Today Orthodox Christians celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, liturgies, processions, and traditional bathing in ice holes are held in churches of the Irkutsk diocese. In the Angara region more than 30 bathing sites are open, and in Irkutsk the great blessing of water will take place at Yakobi Bay, where after the procession one can collect baptismal water. The article also tells the history of the Irkutsk ice hole, which became one of the citys notable winter traditions.
Today Orthodox Christians celebrate a great feast — the Baptism of the Lord. Since early morning, Divine Liturgies have been held in most churches of the Irkutsk Diocese, processions are taking place, and traditional bathing in Jordan fonts is being carried out. More than 30 bathing sites have been opened in the Angara regionEpiphany is one of the oldest feasts of the Christian Church. It was established in memory of the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, as described in the Gospels. According to Christian doctrine, it was after His baptism that Jesus began to enlighten people, illuminating them with the light of truth. A characteristic element of the feast is the rite of blessing water, which in rural areas is usually performed in natural bodies of water, and in urban settings — in churches. Water blessed on the feast of Epiphany is considered holy: it is kept throughout the year, various objects are sprinkled with it, it is drunk in case of illness, etc.
Residents and guests of the capital of the Angara region will be able to witness the Great Blessing of Water at the Yakobi Bay of the Irkutsk Reservoir. As the press service of the Irkutsk Diocese reported, on January 19 at 10:00 a Divine Liturgy will be served in the Alexander Nevsky Church, and a procession to the ice hole will begin. The rector of the parish, Archpriest Mark Kosolapov, will perform the rite of blessing water. Clergy remind: “Epiphany water” may be collected only after the procession and the water-blessing prayer service, and under no circumstances at night from January 18 to 19.
In total, more than 30 Jordan fonts were built in the Angara region this year. Thus, there are frosty bathing sites in Angarsk — on the Kitoy River, in the area of the 95th quarter; in Bodaibo — on the Vitim River, within the city limits; in Erbogachen — on the Tunguska River; in Zhigalovo — on the Lena River, Sudoverf Bay; in the Ziminsky District — in Zima, on the Mura River, near St. Nicholas Church and on the Kimilteyka River, near the settlement of the same name; in Kachug — on the Lena River; in the Taishet District — on the Biryusa River, near Shipichny Island; in Tulun — on the Iya River, within the city limits; in Nizhneudinsk — on the Uda River, near the Big Bridge; in Usolye-Sibirskoye — on the Angara, near boat station No. 1; in Svirsk — on the Angara, near boat station No. 2; within the settlement of Telma — on the pond of the same name; within the settlement of Malta — on the Belaya River; in Ust-Kut — near the Water Station; in the Olkhon District — in the district center of Elantsy, on the Anga River, near the fire station; in the Shelekhov District — in the settlement of Bolshoy Lug, on the Olkha River, in the settlements of Baklashi and Vvedenshchina — on the Irkut River. Jordan fonts will be on the Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir — in Ust-Ilimsk, near the “Oasis Park” yacht club; within the settlement of Nevon — on the river of the same name; on the Bratsk Reservoir — in the bays of Odisa, Katkon and Plyazhny; on the Irkutsk Reservoir — in Irkutsk, in the bays of Yakobi and ISHI; on Lake Baikal — in the settlements of Listvyanka and Nikola in the Irkutsk District; in the city of Baikalsk in the Slyudyansky District — near the “Rainbow” park, in the settlement of Bolshoye Goloustnoye — near the church.
Safety at the Jordan fonts will be ensured by GIMS inspectors, ambulance crews, and law enforcement officers.
The construction of the Jordan font has now become a good tradition of our city, without which it is already difficult to imagine the feast of Epiphany.
For the first time, the Jordan font in Yakobi Bay was arranged on the initiative of and by the efforts of parishioners of St. Alexander Nevsky Church on the eve of the feast in 2001. At that time it was a small ice hole, beside which stood a simple cross cut out of ice. The water-blessing prayer service at the Jordan font then gathered very few people, mostly parishioners of the church, who later also bathed in the ice hole.
However, on that same day the phone of the parish rector, Father Mark Kosolapov, was ringing nonstop. News of the city’s new attraction quickly spread throughout Irkutsk, and people asked how to get to the Jordan font and when they could bathe.
Few people know that originally the sculptures of the Jordan font were not molded from snow, and only since 2005, when there was practically no snowfall in winter, have the figures been cut out of ice. That was when this crystal wonder appeared, delighting Irkutsk residents with its beauty. It was then that the Jordan font was blessed for the first time by Archbishop Vadim of Irkutsk and Angarsk.
Today the creation of the Irkutsk Jordan font is handled by a professional architect, lecturer at the Polytechnic University, Vadim Vladimirovich Semenov. At the same time, students of the architecture faculty have a unique opportunity to demonstrate their skill in creating ice figures. Today the Jordan font site is divided into three sectors. In the two side sections there are six bathing pools, and in the central part two thirty-meter water-drawing ice holes are cut.