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Bulgaria Honors Epiphany Day

Sofia News Agency, 06.01.2009

On January 6, the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church honors Epiphany. Epiphany (Greek for "to manifest" or "to show"), is a Christian feast day which celebrates the alleged revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. Today in Eastern Orthodox churches, the emphasis of this feast is on the shining forth and revelation of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Second Person of the Trinity at the time of his baptism. It is also celebrated because, according to tradition, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist marked one of only two occasions when all three Persons of the Trinity manifested themselves simultaneously to humanity. January 6 is also the name day for those named Jordan (Iordan in Bulgarian) and for all derivatives of the name. At 9:00 am, the Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim is going to hold an Epiphany Holly service and Great Blessing ceremony in the Sofia "Sveta Nedelya" church. In addition, an Epiphany service is held on Tuesday morning at the "Saint Alexander Nevsky" cathedral by the Head Secretary of the Bulgarian Holly Synod - Naum and the Rector of the Sofia Ecclesiastical - Sionyi. On Epiphany, the Orthodox Churches also perform the Great Blessing of Waters. The blessing is normally done on the day of the feast, outdoors at a body of water. Following the Divine Liturgy, the clergy and people go in a procession with the cross to the nearest body of water. At the end of the ceremony the priest will bless the waters by casting a cross into them. If swimming is feasible on the spot, any number of volunteers may brave the cold winter and try to recover the cross. The person who gets the cross first swims back and returns it to the priest, who then delivers a special blessing to the swimmer and their household. In Sofia, the traditional release of the cross will be held at 1:00 pm on Tuesday at the lake in the Sofia "Druzhba" district. The Mayor of Sofia Boyko Borisov will attend the Blessing of Waters ceremony.
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