The Epiphany celebrations in the Holy Diocese of Jinja and Eastern Uganda on Monday 6 January 2025 were highlighted by mass baptism. The feast of Epiphany commemorates the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ by John the Forerunner in River Jordan. At Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Jinja City, His Grace Bishop Silvester Kisitu led the solemn celebrations. The Great Vespers were conducted on Sunday evening following the Great Blessing of the Waters in the afternoon.
In the morning of the Feast Day, the service of matins was celebrated. The service, which preceded the Divine Liturgy was filled with references to the Old Testament about the Theophany (revelation of God).
Bishop Silvester of Jinja presided over the Divine Liturgy. Archimandrite Prodromos Lubega, the Abbot of St. Paraskevi Busaana Monastery and Fr. Chrysostomos Koolya were the priests who co-served with the bishop. Two Hierodeacons, Moses and Mateja participated in the Eucharistic assembly. The former proclaimed the feast’s Gospel which was from Matthew 3:13-17, a narration of Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan River.
The epistle was read by Jonathan Katende. The central point of Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus (2:11-14; 3:4-7) was the consequences of the Lords divine manifestation.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the ceremony of the second Blessing of the Waters was conducted. The service symbolically represents the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. During the service, the hierarch lowered a cross into the water container three times praying, “Benevolent King, come and through the descent of Your Holy Spirit and bless this water.”
His Grace afterwards sprinkled the church crosswise and the congregation with holy water using the lime basil herb. Among the congregation was Bishop Innocentios Byakatonda, the titular Metropolitan of Sozusa whose presence was warmly welcomed by his counterpart.
In his sermon, Bishop Silvester informed the congregation of the significance of Jesus’s baptism in Jordan. He said, “It is our Lord who purified the water when he stepped into it. By doing so, since water spreads everywhere, He granted regeneration by washing away the sins of humanity.”
Following the sanctification of water,17 children received the sacrament of Baptism and Chrismation. Most of these were below five years, being children of Orthodox families. However, a considerable number was of catechumens. Likewise, on 4 January, the Forefeast of Epiphany, 17 adults and children in Bugiri town were triple immersed in the baptismal font to put on Christ.