Church Services

When in the Jordan, Thou wast baptized, O Lord, The Trinity was made manifest, for the voice Of the Father bare witness unto Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the Form of a dove, confirmed the steadfastness of That word, O Christ, Who didst manifest Thyself And dost enlighten the world, Glory to Thee.

Festal Troparion

Today hast Thou revealed Thyself unto the Universe and Thy light, O Lord, hath showed A sign unto us, who, with understanding sing Unto Thee: Thou art come, and hast revealed Thyself, O Light Unapproachable.

Festal Kontakion

January 6, 2006 - SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church celebrated the Feast Day of the Theophany of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (icon above) on Friday, January 6. It is on this day that Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan River by the Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John in commemoration whereof water is blessed and sanctified for the blessing of parisioners, icons, homes, and the like. Below are three sets of photos corresponding to the Vesperal Divine Liturgy on the morning of Theophany Eve (a strict fast day), Grand Compline and Matins with the Great Blessing of Water on Theophany Eve, and Divine Liturgy with the Great Blessing of Water on the Feast Day itself. Immediately below are some pencil sketches of the preparation for blessing of water and the actual sanctification of Holy Water at last year's services.

Below is the first set of photos from the morning of Theophany Eve. Italic text in color describing the Feast Day is taken verbatim from a text entitled "Holy Days of the Russian Orthodox Church" by the Rt. Rev. John L. Semanitzky.

This event (the Theophany) is described by all four evangelists. "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad Him saying, 'I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?'" "And Jesus answering said unto him, 'Let it be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he permitted Him."

"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:13-17). The same event is described in Mark 1:9-11 and in Luke 3:21-22.

St. John gives us in detail how he recognized Jesus and how he was instructed to baptize Him. "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for He was before me. And I knew Him not: but that He should be manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.'"

You may click on the photo above right to view an enlargement.

"And John bare record, saying, 'I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, 'Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.' And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." (John 1:29-34)

You may click on the photo above to view an enlargement.

Below is the second set of photos taken at the Theophany Eve service. Italic text in color describing the Feast Day is taken verbatim from a text entitled "Holy Days of the Russian Orthodox Church" by the Rt. Rev. John L. Semanitzky.

During this holy day we also have the Blessing of Water. The first blessing takes place on the Eve of Theophany. This day is a very strict fast day. On this day it is customary not to partake of any food until one has had a drink of the Holy Water, we symbolically sanctify ourselves in preparation for the celebration of the coming of God in the Holy Trinity. All our meals on that day are strictly Lenten:

No milk, butter, or any other fats are used in their preparation and, of course, no meat is taken. In the cooking of the meal, a little of the Holy Water is used. Thus the meal is blessed and the supper is called the Holy Supper. Blessing the food with the Holy Water is to purify it, make it worthy of this holy day, and bestow upon us also the purity of our bodies.

The second blessing of the water occurs on the day of the Theophany itself. To better understand the meaning of this blessing of the water, let us take a few quotations from the prayers that are read during the blessing: "Grant, also, O Lord, unto all who shall be sprinkled therewith, and shall also partake thereof, and shall anoint themselves therewith, sanctification, blessing, purification, and bodily health." "Wherefore do Thou, O King who loveth mankind, come down from heaven now also through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and sanctify this water."

At this point the priest, forming with his hand the sign for blessing (the name of Jesus Christ), dips his hand into the water and makes the sign of the cross. He then continues: "Thou alone, O Master, come today and sanctify this water by Thy Holy Spirit." This and the preceding prayer the priest recites three times. He also breathes upon the water three times. After this, he says: "And impart to it the grace of redemption, the blessing of Jordan. Make it a fountain of immortality, a gift of sanctification and remission of sins, a healing of infirmities, a destruction of demons, unapproachable by hostile powers, filled with angelic might.

And may it be to all those who shall draw it and shall partake of it the purification of their souls and bodies, unto the healing of their passions, unto the sanctification of their houses, and unto every expedient service." Next, the priest takes the cross and begins to sing: "When in Jordan Thou was baptized..." The choir takes up the chant, and the priest dips the Holy Cross into the water three times. He also takes a lighted candle and dips it into the water after each dipping of the cross. This is to signify that, as by the Holy Cross we also were all purified from the original sin, so also now the Holy Cross purifies these waters making them worthy of our participation of the same.

We are also reminded that for entry into the kingdom of heaven we have also been purified in the water of the Holy Baptism. The dipping of candles in the water is a sign of purification and a reminder of the words of St. John the Baptist: "I baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

That is why there is a custom among the Russian Orthodox Christians that on this day of Theophany and on the following days, the priest comes to our homes to bless them. He comes in the name of the Holy Trinity and, in blessing our homes, he asks God to purify us from all evil and sins that we have committed during the year, to forgive us our iniquities, and to grant to us His protection during the coming year.

Below is the third set of photos taken from the Divine Liturgy on the Feast Day itself. Italic text in color describing the Feast Day is taken verbatim from a text entitled "Holy Days of the Russian Orthodox Church" by the Rt. Rev. John L. Semanitzky.

You may click on the photo above to view an enlargement.

In preparation for the coming of the priest, every home should have a deep plate or bowl ready with Holy Water, a lighted candle, and a list of the names of the people living in the home, so that they may be mentioned in the Litany. In the procession from one room to another, someone in the household should go before the priest with the lighted candle. This is symbolic of St. John the Baptist before Jesus, the Light that came to enlighten the nations.

There is another blessing of the waters in our Russian Orthodox Church called the Lesser Blessing of the Water. This is performed on August 1st, Old Style; or privately, whenever any person is unable to sleep because he is troubled with the cares of his mind, or whenever he is ill of body. In this lesser blessing of water we ask God, the Holy Virgin Mary, and all the orders of angels and saints to bless the water that it may serve as a relief from the ailments affecting the person for whom the service is held. It is to be understood that this must be accepted with deep faith and belief in the power of God.

The sick person is blessed with this water, washes himself (his hands and face) with it, and drinks it with the firm hope and belief that he will be relieved from his ailments. The water is kept safely in the house for future use, as is the water blessed on Theophany.

At the conclusion of the Great Blessing of Water, Rev. Garretson blesses the entire interior of our Church with Holy Water. Below he is shown at the stained glass window of the Theophany.

The last area blessed by Father David is the choir loft. Within an hour after the photo above right was taken, he began the annual tradition of the visitation and blessing of homes.

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