In what year was the baptism of the Lord. Epiphany of the Lord: history, features and main traditions of the holiday

Each church holiday has its own authentic rituals and special traditions. January 19 is no exception - an important event in the Orthodox world, when believers go to church early in the morning with decanters filled with water, decorated with green branches and elegant ribbons. How to celebrate What should you do on this day? Let's just try to reveal all the secrets of the holiday now.

A little history

People often call the feast of the Epiphany the Epiphany. Every Orthodox person who regularly visits the temple knows how Christians celebrate this solemn event. On this day, the Church glorifies Jesus Christ, who underwent the rite of consecration with water and accepted faith. Epiphany is one of the most ancient holidays: written mentions of it date back to the 2nd century. Previously, it was celebrated together with Christmas - December 25th. Nowadays, only in some countries this combination of dates remains. For example, Indians and Armenians continue to celebrate Epiphany on January 6th.

The Bible says that the baptismal ceremony was performed on Jesus. During the sacrament, the Holy Spirit descended on the Savior in the form of a dove, and it was at that moment that a heavenly voice proclaimed that this man was the Son of the Lord, beloved and the only one who brings His favor to the world. Therefore, if you do not know how to celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, turn to the Gospel. It says in detail that the holiday is closely connected with water, therefore its consecration and swimming in an ice hole are the main traditions of the solemn event.

Christmas Eve

This is the name of the evening on the eve of the significant day when the Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated. How to celebrate this event, which is also important for Christians? Firstly, the Christmas Eve traditions are very similar to Christmas ones: mummers walk through the streets and sing carols. People fast all day, and only in the evening the family gathers at the table, where Lenten dishes are presented. The main one remains kutia, traditionally made from rice or wheat, honey, raisins, poppy seeds and nuts. Girls tell fortunes about their betrothed, young people arrange the so-called farewell to Kolyada.

Secondly, it is believed that on the night before Epiphany one can meet evil spirits on the street. She tries to enter the home in any guise. To prevent this, Orthodox Christians draw crosses on doors with chalk. The sign has long been considered a reliable protection from everything otherworldly. Our ancestors said that the “Fire Serpent” werewolf was especially dangerous: he usually appears to unmarried girls in the form of a handsome guy. He enchants his victim, and this love is considered incurable.

Epiphany water

She is a symbol of the holiday. From the very early morning of January 19, people rush to the temple to consecrate this source of life. It is poured into specially prepared jugs, which are decorated with bows and flowers. Some people use Christmas tree rain, taken from a New Year's beauty, for these purposes. Epiphany is the last day when she pleases her household with her beauty. Immediately after Epiphany, it is customary to burn the Christmas tree and hide the toys on the mezzanine until the next winter.

If there is an opportunity to bless water on a river, people try not to miss it. The priest simply sends a service near the ice hole, after which people draw liquid from it. They carry her into the house, and the real celebration begins. No one goes to work, since work on this day is considered a great sin. After the blessing of the water, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord at the table, in the center of which, in the most honorable place, is the blessed water. Every family member and guest takes a sip of it. The hostess of the house treats those present to a delicious meal: porridge seasoned with butter, jellied meat, rich borscht and square pancakes - so that the money will flow.

How to collect water correctly

The water is blessed on January 18th on Christmas Eve, as well as on the 19th after the Divine Liturgy. The service for the Epiphany of the Lord becomes a real holiday for all believers. How the event is celebrated, what needs to be done on this day, the priest tells at the sermon. He also focuses people’s attention on the fact that the water collected on these two days has special properties, and it makes no difference whether you collected it on January 18 or 19.

By the way, if it is not possible to draw the blessed liquid from a river or bring it from a church, you can use an ordinary well or a well. You need to dial it on the night of Epiphany between 00:10 and 01:30. Remember: you should definitely stock up on it before celebrating. Epiphany of the Lord is a church holiday, so sincere prayer is a necessary part of the ritual. As you pour water into your flask or jug, read sacred words from the Bible. Before the procedure itself, you should also pray, asking the Lord for forgiveness for your sins and thanking him for his mercy.

Healing properties

Epiphany water has special powers. Firstly, it does not spoil. Try pouring plain water and keeping it in a sealed container for a month: after taking a sip, after a while you will feel bitterness or a hint of mold in the liquid. But the water collected on the eve of January 19 will be fresh even years later. Secondly, it protects from. Having brought it from the church, people first of all sprinkled the liquid on the walls and corners of the home to protect it from demons.

Thirdly, water has healing properties. Reading old archival data about how Epiphany was celebrated in Rus', one can find evidence of the use of liquid in hospitals. The sick were given three sips to drink to rid them of the hated disease. Also, throughout the year, water was consumed by those who became victims of any ailment: not only physical, but also spiritual. The liquid saved people from damage and the evil eye, calmed people with neuroses and insomnia, and brought them out of a state of apathy and depression.

Bathing

Diving into an ice hole is another popular tradition that has come to us from time immemorial. In Russia, about three thousand so-called Jordans are being prepared for the holiday, and believers begin diving into them on Christmas Eve. During the procedure, all participants smile while plunging three times. Afterwards they warm up in a bathhouse or with hot tea, which they carefully bring with them in thermoses. Often the ice holes are made in the shape of a cross, which gives the procedure a greater atmosphere of a Christian holiday.

