In the East, the Birth of the Redeemer was at first
celebrated not on December 25, but on January 6, the feast of the Epiphany or
manifestation of Christ's glory. The Epiphany can be traced as far back as the
second century, among the Basilidian heretics, from whom it may have spread to
the Catholic Church. It was with them certainly a feast of the Baptism, and
possibly also of the Nativity, of Christ. The origins of the Epiphany festival
are very obscure, nor can we say with certainty what was its meaning at first.
It may be that it took the place of a heathen rite celebrating the birth of the
World or Aeon from the Virgin on January 6. At all events one its objects was to
commemorate the Baptism, the appearance the Holy Dove, and the Voice from
heaven, "Thou art my son, in whom I am well pleased" (or, as other manuscripts
sometimes read, "This day have I begotten thee").
The eastern father, Epiphanius (fourth century), gives a strange account of a
heathen, or perhaps in reality a Gnostic, rite held at Alexandria on the night
of January 5-6. In the temple of Kore - the Maiden - he tells us, worshippers
spent the night in singing and flute-playing, and at cockcrow brought up from a
subterranean sanctuary a wooden image seated naked on a litter. The image had
the sign of the cross upon it in gold in five places - the forehead, the hands,
and the knees. This image was carried seven times round the central hall of the
temple with flute-playing, drumming, and hymns, and then taken back to the
underground chamber. In explanation of these strange actions it was said:
"To-day, at this hour, hath Kore (the Maiden) borne the Aeon." Can there be a
connection between this festival and the Eleusinian mysteries? In the latter
there was a nocturnal celebration with many lights burning, and the cry went
forth, "Holy Brimo (the Maiden) hath borne a sacred child, Brimos." The details
given by Miss Harrison in her " Prolegomena" of the worship of the child
Dionysius are of extraordinary interest, and a minute comparison of this cult
with that of the Christ Child might lead to remarkable results.
In some circles of early Christianity the Baptism appears to have been looked
upon as the true Birth of Christ, the moment when, filled by the Spirit, He
became Son of God; and the carnal Birth was regarded as of comparatively little
significance. Hence the Baptism festival may have arisen first, and the
celebration of the Birth at Bethlehem may have been later attached to the same
day, partly perhaps because a passage in St. Luke's Gospel was supposed to imply
that Jesus was baptized on His thirtieth birthday. As however the orthodox
belief became more sharply defined, increasing stress was laid on the
Incarnation of God in Christ in the Virgin's womb, and it may have been felt
that the celebration of the Birth and the Baptism on the same day encouraged
heretical views. Hence very likely the introduction of Christmas on December 25
as a festival of the Birth alone.
In the East the concelebration of the two events continued for some time
after Rome had instituted the separate feast of Christmas. Gradually, however,
the Roman use spread at Constantinople it was introduced about 380 by the great
theologian, Gregory Nazianzen; at Antioch it appeared in 388, at Alexandria in
4.32. The Church of Jerusalem long stood out, refusing to adopt the new feast
till the seventh century, it would seem. One important Church, the Armenian,
knows nothing of December 25, and still celebrates the Nativity with the
Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany in the eastern Orthodox Church has lost its
connection with the Nativity and is now chiefly a celebration of the Baptism of
Christ, while in the West, as every one knows, it is primarily a celebration of
the Adoration by the Magi, an event commemorated by the Greeks on Christmas Day.
Epiphany is, however, a greater festival in the Greek Church than Christmas.
