Greece celebrated Epiphany, one of Christianity’s most important feasts, with the blessing of the waters tradition throughout the country.
Good weather helped bring out the crowds for the outdoor celebrations, with swimmers competing against each other to grasp a floating cross thrown by priests into seas, rivers or lakes. Retrieving the cross is believed to confer a special blessing upon the person who retrieves it.
In the port of Piraeus, a cross is traditionally thrown three times, to accommodate the throngs of swimmers.
Attending the ceremonies at Hadrian’s Aqueduct in Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece draws strength and hope from the celebration of the Epiphany.
“The message of the Epiphany is, at its core, one of optimism, hope and self-confidence. And, indeed, Greece today is a beacon of stability in an unstable world and a country that, despite difficulties, is paving the way for progress in a more general environment of stagnation,” he said.
President Katerina Sakellaropoulou was at Lake Doiran in Kilkis for the celebration.
PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis was at the Phanar in Istanbul, while SYRIZA chief Socrates Famellos attended the ceremony in Piraeus.
Epiphany celebration in Greece
Thessaloniki
Syros
Patra
Chios
Heraklion, Crete
Kavala
Lefkada
Katerini
Greek Orthodox mark Epiphany in Istanbul
The Greek Orthodox Christian community in Istanbul celebrated Epiphany with the traditional blessing of the waters on Saturday.
The Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople led the liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George. Greece’s national television station, ERT, broadcast the liturgy and the blessing of the waters that took place later.
The Holy Cross was cast into the waters of Istanbul’s Golden Horn as the faithful jumped into the sea to retrieve it.
Greeks in Australia and the US mark Epiphany
Earlier on Monday hundreds of Greek Australians gathered at Melbourne’s Rye Pier on Monday to celebrate Epiphany at a ceremony organized by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (GOAA) and the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani at Red Hill.
The ceremony was presided over by His Grace Bishop Kyriakos of Melbourne, accompanied by Archimandrite Irenaios Koikas and other clergy. The event’s highlight saw dozens of participants diving into the sea to retrieve the Holy Cross. Billi ‘Vasilli’ Mitsou from Clayton was successful in retrieving the cross after diving into the water.
Later on Monday Florida’s “Greek town” of Tarpon Springs will mark epiphany. 67 teens will jump into the Bayou to find the wooden cross, which promises a year of blessings.
Known to be the largest epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere, this year’s will take on an even more significant meaning, as the community counts their blessings and honors their resilience after seeing extensive damage from last year’s storms.
Related: Epiphany: One of Christianity’s Most Important Feasts
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