Greece Celebrates Epiphany with Blessing of Waters

The Cross is retrieved astatine the larboard of Piraeus. Credit: AMNA/ Orestis Panagiotou

Greece celebrated Epiphany 1 of Christianity’s astir important feasts with the blessing of the waters contented passim the country.

Good upwind helped bring retired the crowds for the outdoor celebrations, with swimmers competing against each different to grasp a floating transverse thrown by priests into seas, rivers oregon lakes. Retrieving the transverse is believed to confer a peculiar blessing upon the idiosyncratic who retrieves it.

In the larboard of Piraeus, a transverse is traditionally thrown 3 times, to accommodate the throngs of swimmers.

The Cross has been recovered astatine the larboard of Piraeus.Credit/AMNA/ Orestis Panagiotou

Attending the ceremonies astatine Hadrian’s Aqueduct successful Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece draws spot and anticipation from the solemnisation of the Epiphany.

“The connection of the Epiphany is, astatine its core, 1 of optimism, anticipation and self-confidence. And, indeed, Greece contiguous is simply a beacon of stableness successful an unstable satellite and a state that, contempt difficulties, is paving the mode for advancement successful a much wide situation of stagnation,” helium said.

Credit: Press Office of the Greek PM

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou was astatine Lake Doiran successful Kilkis for the celebration.

PASOK person Nikos Androulakis was astatine the Phanar successful Istanbul, portion SYRIZA main Socrates Famellos be the ceremonial successful Piraeus.

The transverse is retrieved successful Thessaloniki. Credit: AMNA/Achileas Chiras

Greek Orthodox people Epiphany successful Istanbul

The Greek Orthodox Christian assemblage successful Istanbul led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew celebrated Epiphany with the accepted blessing of the waters connected Saturday.

The Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople led the liturgy astatine the Patriarchal Church of Saint George. Greece’s nationalist tv station; ERT broadcast the liturgy and the blessing of the waters that took spot later.

Bartholomew formed the Holy Cross into the waters of Istanbul’s Golden Horn arsenic the faithful jumped into the oversea to retrieve it.

Turkey’s Orthodox assemblage marks Epiphany with dive for transverse successful the Golden Horn, Istanbul https://t.co/slPmdsrXo6 via @Books connected Turkey | Key for Humanity

— Pheaktra 🇬🇾🇹🇷🇹🇼 (@KhmerNDN) December 29, 2024

Greeks successful Australia and the US people Epiphany

Earlier connected Monday hundreds of Greek Australians gathered astatine Melbourne’s Rye Pier connected Monday to observe Epiphany, organized by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (GOAA) and the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani astatine Red Hill.

The ceremonial was presided implicit by His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Melbourne, accompanied by Archimandrite Irenaios Koikas and different clergy. The event’s item saw dozens of participants diving into the oversea to retrieve the Holy Cross. Billi ‘Vasilli’ Mitsou from Clayton was palmy successful retrieving the transverse aft diving into the water.

Later connected Monday Florida’s “Greek town” of Tarpon Springs volition people epiphany. 67 teens volition leap into the Bayou to find the woody cross, which promises a twelvemonth of blessings.

Known to beryllium the largest epiphany solemnisation successful the Western Hemisphere, this year’s volition instrumentality connected an adjacent much important meaning, arsenic the assemblage counts their blessings and honors their resilience aft seeing extended harm from past year’s storms.

Related: Epiphany: One of Christianity’s Most Important Feasts