www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Christ is Baptised! In the Jordan!

Ok, I'm having a brain problem here. I can't seem to remember what the Church Slavonic is for the Theophany greeting. What we should do is list the normal greetings of the church year in all the different languages, as we did for Christ is Born! That was great, seeing all the different languages and ways of saying the same wonderful thing.

Any takers? Christ is Baptised! In the Jordan!

We should have--Glory be to Jesus Christ (Slava Isusu Christu!), Christ is Born! (we already have that post) Christ is Baptised! (the one I can't think of for the life of me. Until it pops into my head at 3am this morning) and, of course, Christ is Risen! (Christos Voskrese!)

Then we can keep them in a nice, easy to find place for everyone to see and then there won't be any excuses for Byzantines or Orthodox not knowing the traditional greetings and responses. Sound like a good idea?

Tim

I hear ya...But in my OCA parish, all that was said for Theophany was "Blessed Feast Day", and then "Spraznikom" in Slavonic, (or Russian)?

I remember "Christ is Baptised! In the Jordan" in every Greek Catholic Rusyn Church I've ever been in.

"Christos Khreshchayetsya" and "Vo Yordani", only until the Post feast on the 8th day, then back to "Christos Rozhdayetsya" until Stritennya.

Alexandr

Dear Alexander,

Christos Rozhdayetsya! Christ is born!

Do you find that many Russians use the Theophany greeting "Christos Khreshchayetsya" ("Christ is Baptised!") and its response "Vo Yordani" ("In the Jordan.")? In my experience they do not. Even "Christos Rozhdayetsya" ("Christ is born!") does not seem to be used universally among Russians. At least some of them look at me strangely when I greet them with it.

Fr David Straut

Christos Rozhdayetsya!

Blagoslovie Chesnoi Otyets!

Well, the best answer that I can give is "it depends". Amongst the Carpatho and Little Russian people, yes, very much so. Amongst the Great Russians, yes amongst the rural people and amongst the followers of the Old Rite, but rarely amongst the urbanites. If the Russians you come into contact with are from Petersburg or Moscow, they may not be familiar with it. But if they are of good peasant stock, their babyshki beat those responses into them at an early age! In my travels throughout Russia, and elsewhere throughout the world for that fact, I have found that the closer people are to the good earth, the closer they are to God. In my travels throughout Ustiug and the far North, I was frequently greeted with "For the sake of Elia", and quite warmly at that, usually accompanied with bread and salt, in the pious belief that any stranger could be the Prophet Elijah, wandering the Earth. And the Old Believers have many, many more that I have never encountered before. Amongst the urbanites, "S Rozhdestvom Christovo" seems to be more common.

Alexandr

Christos Kreshchjajetsja! Vo Jordani Rika!

This is what I remember my Dad and others used at church.

Here's a greetings etiquette from St. Elias Church in Brampton.

http://www.saintelias.com/ca/etiquette/greetings.php

Christ is Baptized! In the River Jordan!

Ung

That's it! Thanks everyone. I loved the guide from St. Elias. Very comprehensive. That's the kind of thing I was thinking of. A post where everyone could go for reference of greetings and things like that. And we have one right there, all along. Sometimes my IQ gets the better of me. When your shoes size is bigger than your IQ, that happens sometime.

Christos Kreshchjajetsja! Vo Jordani

Tim

Thanks! I was asking someone about greetings and responses just the other day. Happy Theophany just doesn't cut it.

Christ is baptized!

In the Jordan!