The Feast of Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Jesus Christ was baptized at the age of thirty by John the Baptist before openly going out to preach and the beginning of the gospel of the New Teaching, sealed by the suffering and death of the God-man for the salvation of the human race.
This age for the beginning of His feat was chosen by Christ for two reasons. Firstly, by the age of thirty, the physical formation of the human body is completed. Secondly, only from this age a man in Jewish society was considered mature. No sane Jew would listen to the young man and accept instructions from him. This event is described by all four Evangelists (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-34).
The Holy Scriptures say almost nothing about the period of Christ’s life from His bringing to the Temple until His baptism by John the Baptist. The only thing we know is about the escape of the holy family to Egypt and the return from it, as well as about Christ’s visit to the Jerusalem Temple at the age of twelve.
There is an explanation for this fact. The Gospel does not aim to describe the life of Jesus Christ, but to preach to people the mystery of the incarnation of the Son and the Word of God, His teaching and the feat accomplished for the sake of the human race. In essence, all four Gospels were manuals for the catechumen. From this perspective, it becomes clear that there was no need to describe each and every event in the life of Christ. The coming of twelve-year-old Jesus to the Temple is preserved for us because it was one of the first revelations of the truth that He is the Son of God.
The absence of descriptions of events from the childhood and youth of Christ in no way means that during this period of his life He was not in Judea. All this time, Christ lived with his Mother and adoptive father Joseph “and was in obedience to them” ( OK. 2:51). Many claim that Christ traveled to other countries during this period of his life. According to some, for example, in India, where he lived until the age of thirty, and then approached the Jordan River. Such assumptions and unfounded reasoning are the fruit of an unhealthy fantasy and are not appropriate here. The Jews were ardent fundamentalists, and the preaching of Christ coming from a foreign country would have caused great scandal and bewilderment.
The Gospels contain three testimonies, from which it is clear that at the beginning of His preaching, Christ was well known among his compatriots, who were amazed at His wisdom.
The first is found in the Gospel of John. We read that when Christ taught the people in the Temple, “the Jews marveled, saying, How does he know the Scriptures without having studied?” ( In. 7:15). The Jews certainly knew that Christ had not been trained in any of the many famous schools of that era. The second testimony is contained in the Gospel of Matthew, which, like the first, describes the surprise of the inhabitants of Judea when Christ taught them in the synagogue. People were amazed and said: “Where did He get such wisdom and strength? Is He not the son of carpenters? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joses and Simon and Judas? And are not His sisters all among us? Where did He get all this from? ( Matthew 13:54-56). Not only was Christ well known among His countrymen, but also His entire family: mother, adoptive father, and half-brothers from Joseph's previous marriage. The third testimony belongs to the Evangelist Mark: “Where did He get this from? What kind of wisdom was given to Him, and how are such miracles performed by His hands? Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Josiah, Judas and Simon?” ( Mk. 6:2-3). It is identical in every way to the previous one with the only difference that here Christ Himself is called a “carpenter,” from which it follows that people were well aware of His occupation.
From the above Gospel evidence we can conclude that at the age of thirty, Christ lived in a certain environment, surrounded by half-brothers, was well known among his compatriots, and everyone was amazed at His wisdom and the signs He performed. A person’s amazement indicates awareness of the existence of an object, but ignorance of its nature.
When the Youth Christ came to Jerusalem for the holiday, He got lost and only three days later his parents found Him in the Jerusalem Temple, “sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” And, according to the holy evangelist, “all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers” ( OK. 2:46-47).
We will not delve into all the possible details of this incident, but will turn to two characteristic passages of Holy Scripture that have a direct connection with the incarnation of the Son of God. The first refers to the life of Christ after He was brought to the Temple: “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him” ( OK. 2:40). The second follows after the incident in the Temple: “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and men” ( OK. 2:52).
The age of Christ and His physical growth does not cause much misunderstanding. The maturation of Christ occurred naturally, since, being perfect God, He did not cease to be perfect man. The problem arises regarding the expressions “filled with wisdom” and “advanced in wisdom” in connection with the fact that human nature was deified in the Hypostasis of God the Word at the moment of its reception in the womb of the Most Holy Theotokos.
The heresiarch Nestorius argued that the Blessed Virgin gave birth to an ordinary man, who after some time accepted divine grace. This heresy was condemned by the Church because, according to Orthodox teaching, human nature was deified immediately at the moment of its perception by the nature of the Trinity God. The expression “advanced in wisdom and age,” according to the interpretation of St. John of Damascus, means that Christ revealed “the wisdom that is in Him,” according to the growth of the body. Wisdom dwelt in Christ initially, due to the hypostatic unity of the divine and human natures, but was revealed depending on the age of the God-man Christ.
This teaching is developed more thoroughly by St. Theophylact, whose thoughts are based on the works of the Holy Fathers, and especially St. John Chrysostom. Priest Theophylact says that Christ could have become an adult man from his mother’s womb, but for people this would have been implausible. According to bodily growth in Christ, the wisdom of God the Word was revealed. Jesus did not become wise because of some mental advancement, “but showed a small degree of innate wisdom, according to the age of the body.” If Christ had revealed the fullness of His wisdom in infancy, people would have perceived Him as a monster.
