Restoring Apostolic Faith

What the Early Church Was Actually Celebrating — and Why It Matters

For most modern Christians, Epiphany barely registers.

If it is noticed at all, it is usually treated as a brief coda to Christmas—associated with the Magi, a star, or the quiet dismantling of decorations. It feels optional, symbolic, and disconnected from discipleship.

That was not how the early Church understood this season.

In the first three centuries, what we now fragment into Christmas, Epiphany, and assorted devotional moments was experienced as one integrated season of revelation—not of sentiment, but of identity.

January 6 was not about nostalgia.

It was about manifestation.

Theophany Before Christmas

The earliest Christians did not begin with December 25.

Before the fourth century, the Church’s primary winter celebration was January 6—known in the East as Theophany, “the appearing of God.” This feast did not center on the infant Jesus in the manger, but on the public unveiling of who Jesus is.

The season gathered together a series of revelations:

• the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan

• the descent of the Spirit

• the voice of the Father

• the public identification of the Son

The focus was not arrival, but recognition.

The Jordan—not the manger—was the interpretive key.

Why Baptism Was the Climax

The early Church read the baptism of Jesus as the moment heaven publicly testified to what had been true all along.

The heavens open.

The Spirit descends.

The Father speaks.

This was not merely the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

It was the public revelation of the faithful Son.

Early Christian writers recognized the weight of this moment. Figures such as Justin Martyr and Hippolytus of Rome understood the Jordan event as the first full manifestation of the Triune God within history—the Father speaking, the Son submitting, and the Spirit descending.

Theophany was not abstract doctrine.

It was God made visible.

This is why baptism, rather than nativity sentiment, stood at the heart of the season. The Son is revealed not by power, but by obedience—faithfulness preceding proclamation.

Fulfillment Before Proclamation

This helps explain why the early Church heard the Gospel narratives in a different order than we often do today.

Jesus does not immediately teach.

He first identifies with Israel.

He submits.

He is tested.

Only then does He ascend the mountain and speak.

The Sermon on the Mount was not heard as detached ethical reflection. It was heard as the voice of the Son who had just been publicly affirmed by heaven.

Epiphany answered a concrete question for the early Church:

If this is God’s Son, what does life under His reign actually look like?

The answer was not mystical speculation.

It was embodied allegiance.

Epiphany as Revelation, Not Decoration

In the ancient Church, Epiphany was never reduced to the Magi alone—though their role mattered. The nations recognizing Israel’s Messiah was part of the story, but not its center.

The heart of the feast was revelation.

Light was not metaphorical.

It was covenantal.

This is why ancient Epiphany hymns and prayers spoke of illumination (phōtismos)—the same word used in early catechetical language for baptismal enlightenment. To encounter Christ was to be brought into the light, not merely to admire it.

Revelation demanded response.

What Changed in the Fourth Century

The turning point comes in the fourth century.

After the Council of Nicaea and under imperial influence, December 25 was established in the West as a distinct celebration of the Nativity—likely chosen to parallel Roman Sol Invictus observances—while the East largely retained January 6 as the Feast of Theophany.

Under Constantine the Great, what had once been a unified season of revelation began to fragment.

Over time, Epiphany’s baptismal and obedience-centered emphasis faded. The season narrowed. Revelation softened. Authority became safer when confined to infancy.

Birth is easier to celebrate than allegiance.

A baby is easier to adore than a King who commands obedience.

From Manifestation to Mood

In much of the modern Church, the season after Christmas becomes transitional—emotionally warm, but theologically thin.

That was never the Church’s original posture.

Epiphany was not about warming hearts.

It was about opening eyes.

The question was not merely who Jesus is.

It was what His revealed identity requires.

Why This Season Still Matters

When Epiphany is recovered as revelation rather than ritual, it reframes everything:

• baptism becomes identification, not ceremony

• obedience flows from revelation, not fear

• discipleship becomes allegiance, not admiration

This is why the early Church paired Theophany with repentance, formation, and commitment. Seeing clearly changes how one lives.

The heavens opened.

The Son was named.

The Spirit descended.

Nothing after that could remain neutral.

Revelation Entered, Not Observed

The early Church did not end this season by packing away decorations.

It ended it by baptizing new believers—plunging them into the same waters where the Son had been revealed.

Revelation was meant to be entered, not observed.

Epiphany Is Still Asking the Same Question

January 6 does not ask us to remember a moment.

It asks us to answer a question:

If Jesus is the revealed Son of God, what does faithfulness look like now?

The early Church knew the answer would not be theoretical.

And neither should ours be.