On 5 January 2012, the Divine Liturgy of Saint Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great united with the Vesper of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord was celebrated at the Patriarchal Cathedral. In the morning the Royal Hours were officiated which are celebrated only three times a year in the Orthodox Church: on the Good Friday, on the eve of the Christmas and on the eve of the Epiphany. If the eve of the Epiphany is on a week day the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is celebrated on the eve of the Baptism of the Lord, and the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom on the feast of the Epiphany, according to the typiconal order of the Orthodox Church.

The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Rev. Archimandrite Timotei Aioanei, Great Ecclesiarch of the Patriarchal Cathedral and cultural exarch of the Archdiocese of Bucharest, assisted by a group of priests and deacons. Soon after the Divine Liturgy, the Great Blessing of Water took place.

The Great Blessing of Water is celebrated both on the eve of the Epiphany, when the priests consecrate the water with which the priests bless the houses of the faithful, and on the day of the Epiphany when the Holy Water is consecrated, which the faithful take to their houses to have it all the year long.

The consecration of the Holy Water has an old tradition in the Christian Church, the Apostolic Constitutions ascribing it to Saint Matia the Apostle: “I, Matia, decide that the Bishop should consecrate the water and oil, and if the bishop is missing, then the priest and deacons should do it”.