For clarity, let's give the following example. From birth, every child carries innate gifts (talents), not all of which are manifested in childhood. Some of them can be seen in early childhood, but most of them will appear as a person develops physically and intellectually. A child may have potential wisdom, but only becomes wise when mature. The same thing happened with Christ, with the only difference that instead of talents, the wisdom of God the Word was manifested in Christ.
The Baptism of Jesus Christ, which took place in the Jordan River, is also called the Epiphany (Θεοφάνεια) or the apparition (Επιφάνεια). In the early Church, Epiphany was celebrated on the same day as Christmas (January 6/19). In the fourth century, the two holidays were separated and the celebration of Christmas was moved to December 25/January 7. On the day when the pagans sang the sun god, Christians began to celebrate the birth of the Sun of Truth. Saint Gregory the Theologian gave Epiphany another name - the day of Light (Φώτα), since with baptism the catechumens are enlightened.
The word “Epiphany” was first used by the Apostle Paul: “God appeared in the flesh, justified Himself in the Spirit, showed Himself to the angels, preached to the nations, was accepted into the world, ascended in glory” ( 1 Tim. 3:16) and is mainly associated with the birth of Jesus Christ. The word “appearance” is also found in the words of the Apostle: “for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men...” ( Titus 2:11) and mostly refers to the baptism of Christ, because on that day people knew God's grace.
On the day of the baptism of Jesus Christ, through the appearance of the Most Holy Trinity and the confession of the Honest Forerunner, there was a universal confession that God the Son and the Word of God is “one of the Trinity” and became man in order to save the human race from sin, the devil and death.
When talking about the baptism of Jesus Christ, one cannot help but mention the honest Forerunner - St. John the Baptist. This was the greatest personality of that time, a great prophet who found himself on the verge of two Testaments. He is the last prophet of the Old Testament and the first of the New.
The conception of John the Baptist occurred miraculously through Divine intervention. However, unlike Christ, the Forerunner was not conceived by the Holy Spirit, but through the seed of his father Zechariah. Birth of St. John the Baptist was accompanied by a number of miraculous events. The presence of the Forerunner in the desert from the age of three indicates the celestial life of the ascetic. Throughout his short honest life, the Forerunner preached repentance to people, the purpose of which was to prepare the people to accept the Messiah. His humility knew no bounds. His death is evidence of the achievement of unattainable heights of God's grace.
Evangelist Luke mentions the relationship of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the mother of the Forerunner - the righteous Elizabeth. It is known that the Annunciation of the Mother of God occurred when John was a six-month-old fetus and was in his mother’s womb. It was then that he received the Holy Spirit and became a prophet. Consequently, the Forerunner was six months older than Jesus Christ.
As soon as she learned that Elizabeth was pregnant, the Blessed Virgin went to visit her. At their meeting, the first prophetic action of the Forerunner was realized: as soon as the Virgin Mary approached Elizabeth, “the baby leaped in her womb” ( OK. 1:41). The still unborn prophet passed on his prophetic gift to his mother, for through this leaping Elizabeth recognized the Mother of the Lord (St. Gregory Palamas).
Sacred Tradition assigned many names to John the Baptist. "John" means "gift of God." “The Forerunner” reveals the mission of his life - he is the forerunner, the great harbinger of the Messiah. He is called "The Baptist" because he baptized Jesus Christ. In the canon of the Feast of Epiphany, St. Kozma, Bishop of Mayum, characterizes the Forerunner with three epithets: “the voice of the Word”, “luminiferous lamp” and “lightning of the sun”. Since the Son and Word of God is the hypostatized Word of God the Father, then John is His voice. Christ, as God, is the eternal and uncreated light, and the Forerunner is the lamp carrying Him. And since Christ is the shining light of the Divinity of truth, then John is His lightning, foreshadowing the coming sun, the morning star. So, all these names and epithets reflect the essence of the life feat of John the Baptist - the foretelling of the coming of the Messiah.
The word “baptism” (βάπτισμα), according to St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, comes from the Greek verb “βάπτω”, which means to immerse, and means immersion (βούτιγμα). From the verb “βάπτω” comes the verb “βαπτίζω” (to baptize) and the perfect “βεβάπτισμαι” (baptized), and from there the noun “βάπτισμα”, which means baptism. Thus, baptism is directly connected with water.
In the Holy Fathers we find a description of several types of baptism. For example, St. Gregory the Theologian gives five types: the first is Mosaic baptism, which brought temporary cleansing to people; second - Predtechino - baptism of repentance; then - Christ's baptism, through which, through the Holy Spirit, all people become Christians; the fourth is the blood-sealed baptism of martyrdom; fifth - baptism of repentance and tears.
Eight types of baptism are given by St. John of Damascus. The first, in his opinion, was the baptism of the global flood, which occurred in order to suppress the sin that had spread throughout the earth. The second is the baptism of the sea and the cloud, when the Israelites passed through the Red Sea and were covered by a cloud day and night. The third is legalistic, the implementation of which was prescribed by the law of Moses; it was closely connected with the purity of the body. The fourth was John's baptism. It was introductory because it opened the path to repentance for the baptized. It did not bring remission of sins, but only pre-cleansed people, opened the inner eyes of the soul, helping a person to feel his sinfulness, and also gave strength to await the final, perfect baptism of Jesus Christ. The fifth was the baptism of Jesus Himself when He entered the Jordan. It was special because Christ had no sin and He did not confess. The sixth is the complete (τέλειο) baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is still performed in the Church with water and the Holy Spirit. The seventh is the baptism of blood and martyrdom, received for our sake by Christ. We are talking about the cross of the Lord, as well as the suffering of the holy saints who shared Christ’s passion. The last, eighth baptism, which is not called saving, because it overthrows and endlessly punishes sin, is hellfire.
