SALISBURY — Parishioners of All Saints of America Orthodox Christian Church in Salisbury made their short annual hike to Washining Lake to bless the water on Sunday, Jan. 8.
Fr. John Kreta and the parishioners of All Saints of America blessed the water in celebration of Epiphany, also referred to as Theophany. Epiphany celebrates Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the river Jordan as well as God revealing Jesus as His Son and as part of the Holy Trinity to the people. It is considered one of the 12 major feasts of the Orthodox Christian calendar, alongside celebrations like Christmas and Easter. Water is blessed in both the church and at open water, and water blessed in the church is meant to be taken home for both blessing homes and drinking for health.
The church members walk to the lake at the conclusion of normal Sunday services carrying banners and the cross, and the water is blessed through a short service. At the end of the service, a small amount of water is drawn and used to bless those in attendance. After the people have been blessed, the cross the priest carries is tossed into the water to be retrieved by divers, though due to usually cold weather Fr. Kreta tosses it in a shallow area. In the following weeks, the priest will visit homes and bless them with the water blessed in the church.
The water symbolizes renewal and the essence of life. Orthodox churches across the globe hold this service at hundreds of thousands of bodies of water.
Matthew Kreta is the son of Fr. John Kreta.
