Theophany

Great Feast of Theophany

THEOPHANY FESTAL SCHEDULE 2024

Friday, January 5 - Eve of Theophany (STRICT FAST)

9:00am - First & Ninth Royal Hour

7:00pm - Festal Vespers with Old Testament Readings

Saturday, January 6 - GREAT FEAST of THEOPHANY

9:30am - Divine Liturgy,

followed by the Great Blessing of Waters (bring a container to take holy water home!)

Afterfeast of Theophany:

Sat. January 6, 6:00pm - Great Vespers

Sun. January 7 - Synaxis of the Baptist

9:10am - Hours & Divine Liturgy, followed immediately by Great Blessing of Waters

Learn about why the Afterfeast of Theophany is so important to us

Watch for news on House Blessings . . .

Scroll down for resources on Theophany . . .

Theophany Meditations from Fr Steven Kostoff

Christ being Tempted by Satan following His Baptism in the Jordan

In anticipation of the Great Feast of Theophany,

here are links to Theophany Meditations by Fr Steven from previous years:

• I Believe in One Baptism for the Remission of Sins

• He was cleansed for All Mens' Sins

• St Gregory of Nyssa on Baptism: 'Make It Clear Who Your Father Is!'

• Rebuking the Tempter and Following Jesus

Feast of Theophany ~ The Baptism of Christ in the Jordan

Theophany 20th c. - English

REJOICE, THEOPHANY IS APPROACHING
Orthodox Way of Life Blog
taken from a sermon by St John Chrysostom

We now approach the day of Theophany, the day in which the divinity of Jesus is revealed to us through His baptism by John in the Jordan River. On this day we know Him as the Son of God who came for our salvation. Although one could argue that His birth should be seen as Theophany, up to this time Jesus was not known by many. As John the Baptist says at this event, "Amidst you stands Him Whom you know not of" (John 1:26). Therefore, we call the day He was baptized Theophany because He became known to many at this time.

We can also see that this was the beginning of His work to create the path for our salvation with Baptism being the first step. Later He would establish the Church with its clergy where those who were joined with Him in baptism could continue to benefit from the grace filled sacraments.

Prior to this time there was a Jewish baptism which cleansed the body from impurities such as touching the bones of the dead, eating unclean foods, or being with lepers, but it did not remove sins. In Scripture it says, "Let one wash his body in pure water--and he will unclean until evening, and then he will be clean." (Lev 15:5, 22:4) This Jewish practice was a preparation of what was to come. The baptism that was established by Christ was much more as it was for the forgiveness of sins though the Holy Spirit and they were more than forgiven, they were absolved through grace. John the Baptist baptized those who repented of their sins but did not grant forgiveness through grace. Sins were not absolved through his baptism. John says, "I baptize you with water...That one however will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Mat 3:11).

Jesus came to be baptized by John not because he needed to be forgiven His sins, being sinless, nor to receive the Holy Spirit, being one with the Spirit already, but to show us the path we are to take to be relieved of our sinfulness and to receive the Holy Spirit to abide within us. John's baptism in water was also a preparation so Christ would be known and so we could receive this sacrament. Because John was known as a prophet, his baptism of Christ had great meaning to the people so they would believe that Jesus was the Son of God.

On this day, as John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit visibly descended in the form of a dove. St. John Chrysostom tells us that this descent as a dove was like a pointer. He says, "Did you see, that the Holy Spirit did not descend as in a first time then coming down upon Him, but in order to point out that preached by His inspiration--as though by a finger, it pointed Him out to all."

We rejoice at this Theophany for Jesus showed us the way for our renewal to begin. He was announced as the Son of God for all to see, submitting to John's baptism with humility.

Jesus says, "Except you be converted and becomes children, you shall not enter into the Heavenly Kingdom." (Mat 18:3)

About the Feast, with Troparia & Kontakia

Theophany - Russian Icon

Theophany is the Feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord (Mt.3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22). God the Father spoke from Heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the St John the Forerunner, and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Son in the form of a dove. From ancient times this Feast was called the Day of Illumination and the Feast of Lights, since God is Light and has appeared to illumine "those who sat in darkness," and "in the region of the shadow of death" (Mt.4:16), and to save the fallen race of mankind by grace.

In the ancient Church it was the custom to baptize catechumens at the Vespers of Theophany, so that Baptism also is revealed as the spiritual illumination of mankind.

The origin of the Feast of Theophany goes back to Apostolic times, and it is mentioned in The Apostolic Constitutions (Book V:13). From the second century we have the testimony of St Clement of Alexandria concerning the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, and the night vigil before this Feast.

