The Baptism of the Lord

The story of the Baptism of the Lord as the Gospel tells it: the birth of Saint John, his voice in the wilderness, Christ coming humbly to the Jordan, the heavens opening, the white dove and the voice of the Father, the waters made holy and "Behold the Lamb of God!".

Every moment has two facing pages: the text on the left, short and clear, good for reading aloud, and a whole painting on the right, in warm colours and gold.

Then the child discovers how Romanians keep Theophany: their own baptism, the priest's house blessing, the "Chiraleisa" of Transylvanian villages, the Great Blessing of Waters, the cross thrown into the river, holy water at home and Saint John's day on 7 January. A map follows the road from Nazareth to the Jordan, and an early fifteenth-century icon from the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow is explained.

At the end come the hymn of the feast, a colouring page and nine questions for parents. The first page has room for the child's name. The book is in Romanian.