The appearance of a god to a person — a showing, a manifestation made visible. Greek theophaneia, from theos (god) and phainein (to show). Not the god and not the belief: the moment the unseen takes a face.
Greek θεοφάνεια (theophaneia), from θεός (theos, god) + φαίνειν (phainein, to show); the moment the unseen takes a face, named for the showing itself rather than for the god or the belief around it.
The character-animator realm, where a puppet's face, eyes, mouth, hands and breath answer the camera in real time, taking on a life rather than only a shape. The showing the old Greek word named for a god's arrival among people is lent here to a puppet's — not the god, only the moment something unseen becomes visible.