2012年1月19日星期四

Orthodox Epiphany Celebrations - in pictures



According to believers, the Epiphany marks the baptism of Jesus in the Orthodox Church. On this day water becomes holy and churchgoers cut holes in the ice of lakes and rivers to bathe in the freezing water

Tyarlevo, Russia: A woman emerges from the icy water
Veliky Novgorod, Russia: Orthodox church faithful marking Epiphany by plunging into the ice cold water of the Veryazha River
Novoiyerusalimsky, Russia: An Orthodox priest blesses the Istra river by dipping a cross in the water
Moscow, Russia: A man crosses himself before taking a dip in the ice hole of the pond in Kolomenskoe park
Moscow, Russia: A man crosses himself before taking a dip in the ice hole of the pond in Kolomenskoe park
Moscow, Russia: A man crosses himself as he emerges from the water of a lake
Novoiyerusalimsky, Russia: A man takes a dip in the icy waters of the Istra river
Almaty, Kazakhstan: Orthodox priests conduct a service on the banks of the Bolshaya Almatinka river
Almaty, Kazakhstan: A man crosses himself after taking a dip in the icy water of the Bolshaya Almatinka river as an emergency rescuer looks on
Pukhovichi, Belarus: Soldiers plunge into ice cold water to mark Orthodox Epiphany
Belgrade, Serbia: Marko Tomasevic lifts up a wooden cross, after being the first to reach it in a traditional event in which local men fish the cross from the Danube river
Kiev, Ukraine: People enact a battle to mark the Orthodox Epiphany
Kiev, Ukraine: People enact a battle to mark the Orthodox Epiphany
People jump into icy waters in Ohrid, Macedonia
A man emerges from an icy pond in Moscow