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You are here : Home arrow News arrow Recent News and Events at POI arrow Epiphany 2009
Epiphany 2009 PDF Print E-mail
Written by JMD   
Tuesday, 06 January 2009
battesimo-di-ges.jpg


The Troparion of Epiphany
     When thou, 0 Lord, wast Baptized in the Jordan
 the worship of the Trinity was made manifest!
For the voice of the Father bore witness to thee His beloved Son!
 and the spirit,
 in the form of a dove confirmed the truthfulness of his word.
 0 Christ, our God, who hast revealed thyself and has enlightened the world,
glory to thee!
 

Epiphany

http://www.hellochristmas.net/epifania/

Epiphany (Greek: επιφάνεια, "appearance" or "manifestation") is a Christian feast intended to celebrate the "shining forth" or revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus. The feast is also called Twelfth Day, as it is the twelfth day after Christmas.


1. History

The observance had its origins in the Eastern Christian churches, and was originally a general celebration of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and included the commemoration of: his birth; the visit of the Magi, or "Wise Men", who arrived in Bethlehem; all of Jesus' childhood events, up to and including his baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist; and even the miracle at the Wedding of Cana in Galilee. However, it seems fairly clear that the Baptism was the event predominantly commemorated.


The date of the feast was very early fixed on January 6. Ancient Liturgies speak of Illuminatio, Manifestatio, Declaratio (Lighting, Manifestation, Declaration); cf. Matthew 3:13-17; Luke 3:22; and John 2:1-11; where the Baptism and the Marriage at Cana are dwelt upon. Christian Churches have traditionally emphasized the "Revelation to the Gentiles" mentioned in Luke, where the term Gentile means all non-Jewish peoples. The Biblical Magi represent the non-Jewish peoples of the world.


The earliest reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast was in the year 361, by Ammianus Marcellinus St. Epiphanius says that the January 6 is hemera genethlion toutestin epiphanion (Christ's "Birthday; that is, His Epiphany"). He also asserts that the miracle at Cana occurred on the same calendar day.


In 385, the pilgrim Egeria (Silvia) describes a celebration in Jerusalem and Bethlehem on January 6 that obviously commemorates the Nativity of Christ. Even at this early date, there is already an octave associated with the feast.

In a sermon delivered on December 25, 380, St. Gregory of Nazianzus somewhat confusingly refers to the day as ta theophania ("the Theophany", an alternative name for Epiphany) saying expressly that it is a day commmemorating he hagia tou Christou gennesis ("the holy nativity of Christ") and tells his listeners that they will soon be celebrating the baptism of Christ. Then, on January 6 and 7, he preached two more sermons wherein he declared that the celebration of the birth of Christ and the visitation of the Magi had already taken place, and that they would now commemorate his Baptism. So at this point the two celebrations are beginning to be separated, at least in Cappadocia.


However, this was not the case everywhere. Saint John Cassian says that even in his time (beginning of the 5th century) the Egyptian monasteries still celebrated the Nativity and Baptism together on January 6. The Armenian Apostolic Church still continues to celebrate January 6 as the only commemoration of the Nativity.


2. Epiphany in different Christian rites

Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is over precisely which historical events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi, while in the East the feast celebrates the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. However, in both cases the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world (whether as an infant or in the Jordan), and the Mystery of the Incarnation.


* Western Christian Churches

By the year 534 the Western church had separated out the celebration of the Nativity of Christ into the feast of Christmas and set its date as December 25, reserving January 6 as a commemoration of the coming of the Magi. The East continued to celebrate January 6 as a composite feast, only later adopting December 25 to commemorate both Jesus' birth and the coming of the Magi, but leaving January 6 as a commemoration of his Baptism.


* Liturgical Practice

The West generally acknowledges a twelve-day festival, starting on December 25, and ending on January 5, known as Christmastide or the twelve days of Christmas, although some Christian cultures, especially those of Latin America and some in Europe extend it to as many as forty days, ending on Candlemas (February 2).


On the Feast of the Epiphany itself, the priest, wearing white vestments, will bless the Epiphany Water, frankincense, gold, and chalk. The chalk is used to write the initials of the three magi over the doors of churches and homes. Not only do the letters stand for the initials of the Magi (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), but of the phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, which translates as "may Christ bless the house".


* Date of Commemoration

Prior to the reforms of 1970, the Roman Catholic Church (and prior to 1976, the Anglican churches) celebrated Epiphany as an eight-day feast beginning on January 6 and continuing through the Octave of Epiphany, or January 13. Many continue to use this calendar, celebrating the feast of the Holy Family on the Sunday within the octave.


More recently, many Americans mark Epiphany on the Sunday after the first Saturday in January (before this the Sunday between January 1 and January 6 in years when there was one, was designated the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus), and most Roman Catholics in the United States (along with many Protestants) now formally end the Christmas season with the Baptism of the Lord, after which the first period of Ordinary Time begins. (But note that some Churches, such as the Anglican Catholic Church, and some Roman Catholics in other countries (e.g., Italy, Spain, the Vatican), still maintain the pre-1970 calendar; for these bodies, Christmas still has twelve days and ends on January 5, and Epiphany is still celebrated on January 6 with an 8-day octave.) Since 2007 the Roman Catholic Church in England & Wales celebrates the Epiphany on the Sunday closest to 6 January.


In the Church of England, the Epiphany is classified as a Principal Feast and is observed on 6 January or on the Sunday between 2 and 8 January. There is also an Epiphany season, observed between the season of Christmas and the first period of Ordinary Time. It begins at Evening Prayer on the Eve of the Epiphany and ends at Evening Prayer (or Night Prayer) on the Feast of the Presentation (which may be celebrated on 2 February or the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February).


