A holiday dedicated to the great event - BaptismOur Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan, appeared in the very first years of Christianity. He was loved by all the followers of the Christian teaching, as he allowed them to relive the exciting moments of their own baptism and mentally immerse themselves in the world of this sacrament. When the icons began to enter the church, then along with the other appeared the icon "The Baptism of the Lord." But first let's talk about the event, which served as an excuse for its writing.
The forerunner of the Lord on the banks of the Jordan
The Holy Gospel tells us how he sentThe Lord of the Prophet John, to prepare people for the coming of His Son Jesus Christ. Previous to Jesus, John was called in the New Testament as John the Baptist, or John the Baptist. By the will of the Lord God, he appealed to the Jews to come to repent of their sins and cleanse the souls for the acceptance of the Kingdom of God. He himself was the greatest ascetic and ascetic. Having lived all his life in the conditions of the harsh Judean desert and rejecting worldly joys, Saint John gave himself all of himself to the service of God.
His sermons full of life and truth metwide response. The Gospel speaks of the thousands of Jews who hurried to his call. All of them received John's baptism in the waters of the Jordan River. It was a symbolic act of washing the body and soul, but it was not yet a blessed Christian sacrament. This was just a preparation for him.
The ancestor of the Kingdom of God
By this time, Jesus Christ, who lived inNazareth and was not yet known to anyone, turned thirty years old. According to Judaic law, this was the age at which a man was given the right to become a teacher and be called a "rabbi". Since then, he began his public ministry, whose goal was to show people the way to the Kingdom of God, that is, to the new humanity, reborn after the fall.
The gate to it was baptism, since withoutpurification from sins and repentance the entrance there was closed. Jesus Christ, as the ancestor of this Kingdom, was the first to enter into it, and consequently, despite his sinlessness, could not bypass his purifying gates. This was the reason that one day John the Baptist, speaking his next sermon, saw Jesus approaching him.
The Baptism of Jesus Christ and the Establishment of the Sacrament
Having understood the divine power of the One who is to himJohn went into confusion, which was expressed in his words about his unworthiness to perform a ritual in relation to the Messiah himself. Jesus reassured him by quoting the words from the Holy Scripture, which testified to the Divine predestination of all that is happening. What followed this is the icon "The Baptism of the Lord."
Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan, performing the rite andthereby sanctifying it and elevating it to the rank of sacrament. Everyone present heard a voice from heaven that testified of the divine nature of Jesus. At the same time, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. All this proved to the people that in Jesus of Nazareth two entities - human and divine - are combined.
Epiphany at the Jordan and its dating
Epiphany holiday, established in honor of thisevents, and the icon "Epiphany of the Lord" have one more name - Epiphany. The explanation for this is quite obvious: on the bank of the Jordan, God revealed to man all three of His hypostases. The person who baptized - the Son who was from heaven - the Father who descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove - the Holy Spirit. Thus, the icon "Baptism of the Lord" - the Epiphany - is not just an image of the biblical event, but a presentation of a deep religious and philosophical doctrine.
The Evangelist Luke gives us the opportunity todefinite accuracy to date this event. He writes that John the Baptist began his sermons in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. According to historical data, this should correspond to 779 from the foundation of Rome, or 30 AD. Since there is a small time interval between the beginning of John the Baptist's sermons and the appearance of Jesus Christ on the Jordan bank, we can conclude that in the same year the Baptism of the Lord happened.
Icon, the photo of which is placed at the beginning of the article,represents Jesus Christ standing in the Jordanian waters and John the Baptist committing a rite over Him. On the right side, the angels' tiers bowed in awe, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. Most Orthodox icons adhere to this particular compositional interpretation in the depiction of this event.
Other names of this holiday
It is noteworthy that the ancient RussiaThis holiday had different names at first. He was known as "Epiphanius", which in Greek means "phenomenon", "Theophany" - theophany, and also "the festival of lights." Undoubtedly, there was an unquenchable Light brought by God into this world. The icon of the Baptism of the Lord, the description of which was set forth above, also has one more symbolic meaning, which goes back to the Old Testament. It is in it that water is presented as the beginning of life. Let us recall how from it, under the influence of the life-giving Spirit, all living things appeared. Therefore, the Lord God and life are inseparable.
Features of the holiday, set by the church
Икона «Крещение Господне» представляет один из the main holidays of Christians. It is celebrated on January 19, Christmas Christmas is coming to an end, which lasted from the day of the Nativity of Christ, that is, from January 7. In memory of how Jesus Christ sanctified the water in the Jordan by his baptism, every year on the eve of the feasts in all Orthodox churches, the consecration of water is performed. Special prayers are read, and the priest immerses the cross three times in the water.
On the day of the feast, they sanctify the water in the reservoirs,having made a procession to them beforehand. Often the water service on the reservoirs is accompanied by a symbolic immersion in the hole of the most zealous pilgrims. On a frosty winter day, they find courage, having crossed themselves with the sign of the cross, to plunge into the icy water. The hole in the ice is usually made in the form of a cross. Also, in the hands of the clergy present at the same time, there must necessarily be a cross and the icon "Epiphany of the Lord." The meaning of this ritual is quite understandable - the triumph of the spirit over the flesh.
Folk customs on this holiday
On the eve of this day, the church established a one-dayfast. It is called Epiphany Eve. On this day it is customary to eat a symbolic dish - osovo. This is a decoction of wheat and honey. The celebration of Baptism is rich in various traditions. So, for example, on Christmas Eve housewives baked a special cookie - crosses. In the morning on holiday they were eaten with holy water. In the form of baking cookies and its design a special meaning was laid, understood only by those for whom it was intended. During the holidays, it was not for women to go for water to the river, it was the responsibility of men. Linen in the river was not rinsed during these days and a week after that, as it was considered a disrespect for the holiday.
Christians all over the world celebrate EpiphanyLord. The icon, the photo of which ends the article, belongs to the Western Church, however, the similarity of the plot composition attracts attention. The general even the arrangement of figures. Added only some elements that do not include the Orthodox icon "The Baptism of the Lord." The meaning of the icon is the same - Jesus Christ reveals the gates of the Kingdom of God by his immersion in the stream of the Jordan.