Severe frosts usually strike on Epiphany. How to celebrate a significant event in order to visit the wormwood without catching a cold? Experts recommend first consulting a doctor. For example, people suffering from arrhythmia, kidney disease and diabetes should not jump into ice water. If you are completely healthy and there are no special contraindications, it is still necessary to prepare your body for possible stress: a month before swimming, begin to harden yourself, enrich your diet with foods rich in vitamins and microelements. Also, read the instructions on how to properly enter icy water and what to do after swimming in the ice hole.

Traditions

There are a lot of them. Having learned about how the holiday of Epiphany is celebrated in Rus', foreigners usually shrug their shoulders: the event is so rich in various rituals and original rites. One of them is releasing pigeons into the wild. Opening the cages in which the birds were imprisoned, specially prepared for the holiday, people say thank you to the Lord for his mercy and protection. Also, birds are a symbol of God's grace that descended on the savior of mankind - Jesus - on the day of his baptism in the Jordan.

On the morning of January 19, as soon as the first bell rings in the church, Orthodox Christians light a fire on the shore of the nearest reservoir so that Christ can warm himself by the fire after bathing. At dawn, girls also run to a river or lake to wash themselves with ice-cold water. It is believed that it bestows youth and beauty. After Baptism, it is also prohibited to wash clothes in bodies of water. There is a belief that by immersing the cross in the water, the priest casts out demons from the water, who then sit on the shore waiting for the person with the dirty laundry. As soon as he is immersed in water, the devils return. Therefore they said: the later women start doing laundry, the more evil spirits will die from

Fortune telling

A very popular entertainment, without which it is difficult to imagine the holiday of Epiphany. As archival sources note, the ritual is far from religious, but pagan. Despite this, girls prefer this pastime, using any objects for this: wax, coffee grounds, mirrors or snow. For example, the very famous Christmas fortune telling on a shoe, it was used by our great-grandmothers in time immemorial. They went out into the yard and, turning to face the threshold, threw the boot over their left shoulder: in which direction the sock pointed, the matchmakers would come from there.

Instead, they tried to find out the future using paper and a candle. The leaf was squeezed tightly in the hands, placed on a saucer and set on fire. When the paper burned, they tried to find out from its shadow located on the wall what surprises fate had in store in the coming year.

In a word, there are a lot of such fortune-telling. Of course, you don’t have to believe in the authenticity of the rituals, but it’s worth a try: it’s fun and entertaining. In the Russian outback they still don’t understand how to celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord without mysterious rituals and fortune telling. After all, they are an important part of the holiday.

Folk signs

Being observant, our ancestors also developed a whole system of predictions for normal weather. They argued that the summer would be dry if it was cold and clear on Epiphany, and rich in harvest when the sky was cloudy. A full month foreshadowed a big spring flood, and a starry night meant a good harvest of berries and peas. The south wind spoke of a stormy summer, and snow spoke of a prosperous year, especially if it began during the Divine Liturgy. The barking of dogs signaled to hunters that a successful season awaited them in the near future.

Let's draw a conclusion. How do Orthodox Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany? Fun and relaxed. They use not only Christian traditions, but also pagan rituals, which makes it even more colorful and unusual. Epiphany is the last important event, the final day of the whole cycle of winter Christmastide. After it, there was a temporary lull, people were preparing for Lent and waiting for the next significant date - Easter, which is also associated with many signs. But that's a completely different story...

Nowadays, the Orthodox Church celebrates many major holidays. The most important among them are Easter, that is, the Resurrection of Christ, twelve “great twelves” and five more “great non-twelves”. In addition to them, the days of remembrance of especially revered saints are celebrated with great solemnity. For each celebration, the day, the form of worship, and sometimes even everyday details are firmly established: what color should the clergy’s robes be, what food is allowed at the festive table...

But in early Christianity, all these holidays, besides Easter, did not exist. And later they “wandered” from one date to another, then merged, then found themselves separated, and the traditions of celebrating were very different in different places. Simply put, church holidays did not immediately become established and took their modern form.

Most of them were born slowly, in disputes and agreements that could drag on for decades or even centuries. All this happened mainly between the 4th and 10th centuries, in a huge, long-vanished country. It is called the Eastern Roman Empire or, more simply, Byzantium. And from there, church regulations regarding holidays diverged to different parts of the Christian world.

The Feast of the Epiphany has a difficult fate.

"We must fulfill all righteousness..."

Today, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19 according to the new style (January 6 according to the old style), and its meaning is now transparent to every believer. This holiday is a remembrance of how Jesus Christ appeared on the banks of the Palestinian River Jordan and asked for baptism from the prophet John the Baptist. He, seeing the essence of Christ, was surprised and asked whether he himself should be baptized by Christ? John baptized people for the remission of sins, but why should a being who has a sinless divine essence be cleansed of sins? And is it appropriate for the Master to receive baptism from His servant? To this the answer was received: “We must fulfill all righteousness.” Then John the Baptist bowed his head before the will of God, and Jesus entered the green, opaque waters of the Jordan, which had been revered as a sacred river since ancient times. John the Baptist performed the rite of baptism, which became the prototype of the modern sacrament.

