{"id":50564,"date":"2020-01-08T13:55:45","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T19:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=50564"},"modified":"2020-01-20T07:27:37","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T13:27:37","slug":"the-incarnation-of-jesus-calendars-and-theophany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/08\/the-incarnation-of-jesus-calendars-and-theophany\/","title":{"rendered":"The Incarnation of Jesus, Calendars, and Theophany"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not long before Christmas, my daughter shared an unusual\nstory from her daily activities at school. She discovered that one of her\nfellow classmates is also Eastern Orthodox, and they were comparing Christmas\ntraditions. She asked me if it was really true that the \u201creal\u201d Orthodox\ncelebrate Christmas on January 7, as her classmate allegedly claimed that\nJanuary 7 is Serbian Orthodox Christmas, and those who celebrate on December 25\nare not actually Orthodox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her story ignited my memory of my personal past. My entire\nchildhood was one of two Christmases. December 24 and 25 were family affairs,\nwith feasting and gift-opening, and all of the excitement of gifts appearing under\nthe tree. This Christmas was a temporary preview of the main event to come \u2013 \u201cUkrainian\u201d\nChristmas on January 6 and 7, a solemn event featuring a vigil, a meal with odd\nfoods on Christmas Eve, and a liturgy followed by caroling and my beloved pyroshki<\/em> on January 7. My parents\narranged for my brother and me to be excused from class on January 7, and in a\nfew lucky years, on January 8, to continue feasting and caroling at the parish\nrectory housing my grandparents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solemnity of a January Christmas felt normal to me, so I\ndid not notice the exchanges of \u201cHappy New Year\u201d on January 14. By the time\nTheophany rolled around on January 19 (we abbreviated it to \u201cJordan\u201d), we were\nre-immersed in the busyness of school and the frigid Minnesota winters.\nChristmas was the highlight; Theophany was just another byzantine<\/em> feast (forgive the pun) that required bringing jars to\nfill with holy water, to be brought home for the blessing of the house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate on the real Christmas exposes two issues worthy\nof commentary. The first concerns the use of two calendars among the Orthodox\nChurches. The second pertains to the solemnity of Theophany. Both issues have\nimplications for ecumenical relations among Christians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOld\u201d vs. \u201cNew\u201d: An\nUnresolved Dispute<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 My daughter\u2019s story about the calendar and \u201cSerbian\u201d Christmas reveals an unresolved dispute among the Orthodox Churches. Orthodox people are well aware of divisions within the Church on observing the \u201cold\u201d (Julian) calendar versus the \u201cnew\u201d (Gregorian) one. The issue originates from an Orthodox congress in 1923<\/a> that discussed the possibility of adopting the new calendar. Some Orthodox Churches did not participate in the Congress, including the Serbian Church. The result of the discussion was that some of the Orthodox Churches eventually adopted the new calendar, and some remained on the old. The Churches did not agree on a unified course of action at the Congress \u2013 the decisions to adopt the new or remain with the old took place afterwards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost all of the Orthodox churches observe the same method\nfor calculating the date of Pascha, with the exception of the Church in\nFinland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result of these diverse calendars in the world of\nOrthodoxy is confusing. Many Churches that observe the \u201cother\u201d calendar remain\nin communion with one another. This odd situation was perhaps most visible a\nyear ago, when the newly-elected Metropolian Epifaniy of Kyiv concelebrated\nTheophany with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul on January 6. Epifaniy\nreceived the tomos of autocephaly on behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine\non the same day from Bartholomew. Epifaniy returned home to Kyiv, to celebrate\nChristmas on January 7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was the inversion of incarnational feasts overcome by the\ngesture of Eucharistic unity? A positive point of view features Eucharistic\nunity overcoming other differences, including the preference for a calendar.\nThis perspective claims that Eucharistic unity can accommodate diverse traditions\nwithin the Church.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A critical perspective highlights a move toward calendrical\nunity as a step towards Eucharistic union between Christians of East and West.\nIf all Orthodox eventually adopt the Gregorian calendar for the cycle of fixed\nfeasts, Christians worldwide will celebrate the ancient solemnities on the same\ndate. It would seem that such a move would be logical for Orthodox, since their\nsecular calendars are already on the Gregorian calendar, and recognize December\n25 as national holidays (at least in some cases). