No one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed (John 1:18).
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I, John, saw the holy city Jerusalem, new, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God (Rev 21:1-3).
On the sixth day of their stay in the Holy Land, a group of clergy from the Simbirsk and Melekess diocese, led by Archbishop Proclus, left Tiberias and went to Yardenit, on the banks of the sacred Jordan River. In the Russian edition of the album “Land of Jesus” (1995 Florence), Yardenit is called the “Baptism Center”, which was founded by members of Kibbutz Kinneret “to meet the countless streams of believers coming here.” “To this day,” the author further writes, “a symbolic rite of baptism of believers of the Greek Orthodox Church and Catholics takes place in the waters of the Jordan.” The album contains photographs of the place of the Baptism of Jesus Christ, under them the caption: “Yardenit: two views of the Jordan River near the village where Jesus was baptized. This place of the river is still revered by believers” (emphasis added - prot. V.D.)
At the Baptism Center we departed from the Journey Program. We went some distance downstream from the “place where pilgrims dive,” found a convenient access to the water and, after performing a prayer service, entered the cool waters of the Jordan.
The Jordan River flows through Israel for no more than eight kilometers. Further, to the very mouth, the famous biblical river forms the border between Jordan and Israel. Our route from Yardenit to the Dead Sea passed barbed wire fences. When we drove through Jericho, from which there is a road to the Jordan, to the place where Jesus Christ appeared to the whole universe, where His baptism took place, in which the sacrament of the Holy Trinity is shown, someone from the group asked the guide:
Why is there no real place in the trip program where the event took place that turned the course of the sacred history of Redemption from the Old Testament to the New - Epiphany?
This place, the guide answered, is located on the other side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho, about seven kilometers before it flows into the Dead Sea. There is a temple of John the Baptist there, but you can only get there on the feast of Epiphany with special passes.
The seventh day in Palestine, the last according to the “Program,” was supposed to begin with a trip to Tel Aviv and Jaffa, but our pilgrim group decided to stay in Jerusalem, to stay a little longer there, where we participated in the celebration of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at midnight at the Holy Sepulcher...
The journey through the Holy Land ended long ago, but the question of the “real place” of Baptism and Epiphany and its meaning remained.
Let us try, remembering the ineffability of the Divine mystery, to pose this question without pretending to resolve it.
This happened in Bethavara
1 .The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begins with the preaching and baptism of John the Baptist, as it is written in the prophets(Mark 1:2), who foretold the coming into the world of the Savior and John before Him, who predicted the place where John would preach - Voice in the wilderness(John 1:23). He was also commanded by the Holy Spirit to baptize in water. I didn't know Him, says John, but He who sent me to baptize in water told me… (John 1:33). Each of the four Gospels says that John performed baptism in the waters of the Jordan River. So, the “real” place of the baptism of Jesus Christ is the Jordan. But the river is divided into three currents, the upper one - from the sources to the lake, called Mer in the Old Testament; middle - from Lake Merom to Lake Gennesaret; and the lower - from Lake Gennesaret to the Dead Sea. In which of these currents?
The Evangelist Matthew writes: In those days John the Baptist comes and preaches in the desert of Judea(Matthew 3:1); in Luke: ... was the word of God to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. And he passed through the entire surrounding country of Jordan(Luke 3:2-3); from Mark: John appeared baptizing in the desert(Mark 1:4). Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible explains the absence of the name of the desert in the Gospel of Mark by the fact that Mark “as a resident of Jerusalem, considered it unnecessary to immediately define what he meant by desert: the Jerusalemites by “desert” were accustomed to understand precisely the Judean desert, that is, the country between the mountains of Judea and Jordan, northwest of the Dead Sea." In the Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nicephorus, in addition to the Judean, Tekopi and Jericho deserts, the Jordanian desert is also named, and geographical maps Palestine of the “time of Jesus Christ”, it is designated along both banks of the Jordan from Jericho north to two-thirds of the lower reaches.
Based on the location of the Judean and Jordanian deserts, we can make the following clarification of the place where the Savior was baptized and appeared to the world: the lower reaches of the Jordan, between Lake Gennesaret and Dead Sea. Here the Jordan River flows from north to south for 107 kilometers.
There is no doubt that where Christ was baptized, the depth was sufficient for immersion. The need for this is confirmed in the Gospel of John: And John also baptized in Aenon, near Salem, because there was a lot of water there(John 3:23). But it is also certain that there must be a crossing somewhere nearby, since the whole country of Judea and the people of Jerusalem came out to him(Mark 1:5), and John baptized on the eastern bank of the Jordan, on the other side of Judea, as the Evangelist John the Theologian says: (John 1:28); Wed in Church Slavonic: This was in Bethabara on the floor of the Jordan, where John was baptizing; bonpol means ‘beyond’, that is, beyond the Jordan. And the Gospel of John says: ... they sought to seize Him; but He escaped from their hands, and went again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John had previously baptized, and remained there(John 10:39–40). But in John 1:28, the very name of the place where John the Baptist baptized and first appeared to the world raises bewilderment and questions Holy Trinity. “Instead of the name “Bethavara” (crossing place), in most ancient codes there is the name “Bethany”.” Saint John Chrysostom in his Discourses on the Gospel of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian writes: “This happened in Bethany,” but adds: “And in the most correct copies it is said: in Bethabar. Bethany was not on the other side of the Jordan and not in the desert, but near Jerusalem.”
In the interpretation of the Gospel of John, St. Cyril of Alexandria puts “Bethabara,” but a detailed footnote follows. “So, one by one. at St. Kirill acc. many codd. and Sir. But in other RCPs. St. Kirill reading: Bethany acc. ancient Codd., lat. Vulg. Sire. (sch and p - text) and many others. The latter is followed by Ostrom. Mar. Zogr. and other ancient Slavs., but now Slav. follows Const. 1383 and later. At St. Alexy is not clear about the last letters: in vifa..., but by all indications it should be read: in Bethany.” There is an explanation for the name “Bifavara”: “house of transition, Palestine. the place mentioned in the New Testament (John 1:28) is located opposite Jericho. In some places Bethavara is called “Bethany of Trans-Jordan.”
Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible names the exact location of Bethavara: “10 kilometers from Jordan,” but it is not indicated on the maps “Canaan” and “Palestine” placed at the end of the publication. And in the Bible Encyclopedia published by the Russian Bible Society, on the contrary, on the map “Israel in the era of the New Testament”, on the eastern side of the Jordan, about four kilometers from the Dead Sea, “Bethany beyond the Jordan” is indicated, but in geographical names nothing is said about her.
In 2001, a message appeared on the Internet: “Scientists have found the place of the baptism of Jesus Christ.” An international team of scientists conducting excavations in the Holy Land announced that they had “finally managed to solve one of the mysteries associated with the New Testament - to establish the exact place of the baptism of Jesus Christ.” They found on the eastern bank of the Jordan, where the Jordanian village of Wali el-Harar is now located, the base of a Greek column with a cross on top, which was installed during early Christianity in the middle of the Jordan at the site of the baptism of the Savior. The source “Utro.Ru” believes that the location of the village of Bethany, not far from which John the Baptist preached and baptized, was still unknown because “there were several villages with that name in Palestine.” Undoubtedly, the point is not in the number of villages with the name Bethany (according to early codes) or Bethavara, which is given in the Gospel of John (John 1:28), but in the fact that this discovery did not become an event in the Christian world. Enough time has passed since then, but, apparently, the “real place” (if we can talk about it seriously) of Baptism and Epiphany is still behind barbed wire.
2 . Bethavara - “house of passage, a Palestinian town located opposite Jericho”, ““house of crossing<…>on the other side of the Jordan,” where John the Baptist preached and baptized; here, too, the Israelites are believed to have crossed the Jordan led by Joshua."