St. John Chrysostom makes a distinction between Jewish and Christian baptism. The first cleansed a person from bodily dirt, and not from spiritual sins. Christian baptism is incomparably higher, for it cleanses a person’s soul and imparts the Holy Spirit. The bridge between Jewish and Christian baptism is the baptism of Venerable John the Baptist.
Since Christ was a perfect God and a perfect man not involved in sin, and John’s baptism led people to the realization of their sinfulness and prepared the people to accept the perfect baptism of Christ, the question arises: why was the Savior Himself baptized? The answer to it reveals great truths to us.
St. John of Damascus says that Christ was baptized not for His purification, “but for the sake of taking upon Himself our purification,” just as He takes upon Himself torment for our sake. He was baptized in order to crush the “heads of dragons”, since there was a belief that demons lived in water; to wash away sin and bury all the old Adam in the waters of the Jordan; to sanctify the Baptist himself, for it was not John who sanctified Christ, but Christ of John, when the latter laid his hand on the head of Jesus; in order to observe the law given by Him and not become a violator of it; to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity that took place at that moment; to become an image and example of our perfect baptism (τέλειο βάπτισμα), and now performed by water and the Holy Spirit.
In addition, Christ sanctified the waters by baptism in the Jordan River. Therefore, on the day of Epiphany, we perform the rite of blessing of water, in which we pray to the Holy Spirit to descend and sanctify the waters. United with God's grace, water ceases to be the wetness of the Fall and becomes the water of rebirth.
Patristic tradition compares the baptism of Christ with the miraculous passage of the Israelites across the Red Sea. Just as through the miraculous action of the incorporeal Word the Egyptians were drowned and the Israelites were saved, so at baptism, by the power of the incarnate Word, the corrupted man was recreated, and “the dragons were crushed,” the demons lost their power.
St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain says that to recreate a damaged vessel, a potter needs two things: water to knead the clay, and fire to burn the vessel. God, the Great Potter of our creation, used the same thing. To recreate the broken human nature, He used fire, which He has in Himself (for it is an “all-consuming flame” that incinerates all uncleanness) and water from the Jordan River.
Through the incarnation of Christ and the fulfillment of all stages of the divine Economy, one of which is baptism, the recreation of human nature is accomplished. This was possible for two reasons: firstly, because, despite the Fall, it was not destroyed, and secondly, because the Lord is the Creator of man, and He is also his Recreator.
The coexistence of two elements - water and fire - is completely impossible. Fire cannot flare up and burn in a wet environment. In the Jordan River they co-exist, because divine fire is uncreated, and water is created, and the first devolves the second.
Jordan became famous in history for a number of events, but mainly for the preaching and baptism of John the Baptist, as well as the baptism of Christ in it.
According to St. John Chrysostom, Jordan is an image of the human race. It originates at the confluence of two rivers: Jor and Dan (hence the name of the river) and flows into the Dead Sea.
The entire human race originated from two sources - Adam and Eve - and by sin was brought to death - the dead sea of our life, where death and corruption live. Christ, having become man, entered the waters of this Jordan, that is, the human race, and thereby conquered death, returning people to their original life.
In one of the psalms, the prophet David says: “The sea saw and ran; Jordan turned back" ( Ps. 113:3). We are talking about the amazement of the sea and the Jordan River when the sinless Christ descended into its waters. This amazement is also contained in the prayer of water blessing, written by St. Sophronius of Jerusalem: “The Jordan returned to sleep, seeing the Divine fire in the body of the one descending and entering it.” The Fire of the Divine, clothed in the body of Jesus Christ, descended into the waters of the Jordan.
This prophecy comes true to a certain extent in the life of every Christian. The sea is a person’s life filled with difficulties, which is why it is called the “salty sea.” Jordan, as we said above, is human life, which, after the fall of the primordial ones, headed towards death and merged with mortality and corruption. With repentance, a person gets rid of the “salty sea” of existence. His life is transformed, changes and turns to its real sources, acquiring a completely different meaning (St. Hesychius).
The revelation of the Trinity God was one of the purposes of both the incarnation of God the Word and the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River. Despite the fact that God has one essence and nature, He is Trinitarian. At the baptism of Jesus Christ, the appearance of the Holy Trinity occurred: the voice of the Father sounded, testifying that Christ standing in the Jordan is His Son, and the Holy Spirit appeared “in the form of a dove.”
A similar revelation of the Trinity God and the testimony of the Father occurs before the beginning of Christ’s suffering, during His transfiguration on Mount Tabor. We will look at this event in more detail in the chapter on the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ.
With extraordinary theological insight, St. Gregory Palamas analyzes the reason for the appearance of the Trinity God at precisely this moment. He says that in the Holy Scriptures the Trinity God appears twice: at the creation of man and at his re-creation. The creation of man was the general decision of the Trinity God: “Let us make man in Our image [and] after Our likeness” ( Life 1:26). The Father created man in the image of the Word and in the Holy Spirit breathed life into him. Since the energy of the Trinity God is common, the entire Trinity took part in the creation of man: “The Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit creates all things.”
