Scenes From Great Blessing Of Water 2021 At Ashley Pond

Alter boy Timothy Tyulim and Fr. Theophan leaving Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church on Trinity Drive at noon today to celebrate the annual Great Blessing of Water 2021 at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Alter boy Timothy Tyulim and Fr. Theophan lead the procession across Trinity Drive to celebrate the Great Blessing of Water 2021 today at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Scene from today’s Great Blessing of Water 2021 at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Scene from today’s Great Blessing of Water 2021 at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

 Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church News:

The people of Saint Job of Pochaiv Orthodox Church in Los Alamos assembled at noon today at Ashley Pond for their annual Great Blessing of Water.

The Orthodox Church celebrates Theophany according to the Julian Calendar. Theophany celebrates Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River by Saint John the Forerunner and Baptist. Western Christians may be familiar with the feast of Epiphany which coincides with the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Theophany, as they commemorate the same event in Christ’s life. Whereas “epiphany” means a revelation of truth, “theophany” denotes a revelation of the nature of God.

At the baptism of Christ, a voice sounded out of heaven confirming the identity of Christ as the Son of God, while the Holy Spirit, taking the form of a dove, descended upon Him. Thus, the Trinity, God in three-persons, was revealed to those who witnessed the event and to the Church for the rest of history.

John the Baptist baptized people for the forgiveness of their sins, and he recoiled when the Sinless One, Jesus Christ, approached to be baptized. Instead of receiving forgiveness, which Christ did not need, He sanctified the waters by His baptism.

When God created the earth, He pronounced everything “good”. By sanctifying the waters through His baptism, Christ returned nature to its original goodness and blessedness.

The local group commemorates this blessing, and calls down blessings anew, when they submerge a cross in the water three times while singing the Troparion (prayer) of Theophany:

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest!
For the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee his Beloved Son.
And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of his Word.
O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!

Scene from today’s Great Blessing of Water 2021 at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

Scene from today’s Great Blessing of Water 2021 at Ashley Pond. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

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