Blessing of water, Orthodox feast of the Theophany (Baptism of Christ – Vadokhryshcha), Azdamichy 2014. Асьвячэньне вады на Вадохрышча, Аздамічы 2014.
At the end of the five-and-a-half-hour service Father Aljaksandr dips his cross three times into each barrel of water. The water will be distributed to parishioners. The barrels and dipping of the cross symbolize the River Jordan and the moment of Christ’s baptism and the Theophany (revelation of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).
After blessing the water, and before making a round of the sanctuary to bless water which parishioners have bought in their own containers, Father Aljaksandr carefully wipes the cross.
The blessing of water combines a Christian rite with pre-Christian elements in one of the most intensely synchretic moments in the liturgical calendar.