The appearance of the Trinity God was also necessary during the re-creation of man, for this reveals another theological truth - only man is the “earthly servant” of the Most Holy Trinity, and only he is created in the image and likeness of the Trinity God. As St. explains. Gregory Palamas, animals do not have reason or speech, but only a life-giving spirit. This means that with the death of animals, their spirit disappears, since it has no essence, but only energy. Angels and Archangels have reason and words, but do not have a spirit that gives life to the body, since they are supersensible. And man has a mind, a word, and a spirit that gives life to the body. Therefore, he alone is created “in the image” of the Trinitarian Deity. However, for the same reason, the Son and Word of God, for the sake of salvation and transformation of the world, became precisely a man, and not an Angel. Man embraces the entire creation. So, through the deified man, the entire creation was transformed and changed.
God the Father testifies that Jesus Christ is His beloved Son. In the Gospel of Matthew, this testimony is depicted in the third person: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” ( Matt. 3:17). The Evangelist Mark says in the second: “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” ( Mk. 1:11). This difference is insignificant. What is important for us is that the Speaker - God the Father - testifies to His Word - the beloved Son. God's Word was born from the Father before all ages, and it is birth that is the hypostatic property of the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity.
St. Gregory Palamas pays special attention to the words “in whom I am well pleased.” In order to comprehend the full depth of these words, as well as the entire Divine Incarnation, it is necessary to understand the difference between God’s will “by good pleasure” and will “by permission.” The will of God is one, but sometimes He acts “by good will” - the way He Himself desires it, and sometimes “by permission” - when He gives in and allows something to happen. God did not create man for the fall, however, he allowed it to happen, because man himself desired it. The Lord does not transgress the will of man, and therefore allows everything that the latter desires to come true. Death, illness, like many other things, were not desired by God, but the Lord allowed them to happen. As we see, there is a big difference between God’s will “by good pleasure” and “by permission.”
The Father's testimony, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” indicates that the incarnation is the “good will” of the Trinity God, or, in other words, the “previous will.” It follows from this that the incarnation of Jesus Christ was prepared by God long before the fall and regardless of the behavior of the primordial ones, because only through the unity of the created with the uncreated in the hypostasis of God the Word can the former be sanctified and saved.
Thus, all the Old Testament legislation and promises, being a consequence of the Fall, were imperfect. They did not occur according to the previous will of God, but by permission, and were supposed to prepare the world for the incarnation of God’s Word. The completion of peacemaking was the union of the created with the uncreated - the divine nature with the human. Man was created “in the image” of God, so that he could contain his Prototype. The same applies to the law taught in paradise. The angelic ranks also strive for this final and primary goal—the Divine-Human Economy.
The dignity and importance of the incarnation of the Son and the Word of God is contained in the salvation of man and the renewal of all creation. The center of the world and all world history is the God-man Christ, and in no case a man. The biggest mistake of our time is the definition of man as the center of the world. It can be said with certainty that all the ascetic work of a Christian is aimed at refuting the human-centric worldview and acquiring a God-human-centric worldview.
The testimony of God the Father that the one baptized in the Jordan is not just a man, but His beloved Son, directly points to the Divinity of the Word and His consubstantiality with the Father. According to the Patristic Tradition, the voice of the Father is contemplation, revelation, and not something that is perceived by the human senses. This is confirmed by a similar testimony of God the Father on Mount Tabor, when, unable to withstand the brightest contemplation, the disciples fell on their faces. The body also participates in the contemplation of God’s glory, but without transformation of the senses it is impossible to contemplate it.
In an effort to show the Divinity of the Word, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews says: “He is the brightness of His glory and the image of His hypostasis” ( Heb. 1:3). In other words, God the Son is “the radiance of the glory of the Father.”
The word "radiance" means a glow emanating from any body. If the body is created, then its radiance is also created. If glory is uncreated, then its radiance is uncreated. When it is said that God the Son is the radiance (glory) of God the Father, this does not mean that He is the energy of the Father, since God the Word is a separate Person. And this Person is God, consubstantial with His Father, from which it follows that They have one glory and one energy. The same applies to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is essence, energy and persons. These are the essence of three Persons, Which have a common nature, essence, energy and glory.
Many of the Holy Fathers, for example St. Theophylact, use the word “radiance” to reflect individual theological truths. It is used to show that God the Son is born from God the Father, like the radiance from the sun; that this birth is dispassionate, like the birth of glory from the sun; that just as the sun does not decrease through its luminosity, so God the Father does not decrease at all when giving birth to God the Son. Finally, just as the glory and radiance of the sun are inseparable from it, so God the Son shines eternally and without beginning from God the Father.
In the appearance of the Trinity God on the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit also participated - the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, consubstantial with God the Father and God the Son and equal to them in everything. John the Baptist "saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and descending upon Him" ( Matt. 3:16). At the moment of the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove “on Him,” that is, on Christ, the testimony of God the Father was heard.
