The Orthodox Christian community in Reading has held a ritual blessing of the River Thames in one of the first major celebrations of the year.
Worshippers from the Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in West Reading took part in their second annual blessing of the river held at the Thamesside Walk bridge in Sonning.
During the ritual, a wooden cross was dangled into the River to signify the baptism of Jesus Christ by St John the Baptist.
The ceremony was held last weekend.
Explaining the ritual, Reverend Dr Andreas Andreopoulos, priest of the Greek Orthodox Church in Reading said: “The celebration of Epiphany in the Orthodox Church includes the blessing of the waters.
“According to this, the ceremony takes place in a body of water, such as the sea, a river or a lake, and the priest blesses the water by throwing a cross on the water.
“It is also usual (though this is difficult to practice in the UK for various reasons!) for young people to dive into the water in order to recover the cross, which means a special blessing for them.”
Prior to the Thames blessing, bowls and bottles of water were blessed by Father Andreopoulos at St Mark’s Church in Cranbury Road.
In Western Christianity, such as the Catholic Church, the Epiphany celebrates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus Christ, with worship held on Monday, January 6 and the following Sunday.
Christians also receive ‘Epiphany blessings’ at their homes where a priest writes 20+C+M+B+25, with the numbers signifying the year and ‘CMB’ representing the names of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
