Epiphany

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Known also under the following names: (1)ta epiphania, orhe epiphanios, sc.hemera (rarelyhe epiphaneia: though, e.g. inAthanasius,he somatike epiphaneia occurs);theophaneia:dies epiphaniarum; festivitas declarationis, manifestationis; apparitio; acceptio. (2)hemera ton photon:dies luminum; dies lavacri. (3)phagiphania,Bethphania; etc. (4)Festum trium regum: whence theDutchDrie-koningendagDanishHellig-tre-kongersdag, etc. (5) Twelfth Day,SwedishTrettondedag;, etc. — The meaning of these names will be explained below. The feast was called among the Syriansdenho (up-going), a name to be connected with the notion of rising light expressed in Luke. I, 78. The nameEpiphania survives in Befana, the great fair held at that season inRome; it is difficult to say how closely the practice then observed of buying all sorts of earthenware images, combined with whistles, and representing some type of Roman life, is to be connected with the rather similar custom in vogue during the December feast of the Saturnalia. For the earthenware or pastrysigillaria then sold all overRome, see Macrobius; s. I, x, xxiv; II, xlix; and Brand, "Pop. Ant.", 180, 183.

History

As its name suggests, the Epiphany had its origin in theEastern Church. There exists indeed ahomily ofHippolytus to which (in onemanuscript only) is affixed the lemma ieis ta hagia theophaneia [notepiphaneia: Kellner]; it is throughout addressed to one about to bebaptized, and deals only with theSacrament of Baptism. It was edited by Bonwetsch and Achelis (Leipzig, 1897); Achelis and others consider it spurious. The first reference about which we can feel certain is in Clement (Stromata I.21.45), who writes: "There are those, too, who over-curiously assign to the Birth ofOur Saviour not only its year but its day, which they say to be on 25 Pachon (20 May) in the twenty-eighth year ofAugustus. But the followers ofBasilides celebrate the day of His Baptism too, spending the previous night in readings. And they say that it was the 15th of the month Tybi of the 15th year ofTiberius Caesar. And some say that it was observed the 11th of the same month." Now, 11 and 15 Tybi are 6 and 10 January, respectively. The question at once arises; did theseBasilidians celebrateChrist's Nativity and also His Baptism on 6 and 10 January, or did they merely keep His Baptism on these days, as well as His Nativity on another date? The evidence, if not Clement's actual words, suggests the former. It iscertain that the Epiphany festival in the East very early admitted a more or less marked commemoration of the Nativity, or at least of theAngeli ad Pastores, the most striking "manifestation" ofChrist's glory on that occasion. Moreover, the first actual reference to theecclesiastical feast of the Epiphany (Ammianus Marcellinus, XXI, ii), in 361, appears to be doubled inZonaras (XIII, xi) by a reference to the same festival as that ofChrist's Nativity. Moreover, Epiphanius (Haer., li, 27, in P.G., XLI, 936) says that the sixth of January ishemera genethlion toutestin epiphanion,Christ's Birthday, i.e. His Epiphany. Indeed, he assigns the Baptism to 12 Athyr, i.e. 6 November. Again in chapters xxviii and xxix (P.G., XLI, 940 sq.) he asserts thatChrist's Birth, i.e. Theophany, occurred on 6 January, as did themiracle at Cana, in consequence of which water, in various places (Cibyra, for instance), was then yearly by amiracle turned into wine, of which he had himself drunk. It will be noticed, first, if Clement does not expressly deny that theChurch celebrated the Epiphany in his time at Alexandria, he at least implies that she did not. Still less can we think that 6 January was then observed by theChurch as holy. Moreover,Origen, in his list of festivals (Against Celsus VIII.22), makes no mention of it.

