The baptism of the Lord (Holy Manifestation)

God's baptismOrthodox Abkhazia celebrates one of the twelve main Christian holidays - the Baptism of the Lord, or Epiphany. Christians began to celebrate it since apostolic times. The testimony of St. Clement of Alexandria from the second century about the night vigil performed before the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is preserved.

Since the third century, Gregory the Wonderworker, the Martyr Hippolyte and all the great fathers of the Church held special conversations with the flock on the feast day, in which they explained its meaning. The holiday is set in memory of the evangelical event when 30-year-old Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Forerunner in the waters of the Jordan. With his baptism in the Jordan, the Savior initiated the sacrament of baptism, one of the seven main church sacraments through which a person is reborn to live in Christ.

The feast of Baptism is also called Epiphany, because at the Baptism of the Lord there was the appearance of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity: The voice of God the Father testified about the Son, the Son of God was baptized at the hands of John in the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended on the Son.

Believers have a custom every year, having collected baptized water, sprinkle it with their homes, belongings and domestic animals. You can drink this water, preferably on an empty stomach. Christians keep it faithfully throughout the year.