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The Mystery of Christ’s Baptism

By Stephen Freeman This week, the Church moves from the feast of Christmas to the feast of Theophany – the celebration of the Baptism of Christ. The intent of this feast is not to celebrate a succession of historical events (the Baptism of Christ is at least 30 years later than His birth). Rather this feast takes us into the depths of the mystery of Christ and His salvation of the world. Many Christians, reading the gospel accounts of

The Twelfth Day of Christmas. The Theophany and Healing (Part II)

By Fr. George Morelli [1] The promise of the King of the Gentiles and the desired of all The conversion of pagans is mentioned in the psalms. King David as the obvious prefigure of Christ has the Lord God say to him: “You are my son, today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” (Ps 2: 7-8) And again

The Eleventh Day of Christmas. The Theophany and Healing (Part I)

By Fr. George Morelli [1] “And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!” “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Mt 9:12) The Feast of the Theophany of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ brings greater understanding of God’s encounter with His Chosen

The Fourth Day of Christmas. Between Christmas and….

By Stephen Freeman The Feast of Christmas has, for many, come and gone. The eagerness of children for the day of their presents has now passed and, with it, some of their anxieties. Far from marking Christmas as “Twelve Days” (as the old English Christmas carol notes) many parts of the culture hurry forward, eager to put Christmas in the past. In my childhood, it was generally held within the surrounding Protestant culture that a

Feast of the Ascension of our Lord. He Ascended in Glory

So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. Mark 16:19 (From the Third Eothinon Gospel of the Sunday Orthros) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” And when He had said this,

The Feast of Theophany. The Manifestation of God

And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” -Matthew 3: 16-17 (Gospel of Epiphany) The Feast we celebrate on January 6 is known by several names. One is the Baptism of Christ.

HOLY THEOPHANY

Bible Readings: Epistle: Titus 2:11-14.3:4-7 Gospel: St. Matthew 3:13-17 Liturgical Services: Christ is baptized! He comes up out of the water, and with Him He carries up the world. He sees the heavens opened that Adam had closed against himself and his posterity. The Spirit bears witness to His divinity, for He hastens toward His like. And a voice sounds from heaven, for it is from heaven that He has come down to those whom

Twelfth Day of Christmas, Looking Toward Epiphany

Meditation: Looking Toward Epiphany Epiphany! Theophany! Two good Greek words expressing and proclaiming to the world the showing forth of God in His fullness. Epiphany is the showing forth of God because it was there, at the Baptism of Jesus, that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity appeared together for the first time. The Father’s voice testified from on high that Jesus is the Son of God. The Son accepted his Father’s testimony, and

On the Presentation of Christ to the Temple

By Father Anthony Hughes This is the third Winter Feast of Light. The Nativity of Christ, Theophany and the Presentation of the Lord are all about the revelation of God, the one true Light, to the world.  So, let me begin with a quote from Dr. Jung that, I think is most apropos. “With a truly tragic delusion…theologians fail to see that it is not a matter of proving the existence of the light, but

Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

In the Orthodox Church it is customary, on the day following the Great Feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, to remember those saints who participated directly in the sacred event. So, on the day following the Theophany of the Lord, the Church honors the one who participated directly in the Baptism of Christ, placing his own hand upon the head of the Savior. St John, the holy Forerunner and Baptist of the