In earlier codices of the Gospel of John, the place of Baptism and Epiphany is called Bethany, Bethany - in Hebrew “house of the poor” or “house of oppression, disaster.”
In the Old Testament history there is no mention of villages and towns with such names that would be located on the other side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. But Bethabara could be called not only the crossing that exists here from one shore to another in the form of a raft or some kind of vessel (2 Samuel 19:17), but also the transition of the sons of Israel to the Promised Land from the “house of oppression” when the ark of the covenant of the Lord miraculously divided the waters of the Jordan: the water flowing from above stopped and became a wall for a very long distance, to the city of Adam(Joshua 3:16). From the Dead Sea, where the water flowing into it “gone and dried up,” it was about forty kilometers to the city of Adam. And the people went over against Jericho(Joshua 3:17). Jordan was the last obstacle on the forty-year journey of resettlement of the chosen people from “Bethany” to the Promised Land.
And the children of Israel departed and stopped in the plains of Moab, by the Jordan, opposite Jericho(Numbers 22:1).
Here, in the Jordan Desert, they camped for about two years. At this place the “numbering” of the entire community of the sons of Israel took place; from here they went to war against the Midianites and returned here with captives and all the booty. Here came the voice of Moses: Listen, Israel!(Deut 6:4); Listen to regulations and laws(Deuteronomy 4:1). And all the Israelites listened to Deuteronomy; and so that what he heard would be evidence against them and their future life in the Holy Land, Moses wrote in the book all the words of this law to the end and he gave it to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and they laid it right hand of the ark(Deuteronomy 31:24,26). Here, at the Jordan near Jericho, Moses died at the age of 120, and buried in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Bethpeor, and no one knows the place of his burial even to this day(Deuteronomy 34:6).
Saint Basil the Great, speaking about foreshadowing as an expression of “what is expected in likeness, by which the future is foreshadowed,” writes: “what is narrated about the deliverance of Israel serves as an indication of those who are saved by baptism.” And St. Cyril of Alexandria, in his “skillful explanations” of the Pentateuch of Moses, in the chapter “On the Birth of Moses,” presents what is written about Moses as “an image in the foreshadowing of the salvation accomplished through Christ.” In the fact that the baby Moses was found by the daughter of Pharaoh near the river bank, St. Cyril sees an image of Baptism.
“But the daughter of Pharaoh, that is, the church of the pagans, although it once had Satan as its father, finds Him by the waters, which show the image of holy Baptism, through which and in which Christ is found, and the ark is opened.” But the old path of bringing Israel by Moses from Bethany in Egypt, the “house of slavery,” to the Promised Land not only symbolically points to a new path of salvation through Baptism, but also actually ends where the exodus of the new people of God from this world to heaven - to the Church, begins. and Moses, who prefigured the Baptism of Jesus Christ in infancy, dies here, by the waters of the Jordan, opposite Jericho, where this Baptism will take place, where Christ “opens the ark” of eternal life. Here the old man dies and “our enmity is against God<…>and we rise from the water as if alive from the dead, having been saved by the grace of Him who called us.”
Before his death, Moses blessed Joshua, the son of Nun, according to the voice of God, a person who has the Spirit(Numbers 27:18), the leader of the children of Israel. He, just like Moses, prefiguring Jesus Christ, enters the Holy Land with the people. Fulfilling what the Lord told him, Joshua ordered twelve stones to be taken, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, from the bottom of the Jordan, where the priests stood with the Ark of the Covenant, and laid them in Gilgal. And Jesus set up the other twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan in the place where the feet of the priests stood, carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. They are there to this day(Joshua 4:9) Jesus appointed twelve men, one from each tribe, to carry the stones. Each carried a stone, placing it on his shoulder. At the place where the voice of John the Baptist would sound, a sign was placed in memory of the fact that the waters of the Jordan were divided before the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth; when he crossed over the Jordan, then the waters of the Jordan were divided; So these stones will be a memorial for you for the children of Israel forever.(Joshua 4:7); so that all the nations of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is strong, and that you may fear the Lord your God always(Joshua 4:24).
But the children of Israel did not remember the “commandments of the Lord” for long; they again went “after the Baals” and destroyed the monument.
Elijah the prophet first begins to prepare the way to return to the starting point - to the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho, from the Promised Land to the desert. Through his prayer, punishment comes: purification by fire - drought. He restores the destroyed altar of the Lord from twelve stones on Mount Carmel. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob.(1 Kings 18:31). This restoration has a representative meaning: the “rejected” stones, placed as a sign at the passage of the children of Israel, will become “at the head of the corner” of the new altar in the new universal Tabernacle. The Lord sends Elijah as a forerunner to walk the path of returning to Bethany. He goes to the crossing point - Bethabara of Israel, cuts through the Jordan with a mantle and crosses over dry land to the deserted eastern bank.
For your insolence against Me<…>I will bring you back the same way you came(Isaiah 37:29). There is no doubt that these words spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah were a warning not only to the king of Assyria. Those who rejected the gift of God - the land flowing with milk and honey, turned it (in the spiritual sense) into a desert, the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah returned to the desert.
Ascension of Elijah the Prophet on a Chariot of Fire in a whirlwind to the sky(2 Kings 2:11) in the same place where Israel camped, where the grave of Moses, prefigures a new Bethabara, a new “transition”, a new Passover - from earth to Heaven. This is where the Lord will raise sanctuary and true tabernacle(see Heb 8:2), new, perfect and not made with hands, the Holy of Holies. In this universal Altar a great work will be accomplished - the upcoming Baptism - “a chariot to heaven, heavenly pleasure, the preparation of the Kingdom, the gift of adoption” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem); nations will come here an acceptable sacrifice(Isaiah 60:7) on new holiday in the desert, in complete joy, on a new Easter.
The path of returning to the “starting point”, which the prophet Elijah prophetically indicated, is the path of returning to God. The great work of preparation that he began is continued and accomplished by John the Baptist. In the same place where the Lord is from wanted to exalt Elijah(2 Kings 2:1), a man appears sent from God; his name is John(John 1:6). He, according to the Angel, He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God; and will come before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah<…>to present to the Lord a prepared people(Luke 1:16–17) In the same place where Moses proclaimed: Listen, Israel! Listen to regulations and laws, sounds: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand(Matthew 3:2). The Lord sends John baptize in water and testify to the world baptizing with the Holy Spirit The Son of God in the glory of the Holy Trinity - Epiphany.
3 . Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible suggests that the town of Bethavara was located 10 kilometers from the Jordan. “Here, probably,” the authors write, “the Baptist had his stay, when many disciples gathered around him, who could not be in the desert all the time in the heat and cold, without shelter. From here the Baptist could go daily to the Jordan and preach there.”
It is difficult to agree with such a statement. John’s disciples may not have been able to be in the desert “without shelter,” but the Forerunner himself, “fed in the desert” (George of Neocaesarea), having gone out to preach the Good News, could not deviate from the ascetic, spiritual essence of the new life that he himself preached . “John came out of the desert,” writes Eusebius of Caesarea, “dressed in strange clothes. He avoids all communication with people and therefore did not enter cities, villages, or meetings of men, and did not even share meals with anyone.” “...Who suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the desert, and after preaching he retired back into the desert and again unknown where; who did not drink, did not eat, did not communicate with the crowd. That's why they thought that he wasn't even human. For how could he be a man if he didn’t even need any food? That’s why they took him for an angel, the same one that the prophet announced.”
The life of the Baptist anticipates the completion of the assembly of the people on an old, earthly, natural basis - in countries, cities, villages and any other “national assemblies” - and the beginning of a new assembly, an assembly in the Church, “which God Himself convenes” (Protopresbyter Nikolai Afanasiev), which there is a Eucharistic gathering of everyone for the same thing - the Lord's Table, in which there is no Jew and Greek, slave and free, rich and poor, which does not have a “permanent place of residence.”
