On Saturday, Orthodox Christians celebrated one of the oldest and most important Christian feasts, Epiphany.
Nikolai Vasiliev took part in the celebrations and provided us with footage from all over Russia.
On Epiphany, the sacred Baikal is illuminated. There isn't any other consecrated ice hole where you can drink crystal-clear water and bathe in Siberia's freezing weather.
"It's nice and fresh".
"Come visit Lake Baikal!"
The Alan Monastery of the Dormition, located on the bank of the mountain river Fiagdon, is popular among pilgrims even on regular days. On Epiphany Eve, it's nearly impossible to drive down the hairpin road in the Kurtatinskoye Ravine, as there's an entire procession of cars and buses there.
This is the southernmost and the highest-altitude shrine in Russia; it's located 5,000 feet above sea level. After the traditional rite of the Blessing of Waters, everyone takes a bath to the sound of fireworks. Then, they have some Epiphany tea, which is made according to an old recipe preserved by the monastery.
- We use mint, thyme, St. John's wort, lime-flowers, and natural honey produced here at the monastery.
- Consecrate this water to the Holy Spirit!
Consecrating water from the pier and jumping into the water directly from the bank rather than ice is possible only in the south.
- Hi there, jump in!
The water temperature in Kazachia Bay near Sevastopol is around 50°F. But in Chukotka, lakes and parts of the sea close to the shore are freezing cold all the way to the bottom. Instead of an ice hole, a baptismal font with warm water was installed. It's -22°F outside.
- It was colder last year. It was windy. See? I'm not even cold. I feel great. God is looking out for us.
There are lines to baptismal fonts and ice holes all over the country. For example, here's Lake Svyatoe, located in the outskirts of Moscow.
- Purification above all.
– New Year, recharged energy, and no dirt.
– That's right! The Baptism of Jesus is also known as the Epiphany.
Divine Liturgy is being held at the Epiphany Cathedral at Yelokhovo. This is where the rite of the Great Blessing of Waters takes place. It's a major part of the Gospel: when John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove and God's voice from heaven said that Jesus was the Son of God.
Patriarch Kirill: "We asked the Holy Spirit to consecrate this water and fill it with divine power and divine grace".
Technically, Biblical canons don't require you to do this. But a bath in the freezing water gives you a new sense of celebration.
While the thaw in European Russia invited people to bathe, in the Urals, ice had to be broken over and over, even under heated tents. Student volunteers came to help a professional rescue team. Ilyas Lyubaev, Coordinator at the Sverdlovsk Oblast branch of the Student Rescue Corps:
"Over 600 volunteers from the Russian Student Rescue Corps are working in over 30 regions of Russia".
Volunteers, rescue workers, medical workers, and police are still guarding each ice hole tonight because, on Epiphany, water becomes holy for an entire day.
Nikolai Vasiliev, Aleksandr Kundukhov, Nikita Korneev, Stanislav Kurashov, Aleksandr Kovalev, Vesti – Saturday News.
