January 6
The saints and feasts remembered on January 6, each with a short life, a Bible passage and a prayer.
Epiphany of the Lord
Celebrates Jesus shown to the world: the Magi, his baptism and Cana
Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning “appearance” or “showing.” On this day Christians celebrate the ways Jesus was revealed to the world for who he is. The feast began in the Christian East, and by the fourth century it was widely kept, which makes it one of the oldest feasts of the Church year.
In the West the day centres on the Magi in Matthew’s Gospel, visitors from the east who followed a star to Bethlehem and brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew never says there were three of them or that they were kings; those details came later from tradition. Eastern churches, which often call the day Theophany, focus instead on Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, and some also recall the wedding at Cana.
Christians still keep the feast because it says Jesus came for every people, not for one nation only. In Spain and Latin America, children wait for gifts from the Three Kings.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
Matthew 2:10–11 · BSB
A prayer
God of light, you led the Magi by a star to your Son and showed him to the world as the Saviour of every people. Open our eyes to see Christ among us, and make our lives a welcome for all who are still searching for him. Amen.
The lives are written with AI help from public-domain histories and checked before publishing; the prayers are ours. Bible quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), in the public domain. How we write.