Theophany

The Epiphany — Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan.

The Feast of Theophany, or Epiphany, commemorates the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ by St. John the Forerunner in the River Jordan. As Christ came up from the waters, the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father was heard — the first clear revelation of the Holy Trinity.

One of the twelve Great Feasts, Theophany celebrates the sanctification of the waters and of all creation. On this day the Church performs the Great Blessing of the Waters, and in Greek tradition the cross is cast into the sea and retrieved by swimmers as a blessing for the new year.

Feast day

On the New Calendar, Theophany is commemorated on January 6. Churches on the Old (Julian) Calendar keep the feast on January 19 of the civil calendar.

Who celebrates a name day

People with these names keep their name day on this feast:

Theophanis, Theofanis, Phanos, Phanis, Theophanes, Fanis, Fotis, Fotios, Photios, Iordanis, Theophania, Theofania, Fani, Fotini, Foteini, Photini, Fotoula, Ourania, Rania, Theopoula, Peristera

Also commemorated on January 6

• Romanos the Lacedaemonian

  Martyr, Ρωμανός ο Λακεδαιμόνιος

  New Martyr Romanos of Sparta, martyred in Constantinople in the seventeenth century.

• Theophan the Recluse

  Hierarch, Θεοφάνης ο Έγκλειστος

  St. Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov, spiritual writer.

Icon: public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.