Orthodox Church Celebrates Epiphany

The Georgian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany today, with celebrations all over the country. Patriarch Ilia II is performing the liturgy at Sameba Cathedral, after which the holy water will be distributed to the believers, as it is every year on Epiphany. The liturgy will be accompanied with a mass baptism of children performed by the Patriarch himself, a tradition initiated by Patriarch Ilia II in 2008. All children baptized on Epiphany by the Patriarch are considered to be his godsons and goddaughters.

Thousands of believers in Batumi will be celebrating Epiphany, meanwhile, with their own watery ritual, by wading into the Black Sea.       

by Nino Gugunishvili

Photograph: Shakh Aivazov/AP