The rite of consecrating water is baptism. Great water at the baptism of the Lord

Troparion (tone 1)

In the Jordan, baptized to You, Lord, Trinity worship appeared: For the voice of the parents testified to You, calling Your beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove made your word affirmation. Appear, Christ God, and enlighten the world, glory to Thee.

Kontakion (tone 4)

Thou hast appeared today to the universe, and Thy light, O Lord, is signified upon us, in the mind of those who sing Thee: Thou hast come and Thou hast appeared, Light impregnable.

magnificence

We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, for the sake of us now baptized in the flesh from John in the waters of the Jordan.

Currently in Orthodox Church Epiphany means a feast in which the event of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan is remembered and glorified.

The Feast of Baptism, or Theophany, has long been also called the Day of Enlightenment and the Feast of Lights - from the ancient custom to perform the day before, on the eve of the holiday, the baptism of the catechumens, which, in fact, is spiritual enlightenment. The description of the events of Baptism is given by all four Evangelists (; ; ; ). It is also contained in many stichera and troparia of the feast.

“Today, the Creator of heaven and earth comes in flesh to the Jordan, asking for Baptism the Sinless One and is baptized from the servant of the Lord of all.” “To the voice of one crying out in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord (to John), thou hast come, Lord, we accept the form of a slave, asking for baptism, knowing no sin.” The first sacrament was the Incarnation and the Nativity of Christ, the ineffable descent of the Creator (Incarnation), which illuminated the whole world with light. Now Christ Himself, celebrating another sacrament, comes to the Jordan to give the means for the miraculous rebirth of the earthly with the gift of Baptism, the richness of the Spirit, to enrich the impoverished nature of man with Divinity. “Deliverance is coming by Christ with the Baptism of tribute to all the faithful: with this, Adam cleanses, exalts the fallen, puts to shame the tormentor, opens Heaven, brings down the Divine Spirit and bestows incorruption the sacrament.”

The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the closest connection with the salvation of people. The Lord comes to the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. Forerunner John, preparing people for the acceptance of Christ, preached repentance and, as a symbol of the cleansing of sins, performed his Baptism. Christ appears at the Jordan, asking for Baptism, one among all sinless in nature, so that, like the Lamb of God, who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, immerse our multitude of immeasurable sins into the waters of the Jordan, cleanse our sins in Himself, similarly purifying similar things in Baptism. Through His sinless washing, cleansing spread to all sinful mankind. The philanthropist Christ comes to the Jordan in order to renew the world dilapidated by sins, to create for people a miraculous birth and sonship by water and the Spirit, to raise humanity to the primitive state, “renewing the packs with being”. “Renews and edifies (recreates) us with water and the Spirit with a wonderful renewal, the Only Benefactor.”

“Oh, glorious gifts! Oh, Divine grace and unspeakable love! Behold, it cleanses me with water, enlightens me with fire, and the Creator and Master makes me with the Divine Spirit, now in the Jordan, my nature, Sinless, has put on.

Christ the Savior in baptism bestows (with water) grace "decisive soul and bodily."

The baptism of Christ in the entire Divine-human work of the redemption of the human race had a fundamental, salvific effect. Baptism in the Jordan exudes forsakenness, remission of sins, enlightenment, the re-creation of human nature, gives light, renewal, healing, rebirth, and, as it were, a new birth (“re-being”).

“New-creators of the earthly, new being Sodetel, by fire, and by the Spirit, and by water, making a strange rebirth and renewal, except (without) contrition and crucibles, with the baptism of God-giving new-creator” . Thus, the Baptism of Christ in the waters of the Jordan not only symbolized purification, but had the meaning of a transforming, renewing action on human nature.

By His immersion in the waters of the Jordan, the Lord sanctified “the whole nature of the waters” and the whole earth. The presence of divine power in the watery nature transforms our corruptible nature (through Baptism) into incorruptible. The action of Baptism extended to all human nature.

“With the spirit of the soul, renovate, with water you sanctify the body folded, animal edifying (recreating those who have eternal life in themselves) of a person: it is necessary for the pure human nature, akin to human nature, bring healing (necessary treatment) with wise providence, like a Physician of bodies and souls.” The baptism of our Lord and Savior was the actual prefiguration and foundation of the mysteriously gracious way of rebirth by water and the Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism. Here the Lord reveals Himself to people as the Founder of the new grace-filled Kingdom of Christ, which, according to His teaching, cannot be entered without Baptism ().

“If anyone descends with me and is buried by baptism, he will enjoy glory and resurrection with me, Christ now proclaims.” The threefold immersion (of each believer in Christ) in the sacrament of Baptism depicts the death of Christ, the coming out of the water - the communion of the three-day Resurrection. “Greatness to salvation, the path of baptism is given by Christ” . The Lord Savior “from the water (of Baptism) mysteriously by the Spirit made many children, first (formerly) childless.”

At the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan, true worship of God was revealed to people, the hitherto unknown mystery of the Trinity of the Godhead was revealed, the mystery of the One God in Three Persons, and the “glorification of the Most Holy Trinity” was revealed.

“The Trinity, our God, reveal to us today inseparably: for the Father, with the manifest (open, obvious) evidence of affinity (kinship), exclaim: The Spirit, in a dove-like manner, descend from heaven: bow down the honorable top of Your Forerunner.”

“The voice of (God) the Father,” says another verse, “was from heaven: “This, Whom the Forerunner baptizes with his hand, My beloved Son (and Consubstantial with Me), in whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit, descending in the form of a dove, preached to everyone in the Person of Jesus Christ the incarnate God.

The hymns describe the experiences that the Forerunner experiences when he sees Christ coming to be baptized and demanding Baptism from him. John the Baptist, in front of all the people who listened to him, points to the coming Jesus as the Christ expected by all Israel - the Messiah. “Our Enlightener (Christ the Savior), who enlightens every person, seeing the Forerunner come to be baptized, rejoices in his soul, and trembles, shows Him with his hand, and says to people: This deliver Israel, freeing us from incorruption.”

And when the Lord asked him for Baptism, “The Forerunner trembled and exclaimed loudly: How can a lamp illuminate the Light? How will a servant lay his hand on the Lord? Savior, who took upon Himself the sins of the whole world, You Yourself sanctify me and the waters.

“Although You are the Child from Mary,” says the Forerunner, “but I know You, the Eternal God.” “In whose name do I baptize you? (In the name of) Father? But carry that within you. Son? But thou art incarnated. Holy Spirit? And weigh this (you can give) to the faithful mouth (to those who believe with your mouth) ". The Lord says to John: “Prophet, come and baptize Me, who created you, and who enlightens with grace and purifies everyone: touch My Divine top (head) and do not hesitate. Leave the rest now, for you have come to fulfill all righteousness.”

By being baptized by John, Christ fulfilled “righteousness,” that is, faithfulness and obedience to the commandments of God. The Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord John received from God the command to baptize the people as a sign of cleansing from sins. As a Man, Christ had to fulfill this commandment and therefore be baptized by John. By this He confirmed the holiness and greatness of the actions of John the Baptist, and gave Christians an example of humility and obedience to the will of God.

The hymns used the prophecy (ps. 113) that the Jordan River will stop its flow “from the Face of the Lord”: “Today the Psalm prophecy is the end of acceptance (it is in a hurry to be fulfilled):“ the sea, speech, sight and flight, Jordan return back, from The Person of the Lord, from the Person of the God of Jacob, having come from a servant to receive Baptism. “Jordan, seeing the Lord being baptized, is divided and stops its course,” says the first stichera for the blessing of water.

“If the Jordan River turns back, not daring to serve You: even if you are ashamed of Joshua, how can you not be afraid of your Creator?” . The songwriter, as it were, addresses a question to the Jordan River itself: “What is it that returned your waters, Jordan? Why are you raising (stopping) the jets, and do not go on walking by nature?

And the Jordan River, as it were, answers: “It is not powerful (not able) to endure, speech, the Fire that devours me. I am surprised and horrified by the extreme convergence: as if it were not customary to wash out the Pure (from sins). Do not wipe the sinless one: but cleanse the defiled vessels.

HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAY

As already mentioned in the chapter on the history of the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the beginning of the feast of the Epiphany dates back to the Apostolic times. It is also mentioned in the “Decrees of the Apostles”, which says: “Let them celebrate the feast of Theophany, because on that day there was a manifestation of the Deity of Christ, who testified to His Father in Baptism and the Comforter of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, showing the forthcoming testified” (book 5 , chapter 42; book 8, chapter 33). In the II century, the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord and the night vigil performed before this feast is indicated by the teacher of the Church, Presbyter Clement of Alexandria. In the 3rd century, the Holy Martyr Hippolytus of Rome and the saint mention the event of Theophany in their conversations. The Holy Fathers of the Church of the 4th century: Gregory of Nyssa, and many others left us their teachings, delivered by them on the feast of Theophany. In the 5th century, St. Anatoly, Archbishop of Constantinople, in the 7th century, St. Andrew of Jerusalem and, in the 8th century, Saints John of Damascus and Herman, Patriarch of Constantinople, in the 9th century, St. Joseph the Studite, as well as the songwriters Theophanes and Byzantium, composed many hymns for the feast of Epiphany Christ, still sung by the Church on the day of the feast.

In establishing the date for the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, there were no disagreements between the Eastern and Western Churches, similar to those regarding the Nativity of Christ - in the East and West, the holiday was always celebrated with equal solemnity on January 6.

So, until the 4th century, Epiphany and the Nativity of Christ were celebrated everywhere on January 6th. The separation of the holidays and the transfer of the date of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ to December 25 occurred in the 4th century.

Contemplating in the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ His saving appearance to the world, and in Baptism - His entry into the service of the salvation of the world, comparing these two holidays, he says: ..He is shedding blood, as if Bethlehem is sobbing without a child; and this blessed waters of many children know the font. Then raise a star with a sorcerer, now the Father will show you to the world. “The past holiday is clear, the most glorious present day: on it bowed to the Savior of the Volsvi, in this same Vladyka, the servant is glorious to baptize. There is a shepherd, scribbling, seeing and wondering, here is the voice of the Father's Only Begotten Son of the sermon.

“In the preceding feast of the Infant You saw: in the present, we see You perfect (mature, adult), ”says St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem.

As for the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the nearest Saturday and Sunday before Epiphany are called Saturday and the Week before Theophany (or before the Enlightenment). On the named Saturday, according to the Charter, a special Apostle and the Gospel are relied upon, and on the Week before Theophany - a special prokeimenon, the Apostle and the Gospel, dedicated to the upcoming holiday (see Typikon, research on December 26 and January 2). Saturday and the Week before Enlightenment always come after the celebration of the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

THE EVENING OF THE APPOINTMENT

The eve of the holiday (January 5/18) is called the eve of the Epiphany, or Christmas Eve. The service of the eve and the service of the feast itself are in many respects similar to the service of the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

On Christmas Eve of Theophany (January 5/18), a strict fast is prescribed, as on Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ: eating once. If the eve happens on Saturday and Sunday, fasting is facilitated: instead of once, eating is allowed twice: after the Liturgy and after the blessing of the water (see Typikon, liturgy on January 6). If the reading of the Great Hours from the eve that happened on Saturday or Sunday is transferred to Friday, then there is no fast on that Friday.

FEATURES OF THE SERVICE ON THE EVE OF THE HOLIDAY

On all weekly days, except Saturday and Sunday, the service on the eve of the Epiphany consists of the great hours, Vespers with the Liturgy of the saint, and the great blessing of the water following them.

If Christmas Eve happens on Saturday or in the Week, then the Great Hours are celebrated on Friday, and there is no Liturgy on that Friday. The liturgy of the saint is transferred to the day of the feast. On the very day of Christmas Eve, the Liturgy takes place at its proper time, and in the afternoon, Vespers is served, after which the Great Blessing of Water takes place.

