The
Baptism of Christ in the Jordan River by John the Forerunner is also called an
"epiphany". The word "Theophany" (manifestation of God)
comes from the apostolic passage: "God was manifested in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed
on in the world, received up in glory (1 Tim. 3:16), and is more related to the
Nativity of Christ. The word "Epiphany" (appearance) comes from the
apostolic passage: "For the grace of God has appeared that offers
salvation to all people" (Tit. 2:11), and refers to the Baptism of Christ,
because it was then that people came to know the grace of the Godhead.
With the
appearance of the Holy Trinity and the confession of the Honorable Forerunner
we have the official confession that the Son and Word of God is "of the
Trinity", who was incarnated for the salvation of the human race from sin,
the devil and death.
It is
known that in the ancient Church on this day, January 6th, the feasts of
Christmas and Theophany were celebrated together. These feasts were divided in
the fourth century, and Christmas was transferred to December 25th. Theophany
is also called the Feast of Lights due to the baptism and illumination of
catechumens as well as the display of lights.
The icon
shown above is a fresco from the Sacred Church of Protaton in Karyes of the
Holy Mountain, by the paintbrush of the leading artist Michael Panselinos. At
the top of the icon there is a hand that blesses in glory. Below this the Holy
Spirit is illustrated "like a dove" and just below this Christ is in
the waters of the Jordan being baptized by John the Forerunner, who is not
looking at Christ, but has his gaze in the heavens from where he hears the
voice of the Father in the Holy Spirit bearing witness: "This is My
beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased."
This
depiction is very important, because here we have the revelation of the Holy
Trinity to Saint John the Forerunner. From here we will make much reference to
the book by His Eminence Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos titled The
Despotic Feasts. The manifestation of the Triune God to man shows among other
things that only man is an earthly initiate and worshipper of the Holy Trinity,
and the only one created by the Triune God in His image. Saint Gregory Palamas
teaches that animals do not have a mind and reason but an animated spirit, that
is not self-subsistent, which means that when animals die they lose their
spirit, since they don't have essence but only energy. However, man has a
reasonable mind and a spirit that animates attached to the body, which is why
he alone is in the image of the tripartite God.
Saint
Gregory Palamas interprets the phrase "in Whom I am well-pleased" as
how the grace of God is one, but sometimes it acts in good pleasure, since God
wills it, and sometimes by concession. God knew that the fall of man would take
place, and did not create him for this but separated him, because God Himself
willed it for man. God does not abolish the freedom of man. So there is the
will of God according to good pleasure and the will of God according to
concession. With this in mind the affirmation of the Father: ""This
is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased" shows that the incarnation
was the will of God according to good pleasure.
The
testimony of God the Father for His Son shows that the Son is the
"radiance of the glory of the Father", since there is a common
essence and energy in the Triune God.
The
appearance of the Holy Spirit "like a dove" shows us that the Holy
Spirit is not a dove, but He appeared as a dove because the Holy Spirit is not
created but uncreated like the other persons of the Holy Trinity. That the Holy
Spirit together with the voice of the Father sat on Christ shows that the
persons of the Holy Trinity are consubstantial, and it also shows that the
Messiah was not Saint John the Forerunner, but Christ.
It is
known that Christ had no need for baptism, since the baptism of John led people
to become aware of their sins. Christ, writes Saint John of Damascus, was not
baptized because He had need for purification, but "to bury human sin by
water," to fulfill the Law, to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and
finally, to sanctify "the nature of water" and to offer us the form
and example of Baptism. Christ was baptized to crush the heads of the dragons
in the water, because it was believed that demons dwell in the water. This is
why we see in the icon of the Baptism water monsters that have turned their
backs on Christ because of the fire of the deity. Christ was baptized to wash
away sin and bury the entire old Adam in the water.
Many
icons of the Baptism in conjunction with the hymnography of the feast present
Christ completely naked, thus indicating how Christ humbled himself for the
sake of people. He became naked that He may clothe man in an incorruptible
garment.
Another
main person who took part in the baptism was Saint John the Baptist. He was
made worthy by God to hear the voice of the Father, and to see the Word of God
and the Spirit of God. The "and behold the heavens were opened to
Him" of Matthew the Evangelist, and the "he saw the heavens tear
apart" of Mark the Evangelist indicate the superiority of the uncreated
over the created, as well as the restoration of an "open"
relationship between God and man after its "closure" due to sin.
Many
things can be said based on the teachings of the Fathers of the Church
regarding a theological analysis of the icon of the Baptism. My main point
though is that Christ gave us each the possibility to acquire the Grace of
sonship, a Theophany in our personal life.
By Hieromonk Silouan Peponakis
Source: www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2014/01/a-theological-analysis-of-iconography.html
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