Through John the Baptist, the Lord is preparing a new Bethavara - resettlement to the Heavenly Fatherland from Bethany - the “house of sorrow”, “this world” to the city of God - Heavenly Jerusalem, for we do not have a permanent city here, but we are looking for a future(Hebrews 13:14); a new exodus - to the Church and through the Church. “The special goal of John,” says St. John Chrysostom in Conversations on the Gospel of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian, “was only to announce His coming and to convince at least some to listen to the Eternal Life. John leaves the greater testimony to Christ Himself...”
The baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan was the manifestation of the Holy Trinity to the world: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Savior testifies to entry into the Church through the sacrament of Baptism. This introduction “is accomplished by the Spirit, whom God sends in the sacrament of baptism.” The further path of the new “Tent of Meeting” is testified by Jesus as the path of ascent to Jerusalem, as the path of the Passion. John the Baptist “announces” this. The next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.(John 1:29).
This happened in Bethavara...
Here Christ appears as the Paschal Lamb, here the lamp of Heavenly Jerusalem has shone to the world, the New Passover has shone - another eternal life begins(7th song of the canon), a new time begins here - the time of salvation, the beginning of the return of creation to the Creator, man to God.
Jordan as an image of a barrier
The Fall of man separated him from God. Between the Creator and the creature a sinful barrier of enmity and division arose, leading to death. The life of people began in the “house of sorrow” - Bethany. The sinful barrier divided the whole world: man with man, man with his conscience, man with everything that is in the world. Everything was divided into itself, opposed: on this side - and on the other side. Division (“Babylon”) became the cause of wars and endless transitions and relocations throughout the earth.
The Lord chose Abram and he began to walk along the path indicated by God. And he continued his journeys from the south to Bethel(Genesis 13:3). His nephew Lot went with Abram. Both Abram and Lot had flocks and herds and tents. Their property was so great that they began to live closely together. The shepherds of “Avramov’s cattle” began to quarrel with the shepherds of “Lot’s cattle” and the relatives decided to split up. Abram said to Lot: “If you go to the right, then I will go to the left.” It was here, during the separation of closely related people, that the Jordan River is mentioned for the first time in the Bible: And Lot chose for himself all the region around the Jordan.<…>and pitched tents unto Sodom(Genesis 13:11–12). This river occupies special place in biblical history, it is not only the real division of Palestine into two halves - eastern and western, but an image of a barrier that destroys integrity and kills life.
Jacob is the first to whom the Lord gave the power to “cut” the Jordan as a barrier, when he, fleeing from his brother Esau, fled to Mesopotamia to his uncle Laban in Haran, after the Lord said to him in a dream: and behold, I am with you, and I will keep you wherever you go; and I will bring you back to this land, for I will not leave you until I have done what I have told you.(Genesis 28:15). Returning back, Jacob, having learned that his brother was coming towards him with an army, became frightened and cried out to the Lord: I am unworthy of all the mercies and all the good deeds that You have done for Your servant, for I crossed this Jordan with my staff, and now I have two camps(Genesis 32:10). Although in the quoted words of Jacob there is no direct indication of the “cutting” of the waters of the Jordan, Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible contains confirmation of such a conclusion: “Jewish interpreters, paying attention to the construction of bemaqoli, with a rod, or, more precisely, by means of a rod, believed that Jacob used a rod divided the Jordan."
Joshua, who was commanded by the Lord to complete the exodus after the death of Moses, divided the waters of the Jordan with the ark of the covenant of the Lord, opening the way to the Promised Land for the children of Israel. Elijah the prophet, with the power given to him by the Lord, destroyed the “barrier,” showing the “rebellious house” the way to return to the desert, and after his ascension in a chariot of fire, the power to destroy the “barrier” passed to his disciple Elisha.
Saint John Chrysostom names only three “cuttings” of the Jordan: under Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, but for him “cutting” has the meaning of blocking, cutting off the waters of the Jordan from the Dead Sea - from death, reversing their flow. “God divided it three times, so that it would no longer flow towards the Dead Sea, but so that it would flow to the ancient living roots.” The saint saw in the Jordan the image of our mortal race. “Our image began from the earth,” he writes, “and ended with death; the Dead Sea, the deep, the underworld, the dead abyss, received him.”
All the Old Testament “cuttings” of the Jordan destroyed the barrier only for the duration of the transition to the other bank, after which it was restored again and continued to exist. And only Jesus Christ finally destroys the sinful barrier of enmity and division, giving the opportunity to all who are thirsty and desiring salvation to ascend from earth to Heaven - to eternal life. “Jordan is the beginning of the possession of the land; Jordan is the beginning of the possession of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
With His Baptism and appearance into the world as the Paschal Lamb, the atoning Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, Jesus returns to the world its lost integrity, its original unity. The reconciliator connects two separated banks, like a stone connecting two walls, transforms the Jordan from the image of a sinful barrier into the image of a pure river of water of life of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where tree of life on both sides of the river(see Rev. 22:1–2). For He is our peace, - writes the Apostle Paul, - who made both one and destroyed the barrier that stood in the middle, abolishing enmity with His flesh, and the law of commandments with teaching, in order to create from the two in Himself one new man, establishing peace, and in one body to reconcile both with God through the cross, killing enmity on it(Eph 2:14–15).
New outcome
After Baptism and temptation from the devil, Jesus Christ in the power of the spirit begins His path of ministry. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His soul as a ransom for many.(Mark 10:45). First He goes to “his fatherland,” to Galilee. To get there, it was necessary to go along the Trans-Jordan side along the Jordan to Bethavara opposite Scythopolis. Pilgrims walked from Galilee to Jerusalem on Passover and other Jewish holidays along this route. The direct route through Samaria, which was located between Judea and Galilee, was closed to them due to frequent aggravation of relations between Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritans did not worship God in Jerusalem, but on Mount Gerizim. This was the main reason for their differences. “...Since Moses commanded that there should be only one place for public worship of God in the entire promised land,” writes B.I. Gladkov, “it is understandable why there was an irreconcilable disagreement between the Samaritans and the Jews about which of them had the true worship of God.” .
Those traveling to Jerusalem from Galilee had to cross the Jordan twice: the first time to the eastern bank opposite Scythopolis, the second - again to the western bank opposite Jericho, and then go from Jericho to Jerusalem through the desert, which was “very dangerous for travelers, since robbers hid there ".
Jesus' parents walked this way every year from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Passover holiday (Luke 2:41). Christ knew this path from a young age (Luke 2:42) and passed through the place where, having received Baptism, he would appear to the world as the Son of God. The pilgrimage route from Galilee to Jerusalem will be His the last way- the ascent to voluntary death, to the Passion. In the Gospel of John, Christ begins this path from the place of His Baptism, where He returns, evading the hands of his persecutors.
And he went again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John had previously baptized, and remained there(John 10:40). In the narrative of the apostle and evangelist John, the place where John baptized is called not only Bethabara (John 1:28), but also Aenon near Salem (John 3:23). But, if you believe the map “Palestine of the times of Jesus Christ and the Apostles,” Aenon and Salem were “on this” - the western bank of the Jordan, on the territory of Samaria, and not “beyond the Jordan.” Confirmation that the Savior is returning to the place of His Baptism can be found in the Discourses on the Gospel of John by St. John Chrysostom: “But why does the evangelist indicate the place? So that you know that He withdrew to that place with the intention of reminding the Jews of what happened there and what John said, as well as his testimony.” Here, where Moses once repeated to the children of Israel the main content of the books of the law, the Lord returns, recalling once again the most significant moment of His gospel.
“He leaves Jerusalem,” writes Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria, emphasizing the special spiritual meaning of the return of Jesus Christ to the place of Baptism, “that is, from the Jewish people, and moves to a place that has sources, that is, to the Church of the pagans, which has sources of Baptism . For “beyond the Jordan” means this, that is, the transition through Baptism. For no one comes to Jesus and becomes truly faithful except by going through Baptism, which is signified by the Jordan.”
