The Baptism of the Lord icon depicts the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, at which point the worship of the Trinity was made manifest and God revealed himself for the first time in the person of Jesus.

The preparation for the baptism of Jesus began at the creation of the world, when God, the Creator of all things, presided. Images in the icon that symbolize this include: the mandorla, the half circle full of rays of light and three concentric half circles in the upper center of the icon depicting God the Father; the three rays of light descending from the Father to the Son representing the Holy Spirit, shown in the bodily image of a dove; and, of course, the central figure of Jesus himself, second person of the Holy Trinity, standing in the waters of the Jordan River. He intentionally enters into the baptismal waters not for his sake – for he is sinless – but for ours, telling us, through our own baptism, that he is with us at all times and in all circumstances. At our baptism we experience symbolically the death and resurrection of Christ, and the triple immersion in the water of our baptism – in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – represents the three days in the tomb, through which the Savior has vanquished death (Rom 6:3-11).