Once a year on the Jordan, where the Savior of the world Himself was baptized by the hand of St. John the Baptist, a real miracle happens: the waters of the river temporarily change their course to the opposite. This happens on the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord according to the Orthodox calendar - January 19.
The Jordan River, known all over the world for the events described in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, originates from Mount Hermon at about four hundred meters, flows through Lake Kinneret, without mixing with its salt waters - and finally flows into the Dead Sea. With a length of just over two hundred and fifty kilometers, this small river annually gathers thousands of pilgrims, the largest number of whom arrive here on January 19, the day when the Great Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated according to the Orthodox calendar. It was on this day, more than two thousand years ago, that the Savior of the world received the Baptism from the prophet John - and the waters of Jordan began to turn back. This miracle is repeated every year and today - to witness it, thousands of believers come to Jordan.
On Epiphany Eve, pilgrims float down the river with wooden crosses with lighted candles on them. On the waters of the Jordan, they float to the Dead Sea - and on the next holiday, they return back! When this happens, fresh Jordanian water temporarily becomes salty. This is a miracle that testifies to the truth of events, sealed in the Holy Gospel, is repeated constantly: there was not a year in which the movement of the Jordanian waters backward would not be witnessed.
Disputes about the exact place of the Lord's Baptism have been going on for many centuries. This is due to the fact that the Jordan has changed its course more than once; the ecosystem of the river and the surrounding landscape changed. Today we can say with a certain accuracy that the Savior of the world deigned to be baptized on the site that is now in the territory of the Kingdom of Jordan. Only once a year, on January 19, not far from that very place, on the territory adjacent to the modern riverbed of the Jordan, the authorities of this Muslim country allow the Orthodox hierarch to perform a divine service here with the rite of the Great Blessing of Water. On one and on the other bank, believers who have come here to pray see with their own eyes how the water is “playing”, transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit - and the trees growing on the Jordanian banks bend so much that their branches touch the surface of the river.
Baptism of water is performed on both the Jordanian and the Israeli side of the river. As soon as the silver crosses, tied to the ropes, are immersed three times in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the river seem to boil, covered with whirlpools. This moment is invariably accompanied by the approving voices of thousands of believers. At this moment, pigeons are released into the sky in remembrance of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Witnesses of the blessed phenomena are becoming not only Christian pilgrims, but also serving Jordanian and Israeli border guards belonging to two other world religions. The effect of grace in this case is also quite obvious to them. When, at the end of the blessing of water, Christians plunge into the river, the military help them out of the water onto the slippery clay bank. According to the testimony of many pilgrims, those who at least once witnessed a miracle on the Jordan in the Baptism of the Lord will carry this gracious feeling in their hearts throughout their earthly life.
The Jordan River, known all over the world for the events described in the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament, originates from Mount Hermon at about four hundred meters, flows through Lake Kinneret, without mixing with its salt waters - and finally flows into the Dead Sea. With a length of just over two hundred and fifty kilometers, this small river annually gathers thousands of pilgrims, the largest number of whom arrive here on January 19, the day when the Great Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated according to the Orthodox calendar. It was on this day, more than two thousand years ago, that the Savior of the world received the Baptism from the prophet John - and the waters of Jordan began to turn back. This miracle is repeated every year and today - to witness it, thousands of believers come to Jordan.
On Epiphany Eve, pilgrims float down the river with wooden crosses with lighted candles on them. On the waters of the Jordan, they float to the Dead Sea - and on the next holiday, they return back! When this happens, fresh Jordanian water temporarily becomes salty. This is a miracle that testifies to the truth of events, sealed in the Holy Gospel, is repeated constantly: there was not a year in which the movement of the Jordanian waters backward would not be witnessed.
Disputes about the exact place of the Lord's Baptism have been going on for many centuries. This is due to the fact that the Jordan has changed its course more than once; the ecosystem of the river and the surrounding landscape changed. Today we can say with a certain accuracy that the Savior of the world deigned to be baptized on the site that is now in the territory of the Kingdom of Jordan. Only once a year, on January 19, not far from that very place, on the territory adjacent to the modern riverbed of the Jordan, the authorities of this Muslim country allow the Orthodox hierarch to perform a divine service here with the rite of the Great Blessing of Water. On one and on the other bank, believers who have come here to pray see with their own eyes how the water is “playing”, transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit - and the trees growing on the Jordanian banks bend so much that their branches touch the surface of the river.
Baptism of water is performed on both the Jordanian and the Israeli side of the river. As soon as the silver crosses, tied to the ropes, are immersed three times in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the river seem to boil, covered with whirlpools. This moment is invariably accompanied by the approving voices of thousands of believers. At this moment, pigeons are released into the sky in remembrance of the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Witnesses of the blessed phenomena are becoming not only Christian pilgrims, but also serving Jordanian and Israeli border guards belonging to two other world religions. The effect of grace in this case is also quite obvious to them. When, at the end of the blessing of water, Christians plunge into the river, the military help them out of the water onto the slippery clay bank. According to the testimony of many pilgrims, those who at least once witnessed a miracle on the Jordan in the Baptism of the Lord will carry this gracious feeling in their hearts throughout their earthly life.
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