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debate on calculating the date for Easter\/Pascha is at a\nstandstill. Many scholars point out that the Western method of calculation is\nmore faithful to the edict of the Council of Nicea, but the Orthodox remain\nunited in their preference for the Paschal status\nquo<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative route:\necumenical unity and the blessing of waters<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are numerous opportunities to revive ecumenical\ndialogue and feature Christian unity over division. I present a common, ecumenical\ncelebration of the blessing of waters on Theophany as one possible way forward.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eastern Christian observance of Theophany differs\nconsiderably from its Western sibling. Eastern Christians gather at the church\nat the Theophany feasts of January 5 and 6, with the people eagerly waiting to\ndraw near to and touch the sanctified water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The center of the feast is an elaborate rite known as the \u201cGreat\nBlessing of Waters.\u201d This rite includes a long prayer asking Christ himself to enter\nthe waters, \u201cnow as then,\u201d and sanctify them. Those who \u201cpartake\u201d of the waters\n\u2013 note the metaphor of communion here \u2013 receive \u201ccleansing of soul and body,\u201d\nhealing of passions, and protection from demons and disease. The people drink\nfrom it, anoint themselves with it, and ask the priest to sprinkle them with\nthe blessed water, over and over again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cold climates, Orthodox people wash in the icy cold waters<\/a> blessed on Theophany, in a type of \u201cOrthodox ice bucket challenge.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cosmology is a major theme of the euchology and hymnography\nof the feast. Jesus\u2019 appearance and his entrance into the Jordan bring the entire\ncosmos into a single space. As the people sing and partake, the angels and\narchangels wonder at Christ\u2019s humility; the waters draw back at the presence of\nthe almighty one; and the people marvel that the creator of humankind\ncondescends to receive baptism from the hand of one his own creatures, John. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theophany: An\nEcumenical Burst of Good News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theophany is a burst of good news. God is with us, and all\nof creation joins humankind in joyful praise and thanksgiving. Each fountain\nand source of water becomes the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit makes Jesus present\nin our local sources of water, \u201cnow as then.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people\u2019s eagerness to receive the sanctified water\nreveals the fundamental human desire to pursue and cling to life. Everyone\nneeds water to live, and God provides that water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theophany is also a reminder that water is God\u2019s gift \u2013 it is\nnot a commodity to be hoarded and wasted by the wealthy of the world. The festal\neuchology and hymns recount dozens of instances of God saving humankind through\nwater. Water never fails \u2013 water is God\u2019s most faithful servant. The Theophany\nfeast calls upon Christians to give thanks to God by becoming servants of\ncreation, sustaining and sharing it justly, and renouncing the practice of\ncommodifying water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of reasons to pause before participating in\nan ecumenical rite. Canons prohibit it; taboos discourage it; maybe we should\nwait until all of our doctrinal differences are resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctrinal differences cannot contain the burst of good news\nannounced by Theophany: God is with us, and the\nentire cosmos<\/em> rejoices and is redeemed, including creation. Perhaps\nsomewhere in this world, Christians will seize the moment and identify the\nTheophany blessing of waters as a solemnity that celebrates Christian unity,\nand has the capacity to contribute to the healing of the world.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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He previously taught at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (2010-2017). Denysenko is a graduate of the University of Minnesota (B.S. in Business, 1994), St. Vladimir\u2019s Orthodox Theological Seminary (M.Div., 2000), and The Catholic University of America (Ph.D., 2008). His most recent books are The Church's Unholy War: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and Orthodoxy (Cascade, 2023), and This is the Day That the Lord Has Made: The Liturgical Year in Orthodoxy (Cascade, 2023). He is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America.","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/author\/ndenysenko\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/946px-Cross_being_thrown_at_Theophany.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50564"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50569,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50564\/revisions\/50569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}