A Visual Contemplation on the Ordination service and the Epiphany

Every time I witness the moment when the Holy Spirit descends upon a candidate during the Service of Priesthood Ordination—as the congregation sings “Parakalitha Roha Vannethi” (“May the Holy Spirit come”) and the celebrant priest waves his hands like the fluttering of a descending dove—my mind is drawn to the icon of the Epiphany: Christ standing in the waters of the Jordan, and John the Baptist extending his hand in the role of the priest.

In that moment through the icon of Epiphany, I see a mirror of every priestly ordination.

This connection is not coincidental, it is deeply embedded in the liturgical and theological tradition of the Orthodox Church.

Here I have attempted to express this contemplative vision through this illustration, inspired by the ordination hymn:

പ്രാവെന്നോണം താണെത്തി
സുതനുടെ ശിരസ്സിൽ വാണവനാം
റൂഹാ വന്നീ ദാസനെയും
പാവനനാക്കിത്തീര്‍ക്കണമേ

O Spirit, Who like a dove
Descended upon the Son,
Come and dwell on this servant,
Sanctify him by Your grace.

The same Holy Spirit who descended upon Christ in the Jordan now descends upon the servant at the altar. This continuity is not merely poetic or symbolic—it is apostolic. It flows from the hands of John the Baptist through the generations, as sung in the Kukilion for departed clergy:

“Moses and Aaron received
The priesthood which was passed down
It went to Zachariah
Then it was given to John
John then gave it to our Lord, and Lord to all his Dsiciples…”

Thus, the priestly lineage flows unbroken, and in every ordination, the heavens open once again. The Spirit descends. The servant is sanctified. And the Church beholds anew:

This is My beloved Son… This is My chosen servant…

Fr. Rijo Geevarghese
Diocese of Ahmedabad

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