On the frosty morning to honor the feast of Epiphany in the church of the Birth of the Most Holy Mother of God there arrived Bishop Iryney Bilyk, OBSM, Canonic of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

His Eminence Iryney greeted all the present with the glorious feast of Epiphany and emphasized that the Holy Mother Church appeals to us to live this event through first of all spiritually. The event which happened over two thousand years ago on the bank of the river Jordan, when Father of Heaven Himself presents His beloved Son and calls to listen to Him. Bishop has also reminded the words of the Pope Benedict XVI Homily on Feast of Christ's Baptism in the Basilica of Saint Peter: “And if Christmas and Epiphany serve above all to make us capable of seeing, to opening our eyes and hearts to the mystery of a God who comes to be with us, the feast of the baptism of Jesus introduces us, we could say, to the everydayness of a personal relationship with him. In fact, through the immersion in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus united himself to us. Baptism is, so to speak, the bridge that he has built between him and us, the road by which he is accessible to us; it is the divine rainbow over our life, the promise of the great yes of God, the gateway to hope and, at the same time, the sign that indicates the road we must take in an active and joyous way to meet him and feel loved by him.”

Afterwards Bishop Iryney put emphasis on our ability to learn and be ready to see Jesus in our neighbors, be able to unite in an earnest common prayer and active Christian life despite all the problems in personal life, political, economical and “gas” crises, so we were prepared to meet our challenges, see the people in need surrounding us and be ready to help them.

In the end of the Service Bishop gave his Archiereyal blessing and expressed gratitude to father Teodozij Krecul, OBSM for the earnest prayer and harmonious singing.

In spite the frosty and snowy weather all the present went for the traditional water blessing to the well of st. John Chrysostom which flows out of the monastery mountain.

After water blessing Bishop Iryney generously blessed the religious objects and all the present with the newly blessed Epiphany water.

 

On the dawn after the Archiereyal blessing and complete sins dismissal God’s people were joyfully returning to their festive houses with the blessed water.

Photos can be viewed here