The name ‘Epiphany’ is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘manifestation’ or ‘appearing.’ Anglican Prayer Books interpret the word with an alternative title, ‘The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.’ The last phrase, of course, is a reference to the story of the Wise Men from the East.
A Christian observance on 6 January is found as early as the end of the second century in Egypt. The feast combined commemorations of the visit of the Magi, led by the star of Bethlehem; the Baptism of Jesus in the waters of the river Jordan; and Jesus’ first recorded miracle, the changing of water into wine at the marriage of Cana of Galilee - all thought of as manifestations of the incarnate Lord.
The Epiphany is still the primary Feast of the Incarnation in Eastern Churches, and the three-fold emphisis is still prominent. In the West, however, including Anglican Churches, the story of the Wise Men has tended to overshadow the other two events. Modern lectionary reform has recovered the primitive trilogy, by setting the event of the Baptism as the theme of the First Sunday after the Epiphany in all three years, and by providing the story of the Miracle at Cana as the Gospel for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany in Year C.