Jesus Christ remained in Bethabara for more than three months: He retired from Judea to Perea during the Feast of Renewal (on the twentieth of the 9th month of Haslev - the first half of December), and returned, having learned about Lazarus’ illness, presumably at the end of February, since after the resurrection of Lazarus says - The Passover of the Jews was approaching(John 11:55), and the Passover of the Jews is in the middle of the 1st month of Abib (the second half of March and the first half of April). During this time many came to Him<…>And many there believed in Him(John 10:41–42).
From here, having performed the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, the Savior “ascends” to Jerusalem - to “this world,” which has hated Him, which is looking for Him in order to destroy Him. From here, from the place where the Old Exodus ended, the New One begins - through the Passion to the Resurrection and victory over death - to Eternal Life.
In the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) there is no direct parallel to John 10:40, but in each of them the last journey of Christ from Galilee to Jerusalem coincides with the pilgrimage route of the Trans-Jordan side through the Decapolis and Perea with two crossings of the Jordan. Consequently, among the weather forecasters, Jesus, before ascending through Jericho to Jerusalem, was in Bethabara - at the site of Baptism. This is also a return “beyond the Jordan”, which could not go unnoticed, without reminding us of the events that took place here. In the first three Gospels there is no basis for supposing the time of the Savior’s stay in Bethabara, but in each of them - Matthew 20:17–19; Mark 10:32–34; Luke 18:31–33 Before Jericho, Jesus, “calling away the twelve disciples alone,” repeats to them what he revealed to them at the beginning of the journey to the Passion: He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day rise again(Matthew 16:21; cf. Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22) - it is possible that these words were spoken at Bethabara. Christ secretly reveals to his disciples the essence of His “amazing” teaching for the third time on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, but they again didn't understand what was said(Luke 18:34). When they first heard what path their Teacher was taking and calling them to follow Him, Peter, who had just confessed that Christ was Son of God Zhivago, to whom Jesus had just told that he would make him the foundation of His Church and give him keys of the kingdom of heaven, began to reproach Him: be merciful to yourself, Lord! may this not happen to you!(Matthew 16:22; also Mark 8:32). Christ’s answer to Peter is sharp and decisive, as to the third temptation from the devil: get away from Me, Satan! you are a temptation to me! because you think not about what is God, but about what is human(Mt 16:23; cf. Mk 8:33). Immediately after these words, Christ reveals the most “amazing” moment of His teaching, which, in the words of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, “turns the world upside down”: if anyone wants to come after Me, deny yourself, and take up your cross, and follow Me(Mt 16:24; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23). In the Gospel of Matthew, He addresses only His disciples, from Mark - to the people with their disciples, from Luke - to everyone. The Lord announced to everyone the completion of life “for themselves” and “in themselves.” “Deny yourself” is an indispensable condition of the New Exodus, about which in a few days (in six - Matthew, in eight - Mark), He, having been transformed, will talk with Moses and Elijah. Appearing in glory, they spoke of His exodus, which He was to carry out to Jerusalem(Luke 9:31). Moses completed the Old Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt and reached with them Bethabara - the place of Deuteronomy and his death, the place of Israel's miraculous crossing of the Jordan; Elijah indicated the path of return to Bethany-Bethavara as the starting point, which would become the beginning of the New Exodus - the Path of Salvation of all people. They were the ones who appeared to Jesus at His Transfiguration. With Christ on Tabor were the disciples Peter, James and John, but they were asleep during His conversation with Moses and Elijah, and Peter, having awakened, asked Jesus to stay here and not leave here. The disciples could not accept the main condition of the New Exodus - “deny yourself.” The path to the Passion evoked fear and doubt and weakened the will. Thinking “what is human”, one cannot understand that the Path of Salvation is the Path of Passion. In confirmation of the truth of the New Exodus in Christ, of all that He says, there was a voice from the cloud that overshadowed them: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him(Matt 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35).
Christ speaks, but no one accepts His testimony(John 3:32). But there was the testimony of John the Baptist: This is the Son of God(John 1:34). John testified to receive the testimony of Him who comes from above: He who accepted His testimony has thus sealed that God is true, for He whom God sent speaks the words of God; For God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son and has given everything into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him(John 3:33–36). Christ reminds everyone of this by His return across the Jordan before ascending to Jerusalem in the narrative of the Apostle John the Theologian (John 10:40), and in the Synoptic Gospels - during the Passion journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. And while He remained where He appeared to the world in the glory of the Holy Trinity, from where He began His ministry, many came to Him(John 10:41) and accepted what John the Baptist testified about Him as true: and many there believed in Him(John 10:42). When Jesus, having learned about Lazarus’s illness, called on the disciples to go again to Judea, they began to contradict Him: Rabbi! how long have the Jews been looking to stone you, and are you going there again?(John 11:8). And only Thomas said not as accompanying the Teacher to death, but as following His path: come and we will die with Him(John 11:16). Here - “with Him” - with Jesus, and not with Lazarus.
Thomas does not separate His Passion from His glory, like the sons of Zebedee, who asked for places of honor in the Kingdom (Matthew 20:20–21; Mark 10:35–37); in his words there is an understanding of the hidden meaning of the New Exodus: “through the Passion the Lord enters the glory of the Kingdom."
Easter House
Passover in Hebrew literally means ‘transition, change of place’. In the Old Testament, Passover is a holiday in memory of Israel's transition from the “house of slavery” in the land of Egypt to the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey, the beauty of all lands (the sacrificial Passover lamb was also called Passover). The Old Testament Exodus ended with the miraculous passage of the children of Israel across the Jordan opposite Jericho. At the same place is the beginning of the New Testament with the New Exodus.
This happened in Bethabara by the Jordan, where John baptized(John 1:28). In the place of the Old Testament Bethavara, the house of transition, the New Paschal Lamb appears to the world in the glory of the Holy Trinity to save the world from the death of sin, destroying its “sting” by His voluntary death. He begins the House-Building of the new Bethavara - the new House of Easter.
“Taking away the sting of sin from death, destroying death as a spiritual reality. - writes Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, - having filled it with Himself, His love and life, He transforms it, which was the very reality of alienation and perversion of life, into a radiant and joyful “transition” - Easter - into a richer life, into stronger unity, into more strong love". The Lord gathers the people of God for a new holiday in the desert in Bethany - “the house of sorrow”, “the house of the fallen”, “beyond the camp”, to the sacrament of the Church of God in Christ, to the Lord’s Table - the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, celebrated in the Spirit and by the Spirit. “The New Economy, established in the place of the Old, is the Economy of the Spirit.”
A new meeting - into the sacrament of new life, into the Church “wandering” in the wilderness of this world until the Day of the Lord. Let us therefore go out to Him outside the camp, - calls the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews, - bearing His reproach; for we do not have a permanent city here, but we are looking for a future(Hebrews 13:13–14). “To Him” means to His Church, as His Body, crucified for the sins of the whole world, which is the “real transition” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann) into the Kingdom of God. The New Passover, the New Exodus from earth to heaven in Christ will take place in a new time until He comes. “The Eucharist,” writes Protopresbyter Nikolai Afanasyev, “celebrated by the disciples until He comes, is the ongoing, last Meal of Christ. Like the Last Supper, it is connected with His death and His Resurrection.” The very Church of God in Christ, in which and through which the new time is fulfilled, becomes real and new life, and there is a new “holiday in the wilderness,” a holiday of transition from this world to His Kingdom. But “His Exodus” - the festive transition from the eon of this world to the eon of the Kingdom (Fr. Alexander Schmemann) - does not destroy the old “skins”, but transforms the old into the new, preserving both, as the Lord says in the parable of the new wine and old wineskins (Luke 5:36–39). After the Son of Man fulfilled His exodus to the Father, writes Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann in the Introduction to Liturgical Theology, “in Him the New Pascha became the Life of people...”. The new Easter actualizes in time “that eternal beginning, which for the old world is its end, and in the Church - the End, transformed into the beginning - the beginning that fills the End with joyful completeness.”