GREAT CLOCK

The scheme for constructing the great clock and the pictorial clock, as well as the order in which they are performed, are the same as on the eve of the Nativity of Christ (see above the feast of the Nativity of Christ).

In the 1st hour, in special psalms 31 and 26, he depicts the Lord who was baptized as a Shepherd, who, according to the prediction of the king and prophet David, “shepherds me and deprives me of nothing,” who is “my enlightenment and my Savior.”

The Troparias tell how the prophet Elisha divided the Jordan from the mercy of the prophet Elijah. This represented the true Baptism on the Jordan of Christ, by which the watery nature was sanctified and during which the Jordan stopped its natural flow. The last troparion depicts the feeling of reverent fear that took possession of John the Baptist when the Lord Jesus Christ came to him to be baptized.

In paroemia 1 o'clock, with the words of the prophet Isaiah, he announces the spiritual renewal of those who believe in Jesus Christ (Is., ch. 25). By reading the Apostle and the Gospel, he announces the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord, who testified to His eternal and Divine greatness (;).

At the 3rd hour, in Psalms 28 and 41, the prophet depicts the power and power of the baptized Lord over water and all other elements of the world: “The voice of the Lord is on the waters: God of glory will thunder, the Lord is on many waters. The voice of the Lord in the fortress; the voice of the Lord in splendor."

At the 6th hour, in Psalms 73 and 76, David prophetically depicts the Divine majesty and omnipotence of the One who came to be baptized in the form of a slave: “Who is a great God, like our God? You are, do miracles. Seeing You the water, O God, and fearful: the abyss was troubled.

The troparia contains the answer of the Lord to the Baptist in the Jordan and indicates the fulfillment of the Psalm prophecy, when the river stops its waters when the Lord descends into it to receive Baptism.

In paroemia, the prophet Isaiah proclaims salvation in the waters of Baptism and calls on the believers: “Draw water with joy from the source of salvation” (); The apostolic reading commands those baptized into Christ Jesus to walk in newness of life (); gospel reading announces the Theophany of the Holy Trinity at the Baptism of the Savior, about His forty-day feat in the wilderness and about the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel ().

At the 9th hour, in Psalms 92 and 113, the prophet proclaims the royal majesty and omnipotence of the baptized Lord. “Wonderful are the heights of the sea, marvelous in the lofty Lord! The sea was seen and fled, Jordan returned back. What are you, the sea (what is the matter with you, the sea), how did you run away? And to you (and with you), Jordan, how did you return back?

Troparia depict Christ who appeared to the world as the Savior of the world, delivering him from sins and corruption, sanctifying humanity with the water of Divine Baptism and giving adoption to God instead of the former slavery to sin. In the last troparion, completing the pre-holiday chant, he addresses the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord and asks him to offer up prayers to the One who was baptized by him.

In paroemia, the prophet Isaiah depicts the inexpressible mercy of God to people and the grace-filled help for them that appeared in Baptism (). The apostle announces the manifestation of the grace of God, saving for all people, and the abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the believers (). The Gospel tells about the Baptism of the Savior and the Epiphany ().

The end of the reading of the great and pictorial hours is the same as on the eve of the Nativity of Christ.

THE CHORD OF THE VESSEL OF THE APPOINTMENT MADE ON THE EVE OF THE FESTIVAL

Vespers on the eve of the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated similarly to the one that happens on the eve of the Nativity of Christ: entrance with the Gospel, reading proverbs, the Apostle, the Gospel, and so on (see the Rite of Christmas Vespers). But only the proverbs at Vespers of Theophany are read not 8, but 13. The pronouncement of the troparion with the singing of its final words happens, as on the eve of the Nativity of Christ: after the first three and three paroemias following them. After the first three paroemias, the singers sing to the troparion in voice 5 “May you enlighten in the darkness of the sitting, Lover of mankind, glory to Thee” (during the singing, the royal doors open). After the 6th paroemia, the refrain to the 6th tone is “Where would Thy light shine, only on those who sit in darkness, glory to Thee.”

If, on the eve of Theophany, Vespers is combined with the Liturgy (on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday), then after the reading of paroemias, a small litany follows with the exclamation “For Thou art holy, our God,” then the Trisagion is sung and the Liturgy is celebrated in the usual order. At Vespers, which is celebrated separately from the Liturgy (on Saturday and Sunday), after paroemia and a small litany, the prokeimenon is pronounced, the Apostle and the Gospel are read (those that are laid on Saturday and the Week before the Enlightenment). Then - the litany "Rzem all" and other follow-up of Vespers.

THE FOLLOW-UP OF THE "GREAT BLESSING OF THE WATER OF HOLY APPOINTMENTS"

The memory of the Jordanian event renews with a special rite of the great blessing of water. On the eve of the feast, the great blessing of the water takes place after the prayer beyond the ambo. If Vespers was celebrated separately, without connection with the Liturgy, then the consecration of water takes place at the end of Vespers, after the litanies: “Let us perform the evening prayer” and the exclamation of the priest. The consecration of water is also performed on the feast itself, after the Liturgy (after the prayer behind the ambo).

Orthodox from ancient times performs a great consecration of water, both on eve and on the feast itself. The grace of consecrating water is the same - both on the eve and on the very day of Theophany. On eve, the consecration of water is performed in remembrance of the Baptism of the Lord, who sanctified the nature of water, as well as the baptism of the catechumens, which in ancient times took place on the eve of Theophany (“Apostolic Regulations”, book 5, ch. 13. Testimonies of historians: Blessed Theodoret of Cyrrhus, St. Nicephorus Callista); on the very day of the feast, the consecration of water is performed in remembrance of the Baptism of Christ the Savior.

The consecration of water on the feast of the Epiphany began in the Jerusalem Church, and in the 4th-5th centuries it was performed only in this Church: they went to the Jordan River for the blessing of water, which was a remembrance of the Baptism of the Savior. Therefore, on the feast of the Epiphany, the consecration of water is usually performed on rivers, springs and wells (“walking on the Jordan”), for Christ was baptized outside the temple. On the eve, the consecration of water is performed in churches (see the definition of the Moscow Council of 1667 on this).

The great consecration of water began in the early days of Christianity. The saint is also mentioned about the consecration of water on the holiday. The "Decrees of the Apostles" also contain prayers that were said at the consecration. So, in the book 8 says, "The priest will call on the Lord and say, 'And now sanctify this water, and give it grace and power.' Saint Basil the Great writes: “According to what scripture do we bless the water of Baptism? - from the Apostolic Tradition, according to the succession in the mystery" (91 canon). The saint writes about the special property of water consecrated on the day of Baptism: it does not deteriorate from a long time (“Christ was baptized and sanctified the nature of the waters; and therefore, on the feast of Baptism, everyone, having drawn water at midnight, brings it home and keeps it all year. And so water in its essence does not deteriorate from the passage of time, but drawn now, for a whole year, and often two or three years, remains fresh and undamaged, and after so much time is not inferior to waters just drawn from sources ”- Conversation 37; See also : Typicon, January 5).

The follow-up to the Great Blessing of Water, both on eve and on the feast itself, is one and the same, and in some parts has similarities with the follow-up of the small blessing of water. It consists of a recollection of the prophecies relating to the event of Baptism (paroemia), the event itself (the Apostle and the Gospel) and its signification in litany and prayers, from the invocation of the blessing of God on the waters and the threefold immersion in them of the life-giving Cross of the Lord.

The rite of consecration of water is performed as follows. After the prayer beyond the ambo (at the Liturgy) or the litanies “Let us perform the evening prayer” (at Vespers), all the clergy in full vestments go out through the royal gates to the sacred font into the porch or to the springs. Ahead are the singers singing the troparions "The Voice of the Lord" and others, in which the circumstances of the Savior's baptism are remembered. The singers are followed by priests with candles, a deacon with a censer and a priest carrying an honest Cross on an uncovered head (usually the Cross relies on air). At the place of consecration of water, the Cross rests on a table, on which there should be a bowl with three candles. During the singing of the troparia, the rector and the deacon incense the water prepared for consecration, and if the consecration takes place in the temple, then the altar, clergymen, singers and people.

At the end of the singing of the three troparions, the deacon proclaims: “Wisdom,” and three proverbs are read from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, which depict the blessed fruits of the Lord’s coming to earth and the spiritual joy of all who turn to the Lord and partake of the Life-giving sources of salvation.

Then the prokimen is sung, the Apostle and the Gospel are read. The Apostle speaks of the mystical Baptism of the Jews in the midst of the cloud and the sea, of their spiritual food and drink, given by God through the prayers of the prophet Moses. The Gospel tells about the Baptism of the Lord. After this, the deacon pronounces the great litany with special petitions. During the litanies, the rector secretly reads a prayer for the purification and sanctification of himself: “Lord Jesus Christ” (without a cry). The litanies contain prayers for the consecration of water by the power and action of the Holy Trinity, for sending the blessing of the Jordan to the water and for granting it grace to heal mental and bodily infirmities, to drive away any slander of visible and invisible enemies, to sanctify houses and for every benefit. Then the priest reads a prayer aloud: “Great art thou, O Lord, and marvelous are thy works” (three times). Then - the continuation of this prayer: "You are more willing from those who carry" (and so on).

In a consecrating prayer, he prays to the Lord, with all the wonders of His omnipotence and glory, with all the majesty of the Godhead, with all His infinite Nature, to come and sanctify the water so that it receives the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan, so that it is a source of incorruption, the resolution of ailments, the purification of souls and bodies, the consecration of houses and "for every good good." The priest proclaims three times: “Yourself, Lover of mankind to the King, come now also by the influx of Thy Holy Spirit and sanctify this water.” And at each exclamation he blesses the water (with his hand).

At the end of the reading of the prayers, the rector blesses the water with the Holy Cross, immersing it three times, and at each immersion he sings the troparion with the clergy: “In the Jordan, I am baptized by Thee, Lord.”

After that, the singers repeatedly sing the troparion, and the priest with the Cross in his left hand sprinkles those praying crosswise, and then sprinkles the temple with holy water. At the entrance to the temple, it is supposed to sing the stichera: “Let us sing, believers.” Then, if there was a Liturgy: "Be blessed the Name of the Lord"; or, if there was only vespers: "Wisdom", "Blessed be this" and so on, and after the 33rd psalm - dismiss the holiday: "Whoever in the Jordan is baptized from our John for the sake of salvation, Christ, our true God."

CHARACTER OF GLOWING THE HOLIDAY

After the dismissal of Vespers or the Liturgy, on the pulpit (or in the middle of the church, instead of an lectern with an icon), a lamp is supplied, in front of which the clergy and singers sing the troparion, and on “Glory, and now” - the kontakion of the holiday. The candle here means the light of Christ's teachings - Divine enlightenment, bestowed in Theophany. After that, the priest gives the worshipers a cross and sprinkles them with holy water.

GREAT AGIASMA

Epiphany water - water consecrated on the feast of Epiphany, is called in the Orthodox Church the great hagiasma and is a great shrine. Christians have had great reverence for holy water since ancient times. He prays at the litany of the great consecration of water - “for the hedgehog to be sanctified by these waters ... and to be granted to them the grace of deliverance (salvation), the blessing of the Jordan, by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit”, “for this hedgehog to be this water, sanctification to the gift, sins to be delivered: for the healing of the soul and body ... for those who draw and receive for the consecration of houses, ... and for every good (strong) benefit, ... leading to eternal life", "O hedgehog, let us be filled with the blessing of these waters by communion, the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit."

