Reflection of the Week - 16th April 2024
Don’t you wonder sometimes how our covenant Lord who is God – Creator, Master, and Teacher, can and does create from nothing and does not need anything or anyone but is helplessly in love with you?
What is Epiphany, anyway?
Posted in Faith
This Wednesday (6 January, 2016) is Epiphany – you can see it marked in this year’s Uniting Church SA calendar (soon to be available online) and in the Uniting Church in Australia’s lectionary readings for 2015-2016.
But what is Epiphany, anyway?
Epiphany, which is also known as Theophany or Three Kings’ Day, is an occasion where Christians celebrate the revelation/manifestation (epiphany) of Christ. It particularly commemorates the occasion of the Magi visiting Christ as a child; this represents the physical manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles.
The traditional date for these celebrations is 6 January. For many, it marks the end of a 12-day festival – known as the Twelve Days of Christmas (like the song!) or Christmastide – which begins on Christmas Day.
Epiphany is mainly celebrated in Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican churches, but other Christian congregations will sometimes choose to mark the occasion. There are a number of different traditions observed for Epiphany, which tend to vary between denominations.
If your congregation or faith community has a special Epiphany tradition, please contact the New Times editorial team – we’d love to hear about it! Please leave a comment or email us at Turn on Javascript!
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