However, from the 4th century begin, and there are cases of a separate celebration of the feasts of Christmas and Epiphany, in accordance both with the Great Kingdom, and Gregory the Theologian.
For the holidays, and the religious ceremonies of the feasts of the first two centuries, and for the word and definition on a specific day information can be found in Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome and other christians writers of the 2nd and 3rd century.
In these texts it seems that Christians celebrated on the same day of Christmas and Theophany, covering three main feasts that are (a) the manifestation of God as an infant to humans generally, (b) the manifestation of God to the Wizards especially, and c) the manifestation of the Holy Trinity at the Jordan.
From the 4th century but then the Church decided to divided the holidays to give religious and σωτηÏιολογικό content and to oppose the two great pagan who was at the West the Sun God in the East the Surfaces.
The origin, probably, is εξωβιβλική: it is known, that egyptians are lovers of a metal religion εόÏταζαν the appearance of the Time or Saturn through the waters of the Nile on 6 January. This was one of the many pagan “Surfaces”.
It is obvious that the Christians started in Egypt to give their own answer for what is the real “Surface” of God through the waters: the βαπτιζομÎνου Jesus.
With the example and the command Of the later baptism which believe not only no longer the “in water” (as in the religious practice of many ανατολικομεσογειακών religions, where the scarce water has always been considered a godsend purgatory), but “in the Spirit”, Christ became the unique historical “Surface” of God in a story-line, which is not repeated.
On the contrary, the “Surface” of the waters or of the god-Sun (solis invicti) in the West, during the winter solstice, was the apotheosis of the circular natural flow of the world.
In Rome had begun by the early decades of the 4th century (around 330-340) the celebration of Christmas as a response to the pagan Î’Ïουμάλια or Saturnalia, which was the worship of αναγεννώμενου Sunglasses, when (more apparent in the northern climates) start to re-grow the day after the winter solstice.
The Christians in the worship of the “ξαναγεννημÎνου Sun of the natural cycle, they answered with the birth of the invisible Sun of Justice”. On the 375 began to celebrate Christmas, and in Syria, in 386 John Chrysostom, sr. in Antioch, expressed in the Word of “Into the birth day of the Savior” the joy of it, that finally the 25th of December officially entered in the calendar of the city. By 432 the feast had arrived, and in Alexandria, as we read in the dogma.gr.
Outside the main name of the feast, the world is aware of the Baptism of our Lord as the feast of the Epiphany, or of Lights. Known to us as the introit of the Feast describes and justifies these two names.
Your the here in translation:
“When βαπτιζόσουν in the Jordan, Sir, came the veneration of the Trinity, the voice of the Father confirmed, he called you Son, dear. And the Spirit, in the form of a dove assured of the truth of the Word. Glory to You, Christ God, who did you come out and brightened the world” (Introit Epiphany “In the Jordan, βαπτιζομÎνου you, Sir…”).
So, well, called Theophany because the Holy Trinity is perceived by the man with the sensory organs, I. e. with eyes and ears.
And they are called Lights because, as he says at the end of the Introit of the Feast, came the Christ to illuminate the world, μπολιάζοντάς and spiritually through Baptism and Anointing.
On the eve of the Epiphany, the night were the baptisms of the Catechumens christians so that on the day of the Epiphany the neophytes to holy communion. On the way to the Baptistery, they were holding in their hands candles symbolizing the lighting of the soul. Owing to all these candles and light the feast was named, and Lights.
How have the names Epiphany and Lights?
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