Memorial Park
After much hesitation Vera finally decided to get in the freezing water (good job Vera)
Teenagers getting baptized
Babies getting baptized
January 19, 2011Vera picked us up at our apartment and we went for breakfast. In Taraz there are no restaurants that we know of that serve breakfast but in Shymkent there is. We had delicious Crepes with cottage cheese (equivalent to ricotta in Canada) with some cream and also Crepes with minced meat (beef). They were amazing!!!
We then continued our touring in Shymkent. We visited malls, oil refinery company and park where they commemorated the soldiers that were implicated in a war against Germany in 1941 to 1945. There were a lot of soldiers that died in this war. Last year was their 65th year anniversary and renovated the park in memory of the soldiers.
Orthodox believers celebrate Epiphany by taking a plunge into waters around the world.
On January 19th, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany.
Epiphany is one of the main Christian holidays, one of twelve, which is celebrated and has been since the first ages of Christianity. On this day, the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan.
The Gospels say that St. John the Baptist, also known as John the Forerunner, who started the practice of baptizing people, received a revelation that the Savior of mankind would come to him to be baptized. Several days later, Jesus Christ came to him. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit in the image of a dove descended on Him, and John heard the voice of God the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”.
“Christ’s mission was to deify man’s nature – and to sanctify the whole world. By receiving baptism in the River Jordan, He sanctified the water element – and thus the whole of nature.
“On Epiphany’s eve, the Orthodox Church performs a ceremony of sanctifying water. On Epiphany, many people try to dip into ice holes.
The feast of Epiphany has always been especially loved by Christians. In the earlier ages of Christianity, the Church baptized people only on Epiphany, thus the feast was celebrated for several days. Today, the ceremony of baptism is performed all year long.
Russian Orthodox believers observe strict fasting on Epiphany’s Eve. In the morning of January 19, a ceremony of sanctifying water is performed in the churches.
Drinking sanctified water is believed to bring corporal and spiritual health. This water is also used for sanctifying houses and offices.
On January 19th, the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany.
Epiphany is one of the main Christian holidays, one of twelve, which is celebrated and has been since the first ages of Christianity. On this day, the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the River Jordan.
The Gospels say that St. John the Baptist, also known as John the Forerunner, who started the practice of baptizing people, received a revelation that the Savior of mankind would come to him to be baptized. Several days later, Jesus Christ came to him. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit in the image of a dove descended on Him, and John heard the voice of God the Father: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased”.
“Christ’s mission was to deify man’s nature – and to sanctify the whole world. By receiving baptism in the River Jordan, He sanctified the water element – and thus the whole of nature.
“On Epiphany’s eve, the Orthodox Church performs a ceremony of sanctifying water. On Epiphany, many people try to dip into ice holes.
The feast of Epiphany has always been especially loved by Christians. In the earlier ages of Christianity, the Church baptized people only on Epiphany, thus the feast was celebrated for several days. Today, the ceremony of baptism is performed all year long.
Russian Orthodox believers observe strict fasting on Epiphany’s Eve. In the morning of January 19, a ceremony of sanctifying water is performed in the churches.
Drinking sanctified water is believed to bring corporal and spiritual health. This water is also used for sanctifying houses and offices.
Today January 19 which is the Russian holiday where people get baptized and re-baptized at church. Vera took us with her mom, aunt, cousin and friends to an Orthodox Church in the mountains. Vera explained to us that this holiday is once a year on January 19 and people get baptized or re-baptized on this day. They drink holy water which comes from the mountains and people also fill up their bottles to bring home. There is a small section they closed off where water is collected from the mountains so that people can get in and get baptised with this blessed water. You must get in this freezing cold water, do the sign of the cross and dunk your head under the water 3 consecutive times. There were also ceremonies for the first ones getting baptized. There were 3 little babies which were about 3 months old and 5 teenagers who got baptized for the 1st time. The priest got in the water and then baptized them one at a time. 1st he started with the babies by taking them and dunking them under the water 3 consecutive times. The babies didn’t even have a chance to cry because the water was so cold and by the time their heads were out of the water it was back in. I felt so bad for those babies but they seemed fine once they got out and into a nice big warm blanket their parents wrapped them up with. Once the babies were done came the teenagers. Once he baptized them he ended the ceremony by him also dunking his head under water 3 times. After all this we attended the 2nd part of the ceremony in church. The women must cover their heads in church so we all had to put on a vale before we entered the church.
After this day in the mountains at an orthodox church we were then invited to one of the moms’ friends house for a late lunch. It was great to be with all these people and they welcomed us and treated us so nice.
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