Dismissal Hymn of Theophany (6th January)

It was no mere co-incidence that the Holy Trinity was revealed when Christ was baptised by St John the Baptist in the Jordan river. Our tradition teaches us that Christ means, “one who is anointed”, chosen by God for a special mission. This Christ however was not anointed with oil as the prophets and Kings of the Old Testament were, to witness for God, or to be God’s representative on Earth.

He is Himself the “theophany”, the Son of God who reveals to us God as Holy Trinity. In his Catechetical Lectures, St Cyril of Jerusalem tells us that for there to be a Christ, an anointed Son, there must be One who anoints Him, that is, the Father; and One who is the oil, that is, the Holy Spirit who remains on Him. Of course, Jesus did not become the Christ during His Baptism. Being the Eternal Word of God, “begotten by the Father before all ages”, the Holy Spirit has always been upon Him. This is the same Christ, proclaimed by the Prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before the Baptism, saying “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Isaiah 61:1). However on the day of His baptism, this eternal reality was revealed to mankind.

Source: December-January 2015 Lychnos Edition