Bartholomew I, kisses the wooden cross after it was being retrieved by Apostolis Oikomoniv from the water during an Epiphany ceremony (AP Photo )
Orthodox Christian worshippers plunged into chilly waters across southern and eastern Europe on Friday to retrieve crucifixes in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Hundreds of members of Istanbul’s tiny Greek Orthodox community and tourists from Greece attended the Epiphany ceremony of the Blessing of the Waters. About 20 faithful leaped into the wintry waters of the Golden Horn inlet to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I.
Apostolos Oikonomou, a 40-year-old Greek participating in the swim for the fourth year, clinched the cross.
“This year I was the lucky guy,” he said. “I will come next year again. I wish everybody peace and happy new year.”
(source: AP)
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