Theophany
from the website of the Melkite Greek Catholic
Diocese of Newton
“The Holy Day
of the lights to which we have come, and which we are celebrating today, has for its origin the Baptism of Christ, the True
Light that lightens everyone who comes into the world, and effects my purification…..”
These words, which begin Saint Gregory the Theologian’s homily On the Lights reflect what was already
a well-known custom when he spoke them (381 AD). They also point to the reason
why this is an especially appropriate term for this Feast of the Theophany.
It has been suggested that the feast was introduced in third-century Alexandria, where January 6th was observed by
the pagans as the birthday of Aeon, the patron god of the city. By the fourth
century, it was observed in Jerusalem, and it was not long before this feast was kept throughout the East. At
first, this feast observed the theophanies of God at Christ’s birth, at his baptism, and at his first miracle at Cana.
Eventually, the Western date of December 25th was adopted in the East for the remembrance of the Nativity and January 6th
for the Theophany at his baptism. To this day, however, the Armenian Church
celebrates both manifestations on January 6th.
Why Lights?
One explanation, mentioned in some synaxaria, is offered by Severian, Bishop
of Gavalon. He remarks that in the Church there was a great abundance of
light on this feast day because the Christians carried lighted candles. The
same is mentioned by Ephrem the Syrian in his Hymn on the Epiphany (9th verse). The
ceremony in Jerusalem, as described by the fourth-century pilgrim Egeria, began with a procession during the night from Bethlehem
to the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem. They enter the church before
daybreak “where an exceedingly great number of lights are already burning.”
The theme of light resounds on this feast because light frequently represents the divine in the Scriptures. The most evocative use of the image for Christians is found in the Gospel of John
where the Lord says “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me
shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” [John 8.12].
Saint Gregory, in his homily, links a number of the Scriptural passages on light.
“Therefore, listen to the voice of God, which sounds so exceedingly
clear to me, who am both disciple and master of these mysteries, as would to God it may sound to you:
‘I am the Light of the world’ [John 8.12]. Therefore,
‘approach him and be enlightened, and let not your faces be ashamed’ [Psalms 33.5, LXX] being signed with the
true Light. This is a season of new birth, let us be born again. It is a
time of reformation, let us receive again the first Adam. Let us not remain
what we are, but let us become what we once were.”
‘The Light
shined in the darkness,’ [John 1.5] in this life and in the flesh, and is chased by the darkness, but its not overtaken
by it (I mean the adverse power leaping up in its shamelessness against the
visible Adam, but encountering God and being defeated) in order that we, putting away the darkness, may draw near to the Light,
and may then become perfect Light, the children of perfect Light.”
Christ is said to
enlighten mankind by what he has revealed to us. First of all, he has shown us God in his own person:
“Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees him who sent Me.
I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me
should not abide in darkness” [John 12.44-46]. In Christ we see God
as compassionate, long-suffering of our weaknesses and willing to take on our sufferings himself to restore our likeness to
him.
Christ also enlightens us by showing us – again in his own person –
what a human being is. What he taught in words, he also taught by his way
of life: “Love one another as I have loved you…. the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many….I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life …..
If then, your Lord and Teacher has washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”
He shows us that the way to glory is to empty oneself and take up the cross of the sufferings of others just as he
did.
Theophany
The event commemorated
on this day, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, is considered a theophany or manifestation of God for two reasons. First of all, it marked the beginning of the Lord’s public life.
He would go from the Jordan to the wilderness and be tempted, then return to begin his public ministry.
Hardly noticed by those present, Christ’s baptism has been the occasion for reflection by Christians throughout
the ages. Thus, Saint Hippolytus’ Discourse on the Holy Theophany
[third century] exults: “O things strange beyond compare! How should
the boundless River that makes glad the City of God have been dipped in a little water!
The illimitable Spring that bears life to all, and has no end, was covered by poor and temporary waters! He
who is present everywhere, and absent nowhere, who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to men, comes to baptism according
to his own good pleasure.”
In the thought of the Greek Fathers, this event was the occasion of an even more momentous theophany: the New Testament’s
first revelation of the Holy Trinity. All three Persons were made manifest
together: the Father testified from on high to the divine sonship of Jesus; the Son received his Father’s testimony;
and the Spirit was seen resting upon the Son. This is the theophany recalled
in the troparion of the feast: “At
your baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was revealed…..”
Baptism
In the earliest days of the Church, baptism
was offered to anyone, anytime, once they believed. With the development
of the Church year by year, by the third century it became customary to connect baptism with the Feast of the Resurrection
(which Baptism reenacts) and later, with Pentecost, the “outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh.”
When the Feast of Theophany was definitively connected with the remembrance
of Christ’s baptism, it too became a baptismal feast.
When the Forerunner saw him who is our Enlightenment,
who enlightens every man coming to be baptized,
his heart rejoiced and his hand trembled.
He pointed
Him out to the people and said:
“This is the Savior of Israel, who delivers us from corruption! O
Christ God.
O sinless One, glory to you!”
When you bowed
your head to the Forerunner,
you crushed the heads of the dragons;
and
when you stood in the midst of the stream,
you let your light shine upon all creatures,
that they might glorify you,
our Savior,
who enlighten our souls”
- Stichera at Vespers -
