence of sochiva is required - a dish of boiled wheat grains mixed with honey and dried fruits (raisins, dried apricots, etc.).

Lenten pies are also baked, and washed down with uzvar - dried fruit compote.

Water for Epiphany

Water has a special meaning during the Epiphany holiday. People believe that she becomes pure, sanctified and holy. The Church says that water is an integral part of the holiday, but it can be sanctified by prayer anywhere. The clergy bless the water twice:

on Epiphany Eve the font in the church;
water brought by people to temples and reservoirs.

The troparion of Epiphany records the necessary consecration of the home with holy water (a church candle is also used for this), but swimming in an ice hole is a purely folk tradition, not obligatory. You can bless and drink water for a whole year, the main thing is to store it in glass containers so that it does not bloom or spoil.

According to Tradition, all water on the night of Epiphany is sanctified and, as it were, acquires the essence of the waters of the Jordan, in which Jesus Christ was baptized. All water is sanctified by the Holy Spirit and is considered holy at this moment.

Advice! It is recommended to drink water during communion along with wine and prosphora, and also drink several sips daily, especially on days of illness. It should be remembered that, like any other object, it is consecrated in the temple and requires respectful treatment.

Is water holy for Epiphany?

The clergy answer this question ambiguously.

Consecrated water, brought to temples or in reservoirs before bathing, according to the Traditions of the elders, is sanctified. Traditions say that on this night the water becomes similar to the water that flowed in the Jordan at the moment when Christ was baptized there. As Scripture says, the Holy Spirit breathes where it wants, so there is an opinion that at Epiphany holy water is given wherever they pray to the Lord, and not just in the place where the priest performed the service.

The process of blessing water itself is a church celebration, telling people about the presence of God on earth.

Epiphany ice hole

Swimming in an ice hole

Previously, in the territory of the Slavic countries, Epiphany was called (and continues to be called) “Vodokhreshchi” or “Jordan”. The Jordan is the name given to the ice hole, which is carved with a cross in the ice of a reservoir and which was consecrated by the clergyman at Epiphany.

Since ancient times, there has been a tradition - immediately after consecrating an ice hole, take a swim in it, because people believed that in this way they could wash away all their sins. But this applies to worldly traditions,

Important! Scripture teaches us that our sins are washed away by the Blood of Christ on the Cross and people can only accept salvation through repentance, and swimming in an icy pond is only a folk tradition.

This is not a sin, but there is no spiritual meaning in this action. But bathing is just a tradition and should be treated accordingly:

this is not mandatory;
but the execution can be done reverently, because the water was consecrated.

Thus, you can swim in an ice hole, but you must do this with prayer and after the festive service in the Church. After all, the main sanctification occurs through the sinner’s repentance, and not through bathing, so one should not forget about personal relationships with the Lord and visiting the temple.

Watch the video about the Feast of Epiphany

Good day, my dear friends! What's your weather like? And we have real Epiphany frosts. You go outside in the evening, the sky is strewn with stars, the air is just ringing, and everything around you is crackling from the frost! They are ending, and the Epiphany of the Lord will soon come. I really love this magical, fabulous time!

As a child, my grandmother gave me a lot interesting stories I talked about these divine holidays. She had a very religious friend, Baba Manya, and so she came to visit and retold Bible stories to us in the evenings. They are all so kind and bright, I listened with my mouth open. Now I remember more and more often, they seemed like magic to me then. This is probably why I adore these winter Divine holidays.

This day is also called the Epiphany, which means that when Christ appeared on our sinful earth, he gave the opportunity to all sinful people to be baptized and become better, kinder, brighter.

Water taken for Epiphany in any body of water is considered healing, baptismal. It can be stored for a whole year, until the next holiday. For those people who cannot draw water from the sources illuminated by the temple servants, live far away, or simply cannot go for physical reasons, they are blessed to draw water from a tap or well.

Whoever has the opportunity, be sure to get water from a temple or church. One liter of holy water will last you and your family for a whole year.
In simple terms, holy water is “concentrated.” It is enough to add a few drops to a regular one and the container with water will be illuminated.
Water is collected in a glass container, it is not recommended to use plastic bottles. The collected water is not placed on the floor and stored in a clean and bright place. It’s good if there are icons in your house, store water close to this place.
You can sprinkle this water on things, in a room, or take a sip during illness.
There are many stories when holy water helped to heal from many diseases. The main thing is to believe in it.

Swimming in an ice hole

Before Epiphany, ice holes are made in frozen reservoirs. On Epiphany night the water is blessed. Such an ice hole is called “Jordan” - this is in honor of the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River.

In Rus' it is believed that by swimming in this ice hole, a person is cleansed of sins and gains health of spirit and body. Only the church does not call for this and does not prohibit it.

You can simply wash yourself from the ice hole, wash your hands and feet. Read the prayer, be sure to believe in a miracle and think only about the good and the good.

There are no specific rules or requirements for prayer; it can be “Our Father” or simply the words “Lord have mercy.” This needs to be read or said while you plunge into the ice hole or wash your face and hands.

They plunge their heads into the ice hole three times and then come out and wrap themselves in a sheet or towel.

Traditions, customs and signs

January 18, before Epiphany - Christmas Eve. People fast for a day, and the first meal occurs with the first star or from the moment when holy water is brought into the house.
There should be butter and honey on the table. It’s good to bake a pile of pancakes and serve them with butter, caviar, and sour cream. Pork and various delicious meat dishes and sausages are welcome.
It would be nice to bake square pancakes, this is for money and well-being.
They also say that wishes made on Epiphany night come true. Only desire must come from the soul, from the heart. I’ll tell you a secret, I’ve been making a wish on this night for many years now and it’s coming true. Try it, but the desire must be real, and not exorbitant.

Under no circumstances should a drunk person visit a temple, collect holy water while drunk, or swim in an ice hole.

Also, do good deeds, love and help your neighbors!

My dear friends, I want to congratulate you on the holiday of Epiphany. Good health to you!

Let the Epiphany frosts
Your sorrows will go away.
Let there be only tears of happiness,
Let the good news come.

I want you to laugh more often
And they were never sad!
To be admired by love,
And they were always happy!