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epiphany meant either a visible manifestation of a god
or the solemn visit of a ruler venerated as a god. The
earliest traces of a feast of the Epiphany appear in the
writings of Clement of Alexandria (Egypt), about A.D. 250, who
reported that the followers of the Gnostic Basilides (c. A.D.
150) celebrated a feast of the baptism of Jesus, which
they regarded as being the real moment of the "birth" of the
Son of God into the world. During the third and fourth
centuries the churches of the East adopted the feast of
Epiphany, but they celebrated in this feast Jesus' physical
birth, His baptism, and His first sign or miracle, in which
Jesus changed water into wine. By the fourth century,
churches in the West celebrated Christmas, the physical birth
of Jesus, on December 25, which replaced the Roman festival of
the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun," that was celebrated on
the winter solstice (December 25). About A.D. 375, Eastern
and Western churches appropriated" each other's "birthday
feast" of Jesus. On December 25, Western churches
celebrated Jesus' birth; Eastern churches celebrated Jesus'
birth and the coming of the wise men. On January 6, the
Western churches |
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