Owing nodoubt to the vagueness of the nameEpiphany, very different manifestations ofChrist's glory and Divinity were celebrated in this feast quite early in its history, especially the Baptism, themiracle at Cana, the Nativity, and the visit of theMagi. But we cannot for a moment suppose that in the first instance a festival of manifestations in general was established, into which popular local devotion read specified meaning as circumstances dictated. It seems fairly clear that the Baptism was the event predominantly commemorated. The Apostolic Constitutions (VIII, xxxiii; cf. V, xii) mention it. Kellner quotes (cf. Selden, de Synedriis, III, xv, 204, 220) the oldest Coptic Calendar for the nameDies baptismi sanctificati, and the later for that ofImmersio Domini as applied to this feast.Gregory of Nazianzus identifies, indeed,ta theophania withhe hagia tou Christou gennesis, but this sermon (Orat. xxxviii in P.G., XXXVI. 312) was probably preached 25 Dec., 380; and after referring toChrist's Birth, he assures his hearers (P.G., 329) that they shall shortly see Christbaptized. On 6 and 7 Jan., he preached orations xxxix and xl (P.G., loc. cit.) and there declared (col. 349) that the Birth of Christ and the leading of theMagi by a star having been already celebrated, the commemoration of His Baptism would now take place. The first of these two sermons is headedeis ta hagia phota, referring to the lights carried on that day to symbolize the spiritual illumination ofbaptism, and the day must carefully be distinguished from the Feast of the Purification, also calledFestum luminum for a wholly different reason.Chrysostom, however, in 386 (seeCHRISTMAS) preached "Hom. vi in B: Philogonium" where (P.G., XLVIII, 752) he calls the Nativity the parent of festivals, for, had not Christ been born, neither would He have beenbaptized,hoper esti ta theophania. This shows how loosely this title was used. (Cf. Chrys., "Hom. in Bapt. Chr.", c. ii, in P.G., XLIX, 363; A.D. 387). Cassian (Coll., X, 2, in P.L., XLIX; 820) says that even in his time (418-427) theEgyptianmonasteries still celebrated the Nativity and Baptism on 6 January.

AtJerusalem the feast had a special reference to the Nativity owing to the neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The account left to us by Etheria (Silvia) is mutilated at the beginning. The title of the subsequent feast,Quadragesimae de Epiphania (Perigrin. Silviae, ed. Geyer, c.xxvi), leaves us, however, in nodoubt as to what she is describing. On the vigil of the feast (5 Jan.) a procession leftJerusalem for Bethlehem and returned the following morning. At the second hour the services were held in the splendidly decorated Golgotha church, after which that of the Anastasis was visited. On the second and third days thisceremony was repeated; on the fourth the service was offered on Mount Olivet; on the fifth at the grave ofLazarus at Bethany; on the sixth on Sion; on the seventh in the church of the Anastasia, on the eighth in that of the Holy Cross. The procession to Bethlehem was nightly repeated. It will be seen, accordingly, that this Epiphany octave had throughout so strong a Nativity colouring as to lead to the exclusion of the commemoration of the Baptism in the year 385 at any rate. It is, however, by way of actualbaptism on this day that the West seems to enter into connection with the East. St. Chrysostom (Hom. in Bapt. Chr. in P.G., XLIX, 363) tells us how the Antiochians used to take homebaptismal waterconsecrated on the night of the festival, and that it remained for a year without corruption. To this day, the blessing of the waters by the dipping into river, sea, or lake of a crucifix, and by other complicated ritual, is a most popularceremony. A vivid account is quoted by Neale ("Holy Eastern Church", Introduction, p. 754; cf. the Greek, Syriac, Coptic, and Russian versions, edited or translated from the original texts byJohn, Marquess of Bute, and A. Wallis Budge). The people consider that all ailments, spiritual and physical, can be cured by the application of the blessed water. The custom would seem, however, to be originally connected rather with themiracle of Cana than with the Baptism. Thatbaptism on this day was quite usual in the West isproved, however, by the complaint of Bishop Himerius ofTarragona toPope Damasus (d. 384), thatbaptisms were being celebrated on the feast of the Epiphany.Pope Siricius, who answered him (P.L., XIII, 1134) identifies the feasts ofNatalitia Christi and of hisApparitio, and is very indignant at the extension of the period forbaptisms beyond that ofEaster and that of Pentecost.Pope Leo I ("Ep. xvi ad Sicil. episcopos", c. i, in P.L., LIV, 701; cf. 696) denounces the practice as anirrationabilis novitas; yet the Council ofGerona (can. iv) condemned it in 517, and Victor Vitensis alludes to it as the regular practice of the (Roman-) African Church (De Persec. Vandal., II, xvii, in P.L., LVIII, 216).St. Gregory of Tours, moreover (De gloriâ martyrum in P.L., LXXI, 783; cf. cc. xvii, xix), relates that those who lived near theJordan bathed in it that day, and thatmiracles were then wont to take place.St. Jerome (Comm. in Ez., I, i, on verse 3 in P.L., XXV, 18) definitely asserts that it is for thebaptism and opening of the heavens that thedies Epiphaniorum is still venerable and not for the Nativity of Christ in the flesh, for thenabsconditus est, et non apparuit — "He was hidden, and did not appear."

