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The Baptism of Christ

An icon of the Baptism of Christ.

THE ICON

Christ - the central figure depicted standing in the Jordan River.

St. John the Baptist - the figure on the left; since he lived as an ascetic in the desert, his brown hair and beard are disheveled; his shirt is of brown animal skin and his cloak is green.

The Angels - standing in an attitude of worship to the Trinity. There is a fallen angel in the left corner showing Christ's defeat of evil.

The Holy Spirit - shown in the form of a dove above the figure of Christ.

THE FEAST

The feast is called Epiphany or Theophany which means shining forth or manifestation. The feast is often called Theophany, which means the shining forth and manifestation of God. The emphasis in the present-day celebration is on the appearance of Jesus as the human Messiah of Israel and the Divine Son of God, One of the Holy Trinity with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Thus, in the baptism by John in the Jordan, Jesus identifies Himself with sinners as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:20), the "Beloved" of the Father whose messianic fate it is to redeem men from their sins (Luke 3:21, Mark 1:35). And He is revealed as well as One of the Holy Trinity, testified to by the voice of the Father, and the Spirit in the form of a dove. This is the central epiphany glorified is the feast day, the Holy Trinity. (Taken from Worship, The Orthodox Faith Vol. II by Fr. Thomas Hopko)

TROPARION

WHEN YOU, LORD, WERE BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN, THE WORSHIP OF THE TRINITY WAS MADE MANIFEST. FOR THE VOICE OF THE FATHER BORE WITNESS TO YOU, AND CALLED YOU HIS BELOVED SON. AND THE SPIRIT, IN THE FORM OF A DOVE CONFIRMED THE TRUTHFULNESS OF HIS WORD. O CHRIST OUR GOD, YOU HAVE REVEALED YOURSELF AND HAVE ENLIGHTENED THE WORLD, GLORY TO YOU!

KONTAKION

TODAY YOU HAVE APPEARED TO THE UNIVERSE AND YOUR LIGHT, O LORD, HAS SHONE ON US WHO WITH UNDERSTANDING PRAISE YOU: YOU HAVE COME AND REVEALED YOURSELF, O LIGHT UNAPPROACHABLE.