Preparing for Epiphany

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Another great holiday is coming for the Orthodox. Tomorrow we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. And today, January 18, on Epiphany Eve, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will perform the rite of the Great consecration of water in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

The day of the baptism of Christ is also called the Epiphany, since, according to the Gospel, at the moment of the baptism of Jesus in the waters of the Jordan, God was manifested in His three hypostases - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. On the eve of the holiday, on Christmas Eve, there is a strict fast.

The Russian Orthodox Church explained that the water consecrated on the eve of the Baptism of the Lord does not differ from the water consecrated on the day of the holiday itself.

According to ancient tradition, the great consecration of water is performed twice: on Epiphany Christmas Eve and on the very feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. On January 19, the primate of the church will consecrate the water in the Epiphany Cathedral.

This consecration of water is called the Great for the special solemnity of the ceremony, imbued with the memory of the baptism of the Savior in the Jordan River. Epiphany water is a great shrine. They drink it to add spiritual strength and health, consecrate homes with it. It stays fresh throughout the year or more.

Believers are preparing for trips to churches for Epiphany water and for traditional Epiphany bathing, when on Epiphany Christmas Eve priests and parishioners of many churches go to a pond where ice is cut in advance, usually in the shape of a cross. The ice-hole is called Jordan - in memory of the Jordan River, in the waters of which Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.

This year, about 1, 9 thousand places for Epiphany bathing have been organized in Russia. It is expected that about 380 thousand people will come to plunge into the festive night. According to folk tradition, those who wish to be baptized plunge into the ice-hole, three times overshadowing themselves with the sign of the cross and saying the prayer to the Trinity.

Experts remind: before you go to Jordan, you should really assess your health. Still, swimming in ice water has a number of contraindications, in particular, diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous system.

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