Schema-Archimandite John Maslov wrote the following about the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River: “By being baptized by John, Christ fulfilled “righteousness,” i.e. fidelity and obedience to the commandments of God. Saint John the Baptist received the command from God to baptize the people as a sign of the cleansing of sins. As a man, Christ had to “fulfill” this commandment and therefore be baptized by John. By this He confirmed the holiness and greatness of John’s actions, and gave Christians an example of obedience to the will of God and humility for eternity.”

During Baptism, a miracle happened: the Holy Spirit descended on Christ in the guise of a dove, “And there was a voice from heaven, saying: Thou art my beloved Son; I am well pleased with You!”(Luke 3:21-22). Thus it was revealed to all the people that Jesus was not only the Son of Man, but also the Son of God. Therefore, the holiday now has a second name - Epiphany.

In the old days in Rus', every hole in the ice of a river or lake, created for the sake of baptismal consecration of water, was called Jordan. Even though the Jordan River carries waves in warm places, there are palm trees along its banks, and the water in it never freezes, but an Orthodox person can still see it somewhere near Ryazan or Belozersk, in twenty-degree frost, among snowdrifts blown by a blizzard. At this moment, time disappears, space disappears, thousands of waters from different centuries and countries merge into a single symbol of Jordanian water, sanctified by the presence of Christ.

White Robe Day

They began to celebrate the Baptism of the Lord very quickly - even during the lifetime of the apostles. But at that time it was called differently and had a different meaning.

The disciples of Christ and the disciples of His disciples indulged in memories of how the living God appeared in the world of people, how the Magi bowed to Him, how He taught and how He showed an essence higher than human. Therefore, three different events - the incarnation of God in the human body (Christmas), the Adoration of Him by the Magi and the first signs of His true origin (Baptism) - were united in their imagination. Three different, according to modern concepts, holidays remained, as it were, a single celebration. Initially, the general name of this identity was “Epiphany” (in Greek, “Appearance”), later another, now well-known, version prevailed - “Theophany” (that is, “Epiphany”). The ancient Apostolic Constitutions said: “May you have great respect for the day on which the Lord revealed the Divinity to us.” The clergy - the heirs of the true witnesses of the Epiphany, the apostles - have served on this day in white robes since ancient times.

Nowadays, signs of the ancient unity of Christmas and Epiphany are barely discernible. For example, both holidays have Evecherie (Christmas Eve) with strict fasting, and there are some similarities in the divine service.

But some churches, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox and Armenian Gregorian, still celebrate a single holiday.

"Drawing water at midnight..."

It is not at all a simple question when Epiphany became an independent holiday. This did not happen all over the vast Christian world at the same time. But from the second half of the 5th century, Epiphany is almost universally celebrated as a separate holiday, and the word “Epiphany” becomes its synonym, no longer relating to Christmas.

The Church Council of the mid-6th century officially called the 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany festive - from December 25 to January 6, but these two great celebrations were already distinguished.

The main distinguishing feature of Baptism is the consecration of water. This custom arose in ancient times and over time turned into a kind of “calling card” of the holiday.

For a long time there were disputes about how many times the blessing of water should be carried out - once or twice? For example, it was only in 1667 that the Russian Church finally decided to bless water twice - both on Vespers and on the feast of Epiphany itself. As a rule, the first time consecration takes place in churches, and the second time - on rivers, lakes, and ponds.

Moreover, the two blessings of water go back to two different church traditions.

The first of them is connected with the order established by the early Christians: to baptize converts on the Eve of the holiday. That is why the holiday once had a third name: it was called the “day of Enlightenment” - as a sign that the Sacrament of Baptism cleanses a person from sin and enlightens him with the light of Christ.

But subsequently there were so many who wanted to accept the faith of Christ that one day was clearly not enough for this. Baptisms began to be performed on other dates. The custom of consecrating water on Evening Day - even if none of the converts are in the temple - has been preserved.

At first she was blessed only once, at midnight. Back in the 4th century, Saint John Chrysostom wrote about the blessing of water like this: “Christ was baptized and sanctified the nature of the waters; and therefore, on the feast of Epiphany, everyone, having drawn water at midnight, brings it home and keeps it all year round. And so the water in its essence does not deteriorate from the continuation of time, drawn now for a whole year, and often two and three years remains fresh and undamaged, and after such a long time is not inferior to the waters just drawn from the source.”

It was only in the 10th century that the blessing of water was moved from midnight to Vespers.

The tradition of consecrating water a second time has different roots.

Initially it concerned only the Jerusalem church. There, the second consecration of water began to be performed in the 4th - 5th centuries, since there was a custom of going out to the Jordan River to bless water in memory of the Baptism of the Savior himself. From there, the custom of the second consecration of water gradually spread throughout the Orthodox world.

Since time immemorial, there has been a custom of drinking Epiphany water for health and sprinkling it in all the corners of the house - to “drive away evil spirits.”

