Epiphany
“O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (BCP 2019)
Epiphany is the season following Christmastide, and leading up to Lent.
In the context of the Church year, Epiphany refers to the appearance of Jesus Christ as the savior of the world—of Israel and the Gentiles. For this reason, Epiphany is commonly associated with the visitation of the Magi (or “wise men”), who were almost certainly Gentiles, in Matthew 2:1–12.
During Epiphany, we focus on the mission of the Church to reach all the peoples of the earth and the great gift of God’s grace in revealing healing truth and light to the world.
Some common Epiphany practices include house blessings, or “chalking of the doors.” The house is often blessed by a priest who uses a piece of chalk to mark the lintel of the doorway with a configuration of the year and the letters C, M, and B. These letters stand for both the traditional names given to the “Three Wise Men” (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) and the Latin phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means “Christ, bless this house.”