There is practically no person in our country who does not know that there are many holidays in the tradition of the Orthodox Church. Some even know that there are twelve very important holidays called the Twelve.
Today we will talk about one of the Twelfth Holidays. This is the feast of the Epiphany.
Icon with the twelve feasts of the Church. Baptism of Jesus Christ - third row, third from left
Epiphany is the oldest holiday of the Church
It so happened that until the 4th century after the birth of Christ, the holidays of Christmas and Epiphany were celebrated on the same day and were called Epiphany. The Eastern and Western churches celebrated it on the same day, January 6th according to the Julian calendar.
Later, Christmas and Epiphany began to be celebrated on different days. This is how it happens in our time.
The Feast of the Epiphany was established in honor of the great event. Literally, God revealed Himself to people in all His fullness on the day of the Savior’s baptism.
God revealed Himself to people in the baptism of Jesus Christ
Herod's terrible order
Only six months have passed since Elizabeth became a mother. And then clouds suddenly gathered over the head of her little son John. The evil and suspicious Jewish ruler Herod learned from visiting magicians that the future King of Israel had been born in his domain. And indeed, in the city of Bethlehem, the virgin Mary, a relative of Elizabeth, then gave birth to the son Jesus promised by the angel. His birth was quiet and almost unknown to anyone, because his mother gave birth to him in a foreign city, where she was passing through at that time. She had no relatives or friends in Bethlehem.
Herod also did not know which baby the visiting magicians told him about. But he was very afraid that the future King of Israel would take away his power when he grew up. And then Herod gave his soldiers a terrible order - to kill all the babies in Bethlehem and its environs. Thousands of innocent children died in those days. Even the birds stopped singing around Bethlehem. Only the bitter cry of the unfortunate mothers was heard over the bloody city. And yet the murderous king failed to destroy Jesus. An angel warned Jesus' family about the impending massacre, and they managed to flee from Bethlehem far away, to another country.
But there was another unusual baby in Judea. There was no need to look for him, because from his birth his fame spread throughout Judea. It was John, the son of the priest Zechariah. “It’s not for nothing that they say about him that he was born according to the prediction of an angel. Perhaps this is the future Tsar? - thought Herod, still not satisfied with his anger. And just in case, he sent a detachment of soldiers to Hebron to kill little John as well. From the window of his palace, the murdering king looked at the horsemen rushing along the dusty road and thought that now nothing threatened his power.
Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River
In Matthew 3:13-17 we read how the baptism of Jesus Christ took place:
Mat. 3:13-17
“Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him.
John restrained Him and said: I need to receive baptism from You, and are You coming to me?
But Jesus answered him: Leave it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
Then John admits Him.
And having been baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending on Him.
And behold, a voice from heaven said: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
James Tissot. John the Baptist and the Pharisees
John the Baptist - the prophet who baptized Christ
This event was not secret. If we look at the one who baptized Jesus Christ, we will see a prophet who was revered even by his enemies. Prophet John was known throughout Israel. Every day people flocked to him to take the bath of repentance in the Jordan River and learn from him.
His main appeal to everyone, poor and rich, were the words:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He was not afraid to denounce those in power. There was not a drop of hypocrisy in him.
Christ Himself said about John:
Onion. 17:28
...of those born of women there is not a single prophet greater than John the Baptist.
Therefore, many people witnessed how the voice of God the Father sounded from heaven, who said about Jesus Christ that He is the Son of God; John testified in front of everyone that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. Most people saw this event as a strange sight, but among them were those who became Christ's closest disciples.
The place where Jesus was baptized has survived to this day. Although the river has changed its course, the very place of the baptism of Jesus Christ remains a place of pilgrimage.
The site of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the old bed of the Jordan River
Escape
The sun was already rising to its zenith over the ancient buildings of Hebron. Very soon the air in the city will heat up and everyone will leave the squares and streets to wait out the heat. Old houses with walls made of mountain stone and clay are able to keep cool even on the hottest afternoon.
Elizabeth had just fed her baby and was now about to put him in the cradle. Suddenly a disheveled neighbor ran into the house, selling goat milk at the market.
- Elisabeth, quickly run away from the city! They want to kill your son!
-What kind of strange things are you saying? — Elisabeth sternly knitted her eyebrows. -Who can want the death of a baby who is not even a year old?
“This morning horsemen from Herod’s guard rode through the market. The same ones who killed children in Bethlehem. They asked how to find the house of the priest Zechariah. All the townspeople were afraid of them and said that they did not know. The horsemen were very angry. They beat the lame potter to a pulp when he refused to tell you where your house was. And I dropped my goods and ran faster to warn you...
But Elizabeth no longer listened to her out of breath neighbor. She rushed around the house faster than lightning, collecting everything she needed to escape. A moment - and now the road junction has been assembled. Grabbing little John in her arms, she jumped out of the house and ran away - to where the inaccessible mountains rose beyond the river.
As soon as Elizabeth disappeared around the bend in the street, hooves began to clatter near the house.
- Search the house! - shouted the eldest of the riders, holding the heated horse.
A moment later, his warriors were already dragging the frightened milk merchant out of the house.
- Here, sir. There is only this woman in the house. There is no one else.
- Hey, I saw you at the market. This is not your home. We were told that the family of the priest Zechariah lives here. Did you warn them about our arrival? Speak! - the elder shouted.
“No, my lord,” the milk seller stammered, barely alive with fear. “I just came to them after a successful trade to repay my debt.” Here, look,” and with a trembling hand she handed the rider a two-shekel coin.
