Eve of the Theophany of the Lord: Baptismal Eve

On January 18, 2025, the Orthodox Church commemorated the Eve of the Theophany of the Lord (Baptismal Eve); the memory of the Martyr Joseph Bespalov and 37 martyrs who suffered for Christ in Talgar (1921), and the Martyr Eugenia Domozhirova, martyred in Almaty (1933).

Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan presided over the festive service in the Ascension Cathedral of Almaty, including the Great Vespers combined with the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and the rite of the Great Blessing of Waters.

The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan was joined by: Archimandrite Ioann (Sazonov), spiritual father of the Almaty Diocese; Protopriest Vyacheslav Churbanov; Protopriest Alexander Suvorov, head of the Metropolitan District’s Public Relations Department and Dean of the Ascension Cathedral; Priest Dmitriy Sidorov; Priest Andrey Shklyar, Deputy Dean of the Ascension Cathedral; Hieromonk Prokhor (Yendovitskiy), head of the Metropolitan’s personal secretariat; Priest Georgiy Sidorov, head of the administrative secretariat of the Primate; Protodeacon Nikolay Grinkevich, head of the Metropolitan’s protocol service; Protodeacon Roman Golovin; Protodeacon Vladimir Syrovatskiy; Deacon Vitaliy Bystrushkin; Hierodeacon Sofoniy (Mazurenko); Deacon Ioann Churkin; Deacon Alexander Piven; Deacon Ioann Zhuchkov; and Deacon Georgiy Tkachenko.

The liturgical hymns were performed by the men’s choir of the Almaty Diocese under the direction of Hegumen Filipp (Moiseev).

After the entrance with the Gospel, the Old Testament readings (parables) of the Feast of the Theophany were read, including prophetic passages about the Baptism of the Savior, accompanied by special refrains alternately sung by the clergy and choir: “Glory to You, O Lover of Mankind” and “Glory to You, O Light to Those Who Sit in Darkness.”

The Epistle and Gospel readings proclaimed on the Eve of the Theophany revealed the testimony of John the Baptist and Forerunner of the Lord about the eternal and divine majesty of Christ, and his call to repentance.

The homily after the Communion hymn was delivered by Priest Georgiy Sidorov.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Alexander, together with the clergy, performed the rite of the Great Blessing of the Waters.

After sprinkling the temple and the faithful with the Great Agiasma (the holy water of Theophany), the clergy and singers chanted the troparion and kontakion of the Feast before the icon of the Baptism and the candle, symbolizing the light of Christ’s teaching and the divine enlightenment given through the Theophany.

At the conclusion of the service, the head of the Metropolitan District congratulated the clergy and the faithful on the Eve of the Feast of the Theophany and addressed those gathered with words of instruction.

The Metropolitan congratulated the head of the protocol service, Protodeacon Roman Golovin, on his birthday, presenting him with a liturgical prosphora, thanking him for his dedicated labors, and wishing him God’s mercy in his further service to the Holy Church. 

“Today is a special day in the Church calendar, called the Eve of the Theophany. It is the threshold of the great celebration of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan for the sake of our salvation. Today is a day of strict fasting, and at the same time, the beginning of spiritual joy. The hymns, troparia, and stichera proclaim the good news of the Savior’s appearance to humanity. According to the fulfilled prophecy of Isaiah, ‘The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined’ (Isaiah 9:2). Today, as we are called by the Forerunner John to repentance, we grieve over our sins, asking God for healing of our infirmities, forgiveness of our mistakes, and the correction of our lives according to the Gospel commandments. At the same time, we rejoice over the grace that has abundantly filled the world through Christ’s coming. The Church’s call resounds to come ‘to the waters,’ to draw grace-filled strength ‘from the wells of salvation’ (Isaiah 55:1; 12:3). Today, once again, by the mercy of God, we have participated in the majestic service of the sanctification of the element of water. Through the incarnation of the Son of God, through the appearance of Christ the Giver of Life, we have been granted a special, incomparable grace of the Heavenly Father. Every Christian can not only perceive the Creator with their mind, heart, and will but truly unite with God, mystically partaking of His divine strength. Through the Savior’s feat, His condescension to humanity, His birth, death, and resurrection, divine grace has been revealed to us as a great gift from above. This is the living and active power of the Almighty, capable of freeing a person from sin, overcoming the imperfection of human nature, healing spiritual and physical ailments, raising people to the moral heights of the Gospel, and transforming the world. According to an ancient tradition dating back to apostolic times, the Great Blessing of Water is performed on the Feast of the Theophany. By invoking the Life-giving Trinity, reading the Holy Scriptures and special prayers, and immersing the altar cross, the water is sanctified—without changing its physical nature, it is filled with divine strength and becomes the Great Agiasma, or great holy water. This extraordinary service, with its beauty and profound spiritual meaning, and the gift we receive—the Great Agiasma—elevate us from the earthly to the heavenly, from the temporal to the eternal, giving us confidence that God’s grace remains with all who believe in Him and that He, by His power, purifies and renews all creation.” — From the homily of Metropolitan Alexander.