Icon of "Baptism of the Lord": the meaning of the icon (photo)

The festival, dedicated to the great event - the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Jordan, appeared in the very first years of Christianity. He was loved by all the followers of the Christian teaching, because he allowed them to relive the exciting moments of their own baptism and mentally immerse themselves in the world of this sacrament. When the icons began to enter the church, then along with the other appeared the icon "The Baptism of the Lord." But first let's talk about the event, which served as an excuse for writing it.

The forerunner of the Lord on the banks of the Jordan

The Holy Gospel tells us about how the Lord sent the prophet John to prepare people for the coming of His Son Jesus Christ. Previous to Jesus, John was named in the New Testament as John the Baptist, or John the Baptist. By the will of the Lord God, he appealed to the Jews to come to repent of their sins and purify the souls for the acceptance of the Kingdom of God. He himself was the greatest ascetic and ascetic. Having lived all his life in the conditions of the harsh Judean desert and rejecting worldly joys, Saint John gave himself all of himself to the service of God.

His sermons full of life and truth met with wide response. The Gospel speaks of the thousands of Jews who hurried to his call. All of them received John's baptism in the waters of the Jordan River. It was a symbolic act of washing the body and soul, but it was not yet a blessed Christian sacrament. It was just a preparation for him.

Ancestor of the Kingdom of God

By this time, Jesus Christ, who lived in Nazareth and was not yet known to anyone, was thirty years old. According to the Jewish law, this was the age at which a man was given the right to become a teacher and be called a "rabbi". From that time he began his public ministry, whose goal was to show people the way to the Kingdom of God, that is, to a new humanity, reborn after the fall.

The gates into it were baptism, for without the purification of sins and repentance the entrance was closed there. Jesus Christ, as the ancestor of this Kingdom, was to enter it first, and consequently, in spite of his sinlessness, could not bypass his purifying gates. This was the reason that one day John the Baptist, speaking his next sermon, saw Jesus approaching him.

The Baptism of Jesus Christ and the Establishment of the Sacrament

Having understood the divine power of the One who approached him, John became confused, as expressed in his words about his unworthiness to perform a ritual in relation to the Messiah himself. Jesus reassured him by quoting the words from the Holy Scripture, which testified to the divine predestination of all that is happening. What followed this is the icon of "The Baptism of the Lord."

Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan, performing the rite and thereby consecrating him and elevating him to the rank of sacrament. Everyone present heard a voice from heaven that testified to the divine nature of Jesus. At the same time, the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. All this proved to people that in Jesus of Nazareth two entities - human and divine - are combined.

Epiphany at the Jordan and its dating

The Epiphany holiday, established in honor of this event, and the icon "Epiphany of the Lord" have one more name - Epiphany. The explanation for this is quite obvious - on the bank of the Jordan, God revealed to all people His three hypostases. The person who baptized - the Son who spoke from heaven - the Father who descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove - the Holy Spirit. Thus, the icon "Baptism of the Lord" - the Epiphany - is not just an image of the biblical event, but a presentation of a deep religious and philosophical doctrine.

The Evangelist Luke gives us the opportunity to date this event with some precision. He writes that John the Baptist began his sermons in the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. According to historical data, this should correspond to 779 from the founding of Rome, or 30 AD. Since there is a small time interval between the beginning of John the Baptist's sermons and the appearance of Jesus Christ on the Jordan bank, we can conclude that in the same year the Baptism of the Lord happened.

The icon, the photo of which is placed at the beginning of the article, represents Jesus Christ standing in the Jordanian waters and John the Baptist committing the rite over Him. On the right side, the angels' tiers bowed in awe, and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven. Most Orthodox icons adhere to this particular compositional interpretation in the depiction of this event.

Other names for this holiday

It is noteworthy that the celebrated in Rus from ancient times, this holiday had at first different names. He was known as "Epiphanius", which in Greek means "phenomenon", "Theophany" - theophany, and also "the festival of lights." Certainly, there was an unquenchable Light brought by God into this world. The icon of the Baptism of the Lord, the description of which was set forth above, also has one more symbolic meaning, which goes back to the Old Testament. It is in it that water is presented as the beginning of life. Let us recall how from it, under the influence of the life-giving Spirit, all living things appeared. Therefore, the Lord God and life are inseparable.

Features of the holiday, established by the church

The icon "The Baptism of the Lord" represents one of the main holidays of Christians. It is celebrated on January 19, Christmas Christmas is coming to an end, which lasted from the day of the Nativity of Christ, that is, on January 7. In memory of how Jesus Christ sanctified the water in the Jordan by his baptism, every year on the eve of the feasts in all Orthodox churches, the consecration of water is performed. Special prayers are read, and the priest immerses the cross three times in the water.

On the day of the feast, they sanctify the water in the reservoirs, having made a religious procession beforehand. Often the water service on the reservoirs is accompanied by a symbolic immersion in the hole of the most zealous pilgrims. On a frosty winter day they find courage, having crossed themselves with the sign of the cross, to plunge into the icy water. The hole in the ice is usually made in the form of a cross. Also in the hands of the clergy present at the same time, there must necessarily be a cross and an icon of "The Baptism of the Lord." The significance of this ritual is quite understandable - the triumph of the spirit over the flesh.

Folk customs on this holiday

On the eve of this day, the church established a one-day fast. It is called Epiphany Eve. On this day it is customary to eat a symbolic dish - osovo. This is a decoction of wheat and honey. The celebration of Epiphany is rich in various traditions. So, for example, on Christmas Eve housewives baked a special biscuit - crosses. In the morning on holiday they were eaten with holy water. In the form of baking cookies and its design a special meaning was made, understood only by those for whom it was intended. During the holidays, it was not for women to go for water on the river, it was the duty of men. Linen in the river was not rinsed during these days and a week after that, as it was considered a disrespect for the holiday.

Throughout the world, Christians celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. The icon, the photo of which ends the article, belongs to the Western Church, however, the similarity of the plot composition attracts attention. The general even the arrangement of figures. Added only some elements that do not include the Orthodox icon "The Baptism of the Lord." The meaning of the icon is the same - Jesus Christ reveals the gates of the Kingdom of God with his immersion in the stream of the Jordan.