Source: The Siberian Times
January 19, 2016
Here in Novosibirsk our pictures show people submerging themselves during the night in the freezing waters of the Ob River. The temperature was minus 27C but elsewhere in Siberia the thermometer dipped lower, with Yakutsk recording minus 41C.
The fall of Communism in Russia has seen a remarkable recovery of the nation's traditional Orthodox faith, and nowhere is this evident more clearly that at Epiphany, marked here on 19 January.
It was the day Jesus Christ was baptised in the River Jordan, and Orthodox Christians here cut holes in the ice to immerse themselves in rivers or lakes, reconnecting with a tradition going back centuries.
The Church supports this mass bathing while cautioning that adherents are taking part in a solemn ceremony and not merely having fun or swimming for a dare.
Bathers are warned to abstain from alcohol before taking the plunge, and not to immerse themselves for more than 30 seconds. Pictures: Vera Salnitskaya
Starting as darkness fell on Monday, and continuing on Tuesday, millions of Russians were participating in this important religious ceremony.
Across the country's 11 time zones from the Pacific to the Baltic, medics stood by to help those overcome by the cold, while many ran to nearby banyas - or saunas - to warm after the bracing, and healthy, experience.
In churches and cathedrals, religious services were held and water was blessed.
Today, two thirds of Russians consider themselves Orthodox Christians compared with less than 10 per cent in 1989 on the eve of the Soviet collapse.
Cross-shaped holes in the ice are called 'iordans', named after the River Jordan.
The waters are blessed by priests and the devout plunge into the 'iordans' three times, in honour of the Holy Trinity.
Medics stood by to help those overcome by the cold-27C. Pictures here and below: Vera Salnitskaya
Bathers are warned to abstain from alcohol before taking the plunge, and not to immerse themselves for more than 30 seconds.
They are also warned by the Church that diving into the icy waters on Epiphany is not a Church rite but more a Russian tradition.
Believers are told that 'sins are only forgiven through repentance and confession'.