He bared his teeth angrily and hit her on the palm with the handle of the whip. The coin rolled along the cobblestone street with a clink.
“Did you see where the old woman and the baby ran away?” Speak, otherwise you will die.
- Yes, I saw it. She ran over there, into the valley. I heard that her brother lives there, she probably decided to hide with him,” and the merchant pointed in a completely different direction.
The horsemen jumped into their saddles and galloped along the street, down into the valley, whooping. Their horses rushed like the wind. But now with every step they took them further and further from the fugitives.
And the brave trader took a breath, squatted down and cried bitterly.
At this time, Elizabeth had already left the city and was climbing up the mountain slope along a winding path. Now the trail has disappeared, just broken stones and rocks all around. No horseman can climb up here. Even shepherds don’t send their sheep here.
Finally, Elizabeth caught her breath. Now no one was threatening her baby. But how can you live here - in this stone desert, far from people, and even with a baby in your arms? And then she remembered the words of the angel that God had prepared great things for her boy. Raising her hands to the sky, Elizabeth began to pray:
- God! You did not save my son from the sword of murderers so that he would die of hunger in these desert mountains. Send us salvation here, where no one but You can help.
With these words, she took the baby in her arms and went straight to the rocky crevices that darkened the mountainside. Suddenly she saw a light in one of them. It turned out to be a narrow passage leading to a small cozy lawn, covered on all sides by rocks. In the middle of the lawn, a spring of clear water gushed out of the ground. Directly above the spring, a large date palm hung its branches to the ground, covered with ripe fruits. And nearby in the rock there is a cave in which you can hide from bad weather.
- Thank you, Lord! “I knew that You would help us,” Elizabeth prayed and began to arrange her new home, in which she and her son were to spend more than one year.
The angry horsemen returned to Jerusalem empty-handed. They were never able to find baby John.
- Loafers! - King Herod shouted at them menacingly. “Is that why I pay you a salary so that I can listen to your ridiculous excuses?”
“King,” the eldest of the horsemen turned to him, bowing his head, “we did not find the baby in Hebron.” But his priest father now serves here in the temple. Perhaps he knows where his son is?
“So why are you still here?” Go ahead and make him talk. And if he refuses, then kill him.
- Kill the priest? - The riders looked at each other.
- Yes. For disobedience to the king. And if you don’t comply, then I will order you to be killed too.
A few minutes later the riders were already at the temple. Dismounting, they approached Zechariah, who was about to light a fire at the altar.
“Where did you hide your son, old man?”
“I serve God now and I don’t know where my son is,” answered Zechariah.
“Give it to us, the king commanded.” Otherwise you will die right here.
“I really don’t know what to tell you.” If you kill me, you will shed innocent blood.
“Well, old man, you chose your fate.”
And the soldiers killed the priest Zechariah right in front of the temple.
The age of Christ's baptism is the age of majority
We read in the Gospel about the age at which Jesus was baptized:
Luke 3:23
When Jesus began His ministry, he was about thirty years old.
The Lord was baptized at the same age as the Israelite became an adult. This tradition was followed for some time by the Eastern Church. When the majority of the population of Christian states became Christians, they began to baptize infants more often, because all relatives had already been baptized.
All waters were sanctified by the baptism of Jesus
In order to perform baptism, Jesus Christ entered the waters of the Jordan River. As the holy teachers of the Church say, at that moment the entire watery nature was sanctified. Now it doesn’t matter in which river or body of water baptism is performed, because all waters are sanctified.
In memory of this, on the feast of Epiphany, or Epiphany, water in all reservoirs is blessed. Considering the weather conditions in Russia, very often in order to sanctify water in a river or lake, you have to cut an ice hole in the shape of a cross. This ice hole is called Jordan.
The Jordan is a cross-shaped ice hole where believers are immersed on the feast of Epiphany, imitating the baptism of Jesus Christ
Threefold immersion in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
Blessing of water in the temple
On the eve of the holiday, on Epiphany Eve, water is blessed in all Orthodox churches. This water is kept at home as a shrine. In Greek it is called: agiasma, that is, a shrine. Believers drink this water in the morning with prayer on an empty stomach. When they are sick, they use it at any time.
Ancient Jewish custom
The Law of Moses prescribed ablutions for any defilement: touching a dead person, eating forbidden food, a woman after bleeding, etc. According to the rituals of the ancient Jews, any person of non-Jewish blood could join the Jewish faith. Such a person was called a proselyte. For this case, a special ritual was prescribed for the acceptance of people of other faiths into Judaism, which also included ablution. In modern language this can be called the baptism of proselytes.
In all cases, ablution was performed by completely immersing the head in a body of water. This was a symbolic action and had a mystical meaning of cleansing from sins. Only “water from God” had purifying properties: flowing from a source or collected rain.
The meaning of baptism is a request to God for a good conscience
In ancient times, baptism was a washing of repentance. People came to the prophet, repented of their sins and ritually washed them away, as if they had died to their sins and were resurrected to live according to the Law of God. It was believed that the entire load of sins was washed away with water. Jesus Christ did not need to wash away sins because He had no sin. Entering the waters of the Jordan, he took upon himself all our sins and spiritual infirmities.
The Apostle Peter puts it this way:
1 Peter 3:21
So now baptism similar to this image, not the washing of carnal uncleanness, but the promise to God of a good conscience, saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On such a great holiday, we must also remember this meaning of baptism - a request to God for a good conscience and a promise to God to live according to this good conscience so that the Epiphany would touch and sanctify the waters of our lives.
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