Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem consecrateas the Jordan waters

The rite of consecration of the Jordan waters. Photo: Facebook

On 18 January 2024, on the Eve of Theophany, the service was performed by the Primate of the Jerusalem Orthodox Church Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem, reports the Patriarchate of Jerusalem on Facebook.

Patriarch Theophilos III performed the rite of the blessing of the Jordan waters on the Israeli shore. The Patriarch went down to the river and, sitting on a boat, threw a cross decorated with a wreath into the water to the chanting of prayers.

More than 2000 years ago, it was here that the first appearance of the Holy Trinity took place, when Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist in the waters of the Jordan River, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove.

The procession to the Jordan and the consecration of water in rivers and reservoirs commemorates an ancient church tradition when on this very day a mass baptism of catechumens was performed in the temple that stood on the site of the Lord's Baptism in the Jordan.

Today all that remains of the ancient Church of the Lord’s Baptism and the huge baptismal font are the foundations, which are now located near the dry riverbed in the territory of modern Jordan: the Jordan itself has changed its course as a result of a strong earthquake and now flows along a new channel.

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