In the petitions at the litany and in the priest's prayer for the blessing of water, he testifies to the manifold actions of the grace of God, given to all, with faith "drawing and partaking" of this shrine. So, in a prayer for the consecration of water, the priest prays: “You, O Lover of mankind to the King, come and now by the influx of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water. And give her the grace of deliverance (salvation); Blessing of the Jordan, create (her): a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, resolution of sins, healing of ailments; demons omnipotence; impregnable to opposing forces, filled with angelic fortresses. Yes, all those who draw and partake, have it for the purification of passions, for the consecration of houses, and for every good benefit”, “Give to all those who touch it, and partake, and smear it with sanctification, health, purification and blessing.”

He uses Epiphany water for sprinkling temples and dwellings, for healing, blesses it to drink to those who cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. On the feast of the Epiphany, the clergy, taking a vessel with water and the Cross, with the singing of the troparion of the holiday, visit the dwellings of their parishioners, sprinkling the houses and those living in them. Sprinkling begins with the temple of God, in which, after the Liturgy on the eve, the clergy glorify Christ, who was baptized on the day of Theophany.

On Epiphany Christmas Eve, a strict fast is established, when either eating food before Epiphany water is not allowed at all, or a small amount of food is allowed. However, with proper reverence, with the sign of the cross and prayer, one can drink holy water without any embarrassment and doubt, both for those who have already tasted something, and at any time as needed. in the liturgical Rule (see the Menaion and the Typicon under January 5) gives a clear and definite instruction on this matter and explains: those who excommunicate themselves from holy water because they have eaten food before - "do not do good." “Not for the sake of eating for the sake of eating (food) there is impurity in us, but from our bad deeds: cleansing (for cleansing) of these, we drink without a doubt this holy water” (Typicon, January 6 “see”).

ALL-NIGHT VIGIL OF THE HOLIDAY

The All-Night Vigil on the Feast of Epiphany, no matter what day of the week it occurs, begins, as on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, with Great Compline, because Vespers of the feast is celebrated earlier, especially. The scheme of Great Compline is the same as for the Nativity of Christ. Great Compline ends with a litia. Then Matins is served.

At Matins, according to the polyeleos, the magnification is sung: “We magnify Thee, the Life-Giver of Christ, for the sake of us now baptized in the flesh from John in the waters of the Jordan”, then sedate - the first antiphon 4 voices, 50 psalm, “Glory”: “Let everyone rejoice today, to Christ appeared in the Jordan"; "And now": the same, the verse: "Have mercy on me, O God," and the verse: "God the Word to the flesh of the human race." There are two canons: St. Cosmas of Maiumsky “I discovered the depths there is a bottom” and the saint “A sea storm is marching”.

"The most honest Cherubim" is not sung. A deacon with a censer in front of the local image of the Mother of God sings the first refrain: “Magnify, my soul, the most honest of the mountain hosts, the Most Pure Virgin Theotokos.” The choir (sometimes repeating the chorus) sings the irmos: “Every tongue is perplexed to praise according to its property, but the mind and the most peaceful sing to Thee, Mother of God, both Good beings, accept faith, for weigh our divine love; You are the representative of Christians, we magnify you. In Russian translation: “No language (human) is able to praise You on your dignity, and even the mountainous (angelic) mind is perplexed how to sing You, Mother of God: but You, as Good, accept faith, and our divine (fiery) love You you know; for you are the representative of Christians; We praise you." This irmos, with the indicated first refrain of the 9th song, is a meritorious at the Liturgy (up to and including the celebration of the feast). To the troparia of the canon for 9 songs, their own refrains are sung.

coming in the Name of the Lord, bless you from the house of the Lord, God the Lord, and appear to us.”

Instead of the Trisagion - “They were baptized into Christ” - as a reminder to the newly enlightened, who were baptized in antiquity on the eve of the holiday, “put on” Christ. Worthy. Participated in the holiday: "The grace of God, saving all man, appears."

VESSEL ON THE DAY OF THE FESTIVAL

The day after the feast of the Epiphany, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is celebrated. At Vespers on the day of the feast (under January 7 - Old Style) there is an entrance with a censer and a great prokeimenon: "Our God in heaven and on earth, all the Christmas tree will please, create." If the holiday happens on Saturday, then the great prokeimenon is sung on the eve of the holiday (on Friday).

CELEBRATION AND PAYMENT OF THE HOLIDAY

The afterfeast lasts eight days; The celebration of the holiday takes place on January 14/27. On all days after the feast, along with the stichera and the canon to Saint Menaia, the stichera of the feast are sung, and the canon of the feast is read first.

At the Liturgy, on all the days of the afterfeast, up to and including the celebration, after the entrance, the ending is sung: “Save us, Son of God, who was baptized in the Jordan, singing to Ty: Alleluia.”

On the day of the celebration of the feast, the entire Enlightenment service, except for the entrance, proverbs, polyeleos - at Vespers and Matins, and except for the antiphons and the entrance verse - at the Liturgy. "Most Honorable Cherub" is not sung on January 7/20 and 14/27, except on Sunday, when "Most Honorable Cherub" is sung. Matins for surrender - with "great doxology".

The Charter indicates the features of the divine services of the days after the feast of the Epiphany, when, starting from January 11/24, they coincide with the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee (see Typicon, following January 11 and January 14).

SATURDAY AND WEEK (SUNDAY) OF EDUCATION

The Saturday and Sunday following the feast of the Epiphany are called Saturday and the Week of Enlightenment. On these days, special prokimen, the Apostle and the Gospel are read, related to the holiday (see Typikon, following on January 7).

HOW DOES THE GREAT BLESSING OF WATER ORDER HAPPEN?

When the Savior entered the Jordan and was baptized by John, there was a contact of the God-man with matter. And until now, on the day of Epiphany, it is according to the church, old style, when water is consecrated in churches, it becomes incorruptible, that is, it does not deteriorate for many years, even if it is kept in a closed vessel. This happens every year and only on the feast of Epiphany according to the Orthodox, Julian calendar.

Listen to the words of prayers and hymns, look into the rituals, and you will feel that there is not only one ancient rite, but something that speaks even now, as thousands of years ago, about our life, about our eternal and inescapable longing for purification, rebirth, update. For the thirst for heaven, goodness, perfection, beauty has not died and cannot die in a person, a thirst that is truly one and makes him a man.

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is not at all a day of mass collection of holy water. This holiday gives us the feeling that no matter how broken our life is, no matter how dark of moral dirt, untruth and enmity we fill it, everything can be cleansed, renewed, revived with the help of God. There would be only desire and faith. And the splashes of consecrated water, burning our faces with their piercing grace-filled purity, awaken and enliven our feelings, respond with a sense of joy and newness of life that has come into contact with the shrine.

The rite of consecration of water, which takes place on the feast of the Epiphany, is called great because of the special solemnity of the rite, imbued with the remembrance of the Baptism of the Lord, in which the Church sees not only the prototype of the mysterious washing away of sins, but also the actual sanctification of the very nature of water, through the immersion of God in the flesh into it. The Great Blessing of Water is performed at the Liturgy on the very day of Theophany, and also on the eve of Theophany.

On the very day of the Epiphany (January 19, according to a new style), the consecration of water is performed with a solemn procession, known as the “walk to the Jordan”.

The rite of the Great Blessing of Water consists of three parts : singing special solemn chants - troparia, reading biblical texts and special prayers.

Both on the eve of Theophany, and on the feast itself, the clergy come out to bless the water through the royal doors. Before the removal of the Cross, the rector or bishop in full vestments censes the honest Cross three times only in front. The rector or bishop carries out the Cross, holding it high above his head. banners, icons and lighted candles are carried in front. One of the priests carries the Holy Gospel. In this order, they go to large vessels filled with water in advance and on which three candles are already lit.

The great consecration of water begins with the singing of troparions: “The voice of the Lord cries out on the waters, saying: come, receive all the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of reason, the Spirit of the fear of God, the Christ who has appeared”, “Today the nature of the waters is sanctified” and others.

Troparias are sung repeatedly, slowly and solemnly, to a simple, easily remembered melody, so that all worshipers can easily understand the meaning of their texts, memorize and sing along with the choir. In them, theologically accurately, the deep meaning of the event of the Baptism of the Lord is revealed. If the Nativity of Christ is sometimes called the "second Easter", then the feast of the Baptism of the Lord can rightfully be called the "second Trinity."

First, for the first time in biblical history we meet with all three Persons of the Holy Trinity at the same time - we hear the voice of God the Father, who reveals to people the God-manhood of His Son, who is baptized in the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit, descending on Christ, visibly appears to us in the form of a dove. Secondly, this day represents the reception of the Holy Spirit by all of us through Christ, which appears to us more clearly on the day of the Holy Trinity. This is what the first troparion of the Blessing of the Water tells us about. The voice of the Lord on the waters", calling us ALL to accept in the appearance of Christ " Spirit of Wisdom, Spirit of Reason, Spirit of God's Fear».

The second troparion Today the waters sanctify the nature” tells us that the very nature of water has changed as a result of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. This idea is supplemented by the end of the fourth and last troparion " To the voice of one crying in the wilderness”, exclaiming on behalf of John the Baptist and, at the same time, every Christian: “... Sanctify me and the waters, Savior, take up the sin of the world!» From that day on, the substance of water became able to cleanse the sins of people in the Church Sacrament of Baptism. A sign of such a transformation of the properties of water is agiasma - the epiphany holy water, which has many well-known miraculous properties, which we “draw” at the end of the baptismal service.

In the third troparion Like a man on the river» The Church reminds us of the greatest humility of Divine condescension, God not only took on a human form, but goes to be baptized - as a slave, as one of the sinners. But even for pious Jews, the rite of John's baptism seemed humiliating and shameful, because in those days such a ritual of washing was performed to accept pagans into Judaism, who were considered the center of all dirt, sin and vices.

The final troparion brings us back to the gospel events and, in the words of the Forerunner, expresses our awe and bewilderment at the meeting with one of the greatest Divine mysteries: “ How will the lamp of light shine? What hand will the slave put on the Lord? But not only people are seized by this trembling, even the material universe, represented by the waters of the Jordan River, is “feared”.

After singing the troparia, five readings are performed. : three three parimii from the book of the prophet Isaiah (35, 1-10; 55, 1-13; 12, 3-6), passages from the Epistle to the Corinthians and from the Gospel of Mark.

Prophecies are cited in paroemias about the regenerating power of God's grace, which the prophets liken to water: "The desert and dry land will rejoice, and the uninhabited country will rejoice and bloom like a narcissus; Messiah), the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be opened. Then the lame will jump up like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will sing; for the waters will break through in the desert and in the steppe, streams. Then the phantom of waters will turn into a lake, and the thirsty earth into fountains of waters. . "Thirsty! go all to the waters; even you, who have no money, go... With joy you will draw water from the fountains of salvation, and in that day you will say: Praise the Lord, call on his name; proclaim his works among the nations."

The great Old Testament prophet three times predicts the Baptism of the Lord from John, which took place on the verge of two Testaments. He expresses the joy and hope of the Church about drawing water from the source of salvation: “Thirsty ones! go all to the waters... Seek the Lord when you can find Him; call upon Him when He is near. Let the ungodly leave his way, and the wicked leave his thoughts, and turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He is much merciful” (Is. 55:1; 6-7).

Then they read the Epistle of the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 10, 1-4), in which Christ is compared to a stone from which flows the living water of Salvation, which watered the Old Testament Jews, and now waters Christians. And in the passages from Isaiah that precede the New Testament readings, we are talking about the future Church of Christ, as a source of Salvation for all peoples, healing all ailments and quenching any thirst. Their leitmotif is the words: "Draw water with joy, from the source of Salvation."

