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!
Sunday, 19 January, 2020, on the Feast of the Theophany, the parishioners of the Nativity of the Lord Metropolitan Cathedral in Chisinau united in prayer at the Divine Liturgy officiated by Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova, Vladimir.
The liturgical responses of the service were provided by the arch-pastoral Cathedral Chorus directed by Angela Angheni.
After the Liturgy, Metropolitan Vladimir, assisted by the Cathedral Dean, archpriest Vadim Cheibas, and the cathedral clergy, officiated the Water Blessing service.
The Feast of the Theophany celebrates the baptismal of our Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of the River Jordan. By this, the Lord, Who has no sins and needs not purification, gives us an example of spiritual purification through Baptismal, as the first step on the way to the Heavenly Kingdom.
In the first several centuries of Christianity, the Nativity and the Baptismal of the Lord were celebrated together, and the Feast was named Theophany, for God showed Himself to the humanity, by becoming one of us. With time, the two events started to be celebrated separately, to underline the significance of each of them. The period of two weeks between both feasts is called Holy Days.
On the Eve and on the day of the Thophany, the Church, through its hierarchs and priests, officiates the service of Blessing of the Water, or Great Aghiasma. The Aghiasma is used for the sanctification of human dwellings and any object related to our everyday life. Christians drink the Holy Water together with prosphora, or blessed bread brought from the Liturgy, when they cannot have possibility to participate in Holy Communion.
Synodal Sector of Institutional Communication and Mass-Media Relations.