The Holy Spirit appeared repeatedly, either in the form of wind, or in the form of thunder, or a tongue of fire. At the baptism of Christ, the Holy Spirit appears “like a dove.” This means that He was not a dove, but had the image of one. The Holy Spirit is uncreated, like all the Persons of the Holy Trinity.
The appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove reminds us of the events of Noah's flood, when the dove sent by Noah returned with an olive branch in its beak, thus announcing the end of the flood. At the baptism of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, “like a dove,” testifies to the resolution of the flood sin. There was no olive branch (ελαίας) in His beak, but He testifies to the mercy (έλεος) of God - about Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God the Father.
In addition, the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove speaks of the innocence and meekness of Christ. The dove is the purest creature that does not live in stinking places. Likewise, the Most Pure Holy Spirit is never found in the midst of the stench of sin.
The descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove on Christ and the simultaneous testimony of the Father, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” do not occur without reason. This is an indication of the consubstantiality of the Persons of the Holy Trinity and the difference between John the Baptist and Christ. Until this moment, the people deeply revered John the Baptist, while Christ was unknown. The indication of the Holy Spirit, in conjunction with the Father's voice, revealed to people Christ - the Son of God who descended to save man (Priest Theophylact).
The degree of holiness and vision of God of the Honest Forerunner was great. In the lives of God's saints, we more than once encounter the experience of seeing God, contemplating the glory of the Holy Trinity in the image of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was honored to hear the voice of God the Father, to behold the Word of God and God's Spirit. This contemplation was not a sensory vision. A person can see God with his bodily eyes, however, in order to withstand this vision, the eyes must first be transformed. The supernatural revelation and appearance of the Holy Trinity is also confirmed by the expressions used by the evangelists. Thus, the Evangelist Matthew says: “and behold, the heavens were opened to Him” ( Matt. 3:16), and in the Gospel of Mark we find: “and John saw the heavens opening” ( Mk. 1:10).
St. Gregory Palamas says that the use of two different verbs “opened up” and “opened up” is not accidental. They express two completely different realities that have a direct connection with the incarnation of the Son of God and the love of mankind of the Trinity God.
With Adam's disobedience, the heavens closed and man lost fellowship with God. Through the perfect obedience of the new Adam-Christ, the heavens were “opened” again, and every person had the opportunity to acquire living communion with the Lord God. Christ is the new founder of the human race. In the flesh we come from the first Adam, and in the spirit from the new Adam—Jesus Christ.
The expression “saw the heavens open” conceals another truth. Christ had all the fullness of the innumerable and incomprehensible power and energy of the Most Holy Spirit in the flesh. We also know that created things are unable to contain the uncreated energy of the Holy Spirit. The expression “the heavens opened up” reflects the powerlessness of the heavens to withstand the transition of the power of the Holy Spirit to the Divine flesh, or better said, the vision of human nature perceived and deified by God.
The created is powerless to contain the uncreated, but, nevertheless, this happens when it - the created - is strengthened by the Holy Spirit. That is why the Church sings: “in Your light you have seen light.” Saints, being strengthened by the uncreated Light, see God as light. A person is granted the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ and participates in the cleansing, enlightening and deifying energy of the Trinity God only by being a member of the Church. Those who do not participate in divine energy will one day see the heavens of their inner life open up from their powerlessness to withstand God’s presence.
The word “heaven” in the Holy Scriptures and the Tradition of the Church repeatedly means the angelic world. If we assume that in this case the heavens are Angels, then the Gospel words will again reflect a deep theological truth, namely, despite the fact that the Angels standing before God's throne are pure, since they are endlessly purified and enlightened by the Lord, they are still incomparably inferior to the highest and the perfect purity of the Trinity God, which means with the coming of the Holy Spirit not only the heavens opened up, but also the pure Angels retreated in everything. Only our nature in Christ, as God-hypostatic and monotheistic, is capable of containing the radiance and power of the Divine energy of the Most Holy Spirit
As previously stated, one of the purposes of the baptism of Jesus Christ was to become an image and example for us. Baptism is considered an introductory sacrament, since through it we enter the bosom of the Church. Just as for Christ the beginning of the world-saving feat was baptism, and then followed the passion, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, so for a Christian spiritual life begins with baptism.
In his book “Life in Christ” St. Nicholas Kavasila says that the sacrament of Baptism is birth, which, with the sacrament of Confirmation, is followed by “movement,” and after partaking of the sacrament of the Divine Eucharist, life. The Divine Eucharist is the completion of baptism, as well as all church sacraments. We are baptized and anointed so that, having become members of the Church, we can partake of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Faith is closely connected with the sacrament of Baptism. According to St. Basil the Great, faith and baptism are two inseparable paths of salvation. Baptism perfects faith, and faith confirms baptism. One is complemented and filled with another. Just as we believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, so we are baptized in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. After the Creed, which opens the gates of salvation, comes baptism, which seals our will.
There are two types of faith: introductory faith, also called faith “by hearing,” and perfect faith “by seeing.” First, a person hears about God, believes in Him, and then is baptized and anointed with holy oil. And only after acquiring spiritual experience does a person’s faith become “from seeing” or, better said, “from contemplation.” This is clearly seen in the example of the early Church, when baptism was not just a formal rite and social event, but the sacrament of a person’s entry into the Church. It was preceded by a long purification of man. Baptism is called “enlightenment” because through it, coupled with the sacrament of confirmation, the human mind is enlightened.
