Bringing baptism home

Orthodox believers sanctify residences with holy water to celebrate Theophany

Orthodox Christians celebrate Theophany in various ways around the world. Some release doves as a symbol of the Holy Spirit while others toss crosses into water in remembrance of Christ’s baptism. Young boys or men often dive into the water to retrieve the cross.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Theophany in various ways around the world. Some release doves as a symbol of the Holy Spirit while others toss crosses into water in remembrance of Christ’s baptism. Young boys or men often dive into the water to retrieve the cross.

— January is a busy month for the Rev. Nicholas Verdaris. The priest at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Little Rock has a flock of more than 200 parishioners and many are expecting home visits during the Epiphany season.

In the Orthodox tradition, Epiphany, or Theophany as it is traditionally called in the Eastern church, commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, as well as the revelation of the Holy Trinity.

As such, water plays an important role in the season. Verdaris will visit the homes of parishioners and bless each room with holy water. That means many miles on the odometer.

“In the olden days the church was in the center of the village but in the modern era it’s a whole different story,” he said.

Families today have busy schedules so finding time to visit homes spread out across the city is a difficult and slow process.

“For several weeks in January I’m practically living in my car,” Verdaris said. “But it’s a great blessing and privilege to be able to visit and bring this real, powerful, spiritual symbol - this reminder of God’s presence - into their house.

“So often we all lose sight that God is everywhere. When we have this service, it’s a reminder that their kitchen, their living room is filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit.”

Theophany is a Greek word meaning “manifestation or revelation of God” and Epiphany means “to reveal.” The holiday is observed by Orthodox churches and those of the West that follow the liturgical seasons. Both celebrate the manifestation of Jesus and his revelation as the son of God, but the traditions surrounding the holiday are different.

While the Orthodox observance focuses on Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Trinity and the beginning of Christ’s public ministry, churches in the Western tradition commemorate the Magi’s visit to see the newborn savior.

SEPARATE HOLY DAYS

Paul Meyendorff, professor of liturgical theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., said the observance of Epiphany for both traditions originated in the fourth century. Originally Orthodox Christians celebrated the Nativity along with the manifestation, and some still do. But for most, the two are separate holy days.

“In the East what happens is it focused on the baptism of Christ and connected with that is the blessing of water, the most visible and central part of the feast,” Meyendorff said. “It has to do with the redemption of all creation, with water being a primary symbol of creation because of the centrality of life and health.”

The story of the baptism of Jesus is found in the Gospels. The Book of Luke recounts how Jesus came to be baptized by John - “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’”

“For us it’s extremely important,” said the Rev. John Atchison, priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale. “It reveals the Trinity very clearly.”

Verdaris said John the Baptist was reluctant to baptize Jesus, realizing he was the one person who didn’t need to be spiritually cleansed.

“But Jesus firmly tells him you have to do this and the beauty of it is that John is so obedient,” he said. “Jesus didn’t need it. We did. He needed to make it clear for us to understand. It was the fulfillment of not only the prophecies but also the fulfillment of our needs and to ensure as the shepherd he would forge the way before all of us.”

GREATEST FEAST DAYS

Verdaris said Theophany is considered to be one of the greatest feast days in the life of Christ, after Easter and Christmas, because of this revelation.

“Three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - are manifest at his baptism,” he said. “So our services are all tied to the blessing of waters.”

Services at Annunciation Church will begin today with Divine Liturgy, followed by the“Small Blessing of Waters.”

“We take a font of water and ask the Holy Spirit to descend on the waters and sanctify them,” Verdaris said. “The water is then distributed to the faithful to [take] home to sanctify their homes. In the Eastern church it’s a way of helping visibly manifest the sanctified presence of the Holy Spirit through the object of water.”

On Sunday, worshippers will gather again for liturgy, which will be followed by the “Great Blessing of Waters.” It’s a more formal service and includes placing the cross in a font of water three times to emulate the baptism of Christ. Parishioners are also anointed with water.

“It’s to have this connectedness with this event at the river and a sense of spiritual renewal that the Holy Spirit sanctifies all things,” Verdaris said.

The home visits are encompassed in the concept of sanctification.

“It’s a way of highlighting that the presence of God should never be limited to the physical location of the church,” Verdaris said. “He is present in people’s homes and he is blessing their homes and lives, as well.”

Often, parishioners will keep a bottle of the holy water in their homes as a reminder of God’s presence.

That’s the case at St. Nicholas where parishioners will be given small containers ofholy water to take home after Sunday’s services.

“It’s customary for many folks to take it home. Some begin the day with a drink of the water,” Atchison said.

CROSSES OF ICE

In addition to the blessing of water in services, it’s traditional in many Orthodox congregations to bless bodies of water, such as lakes or rivers. Some churches craft crosses of ice to toss into the water and young men dive in to retrieve it - sometimes in icy conditions.

Some use stealthier means to retrieve the cross.

“A priest friend of mine in Montana would go to the Yellowstone River and toss the cross in but he tied it to a string so he could retrieve it,” Atchison said.

Atchison said Theophany marks the end of the Christmas season for the church and is a joyous time. Orthodox Christians fast for 40 days before Christmas and the days from Christmas to Epiphany are a time of feasting.

“This is a great time,” he said.

The icon or sacred painting representing Theophany features angels along the shoreline of the river while Jesus is being baptized.

“While that’s not recorded in the Gospel account, the church uses the icon to highlight that in the ancient Jewish world angels were always considered to be attendants only to God. By having them in the icon looking to Jesus further emphasizes that Jesus was divine,” Verdaris said.

Verdaris said the angels are shown with faces full of awe and wonder that God would lower himself to be born of a woman to save mankind.

“They are awed by his profound love,” he said. “It also speaks to the essence and beauty of the feast - that we should be wrapped in wonder and awe that God would be so willing to do this for us, to descend to earth to save us.”

Religion, Pages 12 on 01/05/2013

Upcoming Events