In the New Easter House everything is Easter, transitional, like a new law, like a new “leaven”. For example, the name of Jesus’ homeland of Galileo, where He begins His ministry, where His final journey to the Passion begins, means ‘migration’ or ‘revelation’, as stated by St. Augustine, explaining the mysterious meaning of the words of the Risen Christ: After My resurrection I will go before you to Galilee(Mt 26:32; cf. Mk 14:28).
“If you understand it (the word “Galilee” - prot. V.D.) in the sense of “transmigration,” he writes, “does this not mean the transfer of the grace of Christ from the people of Israel to the pagans? Preaching the Gospel to the pagans, the Apostles would never have earned their trust if the Lord had not preceded their path in the hearts of (these) people.” “This will be the true revelation, the true Galilee, when we are like Him; there we will see Him as He is. This will also be a true migration if we are righteous and deserve eternal life.”
Church as Epiphany
In the Introduction to Patristic Theology, in the chapter “St. Gregory of Nyssa,” Protopresbyter John Meyendorff talks about how St. Gregory was sent by the Council of Antioch on a trip to the churches of Arabia and Palestine. He needed to collect information about the Arian heresy. He returned from this trip with a “very negative” impression of Jerusalem. "Holy places. - writes Father John, - which at that time became a popular center of pilgrimage, did not arouse any enthusiasm in him. In one of his letters, Gregory writes that God’s presence is everywhere, and to believe that in the Holy Land it is more obvious than in any other place is a big mistake.”
With the transition from the Old to the New, in the words of St. John Chrysostom, “the whole earth finally became a temple,” the very image of worship of God changed. In a conversation with a Samaritan woman, Christ says: The time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem <…> But the time will come and has already come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is looking for such worshipers for Himself.(John 4:21,23). In his interpretation of the Gospel of John, Saint John Chrysostom, considering the meaning of Christ’s words about a new way of serving God, writes: “He speaks here about the Church, because it is characterized by true and worthy worship of God.” And true worshipers “are those who do not limit the service of God to any place, but worship Him in spirit, as Paul says: I pray to you, brethren, by the mercies of God, present in your body a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your verbal service(Rom 12:1). So, not sheep and calves, but oneself to offer to God as a burnt offering and means: “to present a living sacrifice. And truth is worth bowing to.”
With the coming of Christ into the world, the Old Testament worship of God with its principle of mediation between man and God (temple, priesthood, sacrifice), being representative, ends and a new one begins - perfect, like a spiritual feat, like “awareness of complete belonging - soul and body - to Christ, “ inclusion" into His life." Now - The Almighty does not live in man-made temples(Acts 7:48), now the “temple” is the Church, created by God and belonging to Him, which is the Sacrament of the Eucharistic gathering of the faithful in Christ for His Table in His Kingdom. After the Epiphany in Bethabara, where John the Baptist baptized, in the words of Protopresbyter George Florovsky, the turning point of Revelation, when “the “Last” or “new” has already entered history, but the finale has not yet arrived. The kingdom began, but was not fulfilled"; after Trinity Appearing Adoration, the Lord appears in the Church and through the Church, which He founded at the Last Supper, and which was actualized at Pentecost, a new, true worship of God entered the world through the Manifestation of God, which itself is now the Manifestation of God. Jesus Christ, after His Resurrection and Ascension, reveals Himself in this world through the Church - His Body, heading it, coming in His Time until His Day. “The “Day of the Lord” will come, but it constantly comes in the Church, as the Lord comes to “his own.” The Eucharist is the meal of the Lord coming to the Church in the Spirit."
Saint Cyril of Alexandria in his essay “On Worship and Service in Spirit and Truth” in the chapter “On the Holy Tabernacle, That It Was the Image of the Church of Christ,” explaining the words of the Lord to Moses on Mount Sinai: And let me sanctify you, and I will appear in you, writes: “Let Me create sanctification,” he says, “and I will appear in you”: because Christ appears in the Church and shines on those who are in it, according to what is written in the Psalms: God the Lord, and appear to us(Ps 117:27). But only those who believe in Christ see the Glory of God, because “faith is, as it were, an entrance leading to understanding and opening the mind to the perception of the light of the Divine.”
Believers are called to life and service in Christ - to the Epiphany. Abide in Me and I in you(John 15:4). As You sent Me into the world, so I sent them into the world(John 17:18). To show God to the world means to testify to Christ with all your life and death, to bring the light of Divine love into this world. The Lord says to all who seek salvation from the death of sin: I gave you an example(John 13:15). Following the example of Christ, believers glorify not themselves, but Him holy name. In the early Church, as Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann writes, the meaning of veneration of the saints was Christocentric: “For the glory revealed in the martyr is the glory of Christ and the glory of the Church. A martyr is, first of all, an example, a testimony, a manifestation of this glory...” The Savior, appearing to Paul, called him to the Epiphany, to the testimony of the Truth, opening his eyes and turning him from darkness to light: For this is why I appeared to you, to make you a minister and a witness of what you have seen and what I will reveal to you.(Acts 26:16).
In the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John, Christ says to His disciples: A little more and the world will no longer see Me; and you will see Me, for I live, and you will live(John 14:19). To the question of one of the students: What is it that You want to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world? Jesus answered: whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him(John 14:22–23).
Epiphany - Theanthropic meeting. In this meeting we are already called, already chosen, it occurs when “first” is not us, but the Lord: You did not choose Me, but I chose you(John 15:16) when - He chose and He loved. When at the call of the Spirit and the Bride: come! <…> let the one who hears say: come!(Rev 22:17), when those who thirst and desire the water of life all together, as the Church, cry: Hey, come, Lord Jesus!
In the memoirs of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh about how he met his confessor, there are the following words: “And so he rose from the church, and I saw the radiance of eternal life.”
The true “place” of Epiphany - the Church of God - is in Christ, in her Christ is in our midst, and is and will be!
From the “Travel Program” to the Holy Land in the State of Israel of the World Pilgrimage Fund from November 25 to December 1, 1996.
The Explanatory Bible, or a commentary on all the books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Institute of Bible Translation, Stockholm, 1987 (reprint from the publishing house of the successors of A.P. Lopukhin. St. Petersburg, 1911–1913). Book 3. T. 9. P. 19.
See, for example: Works of St. Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria. Book 3. M., 2002. P. 394; Bishop Cassian (Bezobrazov). Water and blood and spirit. Paris-M., 2004. P. 127.
Prot. Alexander Shmeman. The historical path of Orthodoxy. M., 1993 (reprint from New York, 1954). P. 83.
After an early breakfast, we board the bus with our things. We are driving through the city along a steep descent, where we climbed yesterday from the shore of the Sea of Galilee. We passed this wonderful lake. Here we were shown where the Jordan River flows out of it. We're going to town Erichon, which is located in the eastern outskirts of Jordan. He is mentioned several times in the Old and New Testaments. The journey takes about an hour. The Jordan River flows from north to south, and its length here is 2 times greater. The name of the Jordan River means descending, falling. According to the Bible, its water is healing. According to biblical legends, a man was healed of leprosy. We are driving through the Jordan Valley. To our left, in the distance, a strip of the Dead Sea is visible. It's a pity that we won't go there. The level of the Dead Sea is the lowest in the world. On the right on the mountain we see a fortress. Nearby are fields with seedlings. A small tractor drives between the rows and waters them. Now we are driving through the desert. To the left and right there are sands and stones. Finally we arrived at the Jordan River. We get off the bus and go to the reed locker rooms.
