Icon Of The Baptism Of The Lord
Orthodox holiday of Epiphany
The feast of the Epiphany is considered one of the twelve major (twelve) holidays. In our country it is celebrated on January 19 to be exact – in the evening 18 January. As before Christmas, on Christmas eve before the Baptism on 18 January decided to gather at the table of all household members. This evening is prescribed to eat only Lenten food, although there's only a handful abide by this rule. A traditional dish of the meal is the Christmas pudding (or sochivo) – rice, sweetened with raisins and honey. The feast of the Baptism devoted to an important event that divided the old and new Testament history. According to St. John Chrysostom, that the Baptism, not Christmas, can be considered as the appearance day of the Lord.
The event of Jesus ' Baptism connected with the Holy, who predicted his imminent appearance, and devoted his life to preparing people to meet the Saviour. That man was John the Baptist, also known as John the Baptist. It is noteworthy that it is generally considered a historical figure, as is mentioned in the annals of "Jewish antiquities" of Flavius Josephus, the historian and military leader. Even in his youth, John went into the wilderness, where he lived in prayer and penance, dressed in animal skins, eating wild honey and plants. He preached, and his sermons met a lot of people. He called people to repent before meeting with the Savior, confessed their sins and baptized by the washing in water. The washing of the body symbolized the cleansing of the human soul. At this time Jesus Christ returned from Egypt after the death of king Herod, lived in the small town of Nazareth with his Mother, earning a living as a carpenter craft. So he lived up to thirty years of age, after which according to Jewish law it was possible to speak in the synagogues and to accept the dignity of a priest. After this came the period of his appearing to the people. Thus, in the day of the baptism of Jesus was thirty years old, and with this milestone, began his public activities as teacher and preacher. The legend says that when Jesus came to John the Baptist, to accept from him, like many other people, the baptism in the Jordan river, the prophet recognized him as that Messiah, whom he had waited all these years. "I have need to be baptized by You," John said. Jesus, however, insisted on the observance of the rite, and John baptized him in the same way as other people. And then a voice was heard from heaven, which testified that Jesus is the son of God, and the Holy spirit came down in the guise of a snow-white dove. Thus, in the presence of John the Baptist and many other people were publicly testified to the divine nature of Jesus and his mission of the Messiah.
Many followers of John the Baptist became followers of Jesus Christ, in particular, Andrew and John the Theologian. As a result, the feast of the Epiphany is also called the feast of the Epiphany. According to the dogma of the Trinity, it is believed that during the sacrament of Baptism people had the first opportunity to see the phenomenon of the Holy Trinity (3 incarnation of the one God in its essence) of the Father testifying about the Son, the Son Jesus and the Holy spirit appeared in the form of a dove. It is assumed that the feast of the Baptism was officially adopted by the Church in the third century and was first mentioned in "Stromata" the Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria. Jesus went down into the water does not purify, and to cleanse it. Therefore, it is believed that on the day of Baptism, when in the Orthodox churches, water is sanctified, it becomes miraculous, healing properties.
Blessing of the waters – traditional activity for this holiday. The waters are blessed after the Liturgy in the celebration of Baptism, and sometimes the night before, on Christmas Eve. The priest dips the cross into the hole, called "Jordan" and perform prayer. After that, the Orthodox are gaining water from the hole, wash her face, and some plunge into the hole to symbolically cleanse themselves of sickness and sin. It is worth noting that swimming are not a necessary requirement of the Church and the priests do not bless them, whose health may be affected. On the day of the baptism of the illuminated water handed out in churches and behind it, line up the whole queue. But it is also believed that any water in the feast of the Baptism has a special power and as well, as consecrated in the Church, does not deteriorate from long storage in a closed vessel, keeping its miraculous properties. So many believers are stocking her, and for a year kept at home. I advise you not to pour the water into bottles with labels, do not put a container of water on the floor and on the chairs, and not to swear in that room where it is stored, otherwise the water may lose its quality. The water collected in the Baptism, the believers drink from it and use it as an external remedies for illnesses and ailments, sprinkle it home. And there are many testimonies about the healing properties of this water. Some scientific studies have also shown the unique qualities of Epiphany water, in particular, is that it is characterized by an increased optical density and an increased amount of ion-radicals.