Bishop Hilarion (Alfeev) explains this custom as follows: “The Lord Jesus Christ Himself came to the Jordan to John to plunge into the waters of the Jordan - not to cleanse them from sin, but in order to sanctify them, transform them, fill them with life... And He descended into the waters of the Jordan to take upon Himself the burden of sin and death and the water element again to become the element of life. Since then, every year we consecrate the water, and this water becomes a great shrine. This water, in which God Himself is present, sanctifies everything that is sprinkled with it, it heals people from illnesses.”

Saint John Chrysostom writes that “not the day on which the Savior was born should be called a phenomenon, but the day on which He was baptized. He did not become known to everyone through His birth, but through Baptism, which is why the Epiphany is not called the day on which He was born, but the day on which He was baptized.”

Holy Epiphany.
Baptism of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ- the great twelfth holiday in memory of the Baptism of the Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ, having reached, according to human nature, thirty years of age, publicly entered into His open ministry for the redemption of the human race (according to the Old Testament law, it was not allowed to be ordained as a teacher or priest before the age of thirty). The Savior came to the Jordan River, where the holy prophet John the Baptist was preparing the Jewish people to receive the promised Redeemer, and received baptism from John in the waters of the Jordan (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3, 21-22).
This holiday is called Epiphany because at the baptism of the Savior there was a special appearance of all Three Persons of the Divine: God the Father from the open Heaven testified about the baptized Son, the Son of God was baptized by John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended on the Son, thus confirming the Word of the Father ( Matthew 3:17), that is, he testified about Jesus Christ that He is not a prophet like the ancient prophets, and not an angel, but the Only Begotten Son of God, existing in the bosom of the Father.
The Lord Himself, as the source of all purity and holiness, sinless and immaculate, born of the Most Pure and Most Holy Virgin Mary, had no need to be baptized, but since He took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, He came to the river to cleanse them through baptism.
By immersion in the water element, the Lord sanctified the nature of water and created for us the font of holy baptism, explains St. John of Damascus. According to church tradition, Saint John the Baptist immersed every person baptized by him in water up to the neck and held him there until he confessed all his sins. Christ, who had no sins, was not detained in the water, therefore the Gospel says that He came out of the water immediately (Matthew 3:16).
According to the explanation of St. Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, “just as in the time of Noah the dove announced the end of the flood by bringing an olive branch, so now the Holy Spirit announces the remission of sins in the form of a dove: there is an olive branch, here is the mercy of our God.”
Since ancient times, in the church charter and among the fathers of the Church, the holiday of Epiphany is also called the Day of Enlightenment and the Feast of Lights, for God is Light and Resurrection and appeared to enlighten “those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death” (Matthew 4:16), to save the fallen human race by revealing in Christ by Divine grace (2 Tim. 1:9-10). Therefore, in the ancient Church, on the eve of Epiphany, as well as on the very day of the holiday, there was a custom to baptize (spiritually enlighten) the catechumens. At this time, the great consecration of water takes place in churches and reservoirs. Epiphany or Epiphany water (agiasma) is considered a great shrine that heals soul and body. It is customary to preserve it throughout the year, sprinkling it on things, taking it in case of illness, giving drink to those who cannot be admitted to Holy Communion.
In Rus', since ancient times, it was customary to perform solemn religious processions on rivers and water sources on the feast of the Epiphany.

Epiphany Christmas Eve.
The eve of the holiday - January 18 (January 5, old style) - is called the Eve of Epiphany, or Christmas Eve. The services of the Vigil and the holiday itself are in many ways similar to the service of the Vigil and the Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
The word “forever” means the eve of a church celebration, and the second name - Christmas Eve (or sochevnik) is associated with the tradition on this day of boiling a wheat broth with honey and raisins - sochivo.
Until the 5th century, it was customary to remember the birth and baptism of the Son of God on one day - January 6, and this holiday was called Theophany - Epiphany, which spoke of the incarnation of Christ into the world and the appearance of the Trinity in the waters of the Jordan. The celebration of the Nativity of Christ was moved to December 25 (according to the Julian calendar, or old style) later, in the 5th century. This was the beginning of a new church phenomenon - Christmastide, ending with Vespers, or Christmas Eve, the feast of Epiphany.
On the Eve of Epiphany, January 5th (as well as on the Eve of the Nativity of Christ), the Church prescribes strict fasting. This is where the tradition of cooking sochivo came from, which is not mandatory, but is so convenient that it has become a tradition everywhere. Of course, these days not everyone has such an opportunity, but it is still necessary to observe fasting: “As we are nourished by God’s Grace, we will be freed from covetousness,” the Typikon tells us. Covetousness refers to everything that is consumed beyond need, and let everyone’s conscience be the criterion here. Believers determine the extent of fasting individually, according to the strength and blessing of their confessor. On this day, as on Christmas Eve, they do not eat food until the candle is taken out after the Liturgy in the morning and the first communion of Epiphany water is taken. If the reading of the Great Hours from the Vespers, which happened on Saturday or Sunday, is postponed to Friday, then there is no fasting on that Friday.
On Christmas Eve, after the liturgy, the Great Blessing of Water is performed in churches. The blessing of water is called great because of the special solemnity of the rite, imbued with the memory of the gospel event, which became not only the prototype of the mysterious washing of sins, but also the actual sanctification of the very nature of water through the immersion of God in the flesh. This water is called Agiasma, or simply Epiphany water. Under the influence of the Jerusalem Charter, from the 11th-12th centuries, the blessing of water occurs twice - both on Epiphany Eve and directly on the feast of Epiphany. Consecration on both days takes place in the same manner, so the water blessed on these days is no different. Many people mistakenly believe that the water consecrated on Epiphany Eve and the water consecrated on the very day of Epiphany are different, but in fact, both on Christmas Eve and on the very day of Epiphany, when consecrating water, the same rite of the great blessing of water is used.
There is a pious tradition of sprinkling your home with Epiphany water on this day while singing the troparion of Epiphany. Epiphany water is consumed on an empty stomach in small quantities all year round, usually together with a piece of prosphora “so that we can receive strength from God that supports health, heals illnesses, drives away demons and turns away all the slander of the enemy.”
At the same time, the prayer is read: “Lord my God, may Your holy gift and Your holy water be for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my mental and physical strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities according to Your boundless mercy through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints. Amen." In case of illness or attacks by evil forces, you can and should drink water without hesitation at any time.
A special property of holy water is that, added even in small quantities to ordinary water, it imparts beneficial properties to it, therefore, in case of a shortage of holy water, it can be diluted with plain water.
We must not forget that consecrated water is a church shrine, which has been touched by the grace of God, and which requires a reverent attitude. With a reverent attitude, holy water does not spoil for many years. It is carefully kept in the holy corner, near the icons. Epiphany water is a shrine that should be in every home of an Orthodox Christian.

