In Photos: Romanian Orthodox Christians celebrate Jesus' baptism with holy water and a race

Archbishop Teodosie blesses the water during a ceremony at the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Constanta on the eve of Epiphany Day. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

CONSTANTA, Romania — In Eastern Romania, crowds of people gathered Jan. 6 around important bodies of water – the shore of the Danube River and coast of the Black Sea – to celebrate Epiphany Day, marking the end of winter holidays with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River instead of his birth like in the Western Christian tradition of Christmas.

Archbishop Teodosie held the Epiphany service near the Danube river where hundreds of Christian Orthodox believers from Harsova and surrounding villages gathered for this occasion. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Crowds of worshippers are gathered on the Danube shore for the water blessing ceremony on the eve of the Epiphany. Priests blessed the Danube waters and water brought in large containers to be given to the people attending after the ceremony. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

In towns and villages along the shores, priests blessed the waters for 2020 and each threw three crosses in the water, symbolizing the appearance of the Holy Trinity in the waters of the Jordan. The most courageous worshippers jumped in the near-freezing waters to retrieve the crosses. It is believed that retrieving a cross will bring its owner blessings and a prosperous upcoming year.

A man retrieves a cross from the Danube river at Harsova, a small town in South Eastern Romania. Several men swam in the freezing waters after the three crosses were thrown in the Danube by Archbishop Teodosie during the Epiphany service which took place on the Danube shore. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

“This celebration must gather all of us on the shore of the Black Sea, which is our Jordan,” said Archbishop Teodosie, head of the church of Southeast Romania. “We must gather in faith, hoping that the year will be good, and through our faith, actions and attitude towards our fellows and God, improve ourselves and make the year better.”

Archbishop Teodosie blessed large containers of water in front of the Saint Peter and Paul Catherdral in Constanta on the eve of the Epiphany day. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Priests also blessed large containers of water for people to receive at the end of the church services. The holy water is consumed in the morning for the following eight days and is believed to bring good health and blessings.

A volunteer bottled holy water after the blessing ceremony in front of the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Constanta. More than 200,000 bottles of water were filled by volunteers for the celebration. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

In Constanta, the biggest city on the Romanian coast of the Black Sea, the Epiphany is one of the most important celebrations of the year. Preparations started more than a week in advance, with hundreds of volunteers labelling more than 200,000 bottles for distributing the holy water.

“We have been working for five days for labelling bottles and filling them with holy water,” said a volunteer who preferred to keep her name private out of humility and has volunteered every year for five years. “Many people come to help. Our priest holds such beautiful church services that we are happy to come and help him.”

Archbishop Teodosie, surrounded by Orthodox priests officiates the religious service for blessing the water in front of the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Constanta on the eve of Epiphany Day. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, the eve of the Epiphany, on a cold and rainy morning, a first ceremony for blessing the water was held at the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral in Constanta. Hundreds of Christian Orthodox believers attended.

On Monday, the day of the Epiphany, more than a thousand people from the Constanta area and from other regions of the country gathered on the shore of the sea to take part in the religious service in which Archbishop Teodosie and a group of priests blessed the sea. Traditionally, large containers of water were brought by oxen carriages in a procession from the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral to the seafront to be blessed.

Romanian Christians prayed during the water blessing service in Constanta. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Archbishop Teodosie blessed the people with holy water. The three crosses held by his follower were thrown in the Danube river. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Archbishop Teodosie threw three crosses in the Danube waters after blessing the river at Harsova in South Eastern Romania on the Epiphany eve. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

A man was greeted by friends and bystanders after he caught the cross thrown in the Danube river by Archbishop Teodosie. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Archbishop Teodosie blessed the crowds of people that gathered at the Danube's shores. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Gabriel and Stefan from Valu lui Traian, a village near Constanta, came for the first time with their families to attend the Epiphany celebrations. For the last four years their parents came to Epiphany Day in Constanta with their donkeys to walk in the Epiphany procession. Their contribution was to help carrying two of the several large containers of water that were blessed on the Black Sea shore. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

The Epiphany procession passed by the seafront of the Black Sea in Constanta, on Jan. 5, 2020. More than a thousand people from the Constanta area and from other regions of Romania attended the celebration. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Orthodox priests held a religious service at the sea shore in Constanta during the Epiphany celebrations. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Archbishop Teodosie, escorted by military personnel on a boat, blessed the Black Sea and threw three crosses in the waters, symbolizing the appearance of the Holy Trinity in the Jordan river. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Several people jumped in the water to retrieve the crosses. The celebration was shadowed by an incident in which a woman who swam and got first to one of the crosses was kicked by a fellow swimmer, who took the cross from her. Upon arriving on shore, the young woman shared her story and was given another cross and recognition by Archbishop Teodosie. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Swimmers helped by military personnel arrived at the shore of the Black Sea after swimming for the crosses. It is believed that retrieving a cross will bring its owner blessings and a prosperous upcoming year. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Archbishop Teodosie blessed the crowds at the end of the Epiphany celebrations in Constanta. Photo by Alexandra Radu.

Alexandra Radu is a photojournalist based in Bucharest, Romania. She has been published in Al Jazeera, the New York Times, Religion News Service, Reuters and AP, and her images have won awards at the Religion News Association Awards for Religion Reporting Excellence in 2017, 2018 and 2019.