Finally, the Gospel of Mark (1, 9-12) is read, briefly reminding us of the events of the Feast, where the apostle tells about the very Baptism of the Lord. How amazing, lofty and Divine is the voice of the Church, with which she calls the Lord from heaven to our earthly waters!:
“Great ecu Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will be sufficient for the singing of Thy wonders! By Thy will, from non-existence, Thou hast brought into being all things: By Thy power, contain the creature, and by Thy Providence build the world - All smart Forces tremble for You: The sun sings to You: The moon praises You: The stars are present to You: The light listens to You: The abysses tremble for You: They work for You sources. Thou hast stretched out the sky like a skin; Angelic forces serve you: Archangels bow down to you - this God is indescribable, beginningless and inexpressible - Himself, the Lover of mankind to the King, come and now by the influx of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water.

At the same time there is censing over water. The consecration of water when reading a prayer is accompanied by a triple blessing by her shepherd's hand when pronouncing the words: “Yourself, Lover of mankind, O King, come and now by the influx of Thy Holy Spirit and sanctify this water.”
The great agiasma (Greek - “shrine”, this is the name of the water consecrated according to the order of the Great consecration) is consecrated, in addition to three times immersing the honest Cross in it, with the sign of the cross, blessing and more powerful and complex prayers and chants than with a small consecration of water performed at prayers.
“Ubo himself, Lover of mankind, King, come and now by the influx of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water. And the rain for her is the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan: create a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, resolution of sins, healing of ailments, destructive demons, impregnable opposing forces, filled with angelic fortresses "- this is said about water, that it asks for the fulfillment of an angelic fortress, and if is asked, then, therefore, with faith that the acquisition of such a mysterious power by water is possible - and will be ...
“The angelic fortress is full, but those who draw and partake have ecu for the purification of souls and bodies, for the healing of passions, for the consecration of houses, and for every good benefit ... Thyself and now, Lord, sanctify this water with Your Holy Spirit. Give sanctification, health, cleansing and blessing to all those who touch it and take communion, and smear it, ”the priest prays with such strong and responsibly authoritative words.

And before that, the deacon raises approximately the same petitions:
“For the hedgehog to be sanctified by this water by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
About the hedgehog to descend on the waters of this cleansing action of the eternal Trinity ...
Oh hedgehog to be granted to them the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan, by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit ...
Oh hedgehog send down to the Lord God the blessing of the Jordan and sanctify this water ...
About the hedgehog being this water, sanctification for the gift, deliverance from sins, for the healing of the soul and body, and for a fair amount of great benefit ...
About the hedgehog being this water that brings eternal life ...
Oh, this hedgehog will appear to drive away every slander of the visible and invisible enemy ...
About those who draw and eat it for the consecration of houses ...
About this hedgehog for the purification of souls and bodies, to all who draw with faith and partake of it ...
Let us pray to the Lord for a hedgehog to be filled with sanctification, with the communion of these waters, with the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

At the end of the reading of all the prayers, the priest immerses the honest Cross into the water three times, holding it straight with both hands, while singing the troparion of the feast of the Epiphany:
“In the Jordan, baptizing You, Lord, Trinity worship appeared: For the voice of your parents testifies to you, calling your beloved Son, and the Spirit, in the form of a dove, knows your word affirmation: appear, Christ God, and enlighten the world, glory to you ", which once again in a concise form expresses the thoughts of the four initial troparia of the Great Blessing of Water. After that, the priest, taking a vessel with consecrated water and sprinkled, sprinkles cruciformly on all sides and sprinkles the audience with holy water, everyone returns to the temple, the premises of which are also sprinkled, and then the thanksgiving stichera is sung " Let's sing of the return” and the final part of the festive liturgy is served.

Then they approach him to kiss the Cross, and each suitable priest sprinkles with consecrated water.

According to the Church, agiasma is not simple water of spiritual significance, but a new being, a spiritual-corporeal being, the interconnection of heaven and earth, grace and matter, and, moreover, very close.

That is why the Great Hagiasma, according to the canons of the Church, is regarded as a kind of lower degree of Holy Communion: in those cases when, due to sins committed, a member of the Church is penalized and forbidden to partake of the Holy Body and Blood, the usual reservation is made to the canons: “Let him drink to this agiasma.”

Many people mistakenly believe that the water consecrated on Epiphany Eve and the water consecrated on the very day of Theophany are different, but in fact, on Christmas Eve and on the very day of Theophany, the same rite of great blessing of water is used during the consecration of water.

Epiphany water is a shrine that should be in every home of an Orthodox Christian. It is carefully kept in the holy corner, near the icons.

Why bless water?

The text of the Order of the consecration of water.

When does holy water fail? Stories about the blessed power of baptismal water.

Water blessing

“What gift is so necessary for us as water? - asks ssmch. Hippolytus of Rome. - With water everything is washed, and nourished, and cleansed, and irrigated. Water waters the earth, produces dew, fattens the grapes, brings the ears of corn to maturity...

But why talk so much? Without water, nothing that we see can exist: water is so necessary that when other elements have a home under the vaults of heaven, it received a container for itself above the heavens. This is evidenced by the Prophet himself, crying out: “Praise Him, you heavens of heavens and the waters that are higher than the heavens” (Ps. 149:4).

So the holy water froze. Mystically beautiful...

Why is it in this substance - water - that the Christian and universal human consciousness finds a purifying, life-giving force? St. Cyril of Jerusalem says this about this primary element: “The beginning of the world is water, and the beginning of the Gospel is the Jordan. A sensible light shone from the water, for the Spirit of God hovered over the top of the water and commanded light to shine out of the darkness. The light of the Holy Gospel shone from the Jordan, for, as the holy evangelist writes, “from that time,” that is, from the time of Baptism, Jesus began to preach and say: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). By His baptism, Jesus Christ “drowned the sins of the whole world in the waters of the Jordan”, sanctified the water nature.

The conditions of our life - drinking, washing, a necessary part of many types of food, means of transportation, a means of cooling and refreshing - create the value and significance for us of water already in its natural state - as a gift from God.

Water, as created by God, is sacred as such, by its participation, together with everything that “was,” that is, Christ, the mystery of God’s building, directed to the salvation of the world. In Christian life, this “natural”, that is, without vicious actions on our part, sanctification is increased by the signs of the cross made over it - over drinking water, over water for eating, drinking it from consecrated dishes, and so on.

In a Christian well there is not simple water: already “digging a well” is consecrated by a special ceremony. “Give us water in this place, sweet and tasty, sufficient for consumption, harmless for acceptance ...”, the priest prays and the first one begins to dig a well. A special prayer is again made over the dug-out new well: “To the Creator of the waters and the Maker of all ... Thou Thyself sanctify this water: send Thy holy power upon every resisting thing, and give it to all who receive from it, for drink for the sake of, or for the sake of washing, the health of the soul and body, for the change of every passion and every ailment: as if there would be healing of water and peace to all who touch it and accept it ... "

Even such a seemingly ordinary thing as well water is a miraculous object - "water of healing and peace."

From the Old Testament, we learn about how the holy prophet and God-seer Moses, at the direction of God, brought water out of the rock with a blow of a rod (Ex. 17:2-7). And the spring flowing from the stone quenched the thirst of the people of Israel - not only natural, but also spiritual: for people grumbled against God and Moses, and the miracle that appeared strengthened the faith of the doubters and made the faint-hearted cheer up. The spring that Moses brought out of the rock spouted, of course, not ordinary water, but special water.

The water in the Well of the Samaritan Woman, dug out by the forefather Jacob and still consecrated by the conversation of the Savior in his presence, also became difficult, and even became forever an image in which the highest spiritual truths were embodied. Here, in a conversation with the Samaritan woman, the Lord spoke words that she did not understand at first, filled with the deepest mysterious meaning: “Whoever drinks the water that I will give him, he will not thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life” (John 4:14).

And not just water, according to the beliefs of Christians from ancient times to the present, in the Jordan River, consecrated by the Baptism of the Savior.

In addition, in the Lives of many saints, we find stories about bringing water sources out of the earth, healing ailments and driving away evil spirits. “Rejoice, asking God for a stream of water mother-in-law in a dry place; Rejoice, for there is water, healing ailments with your prayer, it works wonders, ”- is sung in the 4th icon of the akathist to St. Sergius of Radonezh.

Next, you should put the water, consecrated in the exact sense of the word for the performance of special rites over it: such, for example, is the water established by the church in the Treasury, which is released from the proskomedia copy by the priest when pronouncing a special prayer put to it.

Further - water of small water blessing, or small agiasma - in Greek “that micron of agiasma” (agiasma in Greek - “shrine”), that is, water consecrated by the immersion of the honest Cross when performing a water-blessing prayer service. “By the communion of this water and the sprinkling of Your blessing, send down to us, washing the filth of passions ...” - the priest prays, and then asks: “Yes, we pray, visit our, Blessed, infirmity, and heal our ailments of the soul and body by Your mercy .. .", i.e. asks for healing - along with the consecration of water, and further: "And make us worthy to be filled with Your consecration, this water with communion: and may it be to us, Lord, in the health of soul and body."

A small blessing of water is like a great one, that is, performed on and on the very day. The great agiasma - “that is the macron of agiasma” - is consecrated, in addition to the threefold immersion of the honest Cross into it, by the sign of the cross, the blessing - performed in it, inside it - and special prayers and chants.

The grace of God is manifested here so clearly that even in the physical plane, the water of the Epiphany acquires the property not to bloom with mold, not to rot. Saint John Chrysostom speaks about this property of hers. In a note to the service of the Epiphany contained in the Menaion, his words are quoted that the holy water of the Epiphany remains incorruptible for many years, it is fresh, pure and pleasant, as if it had just been drawn from a living source this very minute. This is a miracle of the grace of God and now everyone sees it.

Order of the Great Blessing of Water

Blessing of water can be small and large: the small is performed several times during the year, and the great - only on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Blessing of water is called great because of the special solemnity of the rite, imbued with the remembrance of the Baptism of the Lord, which was not only the prototype of the mysterious washing away of sins, but also the actual sanctification of the very nature of water, through the immersion of God in the flesh into it.

The great blessing of water is performed according to the Rule at the end of the liturgy, after the prayer behind the ambo. It takes place on the very day of Theophany (January 6/19), as well as on the eve of Theophany (January 5/18). On the very day of the Epiphany, the consecration of water is performed with a solemn procession of the cross, known as the "walk to the Jordan."

After the prayer beyond the ambo, the clergy go out for the consecration of water through the Royal Doors. The great consecration of water begins with the singing of troparions: “The voice of the Lord cries out on the waters, saying: come, receive all the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of reason, the Spirit of God’s fear, the manifest Christ”, “Today the nature of the waters is sanctified ...”, “Like a man came to the river , Christ the King...”, “Glory, and now”, “To the voice of one crying in the wilderness...”. Then parimias are read from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The great Old Testament prophet predicts the Baptism of the Lord three times. He expresses the joy and hope of the Church about drawing water from the source of salvation: “Thirsty ones! go all to the waters... Seek the Lord when you can find Him; call upon Him when He is near. Let the wicked leave his way, and the lawless man leave his thoughts, and turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He is much merciful” (Is. 55:1; 6-7).

Then they read the letter of the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 10:1-4) about the mysterious type of the baptism of the Jews, in the name of Moses, among the cloud and the sea, and about their spiritual food in the wilderness and drinking from the spiritual stone, which was the image of the coming Christ. Finally, the Gospel of Mark (1:9-11) is read, where the apostle tells about the Baptism of the Lord itself. Then follows the litany: “Let us pray to the Lord in peace...”, in which solemn petitions are raised for the blessing of water:

“For the hedgehog to be sanctified by this water by the power, and by the action, and by the influx of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.

About the hedgehog to come down to the waters of this cleansing Presushchnaya Trinity acting ...

Oh hedgehog to be granted to them the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan by the power, and the action, and the influx of the Holy Spirit ...

O hedgehog send down to the Lord God the blessing of the Jordan, and sanctify these waters ...

About the life of this water, sanctification for the gift, deliverance of sins, for the healing of the soul and body, and for every fair benefit ...