There are many expressions that reflect the action of Christian baptism, that is, the act performed by it. Let's look at the most typical ones.
Baptism is otherwise called “birth” because it regenerates a person. Jesus Christ himself, in a conversation with Nicodemus, said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” ( In. 3:5). The font is the spiritual womb that revives us for new life. This birth is our distinctive feature, since after baptism we become like Christ. Nikolai Kavasila says that it is for this reason that a person is given a name on the day of baptism - the day of birth in Christ.
The birth that occurs through the sacrament of holy Baptism is connected with purification and illumination. St. Gregory the Theologian says that Christ had no need for purification, for he was self-purification, but he accepts it for our sake; through holy Baptism and the sacrament of Confirmation, Christ cleanses and enlightens man. After cleansing from passions through keeping God's commandments, a person is always illuminated by the action of the Holy Spirit. St. Gregory the Theologian characteristically says: “For where there is purification, there is illumination; Without the first, the second cannot be served.”
According to Rev. John of Damascus, remission of sins is given to all who are baptized in the same way, and the grace of the Holy Spirit is given in accordance with faith and the previous cleansing of each individual. With Holy Baptism we receive the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. Rebirth is the beginning of a new life, a seal, a guardian and an enlightenment.
The immersion of Christ in the Jordan River, like the baptism of each of us, is a wondrous flood, surpassing Noah's flood. Then water killed human nature, but now baptismal water gives life to those who perish in sin. Then Noah built an ark from wood that was not subject to rotting, and now the “reasonable” (νοητός) Noah - Christ, built an ark from the body of the immaculate Virgin Mary. Then a dove with an olive leaf in its beak announced the good deeds of the Lord Christ, now the Holy Spirit “like a dove” pointed to the all-merciful Lord (Proclus of Constantinople).
Everything that happened at the baptism of Christ in the waters of the Jordan is repeated in our lives with the sacrament of holy Baptism.
With the feast of Epiphany, many of the deepest theological truths were revealed to the world. To the above, it is necessary to add others that have a direct connection with our baptism, such as personal perception and experience of the holiday. Mainly, it is necessary to highlight the three most characteristic ones.
First. All those who are baptized and anointed with holy oil are called Christians, because they are disciples of Christ and receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit. However, one does not exclude the other, since we become disciples of Christ through the grace received in the sacraments. According to the word of St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, the Lord's anointed (χριστοί) are all Christians “as if anointed with life-giving anointing,” through which the grace and communion of the Holy Spirit is expressed. If the Old Testament kings, priests and prophets were called God's anointed, being anointed with ordinary imperfect oil, then how much more correct is it to call those anointed with the Holy Anointing as God's anointed. Evangelist John writes: “the anointing which you received from Him remains in you” ( 1 John 2:27). And the Apostle Paul confirms: “He who established you and me in Christ and anointed us is God, who sealed us and gave a deposit of the Spirit into our hearts” ( 2 Cor. 1:21-22). The anointing of the Holy Spirit, combined with enlightenment and illumination of the mind, is the betrothal of the Spirit and the seal of God.
Second. With baptism, a person becomes engaged to the Holy Spirit, accepts it with the possibility of “spiritual completion.” St. Gregory Palamas says that the baby accepts from his parents the opportunity, upon reaching the appropriate age, to become an adult husband and the recipient of his father's heritage; however, he loses it if he dies young. The same thing happens to a Christian. With baptism, he receives the power to become the son of God and the heir of eternal blessings, if he does not die first by a “mental” death (νοητός θάνατος), whose name is sin. Consequently, having lost communion with God, having died spiritually, a Christian also loses this opportunity he received with the sacrament of baptism. Of course, grace does not disappear, does not leave the human heart, but it does not create salvation in it.
Christ commanded his disciples to go and teach all nations, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” ( Matt. 28:19-20). The expressions “baptizing” and “teaching them to observe” indicate a way that leads a person to spiritual completion.
Third. When the grace of baptism becomes covered with a crust of sin, a baptism of repentance and tears must necessarily follow. Monastic tonsure is called “second baptism,” for it is a life of constant contrition for sins, repentance and purification, through which a person achieves previous glory. St. Gregory of Nyssa characteristically says on this occasion: “A tear is equal to a font, and contrition returns the departed grace.” One single drop of repentant tears is equivalent to baptismal water and truly returns a person to the state that preceded the Fall. Of course, tears must be born in an atmosphere of repentance, as the Orthodox Church teaches.
Christ was baptized to keep the law and impart His grace to water, all creation and man. Thus, He gave every person the opportunity to acquire the grace of adoption—the Manifestation of God in his personal life. The appearance of God is the knowledge of God, which, being an event of an existential nature, leads to salvation.
Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos) about the Council of 2016
The Greek Orthodox newspaper Ορθόδοξος Τύπος publishes on May 2 an article by Metropolitan. Hierotheos (Vlahos) with his thoughts on the upcoming Eighth Ecumenical (Great and Holy) Council in 2016.
In an article entitled “Boundaries and conditions for the successful holding of the Holy and Great Pan-Orthodox Council,” Met. Hierotheus (Vlachos), a representative of the so-called “neo-Orthodoxy”, or otherwise “political hesychasm”, proposes to approve at the 2016 Council the main dogmas of this Greek modernist movement.
