On January 6th our Holy Orthodox Christian Church celebrates the Great Feast of the Theophany of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. This is one of the greatest of the Christian year and is in a class with Pascha and Nativity. In English, we are accustomed to hearing this Feast called "The Epiphany," a word which means "manifestation." On this day, the Holy Orthodox Church celebrates the remembrance of the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan at the hands of Saint John the Baptist and Forerunner. Because of the great significance of the Holy Feast, the day before (The Eve of the Feast, January 5th), is kept as a vigil, with a strict fast.

After the Divine Liturgy is ended, the Deacon says: Bless, Master.

Priest: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now, and ever, and unto ages of ages.

Cantor: Amen.

Saint Basil, preeminent among hierarchs, wisest of saintly teachers, and wondrous favorite of God, was born in Cappadocia toward the end of the Great Constantine's reign. His father was also named Basil, and his mother, Emmelia. He learned to read at the age of seven, and progressed so rapidly in his studies that five years later he was already engaged in philosophical inquiry. Eventually, he forsook his homeland and moved to Athens, the fount of Hellenic (Greek) wisdom, where he took lessons with the renowned teacher Evvulus, at the same time visiting the schools of Hemerius and Proeresius.

Eight (8) days after His Nativity, our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to be circumcised. He submitted to circumcision, first of all, to fulfill the Law. "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law", said He; "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (St. Matthew, Ch. 5). He subjected Himself to the Law to free transgressors subject to the Law, as the holy Apostle teaches: When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that were under the Law" (Galatians, Ch. 4).

When Herod "saw that he was mocked of the Wise Men" (St. Matthew, chapter 2), became "exceeding wroth", both with them and the newborn King of the Jews. He was angry with the Magi because they had failed to return and tell him where the Child was, and with Christ, because he was afraid to lose his kingdom. He thought Christ wished to establish an earthly empire, and failed to understand that the Lord's Kingdom is not of this world. He, therefore, poured out his anger upon innocent children. He sent soldiers armed as if for battle to Bethlehem, with orders to slay every child that was "two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men".  

The bloodthirsty hypocrites, preparing to stone Christ's good and faithful servant, removed their outer garments so that they could move more freely, and laid them at the feet of a young man names Saul (later known as Paul), a kinsman of the victim. Saul, it is written, "was consenting unto" Stephen's death (Acts, Ch. 8), being more infuriated with him than any of the others, on account of his fanatical devotion to the ancient Law. "He was very sorry," Saint Chrysostom tells us, "that he did not have innumerable hands with which to stone Stefanos (Stephen), but consoled himself with the thought that may false witnesses were found to kill the martyr, and that he was able to guard their clothing."