As you know, the Baptism of the Lord is one of the most important church holidays. On this day, many believers traditionally plunge into the ice hole. However, representatives of the Old Believers' movement, which to this day remains in the bosom of the Orthodox Church, do nothing of the kind.
Baptism of Jesus
The Baptism of the Lord is celebrated by the parishioners of the Orthodox Church annually on January 19. According to religious literature, almost 2 thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was baptized on this day. The Savior came to John the Baptist and asked him to perform this sacrament with him. After John fulfilled the request of Christ, the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven: “You are My Beloved Son; I am well pleased with You! (Luke 3: 21-22).
The baptism of Jesus took place in the waters of the Jordan River. It is established that the place where the sacrament was performed was Wadi el-Harar. Today it is the territory of Jordan. There is no water there for a long time, as the river has changed its course. Nevertheless, the fact that the baptism of Christ took place in Wadi el-Harar is also recognized by the Orthodox Church.
The decision of the Stoglava Cathedral
Precisely because Jesus Christ was baptized by means of water, many Orthodox believers plunge into the hole. However, Old Believers never do this. The rector of the Old Believer church in Yekaterinburg, Pavel (Zyryanov), claims that earlier on the feast of Epiphany, people passed the sacrament en masse. “And if you are baptized - why plump in the water? Epiphany water does not wash away sins, this is a delusion! - says the priest.
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Father Alexy Zhilko, chairman of the Central Council of the Old Orthodox Pomor Church in Latvia, adheres to a similar point of view. Zhilko reports that in their refusal to swim in water bodies during Epiphany, the Old Believers refer to the Stoglav Cathedral of 1551. Then Ivan the Terrible pointed out to the participants in the council that during church holidays, men and women gather for "splashing" and other "demonic" things. By the decision of the cathedral, bathing was prohibited.
In addition, Alexy also notes that the dark forces engaged in witchcraft, after their "nightly lewd practices", are purified in water bodies.
Deliverance from sins?
In general, there is an ambiguous attitude towards Epiphany bathing even on the part of Orthodox clergy. This is especially true of the popular belief that this procedure cleanses from all sins. Even John Chrysostom said that even Jesus Christ himself entered the Jordan River not at all to wash away sins, but he sanctified "the nature of waters" by his presence.
Priest John Kurbatsky is sure that the tradition of dipping into an ice-hole has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. The priest claims that sins can only be washed away directly during the sacrament of baptism and during confession. According to the priest, bathing has become one of the fashionable entertainment today. Some, trying to be known as daredevils, often neglect even the obvious danger. In this regard, Kurbatsky recalls the lines from the Gospel: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4: 7).
Yulia Popova