That the Epiphany was of later introduction in the West than theChristmas festival of 25 December, has been made clear in the articleCHRISTMAS. It is not contained in the Philocalian Calendar, while it seems most likely that 25 December was celebrated atRome before the sermon ofPope Liberius (inSt. Ambrose, De virg., iii, I, in P.L., XVI, 231) which many assign to 25 Dec., 354.St. Augustine clearly observes Oriental associations in the Epiphany feasts: "Rightly", says he (Serm. ccii, 2, in Epiph. Domini, 4, in P, L., XXXVIII, 1033), "have refused to celebrate this day with us; for neither do theylove unity, nor are they in communion with theEastern Church, where at last the star appeared."St. Philastrius (Haer., c. cxl, in P.L., XII, 1273) adds that certainheretics refuse to celebrate the Epiphany, regarding it, apparently, as a needless duplication of the Nativity feast, though, adds thesaint, it was only after twelve days that Christ "appeared to theMagi in the Temple". Thedies epiphaniorum, he says (P.L., XII, 1274), is by some thought to be "the day of the Baptism, or of the Transformation which occurred on the mountain". Finally, an unknown Syrian annotator of Barsalibi (Assemani, Bibl. Orient., II, 163) boldly writes: "The Lord was born in the month of January on the same day on which we celebrate the Epiphany; for of old the feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany were kept on one and the same day, because on the same day He was born andbaptized. The reason why our fathers changed the solemnity celebrated on 6 January, and transferred it to 25 December follows: it was the custom of theheathens to celebrate the birthday of the sun on this very day, 25 December, and on it they lit lights on account of the feast. In these solemnities and festivities theChristians too participated. When, therefore, the teachers observed that theChristians were inclined to this festival, they took counsel and decided that thetrue birth-feast be kept on this day, and on 6 Jan., the feast of the Epiphanies. Simultaneously, therefore, with this appointment the custom prevailed of burning lights until the sixth day."