About the hedgehog being this water jumping into eternal life ...

Oh, this hedgehog will appear to drive away every slander of visible and invisible enemies ...

About those who draw and receive for the consecration of houses ...

About this hedgehog for the cleansing of souls and bodies to all who draw with faith and partake of it ...

Let us pray to the Lord for the hedgehog to be filled with the blessing of these waters by communion, by the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

Then the priest reads first a secret prayer, and then a vowel prayer, in which he asks the Lord to bless the water by the influx of the Holy Spirit.

“Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will suffice for the singing of Thy wonders! (Thrice).

You, by your desire, from those who do not exist in the hedgehog, bring all kinds of things, and with Your power support the creature and build the world with Your providence ... Smart all Forces tremble for You, The sun sings to You, The moon praises You, The stars are present to You, The light listens to You, The abysses tremble for You , Sources work for you. Thou hast stretched out the sky like a skin; The angelic forces serve You, the faces of the Archangels bow down to You... You are God, This Indescribable, Beginningless and Unspoken... You, O Lover of mankind to the King, come now by the influx of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water.

The consecration of water during the reading of a prayer is accompanied by a threefold blessing by her hand of the shepherd when pronouncing the words: “You, therefore, Lover of mankind to the King, come now by the influx of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water. And give her the grace of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan, create a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, resolution of sins, healing of ailments, all-destruction of demons, impregnable opposing forces, filled with angelic fortresses, and all who draw and partake have it for the purification of souls and bodies, for the healing of passions , for the consecration of houses, and for every good benefit ... Thyself and now, Master, sanctify this water with Your Holy Spirit. Give to all those who touch her, and those who take communion, and who are smeared with her, sanctification, health, purification and blessing.

At the end of reading all the prayers, the priest immerses the honest Cross three times in water, holding it straight with both hands, while singing the troparion of the feast of Theophany: and the Spirit in the form of a dove pronounces your verbal affirmation. Appear, Christ God, and enlighten the world, glory to Thee.

The priest, taking a vessel with consecrated water and sprinkled, sprinkles crosswise on all sides. Then, while singing the stichera “Let us sing, faithful, hedgehog of God's good deeds of majesty ...” the priest sprinkles the temple. Then it is sung: “May the Name of the Lord be blessed from now and forever”, and there is a perfect dismissal: “Whoever was baptized in the Jordan was willing from John ...”.

Consecration of the water nature by the Church

On the day of the Baptism of the Lord, not some part, but the whole nature of the water poured over the earth is consecrated. Why? Because the great sanctification of water in its essence is a remembrance of the Baptism of the Lord, with which the watery nature was sanctified.

Why does the Church sanctify water again and again when it has already been sanctified by the Baptism of the Son of God Himself?

We, fallen, though renewed by the grace of God, people, can always sin, and thus, again and again, introduce impurity and decay into the world around us. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, having ascended into heaven, granted believers the right to bring down the blessing of the Heavenly Father by the power of faith and prayer, sent down the Comforter of the Spirit of truth, Who always abides in the Church of Christ, so that the Church, despite the human seed of sin and impurity that is inexhaustible in the heart, always had an inexhaustible source of sanctification and life.

Keeping this commandment of the Lord, the Holy Church, with its sacraments and prayers, always sanctifies not only the person himself, but also everything that he uses in the world.

On this basis, the Church sanctifies the earth, asking God for the blessing of fertility, sanctifies the bread that serves us as food, and the water that quenches our thirst. By consecrating water, the Church returns the water element to its original purity and holiness, brings down to the water, by the power of prayer and the Word of God, the blessing of the Lord and the grace of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Spirit.

On drinking holy water

“Consecrated water,” wrote Saint Demetrius of Kherson, “has the power to sanctify the souls and bodies of all those who use it.” She, acceptable with faith and prayer, heals our bodily diseases. Holy water extinguishes the flame of passions, drives away evil spirits - that is why they sprinkle the dwelling and every thing that is consecrated with holy water.

The Monk Seraphim, after the confession of the pilgrims, always gave them to eat from the cup of holy baptismal water.

The Monk Ambrose sent a bottle of holy water to the terminally ill, and the incurable disease, to the amazement of the doctors, passed away.

Elder Hieroschemamonk Seraphim Vyritsky always advised to sprinkle food and food itself with Jordanian (baptismal) water, which, in his words, "consecrates everything by itself." When someone was very ill, Elder Seraphim blessed to take a tablespoon of holy water every hour.

The elder said that there are no stronger medicines than holy water and consecrated oil.

And the famous ascetic of the 20th century, the Monk Kuksha of Odessa, as his life tells, advised all new things and products to be consecrated with holy water, and to sprinkle the cell (room) before going to bed. In the morning, leaving the cell, he always sprinkled himself with holy water.

The venerable elders Barsanuphius the Great and John also speak about the use of holy water. When one of the villagers complained to them that the locusts spoiled his fields, they gave the following answer: “Take holy water and sprinkle your fields with it” (Rev. 691).

Our personal experience of believers also convinces us of the miraculous effect of holy water. The grace descending on the water through the prayers of a priest of God gives the power to heal illnesses - whether it be a headache or insomnia, irritation or simply what is now commonly called "stress", to quench passions and weaken emerging sinful desires. By means of holy water, any thing in the everyday life of an Orthodox Christian is consecrated - be it a means of transportation, clothing, housing, or anything else. Therefore, many believers have a very useful habit of frequently sprinkling it on their homes. They serve it to the suffering to drink, anoint the affected parts of the body with it.

Holy water, like prosphora, is usually consumed on an empty stomach, after the morning prayer rule, with special reverence as a shrine. There is special prayer, read when eating prosphora and holy water:

PRAYER FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF PROSPHORA and holy water

“Lord my God, may Your holy gift and Your holy water be for the remission of my sins, for the enlightenment of my mind, for the strengthening of my spiritual and bodily strength, for the health of my soul and body, for the subjugation of my passions and infirmities according to the boundless Thy mercy, by the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints. Amen".

Although it is desirable - out of reverence for the shrine - to take Epiphany water on an empty stomach, but due to a special need for God's help - in case of ailments or attacks by evil forces - you can and should drink it without hesitation, at any time of the day or night.

As mentioned above, Epiphany water tends not to bloom with mold and not rot for many years. (And it is all the more surprising that “ordinary” water, taken at midnight on Epiphany from any source, has similar properties.)

With a reverent attitude, holy water remains fresh and pleasant to the taste for a long time. It should be stored in a separate place, preferably next to the home iconostasis (but not in the refrigerator!).

Some Christians mistakenly believe that the water consecrated on Epiphany Eve and the water consecrated on the very day of Theophany are different: they say that the water that is consecrated on Christmas Eve, January 18, is Epiphany water, and the one that is consecrated on the 19th , - baptismal. At the same time, they try to collect holy water for two days in a row and then store it in different vessels, being afraid to mix it up. This is a meaningless lie. In fact, both on a holiday and on Christmas Eve, the water is consecrated by the same rite of the great blessing of water - in memory of the descent of the Lord Jesus Christ into the waters of the Jordan River.

A small drop of holy water, falling into any large vessel, sanctifies all the water in it. Moreover, you can add clean water to this vessel as many times as you like - it will all be sanctified. Therefore, those who bring whole barrels, canisters, flasks on a holiday in order to collect as much as possible look ridiculous. more water- "friends, relatives, neighbors."

When holy water does not help us

It can be argued that there is not a single stream of water in the world, not a single drop that would not be consecrated, blessed by prayer and, therefore, which would not be life-giving and saving for people, animals, the earth itself. A drop of holy water is said to sanctify the sea.

If we always acted as the Church and the Word of God teach us, then the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit would constantly be poured out on us, then every spring would be a source of healing for us from bodily and spiritual ailments, every cup of water would serve as purification and enlightenment, "water of healing and rest."

But that doesn't happen. Not only simple, but sometimes even holy water cannot help us!

“All the grace that comes from God through St. Cross, St. icons, St. water, relics, consecrated bread (artos, antidoron, prosphora), etc., including the Most Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, - writes St. Theophan the Recluse, - has power only for those who are worthy of this grace through penitential prayers, repentance, humility, service to people, works of mercy and manifestation of other Christian virtues. But if they are not there, then this grace will not save, it does not act automatically, like a talisman, and is useless for impious and imaginary Christians (without virtues).”

Miracles and healings are happening today. But only those who accept it with living faith in the promises of God and the power of the prayer of the Holy Church, those who have a pure and sincere desire to change their lives, repentance, and salvation are rewarded with miraculous actions of holy water. God does not work miracles where they want to see them only out of curiosity, without a sincere intention to use them for their salvation. “An evil and adulterous generation,” the Savior said about his unbelieving contemporaries, “is looking for a sign; and no sign will be given to him.”

In order for holy water to be beneficial, let us take care of the purity of the soul, the high dignity of our thoughts and deeds.

Stories about the blessed power of Epiphany water

I was born in 1918, and although my mother was a believer, religion was alien to me.

I was already married when I fell ill with a severe form of pleurisy and was dying. I heard the doctor say to my mother, "Leave her, she's hopeless."

In a state of death agony, half-conscious, the thought flashed through my mind: “Lord, what can I do to get well?” And then I clearly heard a voice answering me: “Drink the holy water, eat the arthos and believe in Me.”

Until then, I did not know the word "artos", but when I woke up, I remembered it well. I called my mother and asked them to give me holy water and arthos. Mother, surprised by my request, said: “It seems that you are dying if you ask for holy water and arthos.”

She immediately granted my request, and with great effort I swallowed a sip of water and a piece of arthos. After that, I immediately fell asleep and slept for a long time, and woke up completely healthy. Since then my life has changed. I live by faith and raise my children in faith in the Lord.

Help in healing from anxiety

One medical book on psychiatry, published at the beginning of the 20th century, its author, a professor, writes that he distinguishes between the mentally ill from the "possessed" and patients with physical damage to the organs of the nervous system. He defined the first in a simple way He gave them holy water to drink. But no one could force the possessed to drink holy water.

One mother told the following about her sick daughter, who suffered from demonic possession. To help her spiritually, she invariably poured a few drops of holy Epiphany water into the food prepared for her daughter. The mother did this secretly from her daughter. But every time, as soon as she brought cooked food with holy epiphany water to the table, the sick daughter usually shouted: “Mother, why are you unbearably tormenting me? I can’t eat this food, and I can’t even look at it without horror!” With these words, she jumped out from behind the table and tried to leave the house. So unbearable is the grace-filled power of the holy water of the Epiphany for the devil.

It is remarkable that the patient felt the presence of holy water everywhere and everywhere and avoided it in every possible way. The mother, calling on God for help, never lost hope of healing her daughter with holy water. After some time, the patient became much quieter and approached the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ more calmly and even with tears. A year after that, she quietly, like a true Christian, died.

Hexed water

On the day of the feast of the Epiphany, one priest stood in the temple and poured freshly blessed water into the vessels of the pilgrims. A woman approaches and hands him a bottle. As soon as the priest began to pour water into it, the bottle burst in his hands and shattered into small fragments.

The astonished priest asks the woman: “What is this bottle? Was there anything in it?

The embarrassed woman replies: “Father, I wanted a guy to marry my daughter. To bewitch him, I took some water from an old woman. But I was afraid to give it to my daughter. To be sure, I wanted you to add Epiphany to this water.

The demonic slandered water and the sacred Epiphany could not mix in one vessel.

From the story of Professor N

During the consecration of water, a wondrous prayer is said, in which healing is requested from diseases for those who use this water. In general, consecrated objects have spiritual properties that are not inherent in ordinary matter.

To numerous manifestations of special healing properties holy water, you can add another quite reliable case that took place at the end of the winter of 1961.

