Trustpilot
Back to the calendar
Christmas
Theophany / Epiphany (Orthodox)
Also called: Holy Theophany, Blessing of the Waters, Αγία Θεοφάνεια (Theophania), Богоявление (Bogoiavlenie)
January 6 (fixed)
Eastern OrthodoxCatholicAnglican
For Orthodox Christians, 6 January (or 19 January in some traditions) is Theophany — when God appeared at Jesus's baptism in the Jordan River. Priests bless water by throwing a cross into rivers; brave swimmers dive in to retrieve it.
Houses are blessed with holy water for the year. It is as big as Christmas in many Eastern countries.
Eden lists pilgrimages to Greece, the Holy Land, and Eastern Europe for Theophany.
At a glance
- Type
- solemnity
- Date type
- Fixed (same date every year)
- Regions
- Global
- Themes
- Life of Christ, Holy Spirit, Trinity
- Liturgical colour
- White, Gold
Common questions
Theophany is observed on January 6 (fixed). Moveable feasts shift each year; fixed feasts stay on the same calendar date.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, Theophany (January 6) primarily celebrates Christ's baptism in the Jordan River — the moment of the first full revelation of the Trinity (the Father's voice, the Son's presence, the Spirit descending as a dove). The central rite is the Great Blessing of Waters: the priest consecrates water (holy water / Agiasmos) which is distributed to the faithful and used to bless homes. I
It is associated with Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican. It falls in the Christmas season of the liturgical year.
