THE GREAT BLESSING OF THE WATERS (JAN. 6TH)
Christ Being Baptized by St. John the Baptist, from the Baptistry in Ravenna, Italy ✠ The Great Blessing of the Waters ✠ For the Feast of the Holy Theophany / Epiphany of Our Lord According to the Western Orthodox Use of the Ancient Church of the West ✠ Theological Proem ✠ We, the Ancient Church of the West, confess that on this holy day the Lord Jesus Christ did not receive sanctification from the waters, but rather sanctified the waters themselves , restoring creation to its baptismal vocation. As the Fathers teach, the Jordan turned back, beholding its Maker clothed in humility, and the whole creation was renewed. “Today the nature of waters is sanctified; the Jordan is divided and turns back its streams, beholding the Master being baptized.” — Ancient hymn of Theophany This rite is not symbolic only, but ontological : water is restored to its original blessing and becomes a vessel of divine grace, healing, purification, and the overth...
