Wednesday is Epiphany, a major holiday in much of Orthodox Christianity
celebrating the birth and baptism of Jesus. Religious services are held
as well as Blessing of Water ceremonies at lakes, rivers and seafronts.
But in Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and other Orthodox countries which
observe a different religious calendar, it is Christmas Eve. Roman
Catholics and Protestants, meanwhile, celebrate the story of the Wise
Men who followed a star to Jesus' cradle.
Here's a look at celebrations taking place on Wednesday:
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GREECE
Ceremonies were held across the country, with divers jumping from piers,
bridges and tug boats and including school children and members of the
country's navy special forces.
The main ceremony was held at the country's largest port of Piraeus,
near Athens, but left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attended a
smaller ceremony in the Greek capital following a spat with
traditionalists in the Orthodox Church who vehemently opposed a recent
law sanctioning same sex-civil partnerships.
Bishop Serapheim of Piraeus described the law an "insult to human identity" and "psychiatric deviation from healthy sexuality."
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CYPRUS
More than 1,000 Orthodox Christian faithful attended the annual Epiphany
Day blessing of the waters in Famagusta in Cyprus' breakaway Turkish
Cypriot north. It was the first time the ceremony has taken place since
1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup aiming at union with Greece
divided the island.
In keeping with tradition, Archimandrite Avgoustinos Karras hurled a
silver cross into the cold waters of the eastern Mediterranean as about
20 daring swimmers dashed into the sea to retrieve it. The ritual is
called the Blessing of the Water and symbolizes Jesus' baptism in River
Jordan.
Organizer Pavlos Lacovou told The Associated Press that several Turkish Cypriots also attended Wednesday's ceremony.
Acting as the backdrop to the ceremony was the Turkish
military-controlled suburb of Varosha that has remained a virtual ghost
town for 42 years, ensconced in a chain-link fence that keeps everyone
out.
The ceremony was the latest in a number of recent, faith-oriented acts
of rapprochement between the island's majority Orthodox Christian,
Greek-speaking and the Muslim, Turkish speaking populations. They aim to
underscore that religion doesn't drive a wedge between Greek and
Turkish Cypriots.
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VATICAN
Pope Francis says restless hearts these days are seeking sure answers to life's questions but don't find them.
Francis has voiced this reflection during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica
Wednesday to mark Epiphany, which recalls the Gospel account of the
Three Kings, or Magi, who followed a star to find baby Jesus in
Bethlehem.
The pontiff said: "Like the Magi, countless people in our day have a
'restless heart' which continues to search without finding sure
answers."
———
TURKEY
Members of Istanbul's tiny Greek Orthodox community, visitors from
neighboring Greece and other faithful attended an Epiphany service led
by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the
world's Orthodox Christians in Istanbul, where the Patriarchate is
based.
A group of faithful leaped into the frigid waters of the Golden Horn
inlet to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by Bartholomew. Nicolaos Silos, a
28-year-old visitor from Greece, was the first to reach it.
A ceremony to bless the waters was also held in Izmir, Turkey's
third-largest city. It was the first "official" Epiphany ceremony there
since the end of a Greek-Turkey war nearly a century ago that triggered a
population exchange between Greece and Turkey. Although the Greek
Consulate in Izmir had organized a ceremony 2006, it was the first time
the Turkish government both approved and helped to organize it.
"It's a historic day here and we're grateful to the local authorities
and to the Patriarchate ... for making this happen," Tina Samoglu,
secretary of the Izmir Orthodox Community told Greek state TV. "I feel
very proud and I'm filled with emotion."
The patriarchate in Istanbul dates from the 1,100-year-old Orthodox
Greek Byzantine Empire, which collapsed when the Muslim Ottoman Turks
conquered Constantinople, today's Istanbul, in 1453.
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BULGARIA
Thousands of young men waded into icy waters in Bulgaria to retrieve
crucifixes cast on the waters by priests. By tradition, the person who
retrieves it will be healthy and freed from evil spirits all year. After
the cross is fished out, the priest takes a bunch of dried basil to
sprinkle water over believers.
In some villages, men dipped into a local river and danced the horo, a
traditional dance. In the mountain village of Kalofer, in central
Bulgaria, scores of men in traditional dress waded into the icy Tundzha
River carrying national flags.
Led by a drummer and several men playing the bagpipes, they danced in
the freezing waters, pushing away floating chunks of ice. Some sipped
plum brandy and red wine as an antidote to the freezing weather.
———
SPAIN
Children across Spain woke up Wednesday to open presents left during a
night-time "visit" by the Three Kings of Orient, a tradition similar to
that of Santa Claus but celebrated annually on Epiphany.
Expectations were raised the previous evening as towns and cities across
the country held Epiphany parades or cavalcades symbolizing the coming
of the Magi to Bethlehem laden with gifts for the baby Jesus.
Thousands of children and parents thronged sidewalks in Madrid and other
cities to watch as ornately decorated floats — including in some cases
men dressed as kings riding camels or horses — were accompanied by
clowns, jugglers and marching bands.
The tradition spread from Spain to many Latin American countries where Epiphany is the day when gifts are exchanged.
——
BETHLEHEM
The Orthodox Patriarch of the Holy Land, Theophilos III, arrived in
Bethlehem on Wednesday for Orthodox Christmas celebrations. He walked
along the streets of the city in the traditional procession toward the
Church of Nativity.
——
UKRAINE
Rebels in the east said they were willing to release captives taken
during the conflict to mark Christmas. It was unclear however, if
Ukrainian authorities would be willing to do a prisoner exchange.
The rebels in Donetsk said they wouldn't engage in a release without a
similar release by Kiev. But Igor Plotnitsky, leader of rebels in
Luhansk, said his forces were prepared for a release without any
reciprocal move by Kiev.
It was not known how many prisoners each sides are holding or how many might be eligible for the potential release.
———
ROMANIA
Hundreds of Romanian villagers gathered on the fields near the southern
village of Pietrosani, where a priest blessed horses in a traditional
Epiphany ritual to ward off diseases and bad luck during the year.
Orthodox priests sprinkled holy water on more than a dozen horses, which
were decorated with red tassels, ear caps and ankle bands for good
luck. The animals are essential to village life, and are used for
plowing, carrying wood and transport.
Horses, ridden bareback, later thundered across the icy fields in the
annual race. Villagers drank plum brandy and mulled wine and ate grilled
spicy sausages to celebrate the feast while horses dragged logs to
demonstrate their strength.
———
Derek Gatopoulos in Athens, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus,
Francis D'Emilio in Rome, Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, Jim
Heintz in Moscow, Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem and Harold Heckle in Madrid
contributed.
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