Epiphany or Theophany

Decani monastery, 14th cent., Kosovo

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

And John tried to prevent Him, saying, I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him.

When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

- Matthew 3:13-17

I am interrupting passages of the days following Jesus' birth to change the order a little bit. That is because today is the day that is celebrated as Epiphany, or as it may be more accurately called, Theophany. In the Western traditions, today is a day that may be known as the Three Kings day, often called Epiphany. But in the East, and in the ancient Church, today is the day celebrated as Epiphany, or Theophany, for the commemoration of Jesus' baptism in the Jordon by John the Baptist. In the ancient Church, the holiday was combined with a celebration of Jesus' birth until Rome instituted December 25th as a date to celebrate Christ's birth. Most churches followed suit. But in the East, the day remains of great significance as the date of Jesus' baptism and therefore the beginning of his public ministry, and for other reasons we shall explain further in commentary. The Armenian Church never adopted the December 25th nativity date, and continues to this day to celebrate as did the ancient Church, on January 6th. However, the significance of the date for the Eastern churches remains the commemoration of Jesus' baptism.

Epiphany (επιφανεια) means "manifestation" from the Greek root of φαινω, to "show," "reveal," "appear" or "make light" (as in "come to light" or "brightness"). The word for this holiday that is more accurately used is Theophany, from the same root that means "show" or "appear" combined with the word for "God," θεος ("Theos"). The significance, therefore, of Jesus' baptism for the early Church was in the revelation or manifestation of the Trinity. At Jesus' baptism in the Jordan we have the divine manifestation of the Trinity in the voice of the Father, the declaration of this voice that Jesus is Son, and the image of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.

Traditionally, this is a day for blessing the water that will be used for baptism and other uses of holy water. Many rituals involve water, or diving for crosses in the water. This is symbolic of Jesus' baptism: He did not need to be baptized to become pure; rather the opposite is true. Jesus' baptism sanctifies the waters of the world for the baptism of all who will follow. A note in my study bible reads: "By making the purification of humanity His own, He would wash away the sin of humanity, grant regeneration, and reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Thus, His baptism was necessary for the fulfillment of all God's righteousness. St. Gregory of Nyssa says, 'Jesus enters the filthy [sinful] waters of the world and when He comes out, brings up [purifies] the entire world with Him.' " We recall Jesus' manifestation in the world as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. In his baptism, Jesus is fulfilling righteousness as the believers are called to do who will follow His Way.

My study bible also notes that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation - and now the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove to anoint the Messiah, the Son, at the beginning of the "new creation." Jesus does not become the Son on this day, but this day is commemorated as the day that the eternal Son is revealed to all of humanity. A note reads: "The Holy Spirit always rests on Him. The feast day of Epiphany (a manifestation or revelation), or Theophany (a manifestation of God), commemorates this day and points to the age to come."

The declaration of the voice of the Father is a composite quotation from two Old Testament sources. Ps. 2:7 reads "You are My Son, today I have begotten You," and Isaiah 42:1 reads, "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One, in whom My soul delights!" My study bible notes that the substitution of "Son" for "Servant" reveals the deity of Christ. So, once again, we note that we have a revelation of Trinity: The Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, the incarnate Son is baptized and anointed. ("Christ" means "anointed one.")

As we examine these early days of Christ's life (we will continue tomorrow in our sequence of events of his early life), remember that the ancient Church celebrated this day as a sort of combination of these early dates of his life that we have been blogging this Christmastide, up to and including baptism and the first miracle of changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana. These are the days, therefore, of "manifestation." But the great significance of this day was and remains the Baptism and its revelation of God as Trinity. I hope that you celebrate this day the manifestation of the divine will in the images we have, and all the teachings they impart to us throughout our lives and the evolution of our faith.

Christ is born and revealed among us!

Blessed is the revelation of Christ!

- translation of the Armenian kiss of peace and response for today's celebration