Epiphany thaw: how Russians celebrated the Epiphany holiday
Despite the absence of frost, in 2025 millions of believers celebrated the Epiphany holiday and took part in bathing. On January 18 and 19, Russians came to churches for festive services and holy water, and took a dip in specially equipped baptismal fonts. In churches volunteers and parishioners helped newcomers and the elderly to take baptismal water consecrated with a special rite, and at the bathing sites traffic police officers regulated traffic. On how Russians met the holiday of the Epiphany - in the material "Izvestia".
Divine service on Epiphany Eve
- Girl, on the floor of the baptismal water can not be put! Put it on the bench, - admonishes the young parishioner says one, apparently, one of the parish old-timers.
Saturday of Christmas Eve was a Lenten day, in churches on this day the All-Night Vigil is celebrated. In the Church of the Intercession on Lyubertsy Fields in Nekrasovka water was consecrated in the afternoon, January 18. Therefore, there was no rush: people quietly went for the already holy water throughout the day and then on Sunday, so the queue did not form. Parish volunteers in blue vests helped people to draw water, and the elderly and infirm even offered to carry the water to their homes.
- It's very convenient," admits Maria Fedorovna, a parishioner of the church. - I come from work, I don't have a bottle with me. I thought I would buy some water at the store and pour it out to get some baptismal water. And here is such a service!
These days the Church remembers the events when the Savior came to John the Baptist to be baptized by him in the waters of the Palestinian river Jordan. The Baptism of the Lord is one of the Twelve Great Feasts, as it is dedicated to the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
It is believed that on the day when Christ entered the Jordan, the nature of the water changed: it began to absorb and transmit to people a special divine energy - grace. "Today the nature of the waters is sanctified" - sung in the church rite of the great consecration of water. That is why believers on this day try to collect in the temple and bring home baptismal water sanctified in a special way, to then use it throughout the year.
- Water should be drunk a little at a time, with reverence and prayer," Igor, a parishioner of the temple, told Izvestia. - Epiphany water, if it pleases God, can really heal a person. But this is not the main thing. The main thing that this water supports and strengthens us spiritually, gives mental strength.
On January 18, on Epiphany Eve, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia performed a divine service in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. And the faithful who could not be in the temple on that day had the opportunity to watch the broadcast on the TV channels "Soyuz" and "Spas". On January 19, the patriarch celebrated the Divine Liturgy and the rite of the great consecration of water in the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov.
Baptism is the moment when God first revealed his mysterious triune nature to people. According to the Gospel, one of the hypostases of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - descended on Christ in the form of a dove during his stay in the Jordan. And from heaven God the Father addressed Jesus with the words, "You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased..." Hence the second name of the feast - Epiphany.
In the prayer for the reception of holy water believers ask that this water will serve them "for the remission of sins, for the enlightenment of the mind, for the strengthening of mental and bodily strength, for the health of soul and body, for the subduing of passions and infirmities". And all this is not so much due to the miraculous properties of water, but "by the infinite mercy" of God.
Epiphany bathing
In the village of Dunino, near Moscow, a font was organized on the territory of the chapel of St. John the Baptist. Every year, the authorities provide believers with a warm tent at the place of baptismal bathing, near which medics and lifeguards are on duty.
From the place of car parking, which is strongly directed by traffic police officers, to the font itself to walk about 10 minutes. The road to the place of bathing runs along the Moskva River, and from the other side believers (and not only them) can admire the dark winter coniferous forest. The local authorities took care of safety and spread sand all along the path to prevent people from slipping into the river.
- At first it was scary to look at the path, but when we took the first steps, we realized that it had been prepared in advance," Muscovite Alexander Falmonov tells Izvestia correspondent. - The experience of baptismal bathing is new to me, but thinking about it was much scarier than it actually turned out to be.
According to him, this year's relatively warm weather helped to overcome the fear, and he decided to join this winter tradition in the company of friends, who have already taken a dip for more than the first time.
- I've been coming to this place for the third year in a row," said Daniil Davydov, a resident of a neighboring village.- I like the atmosphere of solitude and the piercing silence that gives the Epiphany celebration a special mood and atmosphere. In the same parking lot volunteers every year treat "freshly dipped" bathers with delicious porridge and hot tea, which is simply necessary after immersion in icy water.
The priest consecrated the font and the neighboring spring from the morning on Epiphany Eve, said a local resident. She helped those who came to the baptismal baths for the first time: she explained how to approach the font and how to behave.
The believers, whom the Izvestia correspondent met on the way to the font, congratulated each other on the holiday and encouraged those who were just about to take a dip.
As the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Kurenkov stated, the safety at the reservoirs was ensured by more than 7 thousand rescuers, who also identified places of spontaneous bathing at the reservoirs. The agency reported on the preparation of about 3 thousand specialized places for bathing in the country, each of which was organized duty of medical workers, lifeguards and other representatives of public organizations.
According to the government of Moscow, more than 40 places for bathing were organized in the capital, in the Moscow region - 195, reported the Ministry of Improvement of the Moscow region. Throughout the region, the authorities have equipped 66 places on open water bodies and ponds, 67 outdoor fonts and 62 indoor ones, said Mikhail Khaikin, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Region Government. According to him, the swimming pools were arranged in compliance with all safety measures.