Again we put on a swimsuit, white shirts and walk along the steps to the river. The river here is not wide, 15-20 meters. The water is greenish and opaque. There is a border post in the middle of the river, Jordan is on the other side, and you cannot swim beyond the border. There is also a border post here, and the border guards who were watching us.
Our group of pilgrims lined up by the water and began to read prayers together with the priest. On the contrary, we are on the other side of the pilgrims of Jordan. Their baptism is different, they go into the water up to their ankles, and the priests prayerfully pour a small amount of water on them from above. We are Russians - we stand dressed in white shirts in prayer.
Our priest blesses the water with a cross.
Let us delve into the meaning of the sacred words. A lot of flies flocked to us, they bothered us and tickled our feet. Tourists from the other side look at us with curiosity and take photographs. Here on the river in biblical times, John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ. The place is very sacred. Finally, our priest prayerfully blessed the water with a large cross. Now you can come in.
The water seemed cool. I plunged three times with the Lord’s Prayer. The feeling is unforgettable. Sun, water and the Holy Spirit. I liked it so much, and the water no longer seemed cold. Now let's go get dressed in the locker rooms and to the bus. We are driving through the Judean Desert again. The sky is blue, the sands are yellow, and in some places beautiful colorful bushes grow along the road.
To our right we see camels. Their brown color stands out among the orange sand.
We arrived at Erichon, most ancient city peace to the Greek monastery Ave. Gerasim of Jordan. It is located near the confluence of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The Mother of God with the Child and Joseph stopped at this place on the way to Egypt.
The monastery of St. Gerasimos is one of the oldest in Palestine. It was built by Rev. Gerasim in 455. St. Gerasim was from Myra in Lycia. The monastery was a stone fortress designed for approximately 70 monks. In the middle of the monastery there was a “cinema” (dormitory) for beginners. Monks who “reached degrees of perfection” were placed in separate cells.
For five days of the week, everyone stayed in his cell, eating nothing but bread, water and dates. On Saturday and Sunday, the hermits all gathered together, and after communion of the Holy Mysteries, they ate boiled food and a little wine at a common meal. They had no property except clothes, and when leaving they did not close the doors of their cells. Other saints labored in the desert. fathers; Ave. Feoktist, Rev. Feodosius and others.
The saint's memory is celebrated on March 4. Etc. Gerasim was so abstinent that he Lent remained without food, content only with the communion of the Holy Mysteries. The monk is usually depicted together with a lion. This lion, after St. Gerasim healed him, became a devoted and inseparable “novice” of the saint, and was used in monastic work.
Since the Arab invasion of 637, information about the monastery becomes scarcer and then disappears. In the 12th century, the Russian pilgrim Abbot Daniel found 20 monks in the monastery.
The current monastery is located a few miles from the garden towards the Dead Sea. It looks like a small fortress in the desert. It is noteworthy that neither the burial place of St. Gerasim, no information about his relics.
The floors in the temple are made of ancient mosaics. I liked the huge icon - the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
The courtyard is very cozy. The monks treat us to rice soup and bread.
Church food is always filling and tasty. Here in the corner there is a cage with huge green parrots. On the right is a small church shop.
Let's go to the next monastery Prophet Elisha. In the courtyard, the famous Zacchaeus tree was preserved, on which the tax collector sat in the hope of seeing the Savior.
To our right is a source of holy water. You can drink and wash with fresh water. We go to the temple.
Next we go to the monastery " Russian mission" Huge icons hang all over the walls here. I liked the biblical events - the Baptism of Jesus, where the Savior himself healed the sick, etc.
We go outside again, the weather is very warm. On the thermometer at the entrance I noticed the air temperature was +26 C’. Nearby there is an orchard with lemons and oranges. Next is our way to Quarantal to The Mountain of Temptations. On this mountain, Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days and nights after His Baptism, and here the Devil tempted Him. The bus remains at the parking lot below, and we walk 30 minutes uphill along a rocky road.
We were the first to reach the iron gates of the monastery. There is a Greek Orthodox monastery here Temptations, built in the 4th century, and an unfinished monastery on top of the mountain. We knock on doors. Finally they heard us and opened the door. There are unusual passages with open arches. Instead of a ceiling there are hanging slopes of a mountain.
We go out onto a long balcony that hangs directly over the abyss. 
The main shrine of the monastery church is the stone on which Jesus prayed. We take turns kissing it in reverence. After getting acquainted with the interior, we leave the temple and go down in 15 minutes to the bus. We go back to where our guide Dmitry left us. He cannot travel here because he has Israeli citizenship. Things are so wild here.
Now we are driving from Erichon to the east. Here lies the Judean Desert, amazing in its rocky wildness. The path goes along a winding road. The bus remains parked. The observation deck offers fabulous views of the deserted, seasonal Nahal Prat (in Hebrew) or Wadi Qelt (in Arabic) river, which over the years has carved a canyon of impressive size into the rock. The length of the deep and narrow gorge is about 28 kilometers, and the height difference is more than 1000 meters. At the bottom of the canyon there are three streams: Ein Prat, Ein Mabua and Ein Kelt. This time we have to go deep down to the temple, which is located in the canyon. We were warned that some pilgrims might remain at the top. The road consists of large slabs. Local cab drivers with donkeys offer their services on the steep descent, but none of our pilgrims wanted to. Here unusual nature. The mountains drop sharply down in the form of canyons.
It is gradually getting dark, the air is filled with freshness and unfamiliar mountain smells. We slowly descended; the last part of the path must be climbed.
Finally we arrived at the temple gates Khozevita Ave., founded around 480 and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the caves of the gorge, next to the temple, there were monks' cells. Some cells were visible in the almost vertical wall. Next we go to the cave temple Elijah the Prophet, in memory of the temptation of Christ by the Devil. According to legend, this happened at this place. The prophet Elijah hid and prayed here during a three-year drought. In the same cave, St. Jacob received news from the Angel that his wife would give birth to the long-awaited daughter Mary, the Mother of God.
It was already getting dark outside. In one of the halls of the temple, a balcony overlooks the gorge. The picture is unusual before sunset. Instead of a view of the entire span, a stone wall was visible. The good-natured monks treated us to a coffee drink to strengthen our strength for the return journey. Now our way back, we need to climb a steep slope of a winding road.
Several people agreed to ride donkeys, accompanied by foot drivers. I didn’t ride a donkey, but walked on foot to experience all the evening beauty of the mountains. We got up pretty quickly, and spent almost the same amount of time as it took us to descend. It even surprised me. This is what a blessed coffee drink means. We get on the bus.
We're going to Bethlehem, which is located 8 km from Jerusalem in territory Palestine. Our Guide again left us temporarily, since he was not allowed to be on someone else’s territory. It's already dark outside. We arrived at the hotel and checked into our rooms. Our room is a little cold. We turn on the air conditioner, but it either overheats the room or turns off.
MOSCOW, 8 Aug— RIA Novosti, Anton Skripunov. Scientists, politicians and believers are still arguing about where Christ was baptized. Some claim that this important event for Christians took place on the west bank of the Jordan, others - on the east. Who has what arguments - in the RIA Novosti material.
"To tears!"
For more than four years now, Nina Prosvetlyuk, a native of the Khmelnitsky region of Ukraine, has been working in the Russian hospice in Jordan, near the river sacred to believers, which gave its name to this state. “I thought that I would come here only for a month. But, once here, I felt such joy that I started to cry! I couldn’t imagine that I would be here praying to God for myself and for the whole world,” she admits.
Every day from early morning until late evening, Nina performs various obediences that take a lot of energy. But she still manages to prayerfully plunge into the biblical river three times a day.
The pilgrimage complex of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was opened by President Putin and King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2012, is visited daily by dozens of pilgrims and tourists. Even Americans and Canadians stop here. And near the Church of John the Baptist you can meet Muslims, including from Iraq and Syria - for them this is also a memorable place.
