- Title: TURKEY: Orthodox Christians celebrate epiphany in Istanbul with a Bosphorus dive
- Date: 6th January 2014
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JANUARY 6, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE ENTERING CHURCH FOR CEREMONY VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LIGHTING EPIPHANY CANDLES VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX CLERGY CONDUCTING CEREMONY INSIDE VARIOUS OF MEMBERS OF CONGREGATION DEPUTY PATRIARCHATE GERMANOS CONDUCTING CEREMONY VARIOUS OF ORTHODOX CLERGY WATCHING CEREMONY VARIOUS OF CONGREGATION WATCHING FROM BALCONY VARIOU
- Embargoed: 21st January 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: General,Quirky,Religion,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVAA9N02F7JQGVSD6L33LTDENE6C
- Story Text: Orthodox Christians in Istanbul on Monday (January 6) attended the city's annual epiphany celebrations.
After a traditional church service, worshippers walked to the Golden Horn estuary on the river Bosphorus with Deputy Patriarch Germanos.
As part of a tradition dating back to Byzantine times, a crucifix is thrown into the waters by the patriarch and young divers plunge in, competing to retrieve it.
Greek citizen Yorgos Alexandridis recovered the wooden crucifix from the water and then ceremonially handed it over to the Deputy Patriarch.
"I feel very good, I feel very blessed. I wish this joy and this happiness that i feel right now for generations to come," Alexandridis said afterwards.
Hundreds of members of Istanbul's Greek Orthodox community attend the ceremony every year on the banks of the stretch of water known as the Golden Horn, which cuts into the western side of the Bosphorus, dividing the city's European and Asian sides. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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