The West generally acknowledges a twelve-day festival, starting on December 25, and ending on January 5, known as Christmastide or the Twelve Days of Christmas, although some Christian cultures, especially those of Latin America and some in Europe extend it to as many as forty days, ending on Candlemas (February 2).


* Eastern Christian Churches

Usually called the Feast of Theophany (Greek: Θεοφάνεια, "God shining forth" or "divine manifestation"), it is one of the Great Feast of the litrguical year, being third in rank, behind only Pascha (Easter) and Pente cost in importance. Orthodox Christians celebrate Epiphany on January 6 (the date of January 6 on the Julian Calendar used by most Orthodox falls on January 19 of the modern Gregorian Calendar).

The first reference to the feast in the Eastern Church is a remark by St. Clement of Alexandria in Stromateis, I, xxi, 45:


And there are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord's birth, but also the day... And the followers of Basilides hold the day of his baptism as a festival, spending the night before in readings. And they say that it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, the fifteenth day of the month Tubi; and some that it was the eleventh of the same month.

(The 11th and 15th of Tubi are January 6th and 10th respectively.)


Origen's list of festivals (in Contra Celsum, VIII, xxii) omits any reference to Epiphany. The first reference to an ecclesiastical feast of the Epiphany, in Ammianus Marcellinus (XXI:ii), is in 361.


Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the emphasis at this feast is on the shining forth and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and second person of the Holy Trinity at the time of his baptism. It is also celebrated because, according to tradition, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist marked the only occasion when all three persons of the Holy Trinity manifested their physical presence simultaneously to humanity: God the Father by speaking through the clouds, God the Son being baptized in the river, and God the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove descending from heaven. Thus the holy day is considered to be a Trinitarian feast.


The Orthodox consider Jesus' Baptism to be the first step towards the Crucifixion, and there are some parallels in the hymnography used on this day and the hymns chanted on Good Friday. On the eve of the Feast the Royal Hours are celebrated, thus tying together the feasts of Nativity and Good Friday.


* Liturgical Practice

Blessing of Waters The Orthodox Churches perform the Great Blessing of the Waters on Theophany. The blessing is normally done twice: once on the eve of the feast-usually at a font inside the church-and then again on the day of the feast outdoors at a body of water. Following the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and people go in a Cross procession to the nearest body of water, be it a beach, harbor, quay, river, lake, swimming pool, water depot, etc., and after a short ceremony the priest will bless the waters. In the Greek practice, he does this by casting a cross into the water. If swimming is feasible on the spot, any number of volunteers may brave the cold winter waters and try to recover the cross. The person who gets the cross first swims back and returns it to the priest, who then delivers a special blessing to the swimmer and their household. Certain such ceremonies have achieved particular prominence, such as the one held annually at Tarpon Springs, Florida. In Russia, where the winters are severe, a hole will be cut into the ice so that the waters may be blessed. In such conditions, the cross is not cast into the water, but is held securely by the priest and dipped three times into the water.


The water that is blessed on this day is known as "Theophany Water" and is taken home by the faithful, and used with prayer as a blessing. People will not only bless themselves and their homes by sprinkling with Theophany Water, but will also drink it. The Orthodox Church teaches that Theophany Water differs from regular Holy Water in that with Theophany Water, the very nature of the water is changed and becomes incorrupt, a miracle attested to as early as St. John Chrysostom


Theophany is a traditional day for performing Baptisms, and this is reflected in the Divine Liturgy by singing the baptismal hymn, "As many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia," in place of the Trisagion.


House Blessings On Theophany the priest will begin making the round of the parishioner's homes to bless them. He will perform a short prayer service in each home, and then go through the entire house, gardens and outside-buildings, blessing them with the newly-blessed Theophany Water, while all sing the Troparion and Kontakion of the feast. This is normally done on Theophany, or at least during the Afterfeast, but if the parishioners are numerous, and especially if many live far away from the church, it may take some time to bless each house. Traditionally, these blessings should all be finished before the beginning of Great Lent).


The Feast of Theophany is followed by an eight-day festival on which the normal fasting laws are suspended. The Saturday and Sunday after Theophany have special readings assigned to them, which relate to the Temptation of Christ and to penance and perseverance in the Christian struggle. There is thus a liturgical continuum between the Feast of Theophany and Great Lent.


* Oriental Christian Churches

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the feast is known as Timkat and is celebrated on January 19 (or January 20 if that year is a Lap Year according to the Ethiopian calendar). The celebration of this feast features Blessing of Waters and solemn processions with the sacred Tabot.

Among the Syriac Christians the feast is called denho (up-going), a name to be connected with the notion of rising light expressed in Luke 1:78.


In the Armenian Church, January 6 is celebrated as the Nativity (Sourp Dznount) and Theophany of Christ. The feast is preceded by a seven-day fast. On the eve of the feast, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. This Liturgy is referred to as the Jrakaloutz Badarak (the Eucharist of the lighting of the lamps) in honor of the manifestation of Jesus as the Son of God. This Liturgy is followed by a Blessing of Waters, during which the cross is immersed in the water, symbolizing Jesus' descent into the Jordan, and holy muron (chrism) poured in, symbolic of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus. The next morning, after the Liturgy, the cross is removed from the vessel of Holy Water and all come forward to kiss the cross and partake of the blessed water.


Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 January 2009 )
 
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