The baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the twelve major church holidays. The church solemnly celebrates this day on January 19 in a new style. Other names for this celebration can be found in church literature. For example, Epiphany.
The feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a memory of the great historical event when Jesus Christ received the baptism in the Jordan River from the prophet John. In the Old Testament, John's baptism was a symbol of faith in the true God, therefore everyone who considers himself a believer entered the Jordan River and confessed his sins. Christ fulfilled this law upon reaching the age of thirty (but came out of the water immediately, since he did not have a single sin). During the baptism of Christ, a unique event took place, which marked the beginning of the second name of the holiday - Epiphany.
The Holy Scripture of the New Testament tells that when Christ descended into Jordan, the voice of God the Father came from heaven, announcing that Christ is his beloved Son. Evangelists also write about the descent of the Holy Spirit on Christ in the form of a dove. Thus, a picture of the appearance of all the Persons of the Holy Trinity to the world was observed in front of people. God the Father testified from heaven with a voice, God the Holy Spirit was present at the baptism in the form of a dove. It was Theophany - the appearance of the Trinity God to the world. That is why the feast of Epiphany is otherwise called the Epiphany.
The main church hymn of the holiday directly says that during the baptism of Christ, the Trinity worship appeared. The Father testified with a voice, the Holy Spirit appeared as a dove, and the second Person of the Holy Trinity voluntarily accepted baptism.
Therefore, for the Orthodox Church there is no fundamental development in the names of the holiday, because it was the baptism of Christ that revealed the existence of the entire Holy Trinity to the world. Such descriptions are not often found in the Bible. Therefore, the Church considered it necessary to capture this unique event in the name of one of the most solemn and revered Christian holidays.
