Epiphany

At Our Holy Redeemer Church, in Webster Groves, Missouri. This photo looks better at full size; click photo to enlarge.

Epiphany, from the Koine Greek word ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, meaning ‘appearance’ or ‘manifestation’ is also called the Theophany and is the day after the Twelfth day of Christmas.

Writings from the early Church indicate that the following events were all celebrated in various localities on January 6^th from at least the second century, before a universal feast was recognized.

— The Nativity of Jesus.
— The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
— The Wedding Feast at Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine.
— The visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus.

While Epiphany commemorates all of these manifestations of God made Flesh, most of the Apostolic Churches have also split one or more of these occasions to their own separate commemorations.


Fr. Z discusses Epiphany here and here.