But once you look at the guidebooks, confusion begins. The same in scientific works. Moreover, according to scientists, the problem arose in the first centuries of Christianity. The earliest Greek-language copies of the Gospel call the place of the baptism of Jesus the place of "Bifara Trans-Jordan", that is, located on the eastern bank (in the territory of modern Jordan). And the Christian thinker of the 3rd century Origen, who knew the tradition about Christ very well, on the contrary, speaks of the West Bank (modern Israel).
Therefore, today pilgrims visit two places: Qasr El-Yahud on the western side of the river and Al-Makhtas on the eastern side.
Place of the Prophets
The Baptism of Christ is one of the first episodes gospel history. According to Scripture, when Jesus reached the age of thirty, John the Baptist (Baptist) preached in the Judean desert. And all “Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the surrounding Jordan” came to him to confess their sins and be baptized in the waters of the Jordan. Jesus also came.
“I baptize in water, but there stands among you [Someone] whom you do not know. He is the one coming after me, but who has stood in front of me. I am not worthy to untie the thong of His sandals” - this is how, according to the Evangelist John, the Forerunner reacted to the approach of Christ.
The place of Christ's baptism is mentioned only once in the Gospel: “It took place at Bethabara by the Jordan” (John 1:28). The name of the town of Bethavara (Beit Abara) is translated from Aramaic - the language of Christ and John the Baptist - as “crossing of the prophets”.
According to Jordanian archaeologist Rustom Mdzhyan, John baptized the Savior here for a reason. “As you know, not far from the Jordan there is a hill from which, according to legend, Elijah the Prophet was ascended to heaven. And the cave where John the Baptist lived. Local residents even thought that it was Elijah who returned to them. Moreover, John preached exactly there where Elijah is, on the eastern bank of the Jordan. In his time, this area was considered safe, because there were no Romans there,” says the researcher.
Russian trace
Biblical tradition gave researchers the first clue. And a Russian monk helped find the exact place of the ascension of the Prophet Elijah - Jabal Mar Ilyas.
The first Russian pilgrim to the Holy Land, Abbot Daniel, compiled in the 12th century detailed description places visited. And this is what he said about Jabal Mar Ilyas: “To the east of the river (Jordan - Ed.), at a distance of two arrow flights, there is a place from where Elijah the prophet was caught up to heaven on a chariot of fire. There is also the cave of John the Baptist "There is also a stream of abundant water flowing here; it flows beautifully over the rocks into the Jordan. The water of the stream is cold and very tasty. John the Baptist drank this water when he lived in a cave."
In 1996, archaeologists began searching. After some time, they found the ruins of a Byzantine temple with a cruciform font, and nearby the bed of the “Stream of John the Baptist” paved with stone.
“It turns out that there was a monastery complex here. It was destroyed by an earthquake. On the floor of the temple we found a mosaic with an inscription in Greek: “This monastery was built by the monk Rhetorius in 592 after the Nativity of Christ,” says Rustom Mdzhyan.
The answer is on the floor
However, the distance from Jabal Mar Ilyas to Jordan is decent - more than a kilometer. How to find the exact place of baptism? Helped, as often happens, by chance.
About 20 kilometers east of the Jordan is the city of Madaba. It has the Orthodox Church of St. George, built in 1894. So, during its construction, we came across a huge mosaic panel from the 6th century. It depicts various cities including Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Gaza. The painting turned out to be part of a huge “Madaba map” of the Holy Land. Only a fragment measuring five by seven meters has survived to this day. It also contains the place of the Baptism of the Lord.
Scientists understood this thanks to the two fish depicted next to the “crossing of the prophets” - symbols of Christianity. “On the map, the river flows into a large lake, and the fish swim in the opposite direction from it. This means that this is the Jordan, flowing into the Dead Sea, the salty water of which no living creature can tolerate,” explains the archaeologist.
But the map does not indicate which side of the river that very place is on. This is what causes controversy among scientists.
Judging by the map, Vifara is located on the western bank. Hence the version that Christ was baptized in the town of Qasr El-Yahud (“Fortress of the Jews”). Now there is the monastery of St. John the Baptist (Jerusalem Orthodox Church).
"On the feast of Epiphany Patriarch of Jerusalem, before performing the ritual of throwing the cross into the water, he enters this small ancient monastery. The monastery is located about one and a half kilometers from the western bank of the Jordan,” explains orientalist historian Mikhail Yakushev.
However, archaeologists are confused by two circumstances. Firstly, Abbot Daniel wrote in 1106 that there was a chapel at the site of the baptism. And the monastery of John the Baptist in Qasr El-Yahuda then lay in ruins after the earthquake of 1024.
Secondly, over the past two thousand years, the Jordan has changed its course several times, mainly due to earthquakes.
Bizarre temple
After the Six-Day War of 1967, the border between Israel and Jordan began to run along the river. Moreover, both states have mined the shores. Only with the signing of a peace treaty in 1994 and the subsequent demining of the eastern coast (the western coast began to be fully cleared of mines only in 2018) were scientists able to explore the holy place.
Archaeologists pay attention to how pilgrims described the church at the baptism site. For example, Abbot Antoninus of Padua, who visited the Holy Land in 570, notes that it stood close to the river on the eastern bank. And instead of the altar there is a cruciform font.
This church, according to historians, was built on the eastern bank in the 4th century by order of St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. The exact place was suggested to her by monks who lived in caves nearby. And they, in turn, relied on the testimony of local residents.
Thanks to the testimony of pilgrims from the 6th to 12th centuries, as well as photographs of the ruins taken in the 1930s by French monks, scientists determined the approximate location of this church and began excavations.
“In 1996, we began to explore the entire zone between the Jordan and the site of Jabal Mar Ilyas. At each site we made test measurements - we dug small holes. If we came across any artifacts, crosses for example, then the hole was expanded,” recalls Rustom Mjyan.
And one of the tests gave a result. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient Byzantine church with a cruciform font - exactly as described by medieval pilgrims. And next to it they found traces of a river bed.
The temple was finally excavated only in 2002. Each cleared area had to be preserved in a special way so that it would not collapse.
And in 2016, the town of Al-Makhtas, where the temple was discovered, was included in the UNESCO list World Heritage as the place of Christ's Baptism. And, according to the Jordan Tourism Authority, every year believers are increasingly coming here. “If for the entire last year four thousand pilgrims from Russia visited the Baptism site, then in the first half of this year alone there were already 11 thousand,” the head of the department, Abdul Razak Arabiyat, told RIA Novosti.
However, Israel actively opposed the opening of this place for pilgrims. And to this day, both countries continue to argue for the right to be called nothing less than “the birthplace of the Christian religion.”
One of the most popular winter tours, especially in the second half of January, are trips to the Jordan River. This natural stream is considered a natural border between the two Middle Eastern countries. Jordan and Israel are taking advantage of the opportunity to welcome tourists and pious pilgrims, thus capitalizing on their historical and religious attractions. In this article we will look at how to get there, what you must see and visit, as well as which city is located on the Jordan River.
Location
This stream is mentioned in almost all the holy books of Judaism and Christianity. Here, according to legends, numerous miracles took place. The prophets crossed the river without any ford, as if on dry land. As the Jewish commander Joshua walked with the Israelite army and the Ark of the Covenant, the waters parted to allow them through. But most of all this place is known because, as the Gospels say, Christ was baptized here. Therefore, it is hardly possible to find a person who would not know where the Jordan River is. But if we are to be geographically precise, this stream flows from Mount Hermon (the so-called Golan Heights), bypassing Lake Kinneret (the former Sea of Tiberias). It begins at the confluence of three rivers - Khatsbani, Baniasi and Dan. Then, after traveling more than two hundred and fifty kilometers from north to south, it flows into the Dead Sea.
