ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar
ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY Orthodox Calendar 2016
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34th Week after Pentecost. Tone 8.
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Совершается служба великому праздникуThe Holy Theophany of Our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ (Baptism of the Lord)

Repose of St. Theophan the Recluse, bishop of Tambov (1894)

New Hieromartyr Archpriest Andrew Zimin, his wife Lydia, his mother-in-law Domnica, his two daughters, and his servant Maria, of Ussurisk, Siberia (1919).

New Hieromartyr Romanus, priest, of Lacedemonia, at Constantinople (1695).

Repose of Schemamonk Nicholas of Valaam (1824) and Schemamonk Sergius (Yanovsky) (1876), disciple of St. Herman of Alaska.

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year
According to the Daily Church Readings from the Word of God
By St. Theophan the Recluse

St. Theophan the Recluse

Theophany. [Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–7; Matt. 3:13–17]

The Baptism of the Lord is called Theophany [God Revealed] because in it the one true God, worshipped in Trinity, revealed Himself so palpably: God the Father—through the voice from heaven, God the Son, incarnate—through His baptism, and God the Holy Spirit—through the descent upon the Baptized. Here the mystery of the relationship between the persons of the Most Holy Trinity is also revealed. God the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son, but does not proceed from the Son. Here also is revealed the fact that the incarnate Divine economy of our salvation is accomplished by God the Son incarnate, coexisting with the Holy Spirit and God the Father. And it is revealed that the salvation of each person can be accomplished no way other than in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, according to the good will of the Father. All the Christian Mysteries shine here with their divine light and enlighten the minds and hearts of those who with faith celebrate this great festival. Come, let us mentally hasten on high and plunge ourselves into the contemplation of these mysteries of our salvation, singing, “When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest”—a salvation which in trinity establishes us, and in trinity saves us.

Articles

The Feast of the Theophany

Fr. Seraphim Holland

What happened to the man who had the demons taken out of him, and the demon went around deserts and rocky places, and desolate areas, and the found no place to dwell? What did the demon do? He got seven other demons worse than himself, and he went back to the man. They found his soul was all swept and garnished inside, but since the man had not lived a virtuous life since his deliverance from the one demon, and the demons were able to make their abode in him, and the last state of the man is worse than the first!

Spiritual Instruction on the Feast of the Theophany

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

It is very easy for us to be continually with Christ, to ceaselessly hear His sweet voice, and to nourish ourselves with His life-giving teaching; for the Lord Jesus Christ still abides with us. He abides with us in His Holy Gospels, through the Holy Mysteries of the Church.

About Holy Water

St. John of Shanghai

On Theophany, that is, the Day of the Lord's Baptism, every year a great miracle is performed. The Holy Spirit, coming down upon the water, changes its natural properties. It becomes incorrupt, that is it does not spoil, remains transparent and fresh for many years, receives the grace to heal illnesses, to drive away demons and every evil power, to preserve people and their dwellings from every danger, to sanctify various objects whether for church or home use.

Sermon on the Epiphany

Met. Philaret (Voznesensky)

The time has come when mankind has been consumed with activities which displease God, in which the Enemy of mankind reigns, and, as they said in old days, this Enemy makes everyone dance to his flute. This fuss and bother, which envelops our daily lives, is distasteful to God, and God is absent from it, and the Enemy of God is master and ruler of it. If we gave the promise to renounce Satan and all his works, then we must fulfill it, and try not to crush our souls with daily cares, remembering what the Church teaches: “there is one thing needful,” only one thing necessary—to remember that we must unite ourselves with Christ, that is, not only fulfill His commandments but to try to unite with Him.

Why do we bless homes on Theophany with Holy Water?

Why do we bless houses (and almost anything else that we can sprinkle) with water?

Discourse On the Day of the Baptism of Christ

St. John Chrysostom

There is not one Theophany, but two: the one actual, which already has occurred, and the second in future, which will happen with glory at the end of the world. About this one and about the other you will hear today from Paul, who in conversing with Titus, speaks thus about the present: "The grace of God hath revealed itself, having saved all mankind, decreeing, that we reject iniquity and worldly desires, and dwell in the present age in prudence and in righteousness and piety"—and about the future: "awaiting the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ"

The Baptism of the Lord

St. John of Kronstadt

What is there to wash away in Thee, Who art more pure than the sun; or to enlighten in Thee, the Sun of Righteousness? -- But is it for us sinful and short-sighted ones, deprived of far-sightedness, to gainsay the Lord Himself, Who created all tthings and Who wisely does much that is beyond word and reason?

The Miracle of the Moving of the Waters at Midnight in Pochaev Lavra

Then novice Igor Brus walked up and told me conspiratorially, “Don’t sleep tonight, or you’ll sleep through the whole Kingdom of Heaven! Come at midnight to the well. We’ll look at the bottom and see if the Lord will give us a sign—if it will “boil” as it is blessed. Tomorrow is the “Jordan”

Jesus and the Jordan River

The Jordan River flows through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Kinneret and then continues down into the Dead Sea with no outlet. It is a place of many important biblical events. However, for most Christians the first association with the river would be the scene of Jesus Christ being baptized by John the Baptist.

The Discourse on the Holy Theophany

St. Hippolytus

But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the regeneration of the layer he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after the resurrection from the dead.

Epiphany

The sixth of January is the feast of the Epiphany. Originally it was the one Christian feast of the “shining forth” of God to the world in the human form of Jesus of Nazareth. It included the celebration of Christ’s birth, the adoration of the Wisemen, and all of the childhood events of Christ such as his circumcision and presentation to the temple as well as his baptism by John in the Jordan.

Epiphany: The Celebration of Life

Archpriest Antony Gabriel

The task of theology today I believe is to "quicken" the convergence of Traditions; to recover its lost Catholicity; its wholeness in which man fulfills the Biblical injunction by offering himself, the stuff of this world, as its Priest and King. Our "hosanna" to God must ultimately be the restoration of faith, of ultimate values as we stand face to face to a hostile world. Whether we admit it or not, Christianity is in a similar position as the first Christian era.

The Jordan Reversed Its Flow!

This miraculous occurrence lasted as long as the two Crosses remained in the river. Right after the Crosses were taken out, the Jordan started reverting to its original course (to the right) until the change was complete.

How the Fathers Walk with Angels on Theophany

Priest Sergei Begiyan

The most important trait of holy water is its incorruptibility, without having any change to its chemical composition. Incorruption belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven, and when we sprinkle something with holy water, we want to impart to it God’s grace, present in the water. And the first place we all want to see sanctified is our home.

Sermon for the Sunday after Theophany

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Brethren! In order to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ repentance is needed; in order to remain in this salvific faith, repentance is needed; in order to be successful in it, repentance is needed; in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, repentance is needed.

On the Baptism of Christ

St. Theophan the Recluse

Along with lost paradise, the heavens were shut closed by God’s righteous judgment. But as a strong gate cannot hold back a powerful surge of water, so did the fortress of righteous judgment finally melt from the fire of Divine love—and now the heavens are opened. Brethren, let us also open the forces of our nature, let us insatiably receive the revealed God, and delight in Him. Let us soak all our senses with Him, all our thoughts and desires.
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