An elderly retired teacher A.I., who was sick with eyes (dark water) and was being treated in an eye dispensary, became completely blind. However, being a believer, for several days in a row she applied a cotton swab moistened with holy baptismal water to her eyes with a prayer. Suddenly, to the surprise of the doctors, one (really beautiful) morning the teacher began to see well.

It is known that in patients with glaucoma such drastic improvements are impossible in the usual course, and getting rid of A.I. from blindness can be considered as one of the manifestations of the healing properties of holy water, as one of the miracles that have happened and are happening at the present time.

Unfortunately, not all miracles are recorded and announced, and each of us simply does not know about many things. Even this miracle, which I spoke about, will obviously be known only to a narrow circle of people, but we, who, by the grace of God, have been honored to be among them, will give thanks and glory to God.

By o.Venedikt 01/22/2016

A special relationship to the water of the Epiphany is an ancient Christian tradition. For the first time, St. Epiphanius of Cyprus mentions it in his work “Against Heresies”, or “Panarion”, written in the 70s. 4th century:

“The Nativity of Christ, no doubt, happened on the 11th Tibi (according to the Egyptian calendar, according to the Julian it is January 6, that is, the day of the feast of the Epiphany.- priest M. J.) ... And on the same 11th day, but thirty years later, the first sign happened in Cana of Galilee, when the water became wine. Therefore, in many places, up to the present time, the Divine sign that happened then is repeated as a witness to the unbelievers, which is confirmed by the waters of springs and rivers turning into wine in many places. For example, a source in the city of Kibira in the Carian region ... as well as a source in Geras of Arabia. We ourselves drank from the Cybir [source,] and our brothers from the Geras ... And many [brothers] from Egypt testify the same about the [river] Nile. That is why on the 11th Tibi according to the Egyptian [calendar], everyone draws water and then stores it - both in Egypt itself and in other countries.

So, already in the IV century. the tradition of honoring the water collected on the day of Theophany was known not only in Egypt, where this holiday was first celebrated, but also in other areas of the Christian world. Approximately a decade later than Saint Epiphanius, Saint John Chrysostom also describes the same tradition. In his conversation on the day of the Baptism of the Lord, delivered in 387 in Antioch, he notes:

“At midnight on this feast [of Epiphany], everyone, having scooped up water, brings it home and [then] keeps it for a whole year, since today the waters are consecrated. And a clear sign occurs: the quality of this water does not deteriorate with the passage of time; on the contrary, the water drawn today remains unspoiled and fresh for a whole year, and often two or three.

The property of Epiphany water not to deteriorate for a long time, perhaps, is not as striking as the miracle described by St. Epiphanius of the transformation of the waters of some sources into wine. But it is this quality that distinguishes Epiphany water for many centuries. Even the atheistic propaganda of the Soviet times recognized it, trying to give it a “scientific” explanation: holy water allegedly does not deteriorate due to silver ions, since it is consecrated and then stored in silver vessels (although this is not the case in the vast majority of cases). However, St. John Chrysostom, who first described this property, like St. Epiphanius, does not say anything about the performance of any liturgical rites over water - everyone who wishes simply collects it from local sources, and its holiness has its basis in the very date of the holiday, and not in the fact that a prayer is read over the water or a sacred act is performed.

The Armenian translation of the Jerusalem Lectionary of the 5th century, where, almost for the first time in the Christian East, it was described in detail, indicating specific biblical readings and even some hymns, the liturgy of the entire church year is described, also does not mention anything about the celebration of any sacred rite over water on the day of Theophany . And the Constantinopolitan official Paul Silentiarius, in his “Description of the Church of Hagia Sophia”, written around 563, speaks of a large marble fountain located in the center of the atrium - a square surrounded by a colonnade in front of the temple:

And in the spacious courtyard stands as a precious center
The bowl is huge, all of Iassian stone.
There, a murmuring stream pours out, uplifting into the air
Jets from a copper pipe are torn out with great power,
Jets that cure ailments when people gather
In the month of the golden chiton for the feast of the mystery of the Lord:
At night they will draw pure water into their vessels.
jet that God's will broadcast: after all, wonderful moisture
Rotten never accepts and is not subject to damage,
Though many years remain far from the source,
For a long time in the home chambers stored in the depths of the jug.

It is easy to see that from the words of Paul Silentiarius it directly follows that even in the 6th century in Constantinople, the tradition described by St. John Chrysostom was preserved: water collected on the night of the feast from the source, which in this case served as the fountain in front of the church of St. Sophia, was considered epiphany.

When did the custom arise to perform the rite of consecration over the water of the Epiphany, and how did this rite itself develop?

According to Theodore the Reader, a church historian at the turn of the 5th–6th centuries, the custom of performing a prayer resembling the Eucharistic prayer over Epiphany water (Theodore uses the term ἐπίκλησις - “invocation”, epiclesis, as in the Eucharist), was “invented” by Peter Gnafevs, who in the last thirds of the 5th c. occupied - intermittently, since he was deposed several times, and then restored - the See of Antioch:

“It is reported that Peter Gnafevs came up with (ἐπινοῆσαι) so that the sacrament (μυστήριον) in the church would be consecrated in front of all the people, so that in the evening on Theophany an invocation is made over the waters, so that at every prayer (εὐχῇ) the Mother of God is mentioned and at every liturgy (σύναξει) the Creed is read.

Prior to his appointment as Patriarch of Antioch, Peter Gnafevs was a monk of the influential Akimite monastery in Constantinople and had many connections at court. He was a consistent Monophysite, therefore his activity is described by Orthodox Church historians in a negative way, but it clearly influenced the development of worship among both Monophysites and Orthodox. This is confirmed by the Byzantine church historian of the XIV century. Nikephoros Kallistos Xanthopoulos, who renders the words of Theodore the Reader quoted above as follows:

“It is reported that Peter Gnafevs also came up with the following four beautiful practices of the Universal Church: the preparation of the Divine Peace (μύρου), consecrated in front of all the people; Divine invocation over the waters in the evening on Holy Theophany; the bold chanting of the Creed at every church meeting - whereas before that it was read only once [a year], on Holy and Good Friday; and commemoration of the Mother of God at every litany.

So, it can be fairly confidently asserted that the prayer of the Epiphany blessing of water, which, like the Eucharistic liturgy, included the epiclesis, appeared in the last third of the 5th century BC. in Antioch and from there it spread throughout the East, excluding the Nestorians, who had already isolated themselves by that time.

The special proximity of the Byzantine rite of the epiphany consecration of water to the Antiochian and, more broadly, the Syrian liturgical tradition is evident from the fact that the central prayer of this rite - “Great, Lord ...” - among the Byzantines and the Syro-Jacobites (as well as among the Armenians, Copts and Ethiopians , on which the divine service of the Syro-Jacobites had a very great influence) - one and the same. And not only one and the same, but also addressed to the Son of God, and not to the Father, which is typical for Syrian-Jacobite (and dependent on them Coptic, etc.) anaphoras.

Anyone who is a little familiar with the content of the Orthodox Treasury knows that the prayer “Great Thou, Lord ...” is used not only on the feast of the Epiphany, but also in the rite of the sacrament of Baptism. Rather, the epiphany and baptismal prayers have the same beginning and middle, and only the endings differ. The common origin of baptismal and epiphany prayers is thus undoubted, but which of them is primary?

A number of scholars, including Jerome Engberding and Miguel Arrantz, tried to prove that the prayer “Great thou, O Lord…” was formed in the order of the sacrament of Baptism and from there transferred to the order of the feast of Theophany, contrary to the opinion of Hubert Scheidt, who pointed to the originally festive, that is, the non-baptismal nature of some of the expressions of this prayer. The arguments of his critics amounted to a refutation of his analysis of these expressions. However, not only and not so much some phrases of the prayer speak in favor of Scheidt’s rightness, but the fact that in the Syrian tradition the prayer “Great, Lord ...” is really used only on the feast of the Epiphany, then as in the rites of baptismal water blessing (there are several in the Syrian tradition), among others, the prayer “Lord God the Almighty, the entire building is visible and invisible to the Creator ...” is often used - the same one that is indicated in our Ribbon as the prayer “Baptism of fear for the sake of death ". At the same time, it is also given in the oldest manuscripts of the Byzantine Euchologion, but no longer with such a heading, but simply as a “different” prayer of Baptism. And on the all-important list, Sinait. NE MG 93, 9th century, showing greater affinity to the Syrian tradition than all other surviving Greek manuscripts, the prayer “Lord God Almighty, of the entire building visible and invisible to the Creator ...” is simply the main prayer of the rite of Baptism. In our opinion, the prayer "Lord God the Almighty, of the entire building visible and invisible to the Creator ..." was preserved in the Ribbon only because it was originally - as in Sinait. NE MG 93 - it was she who was baptismal, and the prayer "Great thou, Lord ..." was, as Scheidt correctly assumed, epiphany.

In general, the Byzantine rite of the epiphany consecration of water, performed in the Orthodox Church up to our time, has the following order:

The procedure for consecrating water on Epiphany

1. Troparia "The voice of the Lord on the waters ...", during the singing of which the clergy go to a vessel with water.
2. Readings from Holy Scripture as Old (paroemias: Is. 35:1-10; 55:1-13; 12:3-6; prokeimenon from Ps. 26), and New (Apostle: 1 Cor. 10:1-4 and Gospel: Mark 1:9-11) Testaments.
3. A peaceful litany with additional petitions for water, during which the priest reads the secret prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father…”, similar to the priest’s prayer about his unworthiness in the ranks of the Divine Liturgy and the sacrament of Baptism.
4. The central prayer “Great art thou, O Lord…”, which is similar to the Eucharistic anaphora and, like it, includes the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the threefold overshadowing by the priest’s hand of the consecrated substance - in this case, water.
5. The bowing prayer "Incline, Lord, Thy ear ...".
6. Three times singing of the troparion of the feast of the Epiphany “In the Jordan I am baptized by Thee, O Lord…” with the immersion of the cross in water.
7. The sprinkling of those praying with holy water, the kissing of the cross by all and the return of the clergy to the altar with the singing of the stichera “Let us sing of the faithful…”.

Despite the fact that this order looks very harmonious, the original Constantinopolitan tradition followed a slightly different logic of building the rank. This is how the liturgical instructions of the Synaxarion of Constantinople describe the great consecration of water in the church of Hagia Sophia:

« 5th date of the same month [January]. Eve [of the holiday] Svetov ...(Follows a description of Vespers and the Liturgy of Vespers.— priest M. J.) But [at the usual time] dismissal, the deacon does not let the people go, that is, he does not proclaim: "Let's leave in peace" , but [instead proclaims:] "Wisdom!", and the patriarch enters under the shadow of the holy throne together with the deacons and [servants] with candles and censers. And the deacon performs a litany, and after that the patriarch reads a prayer for water. And at the end of the blessing of the water, when the patriarch goes from [the temple] to the fountain of the atrium, the singers at the pulpit begin to sing: "Voice of the Lord...", under this singing, everyone goes to the atrium and a prayer of blessing the water is also read there. And [in the church at this time] from the pulpit they read proverbs (the same as now, but without the Apostle and the Gospel.- priest M. J.).

6th of the same month. Feast of the Holy Epiphany… Matins is sung in the temple, and the troparion is sung on Psalm 50: “Today the Trinity…” and another: "In the Jordan I am baptized by Thee, O Lord." And at the end of it, the patriarch goes to the baptistery and performs the sacrament of Baptism ... ".

From this description it can be seen that the consecration of water did not include any biblical readings or hymns, but only litany and prayer, that is, it corresponded to points 3-5 from the modern scheme of rites. Moreover, it was probably performed not over a specific vessel with water, but over water in general, over the entire water element - otherwise it is impossible to understand how not just in the altar, but directly on the holy throne, close to which the patriarch is ordered to approach, could take enough water. On the other hand, standing at the very throne corresponds well to the Eucharistic nature of the prayer "Great thou, Lord ...".

