/ Epiphany
Swimmer Joshoua Samios holds the cross after retrieving it from the water, during a traditional ceremony to bless the water in Greece’s Perama port near Athens, on Tuesday. Jan. 6, 2009. Similar ceremonies to mark Epiphany day were held across Greece on river banks, seafronts and lakes, where an Orthodox priest throws a cross into the water and swimmers race to be the first to retrieve it. AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, via the Boston Globe, The Big Picture
Men jump into the icy waters of a lake in an attempt to grab a wooden cross on Epiphany Day in Sofia, Bulgaria on January 6, 2009. (REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov), via the Big Picture
The Great Blessing of Water in the Orthodox Church on the Feast of Epiphany
That these waters may be sanctified by the power, and effectual operation, and descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
That there may descend upon these waters the cleansing operation of the super-substantial Trinity, let us pray to the Lord.
That he will endue them with the grace of redemption, the blessing of Jordan, the might, and operation, and descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
That Satan may speedily be crushed under our feet, and that every evil counsel directed against us may be brought to naught, let us pray to the Lord.
That the Lord our God will free us from every attack and temptation of the enemy, and make us worthy of the good things which he hath promised, let us pray to the Lord.
That he will illumine us with the light of understanding and of piety, and with the descent of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
That the Lord our God will send down the blessing of Jordan, and sanctify these waters, let us pray to the Lord.
That this water may be unto the bestowing of sanctification; unto the remission of sins; unto the healing of soul and body; and unto every expedient service, let us pray to the Lord.
That this water may be a fountain welling forth unto life eternal, let us pray to the Lord.
That it may manifest itself effectual unto the averting of every machination of our foes, whether visible or invisible, let us pray to the Lord.
For those who shall draw of it and take of it unto the sanctification of their homes, let us pray to the Lord.
That it may be for the purification of the souls and bodies of all those who, with faith, shall draw and partake of it, let us pray to the Lord.
That he will graciously enable us to perfect sanctification by participation in these waters, through the invisible manifestation of the Holy Spirit, let us pray to the Lord.
Pieter Aertsen, The Adoration of the Magi, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