There is a third century dialogue about the services for Theophany between the holy martyr Hippolytus and St Gregory the Wonderworker. In the following centuries, from the fourth to ninth century, all the great Fathers of the Church: Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Ambrose of Milan, John of Damascus, commented on the Feast of Theophany.

The monks Joseph the Studite, Theophanes and Byzantios composed much liturgical music for this Feast, which is sung at Orthodox services even today. St John of Damascus said that the Lord was baptized, not because He Himself had need for cleansing, but "to bury human sin by water," to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and finally, to sanctify "the nature of water" and to offer us the form and example of Baptism.

On the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, the Holy Church proclaims our faith in the most sublime mystery, incomprehensible to human intellect, of one God in three Persons. It teaches us to confess and glorify the Holy Trinity, one in Essence and Indivisible. It exposes and overthrows the errors of ancient teachings which attempted to explain the Creator of the world by reason, and in human terms.

Continued on column two...

The Church shows the necessity of Baptism for believers in Christ, and it inspires us with a sense of deep gratitude for the illumination and purification of our sinful nature. The Church teaches that our salvation and cleansing from sin is possible only by the power of the grace of the Holy Spirit, therefore it is necessary to preserve worthily these gifts of the grace of holy Baptism, keeping clean this priceless garb, for "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ" (Gal 3:27).

On the day of Theophany, all foods are permitted, even if the Feast falls on a Wednesday or Friday.

From the OCA website

by Theophanes the Cretan

Troparion - Tone 1

When Thou, O Lord
wast baptized in the Jordan,
The worship of the Trinity
was made manifest,
For the voice of the Father
bore witness to Thee,
Calling Thee His beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove,
Confirmed the truthfulness of His word.
O Christ, our God,
Who hast revealed Thyrself
And hast enlightened the world,
Glory to Thee!

Kontakion - Tone 4

Today Thou hast shown forth
to the world, O Lord,
and the light of hy countenance
has been signed upon us.
Knowing Thee, we sing Thy praise!
Thou hast come and revealed Thyself,
O Light unapproachable!

Explaining the Icon of Theophany

St John Chrysostom's Discourse on Theophany

First of all therefore, it is necessary to say that there is not one Theophany, but two:

the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second - in the future - which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present:

“The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety” - and about the future: “Awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” [Titus 2:11-13].

And a prophet speaks thus about this latter: “The sun shalt turn to darkness, and the moon to blood at first, then shalt come the great and illuminating Day of the Lord” [Joel 2:31]....

Read the full text on the OCA Website...

Today the Father and the Spirit witness jointly to the Son . . .

AT THE COMPLETION OF THE THIRTY HIDDEN YEARS in which he had passed through all the stages of the common life of man and had shown exemplary humility in all that he did, obedient to his parents, and submissive to the Law, Our Lord Jesus Christ entered upon His public ministry—the path that would lead to His Passion—by a dazzling revelation of His divinity For the Father and the Holy Spirit then bore witness that Jesus is truly the Only Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Word made flesh for our salvation, the Saviour foretold by the Prophets; and that, in His Person, the Godhead is united without admixture to our humanity and has made it shine with His glory. Hence this feast of the Baptism of Christ has been called the Epiphany (‘manifestation’) or the Theophany, that is to say, the showing forth of the divinity of Christ and the first clear revelation of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity.

On many occasions before this time, God had made Himself known by miracles, signs and wonders, in dreams and visions, through the mediation of Angels, in the inspired messages of His servants the Prophets, or by His providential interventions in the history of Israel, in order to teach, to punish or to console His stiff-necked people, which was always inclined to idolatry and to polytheism. Consequently, it was His UNITY that He made known to them in those days, with power. Ι am He Who is, He said to Moses in the bush (Ex. 3:14); and when He revealed Himself in fire on Sinai, He said: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 22:37).

But today the Father and the Holy Spirit witness jointly and severally that the man emerging from the waters is the only Son and Word of God, Who, by His Incarnation, has revealed to us the Glory of God and has given us to know that the unique divine nature is, in a manner beyond all utterance, shared—without being divided—by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God: not three Gods, but three Persons (hypostaseis) in a single nature (essence). Like three suns or three luminaries, they are united without confusion in their single light. This mystery of mysteries, inaccessible alike to human thought and to the contemplation of the angels, has been made known to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ through His baptism in the Jordan and His baptism’ into death, and not simply in an external manner, for He has made us participants in it.

Read the full article...