In turn, the troparia “The Voice of the Lord…” and proverbs, as it turns out, did not open, but completed the rites - they served the purpose of filling a pause in the church at a time when the patriarch went into the atrium to bless the water there as well. And with the troparion “In the Jordan, I am baptized by Thee, Lord ...” was not associated with the immersion of the cross in water, but the beginning of Baptism - that is, immersion in water - announced.

This order is also confirmed by some of the most ancient manuscripts, including the famous Euchologion Barberini, the Glagolitic Sinai Euchologion, etc., in which, after the litany, the prayer “Great thou, O Lord…” and the prostrating prayer, the rite of the Epiphany blessing of water is given under the heading “Εὐχὴ ἄλλη εἰς τὶί τνγν Βαπτισμάτων τῶν ἁγίων θεοφανῶν, λεγομένη τῇ φιάλῃ τοῦ μεσιαύλου τῆς ἐκκλησίας ”(“ another prayer above the water of the holy Epiphany, read over the fountain in the atrium of the temple ”) is another brief prayer. Here is the text of this prayer translated from the Glagolitic Sinai Euchologion of the 11th century. :

« Prayer over the water of the holy Enlightenment, we say in the church window. O God, our God, turn the bitter water of Thy people into sweet water under Moses, and heal the salt that harms the water under Elisha, and sanctify the Jordanian waters with Your most pure enlightenment, - You and now, Master, sanctify this water and create it to be all who draw from it and sprinkled with it and tasting it, a source of blessing, pampering (healing.- priest M. J.) sickness, the sanctification of the house, to everyone, visible and invisible, driving away. As your power is ... ".

Schematically, the transformation of the ancient Constantinopolitan order of sacred rites over water on the Epiphany into the customary rite of the great consecration of water can be represented as follows:

Ancient Constantinople	Subsequent tradition
Ι. In the temple: Epicletic prayer for the water element	1. Procession with the singing of troparia "The voice of the Lord on the water ..." (= ancient element ΙΙ)
II. During the procession to the fountain in front of the temple: Singing troparia "The voice of the Lord on the water ..."	2. Readings from Holy Scripture (= ancient element ΙΙΙ-b)
III-a. Above the fountain Another prayer.	3–5. Litany and prayers over water (= ancient element Ι)
ΙΙΙ-b. At the same time in the temple: Reading proverbs	6. Singing the festive troparion “I am baptized in the Jordan ...” and immersing the cross (= ancient element IV)
IV. Next day: Singing the festive troparion "I am baptized in the Jordan ..." (and in ancient times - also Baptism)	7. Sprinkling and returning to the altar (no match)
	eight (!). Re-consecration of water on the very day of the holiday (cf. ancient element III-a)

Having examined the origin of the rite of the great consecration of water, we can briefly comment on its content. Paremias the order of the great sanctification of water contains prophecies about how God will save people who believe in Him, but they are chosen so that in each of them the image of salvation is the sources of water and the saturation of the thirsty earth with it. Apostle contains an interpretation of the "water" images of crossing the Red Sea and the drink given in the middle of the desert from the Old Testament story of the Exodus as an indication of Christ the Savior. Finally, Gospel contains short story about the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Baptist; thus, this event is understood as the disclosure of the theme of salvation with the help of water (or the image of water), which was discussed in paroemias and the Apostle.

Peace Litany the rite of the great consecration of water as a whole coincides with the litany from the rite of the sacrament of Baptism - but, quite naturally, there are no petitions for those who receive baptism, but several petitions are added for those who "draw water for themselves and take [it] for the blessing of houses", etc. n. Of particular interest is the seventeenth petition of the litany "for the existence of this water that brings (ἁλλόμενον) into eternal life." The Greek verb ἅλλομαι in relation to water is translated as “to hit [a target]”, “to gush”, so this is a petition based on the words of the Lord Jesus Christ from a conversation with a Samaritan woman: “Whoever drinks the water that I will give him, he will not thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water flowing (literally, “gushing”) into eternal life” (Jn 4:14), implies that the water of the Epiphany helps believers to see the goal of Christian achievement - eternal life.

central prayer the great consecration of water, “Great thou, O Lord…”, repeats the structure of the Eucharistic anaphora. So, in the last petition for the consecration of the Gifts, a detailed justification precedes: we say that God is the Trinity, that He created the world, that the heavenly powers sing about Him, but the person who should also take part in the praise of the Creator fell away from God and needed in redemption, which was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the course of His redemptive economy, we were given the commandment to celebrate the Eucharist, in fulfillment of which we pray that the Holy Spirit descend on bread and wine and make them the Body and Blood of the Savior, before whom we bring our petitions for the whole Church. Thus, the entire Eucharistic prayer appears as a single whole, and the petition for the consecration of the Gifts is raised to God in it not as an accidental whim, but as a need naturally arising from the very essence of our faith. The prayer “Great art thou, Lord…” has a similar logic:

Church Slavonic text	section content	Russian translation
Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will suffice for the singing of Thy wonders. (thrice).	opening address	Great are You, Lord, wonderful are Your deeds, and no words are enough to sing Your miracles (thrice).
You, moreover, by your desire from those who do not exist in the hedgehog, bring all kinds of things, by your power you contain the creature, and by your providence you build the world. You are a creature composed of four elements, for four times the circle of summer was crowned. All intelligent forces tremble to you, The sun sings to you, The moon praises you, The stars are present to you, The light listens to you, The abysses tremble to you, Springs work for you. Thou hast stretched out the sky like a skin;	God is the Creator of the world	After all, having brought everything from nonexistence into existence by Your will, You hold creation in Your power and govern the world with Your Providence. You, who made up the creation from four principles, crowned the annual circle with four seasons [of the year]. All rational forces tremble before You, the sun sings to You, the moon glorifies You, the stars pray to You, the light obeys You, the abysses fear You, the springs obey You. You pulled the sky like a veil, You established the earth on the waters, You shielded the sea with sand, You poured air for breathing.
Angelic forces serve You, archangelic faces bow to You, many-eyed cherubs and six-winged seraphim, around standing and flying around, are covered with the fear of Your impregnable glory.	angelic doxology	Angelic forces serve you, choirs of archangels worship you, many-eyed cherubim and six-winged seraphim, standing around and flying, are covered with fear of your impregnable glory.
You are God, This is indescribable, beginningless and inexpressible, you came to earth, we took the form of a servant, having been in the likeness of humanity, you did not endure mercy, Master, for the sake of Your mercy, see the tormented human race from the devil, but you came and saved you us.	Divine economy: generally	After all, You, God Indescribable, Beginningless and Ineffable, came to earth, taking the form of a slave and becoming like a man. For you, Lord, could not, in Your mercy, look at how the devil rapes the human race, but came and saved us.
We confess grace, we preach mercy, we do not hide good deeds: you have freed the nature of our generation, you have consecrated the virgin womb with Your Nativity. All creation sings of Thee who appeared: You are our God, thou hast appeared on earth, and thou hast lived with men. Thou hast sanctified the jets of Jordan, sent down Thy Holy Spirit from Heaven, and crushed the heads of the nesting serpents there.	Divine economy: the particular episode that conditioned this prayer	We confess Your grace, we preach mercy, we do not hide our beneficence: You freed the origin of our nature, sanctifying the virgin womb with Your birth. All creation sang of Your appearance, because You, our God, appeared on earth and settled with people. You sanctified the streams of the Jordan by sending Your Holy Spirit from heaven and crushing the heads of the serpents nesting there.
Thou, O Lover of mankind to the King, come now also by the influx of Thy Holy Spirit, and sanctify this water	Epiclesis (the invocation of the Holy Spirit, who invisibly sanctifies the water, and the visible blessing of the water by the priest)	So, You Yourself, the Human-loving King, appear and now through the descent of Your Holy Spirit and sanctify this water (three times, with the overshadowing of the water by hand).
And give her the grace of deliverance, the blessing of Jordan; create a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, resolution of sins, healing of ailments, all-destruction of demons, impregnable to opposing forces, filled with angelic fortresses. Yes, all those who draw and partake, have it for the purification of souls and bodies, for the healing of passions, for the consecration of houses, and for every good benefit.	Prayer for spiritual fruits from the communion of the shrine	And give her the gift of deliverance, the blessing of the Jordan. Make it a source of incorruption, a gift of sanctification, a washing from sins, a healing from diseases, a death of demons, inaccessible to hostile forces, filled with angelic power. So that for all who will draw [it] and eat [from it], it will become the purification of souls and bodies, healing from suffering, serve to sanctify dwellings and be useful in a variety of needs.
Thou art our God, Who by water and the Spirit renews our nature, which has been decrepit by sin. You are our God, drowning sin under Noah with water. You are our God, Even the sea freed from the work of Pharaoh by Moses, the Jewish race. Thou art our God, smashing a stone in the desert, and water flowing, and floods flooding, and thirsty people Your satiating. You are our God, Who by water and fire replaced Elijah of Israel from the charm of Baal.	Biblical images of Divine help using water	For You are our God, Who renewed our aged nature with water and the Spirit. You are our God, Who under Noah drowned sin in the water. You are our God, Who, with the help of Moses, freed the Jewish race from slavery [through the Red Sea]. You are our God, who cut the stone in the [Sinai] wilderness, so that water flowed, and streams were filled, and your thirsty people got drunk. You are our God, who, with the help of Elijah, turned Israel away from the deception [cult of] Baal [by] igniting the [poured] water [of the sacrifice].
Thyself and now, Lord, sanctify this water with Your Holy Spirit (thrice).	Epiclesa (repeat)	So now, Master, You Yourself sanctify this water with Your Holy Spirit.
Give to all those who touch it, and those who partake, and who smear it, sanctification, health, purification and blessing.	Prayer for those who partake of the shrine (repeat)	And give to everyone who will touch her and eat [her] and anoint herself with her, sanctification, health, purification and blessing.
Save, Lord, and have mercy on our great lord and father, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, and our lord, His Grace Bishop name and keep them under your shelter in peace. Save, Lord, and have mercy on the authorities and the army of our country, subdue them every enemy and adversary. Grant them everything, even for the salvation of petition, and eternal life,	Intercessions for Church and Country	Save, Lord, and have mercy on our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and our Lord, His Grace Bishop such and such and keep them under Your protection in a peaceful state [of spirit]. Save, Lord, and have mercy on the authorities and the army of our country, subdue them every enemy and aggressor. Fulfill all their requests relating to salvation, and grant them eternal life,
yes, and by verses, and men, and angels, both visible and invisible, Your most holy Name is glorified, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever.	Final doxology	so that the elements, and people, and angels, and all visible and invisible [creation] glorify Your completely holy Name with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.
Amen.	People's response: "May it be so"	Amen.

Prayer Prologue. In many manuscripts, in Russian old printed and modern standard Greek editions, the prayer “Great thou, Lord ...” often has a “prologue” in the form of a prayer addressed to the Most Holy Trinity “Trinity Presence, uncreated ...”, smoothly turning into a poetic sermon on the meaning of the day of Theophany . In the ancient Russian tradition, this prologue was omitted during the consecration of water on the eve of the holiday, and on the day itself, on the contrary, it was solemnly proclaimed immediately after the peaceful litany and before “Great thou, Lord ...”. Here is the text of the prologue of the prayer “Great thou, Lord ...” according to the Treasury of Metropolitan Peter (Graves) of 1646: the Trinity, Pre-Essential, Most Blessing, Most Divine!

Omnipotent, all-present, invisible, incomprehensible, creative of intelligent beings and verbal natures; transcendent Goodness, unapproachable Light, enlighten every person coming into the world!

Shine on me, your unworthy servant, enlighten my mental eye, as if I dare to sing immeasurable good deed and strength.

