theophany means any of various specific theophanies. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
Why this word is great
THEOPHANY — [Noun] A direct manifestation or appearance of a deity to a person. From Late Latin *theophania*, from Greek *theos* (“god”) + *phainein* (“to show, appear”). Unlike an “epiphany”—a secular spark of understanding—or a “hierophany”—the sacred revealed in a stone or a tree—a theophany is the specific, terrifying breach when the divine will not be contained by symbol. It is the bush that burns and is not consumed, the stranger at Mamre who accepts a meal, the dazzling form on the road that strikes a traveler blind—a confrontation so direct its only aftermath is a limp, a new name, or commandments carved in stone. We spend our lives arranging symbols, hoping for a sign, while dreading the guest who arrives unannounced and scorches the doorframe.
name
- Any of various specific theophanies.
- Any of various specific theophanies.; One of the Great Feasts of the Eastern Orthodox Church, commemorating the revelation of Jesus' divinity, especially in his baptism by John the Baptist.“The Byzantine tradition concentrates all the birth narratives, including the Magi, at Christmas. Theophany is very much the feast of the Baptism of Christ, being marked by the very important ceremony of the great Blessing of Water[…]”
noun
- A manifestation of a deity to a person.“It was a bewildering theophany, since it was impossible to make out anything clearly in the stormy obscurity of thunder, lightning, smoke and wind.”