The word Theophany, in ancient Greek (Θεοφάνεια, Theophaneia) means a vision of God – a historical event that manifested God’s existence. There have been many different theophanies in human history for people who believe there is a God. Judaism recognizes a number of different theophanies in its history.
The feast of Theophany is one of the unique Christian feasts in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church that joins it solidly to Eastern Christianity. All Orthodox and Apostolic Churches celebrate Theophany, the commemoration of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River and God’s manifestation of Himself as Three-In-One and Jesus as the Son of God, This event revealed to humankind that God is a part of His creation. Theophany is the second greatest feast in our Church. It is only surpassed in solemnity by the feast of Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus.

Instead of the feast of Theophany, Western Christianity celebrates Epiphany which literally means in Koine Greek (ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia), that is the striking appearance or manifestation of God. It celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ by remembering principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ child. This event for Western Christianity is God’s physical manifestation to the Gentiles as Jesus, the Christ.

Although the God of Christianity is One, He is also Three Distinct Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because He is Three Distinct Persons, He could become incarnate as a human. Theophany is the revelation of this truth and reality!
If you think about this, you will realize how interconnected the belief in God as a Trinity of Persons is to the belief that Jesus is truly God and Man. The two beliefs are inseparable. When you listen to the story about Jesus’ baptism by John in the Jordan you easily come to the understanding that He is both God and Man. You sense Him experiencing baptism like other humans and also hear the voice of the Father saying that Jesus is His beloved Son. The story then describes a Dove that descends on Him, which represents the Holy Spirit. You also sense, by Jesus’ baptism, that He agreed to continue the message of John the Baptizer who proclaimed: Change your hearts and minds for the Kingdom of God is at hand.
John was recognized as a prophet of Yahweh, the Jewish name for God. Jesus, because He takes up this same message, establishes the fact that He is the same God and that He actually came into the world to humankind understand the meaning and purpose of earthly existence.

Earthly existence, it is reavealed, is only a fraction of eternal life! Earthly life is a school for humans to learn how to become spiritual persons. To be a spiritual person we must learn how to think and act as a child of God – we must learn how to be like Jesus and love others as ourselves so that we can love God.