My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. First Tone
WHEN Thou wast baptized in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of
the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father bare
witness to Thee, calling Thee His Beloved Son. And the Spirit in
the form of a dove confirmed the certainty of the word. O Christ
our God, Who has appeared and hast enlightened the world,
glory to Thee.
Hypakoe. Plagal of First Tone
WHEN Thou didst enlighten all things by Thine Epiphany, the
briny sea of unbelief fled, and as Jordan flowed down, it
turned back, exalting us to Heaven. Through the intercessions
of the Theotokos, preserve us at the height of Thy Divine
command,emts, O Christ God, and have mercy on us.
Kontakion Hymn. Fourth Tone
ON this day Thou hast appeared unto the whole world, and Thy
light, O Sovereign Lord, is signed on us who sing Thy praise and
chant with knowledge: Thou hast now come, Thou hast appeared,
O Thou Light Unapproachable.
The Great Holy Feast of THEOPHANY (THEOPHANEIA), meaning "MANIFESTATION OF GOD," is also known as the Epiphany (Epiphaneia), meaning "MANIFESTATION FROM ABOVE." The divine office for this feast celebrates the BAPTISM OF CHRIST in the river Jordan, thus SANCTIFYING BOTH MAN AND THE WATERS, and His manifestation as Christ and the MANIFESTATION OF GOD IN TRINITY. Epiphany is the oldest feast of our Lord next to All-Holy Pascha, and has always been celebrated on the 6th of January. The first mention of the feast is found in Saint Clement of Alexandria (150-215). Originally, Epiphany COMMEMORATED NOT ONLY THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST BUT ALSO HIS NATIVITY. However, the day on which Christ was born, He was not manifested to all; when He was baptized, He WAS MADE MANIFEST TO ALL; and so says Saint John Chrysostom [Homily XXIV on the Baptism of Christ]. During the early centuries, this day of our Lord’s Theophany, together with Pascha and Pentecost, and later the Feast of the Nativity, were the solemn occasions of Christian INITIATION THROUGH BAPTISM. The remnant of this practice is observed in the chanting of this hymn during the Divine Liturgy: "AS MANY AS WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST, YE PUT ON CHRIST. ALLELUIA." [Galetians 3:27]. It was not until the 4th century that the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus was commemorated as a separate feast. As a historical note, according to the old Egyptian calendar, the 8th of January was the day OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE, at which time the benighted pagans celebrated the conquest of winter darkness by the sun god. Later, the new Roman calendar placed the Winter Solstice on the 25th of December, at which time the idolaters were commemorating the conquest of winter darkness by their sun god or deifying their Emperor, the Christians were celebrating the manistetation of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man, Who CONQUERED THE DARKNESS OF IGNORANCE AND SIN, LEADING OUR RACE TO WORSHIP OF THE CREATOR RATHER THAN THE CREATURE. The establishing of the Feast of the Nativity did not diminish the Feast of the Theophany, which is celebrated from the 2nd of January to the 14th of January, with the 6th of January being (proeortia), the the eight day days after it constitute the AFTERFEAST or POSTFEAST (metheortia). The Service of the Great Sanctification of the waters (Megas Agiasmos) is a conspicuous feature of this feast day, which is observed twice, on the Eve and on the Day of the Feast of Theophany. The hymns of this divine office emphasize that Christ WAS NOT BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO BE SANCTIFIED, BUT TO GRANT SANCTIFICATION TO US AND THE WATERS. In the West, Epiphany was observed in Rome. At first the commemoration of the Feasts of the Nativity and Baptism of Christ were together, but it gradually came to be associated with the Magi. Evidence of this is found in the sermons of Pope Leo I (440-461 A.D.). At length, the Western Epiphany was fixed as the TWELFTH DAY OF NATIVITY, THAT IS, THE 6th of January.
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 