Features of the Divine Service on the Eve of the Feast.

On all weekdays (except Saturday and Sunday), the service of the Vesper of Epiphany consists of the Great Hours, Fine Hours and Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great; After the liturgy (after the prayer behind the pulpit), the water is blessed. If Christmas Eve happens on Saturday or Sunday, then the Great Hours take place on Friday, and there is no liturgy on that Friday; the liturgy of St. Basil the Great is moved to the day of the holiday. On the very day of Christmas Eve, the liturgy of St. St. John Chrysostom occurs in due time, followed by Vespers and after it the Blessing of Water.
Great watches and their contents.
The troparia point to the division of the waters of the Jordan by Elisha with the mantle of the prophet Elijah as a prototype of the true Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, by which the watery nature was sanctified and during which the Jordan stopped its natural flow. The last troparion describes the tremulous feeling of Saint John the Baptist when the Lord came to him to be baptized. In the parimia of the 1st hour, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, the Church proclaims the spiritual renewal of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (Is. 25).
The Apostle and the Gospel proclaim the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, who testified to the eternal and Divine greatness of Christ (Acts 13:25-32; Matt. 3:1-11). At the 3rd hour, in special psalms - 28 and 41 - the prophet depicts the power and authority of the baptized Lord over water and all the elements of the world: “The voice of the Lord is on the waters: the God of glory will roar, the Lord on many waters. The voice of the Lord in the fortress; The voice of the Lord is in splendor...” These psalms are also joined by the usual 50th psalm. The troparia of the hour reveal the experiences of John the Baptist - awe and fear at the Baptism of the Lord - and the revelation in this great event of the mystery of the Trinity of the Divinity. In parimia we hear the voice of the prophet Isaiah, foreshadowing spiritual rebirth through baptism and Calling for the acceptance of this sacrament: “Wash yourself, and you will be clean” (Is. 1: 16-20).
The Apostle talks about the difference between the baptism of John and the baptism in the Name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:1-8), and the Gospel talks about the Forerunner who prepared the way for the Lord (Mark 1:1-3). At the 6th hour, in Psalms 73 and 76, King David prophetically depicts the Divine greatness and omnipotence of the One who came to be baptized in the form of a servant: “Who is a great God like our God? You are God, work miracles. You saw the waters, O God, and you were afraid: the abyss was crushed.”
The usual 90th psalm of the hour is also added. The troparia contain the Lord’s answer to the Baptist to his bewilderment about Christ’s self-abasement and indicate the fulfillment of the Psalmist’s prophecy that the Jordan River stops its waters when the Lord enters it for Baptism. The parimia talks about how the prophet Isaiah contemplates the grace of salvation in the waters of baptism and calls on believers to assimilate it: “Draw up water with joy from the source of fear” (Is. 12).
The Apostle encourages those baptized into Christ Jesus to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3-12). The Gospel preaches about the appearance of the Holy Trinity at the Baptism of the Savior, about His forty-day labor in the desert and the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel (Mark 1:9-15). At the 9th hour, in Psalms 92 and 113, the prophet proclaims the royal greatness and omnipotence of the baptized Lord. The third psalm of the hour is the usual 85th. With the words of parimia, the prophet Isaiah depicts the inexpressible mercy of God towards people and the gracious help for them revealed in Baptism (Is. 49: 8-15). The Apostle announces the manifestation of the grace of God, “saving for all men,” and the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers (Tit. 2, 11-14; 3, 4-7). The Gospel tells about the Baptism of the Savior and the Epiphany (Matthew 3:13-17).
Vespers on the day of the Vespers of the holiday
Vespers on the Vespers of the Feast of the Epiphany is similar to what happens on the Vespers of the Nativity of Christ: entrance with the Gospel, reading of parimia, Apostle, Gospel, etc., but the parimia at Vespers of the Epiphany Vigil is read not on 8, but on 13.
After the first three paremias to the troparion and verses of prophecy, the singers chorus: “May you enlighten those who sit in darkness: Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.” After the sixth parimia there is a chorus to the troparion and verses: “Where would Thy light shine, except on those who sit in darkness, glory to Thee.”
If on the Eve of Epiphany Vespers is combined with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), then after the reading of the proverbs there follows a small litany with the exclamation: “For art thou holy, our God...”, then the Trisagion and other sequences of the liturgy are sung. At Vespers, performed separately after the liturgy (on Saturday and Sunday), after the parimia, the small litany and the exclamation: “For thou art holy...” followed by the prokeimenon: “The Lord is my enlightenment...”, Apostle (Cor., ch. 143) and the Gospel (Luke, chapter 9).
After this - the litany “Rtsem all...” and so on. The Great Blessing of Water The Church renews the memory of the Jordanian event with a special rite of the Great Blessing of Water. On the Eve of the holiday, the great consecration of water occurs after the prayer behind the pulpit (if the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is being celebrated). And if Vespers is celebrated separately, without connection with the liturgy, the consecration of the water occurs at the end of Vespers, after the exclamation: “Be the power...”. The priest, through the royal doors, while singing the troparia “The Voice of the Lord on the Waters...” comes out to the vessels filled with water, carrying the Honorable Cross on his head, and the consecration of the water begins.