Jordan River. Place of baptism of Jesus Christ
This stream is best known for the fact that the so-called Epiphany took place here. This is what the three synoptic Gospels say, as well as the Scripture from St. John about where exactly the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan, when he received the rite from the hands of John the Baptist. True, the exact location of this place is still unknown. There are even disagreements on this matter. Thus, many Greek manuscripts contain references to the fact that such a place could be the city of Bethavara on the Jordan River. There are other names for this settlement. It is also called Bethany Transjordan. Sources also differ on where exactly this city was located. For example, Origen claims that its location is the west bank of the Jordan River. Other Bible translations state that this city was located beyond the stream.
Other versions
There is an old map from the sixth century called Madaba, which shows the place of Christ's baptism. On it it is marked opposite the city of Jericho. That is, this is actually the western bank of the Jordan River. Some say that the author of the map simply mixed up the cardinal directions. After all, for quite a long time the eastern shore was considered the traditional place of Christ’s baptism. Before the Arab conquest, pilgrims flocked to the city of Jericho on the Jordan River, where, according to travelers of the time, there stood a marble column with an iron cross. Then, after Palestine and the eastern bank became difficult to access, the west of the river began to be considered the place of baptism. Numerous temples were built there. And after subsequent wars, all these churches were destroyed and the exact place of baptism was lost. There are suggestions that the river changed its course many times. Therefore, the historical place of baptism can be located on land.
Modern pilgrimage
Since the Renaissance, it is generally accepted that Christ entered the water ten kilometers from the city of Jericho on the Jordan River. But it is still unclear from which bank exactly. Therefore, both countries - Israel and Jordan - believe that this is the most important religious history the event took place on their territory. On the western bank of the river this place is called Qasr al-Yahud. It is more comfortable, crowds of people go there, but there is immeasurably more trade and commerce there. The Jordanian side is proud of a place called Wadi al-Harar. It is wilder, more pristine, but not too touristy and not very comfortable to visit. But perhaps it is more authentic. After all, it was there that archaeological excavations were carried out and the foundation of a marble column, which was mentioned in ancient sources, was found.
Yardenit
This is the most popular and famous place for which the modern Jordan River is famous. Israel has built a very popular tourist complex here. It is located near Lake Kinether, near the city of Tiberias. Its location does not even correspond to the place of baptism that tradition places near Qasr al-Yahuda. However, the Israeli authorities chose it as a kind of symbolic landmark. There is a well-equipped swimming pool where services are provided for triple immersion in the water of the Jordan. Such a symbolic baptism costs from ten to twenty-five American dollars. Nearby there is a shop where you can buy various items consecrated in the Orthodox church. Up to four hundred thousand pilgrims come here every year precisely to receive this kind of baptism. The most popular date is the nineteenth of January, when the rite of blessing of water is performed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Wadi al-Harar
This place is located opposite Qasr al-Yahuda. There, on the territory of Jordan, the Orthodox Church of John the Baptist was built. Here you can find a small reservoir called Al-Makhtas, which has already lost contact with its bed, and this is no longer the Jordan River. The site of the baptism of Jesus Christ is nevertheless surrounded by the remains of Byzantine buildings dating back to the sixth century, as well as many ancient church foundations. Since two thousand and fifteen, Al-Makhtas has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, and pilgrims also flock here. True, on this side everything is simpler, there are no fancy pools, but just a wooden platform with steps. But immersion in water is free.
Jericho
This interesting city on the Jordan River is worth a visit for those who go on pilgrimage to holy places. After all, this is the oldest human settlement known to historians. It is already more than ten thousand years old. It is located in territory where the Palestinian Authority operates, fifty kilometers from Jerusalem. True, due to the Arab-Israeli conflict, organized groups no longer come here, but individual tourists can easily get there by local minibuses and then by taxi. Here, on the Tells es-Sultan hill, you can see the ruins of a city that is at least seven thousand years old. In Old Jericho there is a mosaic floor of one of the most ancient synagogues in Israel, and three kilometers from there is the palace of one of the first Arab caliphs of the seventh century. Not far from the city there is a famous mountain where, according to legend, the devil ascended Jesus Christ and tempted him, and on its top there is a Greek Orthodox monastery.
Jordan Tours
IN Lately Such trips have become very popular, and many companies organize them. After all, the Jordan Valley itself is very beautiful. Regardless of the political conflict in the Middle East and disputes over which country owns the site of the Epiphany, excursions along this river are offered even to families with children, especially in the summer and autumn seasons. Kayaking or even rafting downstream on inflatable rafts through very picturesque places, among waterfalls, grottoes and quiet creeks where you can swim and swim, is not all that local tourist clubs offer travelers. You can ride along the river on bicycles or jeeps, or walk. There are many comfortable places for recreation and picnics everywhere.
From the sacred texts of the New Testament it is known that the baptism of Jesus Christ took place in the Jordan River in Jerusalem. The Holy Prophet John the Baptist performed baptism over the Savior Himself.
John's baptism was a symbol of repentance and faith in the one true God. Every person entering the waters of the Jordan first confessed his sins, and only then came out of the water. Christ, having reached the age of thirty, also approached John. However, the Savior himself did not need to confess his faith in God (Himself) and repent of his sins, because the difference between Christ and other people is understood in the sense of the absence of sins in Jesus. It turns out that the baptism of Christ can be called formal. It was a kind of symbol of the fact that Christ does not reject the Jews about God. Jesus is mostly for the rest of the people.
John the Baptist did not want to baptize Christ, because he understood that he himself needed to be baptized by the Savior. However, Jesus commanded John to perform this ritual.
The Gospel tells us that Christ immediately came out of the water because there was no sin in him (there was nothing to confess). At the same time, the Holy Spirit descended on Christ in the form of a dove. and from heaven the voice of God the Father was heard, affirming that Jesus is His beloved Son, in whom is all the Father’s good pleasure. Only after baptism did Christ go out to public preaching.
The event of the baptism of Jesus Christ is expressed in the Orthodox holiday, also called Epiphany. Celebrations in honor of this event take place in all Orthodox churches January 19 ( a new style). There is a tradition of blessing water in churches on Epiphany Eve, as well as on the day of the holiday itself.
Video on the topic
In the Orthodox Church there are twelve special days related to the great twelve holidays. These celebrations represent the Church’s memory of historical events that have special spiritual significance for people. January 19th Orthodox Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus Christ with special splendor.
The historical event of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan by the holy prophet John the Baptist is described in detail in the three Gospels: in particular, in the gospel of Mark, Luke and Matthew. In addition, the Apostle John the Theologian in his Gospel also mentions this fact, but indirectly - in the form of the testimony of John the Baptist himself about the event that occurred.
The Gospel of Luke tells that Christ received Old Testament baptism at the age of 30 in the Jordan River. This age is not accidental, because in ancient Israel the thirtieth birthday marked the formation of a man, in addition, it was precisely after reaching these years that a person could begin preaching.
The baptism of Jesus Christ took place, according to the gospel narrative, in Bethara (approximately ten km from the confluence of the Jordan into the Dead Sea). Saint John, foreseeing in spirit all the greatness of God incarnate, initially did not want to baptize the Savior, asking for baptism from the latter. However, Christ insisted on his baptism, because this was precisely how it was necessary to fulfill “all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).
It is worth noting that Old Testament baptism was a testimony of faith in the true God, as well as a baptism of repentance, because people, entering the Jordan, confessed their sins. In these senses, there was no need for Christ to be baptized, because he was sinless, and there was no need to profess faith in God (himself as one of the Persons of the Holy Trinity). However, Christ does this for the people, so that the Jews do not see him as an apostate from their faith. The Holy Fathers also see a sacred meaning in the baptism of Christ. Thus, it is said that Christ washed away the sins of all mankind in the Jordan River, and the Old Testament baptism itself, performed by Christ, was a prototype of the modern sacrament of baptism.
