The culmination of the Orthodox Christmas: bathing in freezing waters

Throughout the Christian East, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, celebrated on January 19, is even more important than Christmas. This year there was the "consecration of the oceans": the Arctic polar ocean at Tiksi; the Atlantic in Reykjavik; the Pacific in Thailand and Primorje on the Sea of ​​Japan; the Indian Ocean in the United Arab Emirates. The "extreme orthodoxy" of the holy bath of Vladimir Putin and of the journalist Ksenja Sobchak.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Christmas festivities have just concluded with the great celebration of Baptism (the Epiphany), which according to the ancient calendar is celebrated on January 19th. Throughout the Christian East, this feast is even more important than the nativity of Christ, which was originally associated with the pagan festival of the Sun on December 25th; the event that is celebrated on January 6/19 is that of the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, his first Messianic manifestation.

In Russia this festival takes on a particularly emphatic and popular tone, being the traditional date of the most intense winter cold, the so-called "baptism freezes". The association between the lustral bath and the icy surface of the waters is thus particularly emphasized, inserting at the peak of the liturgical celebration a dip into an opening in the form of a cross, cut into the ice sheets that cover rivers and lakes. Compared to the dozens of degrees below zero oabove the surface, the water under the ice is relatively warm, a sign of the uncontaminated purity made accessible by the presence of the Savior.

Blessed waters and oceans

From next week on, Russians will go to church to receive the containers of holy water, bottles and whole barrels, to protect the house and property from the assaults of the evil one. In these days, attendance in Orthodox churches takes on proportions similar to those of the Easter celebrations, when the faithful bring eggs and traditional sweets to be blessed by the priests. This year almost two million people took part in the prayers on ice, a cause of no small concern for security organs: the temperatures did not reach the classic -20 / -30 degrees everywhere, and the ice was thinner than usual. Over 30 thousand agents organized the processions in about 4000 places of sacred immersion, in over 300 cities in Russia; it all took place without incident. Only a priest in Ufa, in Bashkiria, slipped into the icy water with all his  vestments, but was promptly rescued by the security.

The Patriarchate of Moscow also organized a spectacular "consecration of the oceans" this year, counting on the now widespread presence of Russian chaplains in every part of the globe. The Arctic Ocean was blessed in the village of Tiksi, the northernmost town, on the shores of the Laptev Sea. The Russian parish priest of Reykjavik, Fr. Timofej Zolotuskij, blessed the Atlantic, while the Pacific was consecrated on the beach of the Gulf of Siam in Thailand, Primorje on the Sea of ​​Japan and Gertner, a Russian town of the Magadan province on the sea of ​​Ochotsk. Finally, the Indian Ocean received a blessing in the Persian Gulf, in the United Arab Emirates, where the parish is led by Archimandrite Aleksandr (Zarkeshev). In this way, the Russian Church wanted to extend the purifying power of prayer for all regions of the world.

The sacred bath of the VIPs

Bathing in icy waters is not an obligation, and only a part of the faithful have the courage to make such a gesture of "extreme orthodoxy". Usually the parishioners are more robust, starting with the priests, but there are plenty of intrepid women eager to communicate with the sanctity of the icy waters. Often the most prominent personalities - administrators, politicians and showmen - set a good example by opening the row of ascetics-baptizers. As in previous years, President Vladimir Putin did not miss this opportunity, moreover he is an habitué in demonstrations of virility associated with devotion. Putin visited the hermitage of Saint Nilus at Lake Seliger, just north of Moscow, at a temperature that was almost spring-like at just 7 degrees below zero. On the social networks, the Russians exalted the presidential bath, noting also that Putin made the sign of the cross in the opposite direction, "in the manner of the Catholics".

The icy dip of another presidential candidate has also caused a sensation: the very popular journalist Ksenja Sobchak, who was in the Siberian city of Tomsk for a meeting. Sobchak immediately posted a clip to followers on Instagram, revealing that she had tried it for the first time, to "test her ability to resist" the -40 degrees of the river Malaja Ushajka: "It's a feeling that stays with you for a lifetime, and I love life! There were many Siberians with me, then we all warmed up together, "said the candidate, expressing her closeness to popular traditions. Sobchak did not fail to involve her fans, who see her as a glamorous icon: "For those looking for the cost of my costume on catalogs, know that I bought it in a Tomsk shop at 1760 rubles" (around 30 euros).