When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan,/ the worship of the Trinity was made manifest;/ for, the voice of the Father bare witness unto Thee,/ calling Thee His beloved Son;/ and the Spirit in the form of a dove/ confirmed the certainty of His word./ O Christ our God, Who hast appeared and enlightened the worlds,// glory be to Thee!
(Troparion of the Feast, Tone 1)
Tuesday, 19 January (6 January in the Church calendar), Metropolitan Vladimir of Chisinau and all Moldova celebrated Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Theophany, or, Baptism of the Lord, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Chisinau.
Numerous church-goers were present to concelebrate at the Divine Service to the arch-pastor and the Cathedral Clergy.
The liturgical responses were provided by the Cathedral Choir directed by Angela Angheni.
Arrived very early in the morning, the Christians waited patiently for the moment of the blessing of the waters, or, the Great Agiasma service.
The Feast of the Baptism of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is called Theophany, which in Greek means the showing of God. It marks the event wen God Himself descended to people at the River Jordan, in the person of Jesus Christ, who received baptism from the hands of St. John Baptist.
John Baptist called people to repentance and baptized them in the waters, which symbolized washing out of the sins. God came to immerse Himself into those waters full of the peoples’ sins, taking them upon Himself, in order to save the repenting ones.
After the Divine Liturgy, when numerous church-goers communed together with the clergy, the Metropolitan officiated the water blessing service.
Synodal Sector of Institutional Communication and Mass-Media Relations.