Russians Dive Into Icy Waters to Celebrate Epiphany

Epiphany, also known as Theophany, is one of the Great Feasts, marking the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and the beginning of his ministry. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the holiday on January 19, in line with the Julian calendar.

On Friday, on the eve of Epiphany, Russian priests conducted the rite of the Great Blessing of Water.

Holy water is then given to believers, who store it for long periods and use it to cure illnesses and bless themselves or things and premises around them.

More than 165,000 Moscow residents took part in Epiphany celebrations in Moscow.

Honoring an old Russian tradition, cross-shaped holes are cut in ice over lakes and rivers.

Celebrators plunge into the water - typically three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity - around midnight, often after an attending priest says a prayer.

More than 50 Epiphany bathing sites were set up across Moscow, where waters were blessed by Orthodox priests during the night, with 260 rescuers monitoring the safety of swimming.

The nerve-testing tradition symbolizes Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River.

More than 82,000 Moscow residents bathed in icy cold water to mark the Epiphany early Saturday, as air temperature in the Russian capital stood at minus 13 degrees Celsius (+ 8.6 Fahrenheit).

The ritual of submergence, believed to be at least five centuries old, would seem to be at the center of the celebration, since the act is meant to symbolize a cleansing of sins from the previous year and a rebirth in preparation for the upcoming one. But Russian Orthodox clerics say the icy bath isn’t necessary.