(19 Jan 2019) Orthodox Christians in Ukraine celebrated the festival of Epiphany on Sunday by taking a dip in ice-cold waters in the capital of Kiev.
Braving the chilly temperatures, a group of winter swimmers plunged into the Dnieper River, a traditional Epiphany ritual, after the water had been sanctified by the Ukrainia's Patriarch Filaret.
Metropolitan Epiphanius I also led a public service at the Mykailivsky Cathedral.
The celebration is carried out across the country, and is traditionally done in rivers, ponds or lakes to mark the Orthodox holy day of 19 January, when the first Russian Christians were baptised in 988 AD (Anno Domini).
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