The Orthodox Church has been performing the great consecration of water on Vespers and on the holiday itself since ancient times, and the grace of consecrating water on these two days is always the same. At the Forever, the consecration of water was performed in remembrance of the Baptism of the Lord, which sanctified the watery nature, as well as the baptism of the orphans, which in ancient times was performed at the Forever of Epiphany (Lent. Apost., book 5, chapter 13; historians: Theodoret, Nicephorus Callistus). On the holiday itself, the consecration of water occurs in memory of the actual event of the Baptism of the Savior. The blessing of water on the holiday itself began in the Jerusalem Church in the 4th - 4th centuries. took place only in it alone, where there was a custom of going out to the Jordan River for the blessing of water in memory of the Baptism of the Savior. Therefore, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the blessing of water on Vecherie is performed in churches, and on the holiday itself it is usually performed on rivers, springs and wells (the so-called “Walk to the Jordan”), for Christ was baptized outside the temple.
The great consecration of water began in the early times of Christianity, following the example of the Lord Himself, who sanctified the waters by His immersion in them and established the sacrament of Baptism, in which the consecration of water has been taking place since ancient times. The rite of blessing of water is attributed to the Evangelist Matthew. Several prayers for this rite were written by St. Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople. The final execution of the rite is attributed to St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem. The blessing of water on the holiday is already mentioned by the teacher of the Church Tertullian and St. Cyprian of Carthage. The Apostolic Decrees also contain prayers said during the blessing of water. So, in the book. The 8th says: “The priest will call on the Lord and say: “And now sanctify this water, and give it grace and strength.”
St. Basil the Great writes: “According to what scripture do we bless the water of baptism? - From Apostolic tradition, by succession in secret" (91st canon).
In the second half of the 10th century, Patriarch Peter Foulon of Antioch introduced the custom of consecrating water not at midnight, but on the Eve of Epiphany. In the Russian Church, the Moscow Council of 1667 decided to perform double blessing of water - on Vespers and on the very feast of Epiphany and condemned Patriarch Nikon, who prohibited double blessing of water. The sequence of the great consecration of water both at Vespers and on the holiday itself is the same and in some parts is similar to the sequence of the small consecration of water. It consists of remembering the prophecies relating to the event of Baptism (parimia), the event itself (the Apostle and the Gospel) and its meaning (litany and prayers), invoking the blessing of God on the waters and immersing the Life-giving Cross of the Lord in them three times.
In practice, the rite of water blessing is performed as follows. After the prayer behind the pulpit (at the end of the liturgy) or the petitionary litany: “Let us perform the evening prayer” (at the end of Vespers), the rector is in full vestments (as during the liturgy), and the other priests are only in the epitrachelion, shoulder straps, and the rector is carrying the Holy Cross on an uncovered chapter (usually the Cross is placed in the air). At the site of the blessing of water, the Cross is placed on a decorated table, on which there should be a bowl of water and three candles. During the singing of troparions, the rector and the deacon cense the water prepared for consecration (around the table three times), and if the water is consecrated in the church, then the altar, clergy, singers and people also cense.
At the end of the singing of the troparions, the deacon exclaims: “Wisdom,” and three parimia are read (from the book of the prophet Isaiah), which depict the gracious fruits of the Lord’s coming to earth and the spiritual joy of all who turn to the Lord and partake of the life-giving sources of salvation. Then the prokeimenon “The Lord is my enlightenment...” is sung, the Apostle and the Gospel are read. The Apostolic Reading (Cor., section 143) speaks of persons and events that in the Old Testament, during the wanderings of the Jews in the desert, were a prototype of Christ the Savior (the mysterious baptism of the Jews into Moses among the clouds and the sea, their spiritual food in desert and drinking from the spiritual stone, which was Christ). The Gospel (Mark, part 2) tells about the Baptism of the Lord.
After reading the Holy Scriptures, the deacon pronounces the great litany with special petitions. They contain prayers for the sanctification of water by the power and action of the Holy Trinity, for sending down the blessing of the Jordan on the water and giving it grace for the healing of mental and physical infirmities, for driving away all slander of visible and invisible enemies, for the sanctification of houses and for all benefits.
During the litany, the rector secretly reads a prayer for the purification and sanctification of himself: “Lord Jesus Christ...” (without exclamation). At the end of the litany, the priest (rector) loudly reads the consecration prayer: “Great art thou, O Lord, and wonderful are thy works...” (three times) and so on. In this prayer, the Church begs the Lord to come and sanctify the water so that it will receive the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan, so that it will be a source of incorruption, the resolution of ailments, the cleansing of souls and bodies, the sanctification of houses and “a good deal of all good.” In the middle of the prayer, the priest exclaims three times: “You Yourself, O Lover of Mankind, come now through the influx of Your Holy Spirit and consecrate this water,” and at the same time each time he blesses the water with his hand, but does not immerse his fingers in the water, as happens in the sacrament of Baptism. At the end of the prayer, the abbot immediately blesses the water crosswise with the Honorable Cross, holding it with both hands and immersing it three times straight (lowering it into the water and raising it), and with each immersion of the Cross he sings the troparion with the clergy (three times): “I am baptized in the Jordan, O Lord... "
After this, while the troparion is repeatedly sung by the singers, the abbot with the Cross in his left hand sprinkles a cross in all directions, and also sprinkles the temple with holy water. Glorification of the holiday.
On Vecherye, after the dismissal of Vespers or Liturgy, a lamp (not a lectern with an icon) is placed in the middle of the church, before which the clergy and choristers sing the troparion and (on “Glory, and now”) the kontakion of the holiday. The candle here means the light of Christ’s teaching, Divine enlightenment given at the Epiphany.
After this, the worshipers venerate the Cross, and the priest sprinkles each with holy water.

