This week, we celebrate one of the greatest of all feasts, the Theophany (manifestation as God) of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. On this day, our Lord came to the river Jordan to be baptized by John the Forerunner, and there the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove, while the Father witnessed to him.

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters crying: “Come, one and all, receive the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of the fear of God,// from Christ who now has shone forth.

Today the nature of the waters is sanctified. The Jordan is parted in two; it holds back the flow of its waters// as it beholds the washing of the Master.

You have come to the river as a Man, O Christ the King, and hasten to be baptized like a servant by the Forerunner,// on account of our sins, O good God, the lover of mankind.

Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6 PM: Great Vespers for the Eve of the Theophany, with readings from the Old Testament showing us how God has worked many times to save his people through water. The service concludes with the Great Blessing of Water.

Friday, Jan. 6, at 9:30 AM: Divine Liturgy with the Blessing of the Brook.