Come to the Water

The Orthodox feast that changed my Protestant mind

If you have been Orthodox for more than a couple of years, this post is going to probably cause you to smile and think “aw, that’s cute” or even “well, duh.” If you are an inquirer to Orthodoxy or newly received, this might change your whole perspective on how you view your faith and the world around you, because I can say that for me, that was exactly what happened.

This is the season of Theophany. If you grew up Catholic or Anglican you would have referred to it as “Epiphany” and if you were Protestant from a reformed tradition you might have heard of this or even had some reference in a sermon a week or two after Christmas. The Western tradition tends to emphasize Epiphany as the coming of the wise men and offering their gifts to the Christ child. The Eastern tradition emphasizes Theophany as the baptism of Christ by St. John the Forerunner. In either case, Epiphany or Theophany, the theological emphasis is the revelation of Jesus as God Incarnate.

At our previous church, Epiphany was always the same. Three men in the church would dress up in costumes to represent the three wise men, and they would come into the church bearing props that represented the gifts. They would sing their corresponding verses of “We Three Kings” and the congregants would sing the chorus along with them. Maybe that passage of scripture would be referenced in a sermon, but either way, the impact on the spiritual life of the congregants was not much greater than a reminder of a story in St. Matthew’s Gospel. It marked the last day of Christmas and after that, no more carols on Sunday—we went back to regular hymns.

Then, as a catechumen last year, I attended my first Theophany liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. It was a mid-week Divine Liturgy, but someone told me it was worth attending so I shrugged and went, not expecting more than a usual Sunday service. I brought a bottle of water to be blessed, because apparently they were going to be “blessing the waters.” There was a font in the middle of the church floor and the priests and deacons were surrounding it, making the sign of the cross in the water, chanting prayers of blessing over the water and then, something like a giant sumi brush came out and we were all blessed with the water. Our pastor took great delight in flicking as much water on us as possible as the room filled with delighted laughter and giggles from everyone—no one turned away or tried to avoid getting wet. I was not prepared for the “epiphany” that I would undergo that day, and now, a year later, I look back on this day as a turning point in my faith.

Those initial, delightful impressions touched me and I began to learn the depth and significance of this, the oldest feast observed by the Church besides Pascha. The hymn (or Troparion) of Theophany is this:

When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest; for the voice of the Father didst bear witness unto Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, didst confirm the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God Who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!

Tradition holds that when Christ was baptized in the Jordan, and the voice of the Father was heard declaring him to be “my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” and the Spirit descended as a dove upon him, that the waters of the Jordan river were turned and flowed backward, as in Psalm 114 (113): 3-4 “The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back…”

Christ’s arrival on the scene at the Jordan and the Voice from heaven was always an impressive story to “Protestant Me,” however, the meaning of it had always been frustratingly opaque. Never had I made the connection of this being the introduction of Christ as God incarnate, and certainly I had never considered this as the first glimpse of the Trinity, but to “Orthodox me,” the meaning is so plain and rather mind-blowing, to be frank. (That or I’m just easily impressed!) The emphasis had always been on Christ, his obedience, and his example which we were to follow, and the voice of the Father and the descent of the Holy Spirit was his fulfillment and even his reward. If educated Pastors, scholars and seminarians were well versed on this point, either I was not in the right place at the right time to hear it, or I didn’t know to be listening for it.

In Protestant churches, baptism is something that a new convert should do out of obedience and as testimony of their faith. It is emphasized that it is an “outward sign of an inward change,” but it is the person’s profession of faith that saves them and not baptism. I have heard more than one pastor explain that Baptism joins you to the community of faith, making it sound like an initiation rite. So, if a person believes and professes faith in Christ, they are a Christian? This always troubled me. Why then did Jesus command baptism? Why did he not just say “Believe in me and you’re good?” But he did tell them,

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:19-20)

For Christ, the making of disciples and their subsequent baptisms were very important—inseparable, even. But why? It’s just a dip in water. Or a sprinkling. Or even in some churches these days a little wipe on the brow with the priest’s thumb.¹ What could this possibly have to do with the salvation of my soul? If it is just a symbol then it doesn’t have much to do with our actual salvation, which in the Protestant cosmology means not being damned to hell and being granted entrance to heaven.

When John protests Jesus’ coming to him to be baptized, Jesus says, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matt. 3:15)

How many times have I read this passage? Countless times, I’m sure. With every reading, Protestant me would think, “Now, why would the Son of God who is perfectly sinless need to come and be baptized in this place “to fulfill all righteousness?” It doesn’t make sense. The only thing I could imagine was that Jesus did it as an example for us to follow, and to be sure, that must be part of it. But it was this factor that I never considered, because I was not living and experiencing a sacramental faith:

When God stepped into the water to be baptized, his holy flesh sanctified the water—Not the other way around!² The water was now made clean and holy and able to purify sinners because the God-man Jesus Christ had reclaimed it from its fallen state and repurposed it for Life. No longer was it a force for the destruction of the world. No longer was it the swallower of death and the realm of Leviathan. It was reclaimed for the purpose it was given at creation. Now it was a life-giving, cleansing, purifying, and healing element in which everyone who had been buried and raised up through baptism could enter into new and unending life in Him! Through these waters, Noah and those in the ark were saved. Through these waters the Israelites passed and were saved from Pharaoh’s army. In these waters Naaman the Syrian washed and was healed of his leprosy. Through these waters the prophet Jonah was carried by the great beast of the deep and brought forth alive, to be the very sign that Christ would fulfill through his resurrection! Now, in the fullness of time, Christ brings to completion the work of baptism.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (I Peter 3:18)

Just as Christ sanctifies flesh by taking on human form, and being God in that flesh enters the water, he sanctifies all of creation, once for all time. If, when Christ is baptized, the Holy Spirit affirms him by descending upon him, are we not then granted the same when we unite ourselves with him in this baptism? Are we not also granted the adoption as sons through this union?

In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will… In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance… In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 3:4 -14)

Christ comes to be baptized. Holy flesh reclaims the waters and all of creation. The Godhead is revealed in Him through the voice of the Father from heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him. He is revealed as the redemption of creation and mankind and all that has been and ever will be. This is Theophany.

We enter the waters of baptism in submission to Christ to die to sinful flesh, be buried, and raised again in sanctified flesh. To be cleansed of our sin. To be united with him and sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is the beginning of theosis, whereby we become like Christ.

By this mystery I am undone, confounded, and amazed. Through this mystery I am reduced to the simplest of praise, “Glory to Thee, O Lord! Glory to Thee!”

Important Disclaimer: This is not meant to be a theological treatise on Baptism. My intention here at the Accidental Pilgrim is to share my personal journey and the understanding I am gaining as I grow as an Orthodox Christian. There are countless resources from the Church Fathers to modern authors who articulately and beautifully convey the depth of all that Baptism means for us as believers.

For further interest in this topic you might find the following resources helpful:

Search the Scriptures Live (podcast), The Lord of Spirits (podcast), Of Water and the Spirit (book by Fr. Alexander Schmemann)

1. In the Eastern Orthodox church the one being baptized is fully immersed three times in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Sprinkling or pouring is reserved for emergency situations.

2. http://www.saintaidan.ca/2021/12/28/theophany-icon-explained/