It is simpler to say that, about the time of the diffusion of the December celebration in the East, the West took up the Oriental January feast, retaining all its chief characteristics, though attaching overwhelming importance, as time went on, to the apparition of theMagi. Epiphanius indeed had said (loc. cit.) that not only did water in many places turn into wine on 6 Jan., but that whole rivers, and probably the Nile, experienced a similarmiracle; nothing of this sort is noted in the West. The Leonine Sacramentary is defective here; but Leo's eighthomilies on theTheophania (in P.L., LIV, Serm. xxxi, col. 234, to Serm. xxxviii, col. 263) bear almost wholly on theMagi, while in Serm. xxxv, col. 249, he definitely asserts their visit to be the commemoration for which the feast was instituted. Fulgentius (Serm. iv in P.L., LXV, 732) speaks only of theMagi and theInnocents.Augustine's sermons (cxcix-cciv in P.L., XXXVIII) deal almost exclusively with this manifestation; and the Gelasian Sacramentary (P.L., LXXIV, 1062) exclusively, both on the vigil and the feast. The Gregorian Sacramentary makes great use ofPsalm 72:10 and mentions the three great apparitions in the Canon only. The Ambrosian, however, refers to all three manifestations in the vigil-preface, and in the feast-preface tobaptism alone. The "Missale Vesontiense" (Neale and Forbes, The Anc. Liturgies of the Gallican Church, p. 228) speaks, in theprayer, ofIlluminatio, Manifestatio, Declaratio, and compares its Gospel ofMatthew 3:13-17;Luke 3:22; andJohn 2:1-11, where the Baptism and Cana are dwelt upon. TheMagi are referred to on the Circumcision. The GothicMissal (Neale and Forbes, op. cit., p. 52) mentions theMagi on the vigil, saying that the Nativity, Baptism, and Cana makeChrist'sIllustratio. All the manifestations are, however, referred to, including (casually) the feeding of the 5000, a popular allusion in the East, whence the namephagiphania.Augustine (Serm. suppl. cxxxvi, 1, in P.L., XXXIX, 2013) speaks of the raising of Lazarus (cf. day 5 of theJerusalem ritual) as on an equality with the other manifestations, whence in the East the nameBethphania occurs.Maximus of Turin admits the day to be of threemiracles, and speculates (Hom. vii, in epiph., in P.L., LVII, 273) on the historical connection of date and events. Polemius Silvanus,Paulinus of Nola (Poem. xxvii; Natal., v, 47, in P.L., LXI) and Sedulius (in P.L., LXXII) all insist on the three manifestations. The MozarabicMissal refers mainly to theMagi, using of their welcome by Christ the wordAcceptio, a term of "initiation" common toMithraists andChristians. In 381, the Council of Sargossa (can. iv), read together with the MozarabicMissal's Massin jejunio epiphaniae, makes it clear that a fast at this season was not uncommon even among theorthodox. "Cod. Theod." (II, viii, 20; XXV, v, 2) forbids the circus on this day in the year 400; "Cod. Justi." (III, xii, 6) makes it a day ofobligation. In 380 it is already marked by cessation of legal business inSpain; in Thrace (if we can trust the "Passio S. Philippi" in Ruinart, "Acta", 440, 2) it was kept as early as 304. Kellner quotes the "Testamentum Jesu Christi" (Mainz, 1899) as citing it twice (I, 28; IV, 67, 101) as a high festival together withEaster and Pentecost.

In the present Office,Crudelis Herodes alludes to the three manifestations; inNocturn i, the first response for the day, the octave, and the Sunday within the octave, deals with the Baptism, as does the second response; the third response, as all those ofNocturns i and iii, is on theMagi. The antiphon to the Benedictus runs: "Today theChurch is joined to her celestial spouse, because in Jordan Christ doth wash hersins; theMagi hasten with gifts to the royal marriage-feast, and the guests exult in the water turned to wine."O Sola refers to theMagi only. The Magnificat antiphon of SecondVespers reads: "We keep our Holy Day adored with threemiracles: today a star led theMagi to the crib, today wine was made from water at the marriage, today in Jordan Christ willed to bebaptized by John to save us." On the Epiphany it was a very general custom to announce thedate ofEaster, and even of other festivals, a practice ordered by many councils, e.g. that ofOrléans in 541 (can. i); Auxerre in 578 and 585 (can. ii), and still observed (Kellner) atTurin, etc. Gelasius finally tells us (Ep. ad episc. Lucan., c. xii, in P.L., LIX, 52) that the dedication of virgins occurred especially on that day.

Origin

The reason for the fixing of this date it is impossible to discover. The only tolerable solution is that of Mgr. Duchesne (Orig. Chr., 262), who explains simultaneously the celebration of 6 January and of 25 December by a backward reckoning from 6 April and 25 March respectively. The Pepyzitae, or PhrygianMontanists, saysSozomen (Church History VII.18), keptEaster on 6 April; hence (reckoning an exact number of years to the Divine life)Christ's birthday would have fallen on 6 January. But, it may be urged, the first notice we have of the observance of this date, refers toChrist's Baptism. But this (if we may assume theBasilidians, too, to have argued from 6 April) will have fallen on the exact anniversary of the Birth. But why preeminently celebrate the Baptism? Can it be that the celebration started with those, of whateversect, who held that at the Baptism theGodhead descended upon Christ? On this uncertain territory we had better risk no footstep till fresh evidence, if such there be, be furnished us. Nor is this the place to discuss the legends of the Three Kings, which will be found in the articleMAGI. Kellner,Heortologie (Freiburg im Br., 1906); Funk in Kraus,Real-Encyclopädie, s.v.Feste; Bingham,Antiquities of the Christian Church (London, 1708-22), Bk. XX, c. iv; Usener,Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen (Bonn, 1889). I.Cyril Martindale.

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