The Orthodox Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord on January 19.
For Orthodox Christians, it is one of the twelve great (Lord’s) feasts. On this day, in all active churches, the blessing of water, or the Great Sanctification of Water (Great Agiasma), is performed. Believers can take the blessed water home.
Every year on this day, the Jordan River begins to flow backward when the Patriarch of Jerusalem dips the cross into the river three times, just as it happened when the Lord entered the waters of the river.
According to the Holy Gospel, the Baptism of Jesus Christ by Saint John the Baptist took place in the Jordan River.