Yes, Metropolitan. Hierotheus expresses hope
that during the finalization of the question of the relationship of the Orthodox Church to the rest of the Christian world, a word will be said about analogia entis and analogia fidei, which are one of the most basic differences in the field of theological image between the Orthodox Church and Papism. And this is because if the Council does not deal with theological and dogmatic issues, then its power will be completely lost.
In this matter, Met. Hierotheus, as we see, firmly professes the dogmas of “neo-Orthodoxy”, approved back in the 1950s. O. John Romanidis.
The struggle against analogia entis (analogy of being) and analogia fidei (analogy of faith) is akin to apophatic theology, better known in Russian modernism. Both apophatics and neo-Orthodoxy deny that the Holy Scriptures and dogmatic formulas have at least some true relationship to God (see Romanides, John Fr. Analogy of being and analogy of faith // Patristic Theology. Parakatatheke Publications, 2004. P. 129 -134). This apophatism, in particular, opens the way both to a perverted understanding of Orthodoxy in the spirit of Gnostic politics, and to unbridled ecumenism. In particular, the same “anti-papist” Fr. Romanides calmly participated in the ecumenical dialogue with the Judaists.
The neo-Orthodox polemic with analogia entis and analogia fidei is not in any way original or orthodox, since it repeats the anti-Catholic polemic of Karl Barth, who proceeded from the radical atheistic doctrine of God as the “Absolutely Other.”
At the same time, representatives of “neo-Orthodoxy” - Fr. Romanidis, and after them Met. Hierotheus - they claim that their teaching has the merit that it refutes Catholicism. This, however, is completely incorrect, since Catholic modernism of the 20th century. I fully agree on this issue with atheistic Protestantism and “neo-Orthodoxy” (See chapter Bouillard, Barth, and the Doctrine of Analogy in the book Boersma, Hans. Nouvelle théologie and sacramental ontology. A return to mystery. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 104-112, and also in the discussion of analogia entis in Urs von Balthasar, pp. 121-135).
Metropolitan Hierotheus does not forget to insert the remark that when writing documents (of the Council - Ed.), it is necessary to participate in their compilation by bishops and theologians, who would check the terminology used, so that there are no statements in the spirit of neo-scholasticism, essential and metapatristic theology. What to do, however, with the fact that Patristic theology is essential from beginning to end? It turns out that Met. Hierotheus urges us not to allow mention of the fact that God truly exists, that God exists. In this anti-Orthodox case, Metropolitan. Hierotheus has a powerful ally in the person of one of the main ideologists of the Council - whose “theology of communication” is precisely anti-essentialist.
In addition to such a daring attempt to “promote” his heresy at the upcoming Council, Met. Hierotheus (Vlachos) reports little interesting, but everything is basically expected and chewed up long ago by the “Eastern Papists.”
In the spirit of Greek nationalism, the Metropolitan condemns the division of the Orthodox Church into three directions: between Greek-speaking, Slavic and Arab Orthodox Christians. This division has existed, however, for more than a thousand years and has not yet brought any harm, as can be judged by the host of Saints in various Local Churches.
The Metropolitan adds: Of course, language is not a problem in the Orthodox Church and in theology, but the problem is nationalism, which, although it was condemned at the Council of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1872, is in fact a gaping wound in the body of the Church and is connected with the serious issue of the Diaspora. At the same time, just in the spirit of Greek nationalism, Metropolitan. Hierotheus does not mention that neither the Russian nor any of the Slavic Local Churches joined the “anathema” on the so-called “ethnophyletism”, which was proclaimed by the Council of 1872 in Istanbul as part of the struggle against the Bulgarian Church.
Metropolitan Hierotheus also makes unfounded claims regarding America, regarding which he for some reason claims that at the church level, it is subordinate to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and all clergy of all countries should, as dependent on it, commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch. And this despite the fact that the Patriarchate of Constantinople seized the Greek dioceses in the United States illegally and by church standards quite recently: in 1922, when the notorious abolished the independent status of foreign Greek parishes and united them into the “Greek Archdiocese” on the imaginary canonical basis of the 28th rule of Chalcedon Council, which supposedly grants Constantinople jurisdiction over “bishops from foreigners.”
We encounter in the article by Met. Hierotheus and with a shameless confession of “Eastern papism” when he says:
I wrote all this because consensus can become a reason for concessions in order to express the unity of the Church, it can move away from the theology of the Church, and it can, however, create a “brake” in decisions. In any case, it is quite likely that the consensus will support the unusually and atypically cultivated federalism of the Orthodox Churches or may give the right to a worldwide political contradiction between state entities in order to use the church sphere to resolve their geopolitical plans.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate and specifically the Ecumenical Patriarchate knows all this thanks to his many years of experience, thanks to which the Lord gives him gifts that distinguish him, and we have confidence in his judicious and dexterous manipulations.
In this case, I find an opportunity to emphasize that the Ecumenical Patriarch not only presides over the Pan-Orthodox Councils, but is the center and creates their unity. The Orthodox church structure is distinguished by its conciliarity, but this does not mean that hierarchy is abolished, since the structure of the Church is conciliar in its hierarchy and hierarchical in its conciliarity. In this way, both papal “absolutism” and Protestant “anarchy-anarchy” are avoided as real life.