On Epiphany Christmas Eve the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great and the rite of the great consecration of water.

On the very day of the feast of Epiphany, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

After the prayer behind the pulpit, the great consecration of water was performed.

The consecration of water took place throughout the entire day of Christmas Eve and the feast of the Epiphany itself, and also, according to tradition, will be performed as necessary until the day of the feast of Epiphany.

Feast of the Epiphany

An incomprehensible mystery now reveals to the mind enlightened by the light of Truth the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The incarnate God - the Lord Jesus Christ, descends into the waters of the Jordan, sanctifying and restoring the watery nature once corrupted by human sin, imparting to it the Power and grace of the Holy Spirit, perceiving which in the baptismal font every Christian becomes a participant in incorruptible eternity in the Kingdom of the Heavenly Father.

The Feast of the Epiphany, or Epiphany, is also called the Day of Enlightenment and the Feast of Lights - from the ancient custom of performing the baptism of catechumens on the eve of it (on Vespers), which is, in essence, spiritual enlightenment.

A description of the event of Baptism is given in all four Evangelists (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23; John 1:33-34), as well as in many stichera and troparia of the holiday. “Today the Creator of Heaven and earth comes in flesh to the Jordan, asking for Baptism, the sinless one... and is baptized by a servant, the Lord of all...” “To the voice of him crying in the wilderness: prepare the way of the Lord (i.e. to John), you have come, O Lord, taking on the form of a servant, asking for Baptism, not knowing sin.” The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the closest connection with all His Theanthropic work of saving people; it constitutes the decisive and complete beginning of this ministry.

When John the Baptist preached on the banks of the Jordan and baptized people, Jesus Christ turned thirty years old. He also came from Nazareth to the Jordan River to John to receive baptism from him. John considered himself unworthy to baptize Jesus Christ and began to restrain Him, saying: “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered him: “Leave me now,” that is, do not hold me back now, “because this is how we need to fulfill all righteousness” - to fulfill everything in the Law of God and set an example for people. Then John obeyed and baptized Jesus Christ. After the baptism was performed, when Jesus Christ came out of the water, the heavens suddenly opened up (opened) above Him; and John saw the Spirit of God, who in the form of a dove descended on Jesus, and from heaven the voice of God the Father was heard: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The Baptism of the Lord in the matter of redemption of the human race had a deep ontological significance. Baptism on the Jordan exudes to mortals remission, remission of sins, enlightenment, restoration of human nature, light, renewal, healing and, as it were, a new birth. “New creators of the earth, New Adam was the Creator, performing a strange rebirth and wonderful renewal with fire and Spirit and water...” The baptism of Christ in the waters of the Jordan had not only the meaning of a symbol of purification, but also a transforming, renewing effect on human nature. By immersing Himself in the waters of the Jordan, the Lord sanctified “the whole nature of the waters” and the whole earth. The presence of Divine power in the watery nature transforms our corruptible nature (through Baptism) into incorruptible. Baptism had a beneficial effect on the entire dual human nature - on the body and soul of man. The Baptism of Christ the Savior was actually a prefiguration and foundation of the mysteriously grace-filled method of rebirth by water and the Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism given after His Resurrection and Ascension. Here the Lord reveals Himself as the Founder of a new, grace-filled Kingdom, which, according to His teaching, cannot be entered without Baptism.

