Jordan Times
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Orthodox Church to
celebrate Epiphany on Friday
By Cheryl Haines
AMMAN — Thousands of Christians are expected to
convene at the Baptism Site at Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan on Friday for the
annual Epiphany celebrations of the Orthodox Church.
Since 2000, the Baptism Site Commission has helped organise Epiphany festivities
with various church representatives in the Kingdom, marking the day Jesus was
baptised in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
According to Orthodox tradition, the Epiphany celebrates the revelation of Jesus
Christ as the Messiah and the second person of the Holy Trinity –— along with
God and the Holy Spirit — at the time of his baptism. Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan
also marks the location where all three persons of the Holy Trinity manifested
their physical presence to humanity.
In recent years, Christians from throughout the region and around the world have
come to Jordan to partake in the annual celebrations.
The ceremony will begin at 9:00am with a liturgy and blessing service
overlooking the holy site performed by clergymen representing the country’s
Orthodox churches. The service will be led by Jordan’s Archbishop for the
Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Benedictos.
After the liturgy celebrations, a wooden cross will be carried to the bank of
the river and submerged into the water three times, according to tradition. The
water will then be blessed by the archbishops and collected to be used in the
coming weeks as a blessing for Orthodox parishioners.
While both Western and Eastern Christian denominations celebrate the Epiphany,
it has customarily been held on different days according to the traditions of
specific church doctrines.
On January 12, the Baptism Site Commission held a similar celebration in
cooperation with the Armenian, Roman Catholic and Coptic churches, where over
3,000 pilgrims attended, including Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Michel Sabbah.
According to Ziad Asfour of the Baptism Site Commission, this Friday’s
celebrations are expected to draw over 7,000 Christians from the region’s large
Orthodox congregation.
The new bell tower that is still under construction at the Baptism Site’s
Orthodox Church will be used for the first time. A selection of bells has been
donated by the Greek parliament at a total cost of 50,000 euros. The bells will
be rung after completion of the services, marking the first time bells have rung
at the Baptism Site in 1,500 years.
HRH Princess Muna, Minister of Tourism Osama Dabbas, members of the Greek
parliament, Sister Maria Yurzsuk, head of the Orthodox pilgrimage service of the
Russian Patriarch to Jerusalem, and Nadezhda Dgebuadze, chief of the Pilgrimage
service, are also scheduled to attend the celebration.