Moreover, it should be noted that Autocephaly in Orthodox church law does not serve and should not serve as autonomous in the sense of complete independence, but is understood in the sense of interdependence on the Church of New Rome-Constantinople.
In 1994-1995, during one of the catechetical seminars held in the Archdiocese of Athens, I made an attempt to develop the Christology of the Lord's feasts, the feasts of Epiphany and the love of God, the feasts of the deification of man. During the seminars, we tried to consider the history of the sacrament of the Divine incarnation and the deification of man. It was an extraordinary blessing for me to have the opportunity to give a series of lectures on this topic, and for the seminar participants, I hope, it was useful to listen to them. Thus, we were all again given the opportunity to love Christ even more. To love the One who is “an inexhaustible treasure of all blessings,” “the heart with tenderness,” and “the tongue with delight.”
Hierotheus (Vlachos), Metropolitan. - Lord's holidays
Simferopol and Crimean diocese, 2001 – 456 p.
Hierotheus (Vlachos), Metropolitan. – Lord's holidays – Contents
Preface to the Russian edition
Preface to the Greek edition
Part one THE TWELVE FEASTS
- Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Nativity of Jesus Christ
- Circumcision of the Lord
- Candlemas
- Epiphany
- Wisdom of God
- Transfiguration
- The Raising of Lazarus and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem
- The Passion and Death of Christ
- Resurrection of Christ
- Ascension
- Pentecost
Part two CHRISTOLOGICAL THEMES
- A wonderful holiday
- I. The Sacrament of Kenosis
- II. Conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- III. Rescue and Reconstruction
- IV. Sacrament of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- The incarnation of the Word of God according to St. Athanasius the Great
- I. Incarnation as an expression of God’s love for mankind
- II. Transposition of the mortal and corruptible body
- III. Human Renewal
- IV. The Sacrament of the Incarnation
- The Unconditionality of the Divine Incarnation
- I. The main opinion of the Holy Fathers of the Church
- II. View of St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain on the unconditionality of the incarnation of the Son of God
- III. Divine Economy as the eternal will of the Trinity God
- IV. Conclusion
- Tree of knowledge and tree of life
- I. Two trees in the first paradise
- II. Patristic interpretation of the trees of paradise
- III. God-man Christ – tree of life
- IV. Tree of Life in the Apocalypse
- V. Eating from the Tree of Knowledge
- VI. Christmas tree
- Lamb of God
- I. The nature of the Apocalypse
- II. Lamb Slain and Glorified
- III. Praise of the Lamb
- IV. The Beast and the Lamb
Hierotheus (Vlachos), Metropolitan. – Lord's holidays – Preface to the Greek edition
This book is divided into two main parts. The first part consists of the mentioned lectures given at seminars dedicated to the Lord's holidays. They reveal mainly the Christological aspect of the holidays. The reader will be able to see that in my lectures I use the thoughts of many Church Fathers and quotes from their works. However, first of all, the lectures are based on St. John of Damascus, St. Gregory Palamas and St. Nikodim Svyatogorets. The second part of the book contains some of my texts previously published in various magazines. Their task is to take a deeper look at some aspects of the teaching about the Person of Jesus Christ, mentioned in the first part of the book, but not properly disclosed there. In my opinion, they also needed to be included in this publication.
According to the Holy Fathers, Christ reveals himself to people depending on their spiritual state. He is the purification of the purified, the radiance of the enlightened and the contemplation of those who see God (St. Maximus the Confessor). It becomes eternal and incorruptible drink and food for people. For babies - bright and enlightening breasts; for those who are weaned from the breast - a loving father who takes care of their upbringing; for those who have matured - the sweetest bread (St. Simeon the New Theologian). Depending on the spiritual state of a person, Christ reveals himself to him as brother, friend, father, mother and groom (St. Gregory Palamas). For the cold He becomes clothing, for the hungry He becomes bread, for the thirsty He becomes drink. Therefore, the Holy Fathers of the Church encourage us to follow Christ “in all age and strength.” And the one who has accepted baptism must achieve “a state beyond all age” (St. Gregory of Sinaite).
St. also draws our attention to this. The Apostle Paul, when he speaks of the difference between a spiritual “man” and a spiritual “baby”: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child; and when he became a man, he left behind his children” (1 Cor. 13:11). It is for this purpose that the Lord gave the Church shepherds and teachers, so that we could grow “into a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ; so that we may no longer be children.”
Thus, the Lord's holidays are offered by the Church for our spiritual improvement and maturation, for achieving spiritual “coming of age” and maturation. These are not “folklore” events, but sources of life and salvation. As we personally participate in these holidays, our spiritual essence is revealed - who we really are: babies or men. Also through this we express our church wisdom.
Christ, according to the prophecy of Simeon the God-Receiver, “lies for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for the subject of controversy” (Luke 2:34). This is “the Ruler of all, the Judge of all, the King of all, the Creator of light and the Lord of life” (St. Simeon the New Theologian). This “is the rest of every creature” (Hesychius of Jerusalem). At the same time, He is a stone, “and whoever falls on this stone will be broken, and on whomever it falls, it will crush him” (Matthew 21:44).
Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
In which the eternal Sacrament appeared.
(Eph. 4:11-13).
Archim. Hierotheus S. Vlahos