The three-fold immersion in the sacrament of Baptism depicts the death of Christ, and the coming out of the water represents communion with His three-day Resurrection.

At the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan, true worship of God (religion) was revealed to people, the hitherto unknown secret of the Trinity of the Divine, the secret of the One God in three Persons was revealed, and the worship of the Most Holy Trinity was revealed. The chants comprehensively and touchingly describe the experiences that the Forerunner experiences upon seeing Christ come to be baptized by him. John the Baptist points to the people listening to him about the coming Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, awaited by all Israel: “This, deliver Israel, free us from corruption.” And when the Lord asked him for baptism, “the Forerunner trembled and exclaimed loudly: how can a lamp illuminate the light? How can a slave lay his hand on the Master? Savior, who took upon yourself the sins of the whole world, You yourself sanctify me and the waters.” “Although You are the Child of Mary,” says the Forerunner, “I know You, the Eternal God.” And then the Lord says to John:

“Prophet, come to baptize Me, who created you, and enlightens with grace and cleanses everyone. Touch My Divine top (head) and do not doubt. Leave everything else now, for I have come to fulfill all righteousness.”

Having been baptized by John, Christ fulfilled “righteousness”, i.e. fidelity and obedience to the commandments of God. Saint John the Baptist received the command from God to baptize the people as a sign of the cleansing of sins. As a man, Christ had to "fulfill" this commandment and therefore be baptized by John. By this He confirmed the holiness and greatness of John’s actions, and gave Christians an example of obedience to the will of God and humility for eternity.

Epiphany is one of the oldest Christian celebrations, celebrated already in the 3rd century. At first, in different local Churches, memories of various events associated with the birth of the Savior, His coming into the world, baptism in the Jordan by John and the first miracle at a marriage in Cana of Galilee were associated with this holiday. In the liturgical calendar of the Armenian Church, this practice is preserved to this day, and in the Latin liturgical tradition, on the day of Epiphany, the adoration of the Magi to the Infant Christ is commemorated, and the baptism of the Savior in the Jordan is commemorated on the nearest Sunday after January 6. The Feast of the Epiphany, as a memory of the baptism of the Savior in the Jordan, acquired significance after the Feast of the Nativity of Christ was established on December 25, on the day of the December calendar. Christmas was first celebrated in Rome (no later than 354), under Pope Julia, and later in the East. The Apostolic Constitutions, a canonical monument of Syriac origin and dated by researchers to approximately 380, commands the celebration of Christmas (December 25) and “The Day of Appearance, on which the Lord showed us His Divinity” (January 6). In Constantinople, the holiday of Christmas was introduced by St. Gregory the Theologian in 379 during his short reign of the capital's department. Thus, the feast of the Epiphany, as a memory of the baptism of Christ and the appearance of the Holy Trinity, which is associated with the emergence of the custom of consecrating water on this day, was established no earlier than the end of the 4th century.

In Jerusalem, the separation of the holidays of Christmas and Epiphany occurred somewhat later. Fragmentary information about the liturgical rite of the Epiphany consecration of water in the Jerusalem Church is given to us by the “Canon of Jerusalem” (VII century), which has come down to our time in a Georgian translation. According to legend, the current liturgical rite of the Great Blessing of Water was compiled by St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem (c. 560-638).

The great consecration of water, according to the church charter, is performed twice - on the day of eternity (Epiphany Eve) and on the day of the holiday itself, it is performed in conjunction with the Divine Liturgy. Contrary to popular misconception, there is no difference in the “graceful power” between the water blessed on one day or another. Firstly, water is blessed according to the same liturgical rite. Secondly, initially the consecration of water took place precisely on the eve of the holiday, as evidenced by St. John Chrysostom, as well as the Typikon. The double consecration of water became a practice of the Orthodox Church after the 12th century. However, it is interesting to note that the very tradition of consecrating water for purposes not related to the Sacrament of Baptism arose in ancient times, at the dawn of the history of the Church, long before the formation of rites. For example, Hieromartyr Alexander, Pope of Rome (2nd century), introduced the custom of blessing water so that believers would sprinkle their homes with it.

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

history of the holiday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Icon "Baptism of the Lord"

Events

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

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

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

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

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

Traditions on the holiday

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

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

Liturgy on the day of Epiphany

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

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

About other significant Orthodox holidays:

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

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

Bishop's service for Epiphany

Folk traditions

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

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

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

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

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

What to put on the holiday table

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

Articles about Orthodox cuisine:

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

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

Water for Epiphany

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

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

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

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

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

Is water holy for Epiphany?

The clergy answer this question ambiguously.

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

The process of consecrating water itself is a church celebration that tells people about the presence of God on earth.

Epiphany ice hole

Swimming in an ice hole

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

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

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

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

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

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

Watch the video about the Feast of Epiphany