The celebration of the Baptism of the Lord in Chersonese: how it was

Orthodox celebrate today one of the most important twelfth holidays — the Baptism of the Lord. According to the gospel, Jesus came to St. John the Baptist and asked to perform a sacred ceremony. Baptism involved immersion in the waters of the Jordan River. It symbolized repentance and cleansing from sins. As soon as Jesus entered the waters of the Jordan, he sanctified them, and the voice of the Lord was heard from heaven. God the Father called Jesus his son, and the Holy Spirit descended on Christ in the form of a dove, revealing to people the divine trinity.

More than two and a half thousand believers came today to touch the sacrament and take part in the liturgy of John Chrysostom in Tauric Chersonese. In the morning at St. Vladimir’s Cathedral, a service was held in honor of the feast of the Epiphany, which united the hearts and souls of numerous Christians. The festive liturgy was attended by Director of the Museum-Reserve Elena Morozova, Senator of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Ekaterina Altabayeva, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Sevastopol Vladimir Nemtsev and Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Hero City Ilya Zhuravlev.

This day fills our souls with grace and warms our hearts with warmth! I wish all of us health and good spirits, may peace and prosperity reign in the house, and holy water will strengthen the body and fill the soul with light, relieve all ailments and worries! – Director of the museum-reserve Elena Morozova congratulated the believers.

The consecration of water for Baptism is one of the most important parts of the service, which has the deepest connection with the sacrament itself. It is water that reveals to us the meaning of the holiday. In prayers and actions during the consecration of water for Baptism, all aspects of the sacrament are revealed, its connection with the world and matter, with life in all its manifestations is shown. That is why numerous believers, after the liturgy, collected the Great Agiasma — water, consecrated precisely on 19 January.

After the completion of the liturgy, the parishioners made a procession to the Quarantine Bay. The rite of the great consecration of water was headed by the dean of the Sevastopol district, Archpriest Sergiy Halyuta. After the consecration of the waters of the Black Sea, the believers were immersed three times. Today the weather was kind: Epiphany frosts have not yet come into their own, the morning turned out to be warm and windless.

Not only residents of Sevastopol, but also representatives of other regions of Russia came to take part in the service at St. Vladimir Cathedral and plunge into the Quarantine Bay. Thus, the guests from Simferopol, thanks to the favorable weather, were able today to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany in Tauric Chersonesos.

We always try to attend a service, to collect baptismal water exactly on the holy land of Chersonese, but for the last two years, due to icing on the road, we have not been able to get to Sevastopol. We are very glad that today the weather favors us, we visited the St. Vladimir Cathedral and the procession, and my husband even took a dip,” said Olga Khrenova, a resident of Simferopol.

Anatoly Vladislavovich Petrov from Sevastopol also shared his impressions:

It is not the first time that on the feast of the Epiphany I plunge into the waters of the Black Sea, the second time I attend the service and procession in Tauric Chersonese. Today the weather is great, the sea is warm, heating points are working, I think many believers will do a triple dip today.

Chersonese Tauride congratulates all believers on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and wishes peace, grace and joy in the soul! We remind you that believers can take a dip in Quarantine Bay today until 00: 401. Entrance to the territory of the museum-reserve is free.