It will be favorable for me to pray for the coming people, so that my sins will not forbid Thy Holy Spirit to come here; but leave me unjudgmentally crying out to You and saying now, Pre-good:

“We praise Thee, Lord, Lover of mankind, Almighty, eternal King!

Praise Thee, Creator and Builder of all!

We glorify Thee, without a Father from Mater and without Mater from the Existing Father!

In the preceding feast of [Christmas], I saw the Infant You, in the present we see Perfection to You, from the Perfect Perfection our God appeared.

Today is a festive time for us, and the face of the saints is gathering with us, and angels and people will celebrate together!

Today, for the grace of the Holy Spirit, in a vision of a dove, came to the waters.

Today the unsetting Sun rises, and the world is illuminated by the light of the Lord.

Today the moon illuminates the world with bright rays.

Today, the light-like stars adorn the universe with their lightness of radiance.

Today the clouds are raining down truth to humanity from heaven.

Today, the Uncreated from His creation by [His] desire is ordained.

Today [John,] the prophet and Forerunner [,] approaches the Master, but it will be a trembling, seeing God's descent to us.

Today, the waters of Jordan are transformed into healing water by the coming of the Lord.

Today, the whole creature will be soldered with mysterious jets.

Today, human sins are washed away by the waters of the Jordan.

Today, paradise is opened by man, and the Sun of truth shines upon us.

Today, bitter water, even under Moses, was changed into sweetness by the Lord's coming.

Today let us change the ancient weeping, and like the New Israel we will be saved.

Today we will be delivered from darkness and illuminated with the light of God-reason.

Today the darkness of the world is consumed by the appearance of our God.

Today, the whole creation is enlightened with light from above.

Today they will celebrate the mountain with the valley, and they will converse with the valley with the mountain.

Today the sacred and eloquent Orthodox celebration rejoices.

Today, charm is destroyed and the path of salvation arranges for us the Lord's coming.

Today, the Lord hastens to Baptism, so that he will raise humanity to a height.

Today, the Inflexible bows down to His servant, and frees us from slavery.

Today is the Kingdom of Heaven a redeemer, For the Kingdom of the Lord there is no end.

Today, the earth and the sea will divide the joy of the [whole] world, and the world will be filled with joy!

Seeing Thee water, O God, seeing Thee water and being afraid, Jordan return back, seeing the Holy Spirit in a vision of a dove descending and resting on Thee.

Jordan come back in vain the former is seen invisible, the Creator is embodied, the Lord in the slave's eye.

The Jordan has returned, and the mountains have risen,- Seeing God in the flesh, - and clouds voice dasha, miraculously coming to the Light from the Light, the true God from the true God, today in the Jordan seeing the holiday Masters, the very same crime is death and the charm of the sting, and hells sous in the Jordan immersed him and bestowed the Baptism of the salvation of the world!

The same and az, Thy sinful and unworthy servant, telling the majesty of Thy miracles, being filled with fear, in tenderness crying out to Ty:

“Great art Thou, O Lord, and marvelous are Thy works, and not a single word will suffice for the singing of Thy wonders!”

The eve of the feast of the Epiphany - January 5/18 - is called the Eve of the Epiphany, or Christmas Eve. The services of the eve and the feast itself are in many ways similar to the service of the eve and the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

On Christmas Eve of Theophany (as well as on Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ), the Church prescribes a strict fast: eating once after the blessing of water.

Since this year Christmas Eve falls on a weekday, the service of the Eve of Theophany consists of the Great Hours, pictorial and Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, after which the consecration of water takes place.

Great (Royal) hours

Following the hours of Vespers with the addition to them of the rite of fine arts and Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is celebrated separately from Matins (according to the Charter, “at the beginning a Le 2nd hour a”, i.e., according to our account of time, about 8 o’clock in the morning).

The name "royal" these watches received only in Russia. This was due to their special solemnity, as well as the Byzantine custom of the presence of the emperor during their performance; the Byzantine tradition was continued by the Moscow tsars. Meanwhile, in the old Typicons there was no such name. Therefore, the name of the clock "great" would be more true and consistent with the ancient Rules.

The Great Hours are celebrated with the Royal Doors open.

The priest in stole, phelonion and handrails, with the Gospel in his hands (preceded by a priest-bearer and a deacon in vestments, with a censer and a candle) leaves the altar through the royal doors to the lectern placed in the middle of the church directly opposite the royal doors. Walking around the lectern, the candle-bearer places a candle on its eastern side. The priest, putting the Gospel on the lectern, utters the initial exclamation 1st hour:"Blessed be our God..."

The reader reads the usual beginning and psalms of the 1st hour. To the usual 5th psalm two special are added - 22nd and 26th, in them the Lord, who accepted, is depicted as a Shepherd, who, according to the prediction of David, "shepherds me and deprives me of nothing." The Lord is “my enlightenment and my Savior…”.

With the beginning of the reading of the psalms, the priest, preceded by the deacon with a candle, burns incense around the Gospel, then burns the altar, the iconostasis, the whole temple and the people.

At the end of the 26th psalm, one reads or sings troparion of prefeast.

After the Mother of God hour What shall we call Thee, O Gracious the choir sings special holiday troparia with verses.

The troparia point to the separation of the waters of the Jordan by Elisha by the grace of the prophet Elijah as a prototype of the true Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, by which the watery nature was sanctified and during which the Jordan stopped its natural course. The last troparion describes the trembling feeling of Saint John the Baptist when the Lord came to him to be baptized.

And the Lord will thunder from Heaven, and the Most High will give a voice. Verse: ATI will love Thee, O Lord, my strength: the Lord is my strength.

On the 3rd hour in special psalms - 28th and 41st- depicts the power and authority of the baptized Lord over water and all the elements of the world:

“The voice of the Lord is on the waters: God of glory will thunder, the Lord is on many waters. The voice of the Lord in the fortress; the voice of the Lord in splendor ... "

These psalms are joined by the usual, 50th psalm. In the troparia of the hour, the experiences of John the Baptist are revealed - trembling and fear at the Baptism of the Lord - and the manifestation in this great event of the mystery of the Trinity of the Godhead.

During the reading of the psalms of the 3rd hour, the priest with the deacon (according to the Charter - the deacon) perform a small incense of the temple: they burn the Gospel, the iconostasis, the primate and those praying around.

After the Mother of God hour Mother of God, You are the true vine the choir sings special holiday troparia with verses.

After the performance of the troparia, the prokeimenon is sung, tone 6: ATYou went to the water, O God, you saw the water, and you were afraid. Verse: GI called with my eyes to the Lord, with my voice to God, and listened to me ..

After the Mother of God hour Like not imams of boldness.choir sings special holiday troparia with verses.

After the performance of the troparia, the prokeimenon is sung, tone 4: AT sea ​​your ways, and your paths in many waters. Verse: Gthe las of thy thunder in the wheel.

During the reading of the psalms of the 9th hour, the priest with the deacon (according to the Charter - the deacon) burn the entire church incense, as at the 1st hour.

At the end of the 85th psalm, one reads or sings troparion of prefeast.

After the Mother of God hour For us, be born the choir sings special holiday troparia with verses.

The canonarch (according to the Typicon - a deacon) reads a stichera in an exclamation Your hand that touched(we make three small bows). At the end of the stichera, the priest or deacon proclaims many years . 1st petition: “To the Great Lord…”, 2nd petition: “To all Orthodox Christians…”. For each request, the choir sings: Many years(thrice). If the service is performed in a monastery, then a third is added to the two indicated petitions: “Save, Christ God, our reverend father hegumen ...”, in this case, the choir begins to sing from the words Save, Christ God, this chant is also sung three times.

At the end of many years, both choirs glory, and now sing stichera Your hand that touched.

The prokeimenon is sung, tone 3: Gthe Lord is my enlightenment, and my Savior, whom shall I fear? Verse: GLord protector of my life, from whom shall I be afraid?

At the closing prayer of the 9th hour, they read pictorial.

Immediately after the leave of the fine is committed Vespers with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

An entrance is made with the Gospel and the great prokeimenon is sung, tone 7: Our God is in heaven on earth

13 paroemias of the feast of the Epiphany are read.

I. Genesis
II. Book of Exodus
III. Book of Exodus

After the first three proverbs troparion and verses of prophecy the singers sing: Yes, enlighten in the darkness sitting: Lover of mankind, glory to Thee(for the time of singing, the royal doors open).

IV. Book of Joshua
V. Fourth Kings
VI. Fourth Book of Kings

After that, with repeated singing of the troparion by the singers, the rector with the Cross in his left hand sprinkles crosswise in all directions, and also sprinkles the temple with holy water. After sprinkling, it is necessary to sing the stichera on glory, and now: Let's remember, come back.

Great Agiasma

Epiphany holy water is called in the Orthodox Church the great Agiasma - the great Shrine. Christians have had great reverence for holy water since ancient times. At the litany of the great consecration of water, the Church prays:

“O hedgehog be sanctified to these waters, and be granted to them the grace of deliverance (salvation), the blessing of the Jordan, by the power and action and influx of the Holy Spirit ...”

“O hedgehog to be this water, sanctification for the gift, deliverance of sins, into the souls and bodies of those who draw it and eat it, for the consecration of houses ..., and for every good good (strong) ...”.

In these petitions and in the prayer of the priest for the consecration of water, the Church testifies to the manifold actions of the grace of God, given to all, with faith, “drawing up and partaking” of this Shrine.

The sanctity of water is evident to everyone in the fact that it long time kept fresh and undamaged. Back in the 4th century, St. John Chrysostom: “Christ was baptized and sanctified the nature of the waters; and therefore, on the feast of Epiphany, everyone, drawing water at midnight, brings it home and keeps it all year long. And so the water in its essence does not deteriorate from the continuation of time, now drawn for a whole year, and often two or three years remains fresh and undamaged, and after a long time is not inferior to the waters just drawn from the source.

The Church uses this Shrine for sprinkling temples and dwellings, with incantational prayers for the expulsion of an evil spirit, as a medicine; assigns it to drink to those who cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. With this water and the Cross, the clergy used to visit the homes of their parishioners on the feast of Theophany, sprinkling them and their dwellings and thus spreading blessing and sanctification, starting from the temple of God, to all the children of the Church of Christ.

As a sign of special veneration of the Epiphany water as a precious great Shrine on Epiphany Christmas Eve, a strict fast is established, when either eating food before Epiphany water is not allowed at all, or a small amount of food is allowed. However, with proper reverence, with the sign of the cross and prayer, one can drink holy water without any embarrassment and doubt, both for those who have already tasted something, and at any time as needed. The Church in the liturgical Rule (see: Typikon, January 6) gives a clear and definite instruction and explanation on this matter: those who wean themselves from holy water for the sake of eating food prematurely, "do not do good." “Not eating for the sake of eating (food), there is impurity in us, but from our bad deeds; purify this holy water without a doubt.” i.e. like antidor, prosphora, etc. And this pious custom should by no means be eradicated among the people, because this can lead to a weakening of reverence for this Shrine).

After the dismissal, a lamp is placed in the middle of the church, in front of which the clergy and singers sing troparion and (on glory, and now) holiday kontakion. The candle here means the light of Christ's teachings, Divine enlightenment, bestowed in Theophany.

After that, the worshipers venerate the Cross, and the priest sprinkles each with holy water.

Troparion tone 4

Sometimes the Jordan River returns to the mercy of Eliseus, / I will ascend Elijah, / and the waters are divided everywhere and everywhere / and the path was dry for him, even wet, / in the image of truly Baptism, / in which we pass the current life procession // Christ appeared in the Jordan to sanctify the waters .

Toondak voice 2

All, Christ, Merciful, take away many sins / for the sake of immeasurable mercy, / You will be baptized by the Jordan waters, like a Man, / dressing me with clothes, / / ​​the glory of ancient times is naked.