Theophany (Epiphany): January 6

The baptism of Christ in the Jordan on 6 January, and the first open showing of the Trinity: the Father speaks from heaven, the Son stands in the water, and the Spirit comes down as a dove, as the troparion sings, When Thou, O Lord, wast baptised in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. Christ needed no cleansing; He went down into the water to cleanse it, and the Church reads the feast as the sanctification of the whole creation. The Great Blessing of Waters is served on the eve and on the day, often out of doors at the sea or a river, where a cross is thrown into the water and, in the north, lowered through the ice. The faithful drink the water and take it home, and in the weeks that follow the priest blesses their houses with it. The eve is kept as a strict fast. St Gregory the Theologian called it the feast of lights.