Orthodox worshipers in Russia, Belarus, and elsewhere celebrated Epiphany -- marking the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist and the beginning of his ministry -- with ritual plunges in subfreezing temperatures around midnight on January 18-19. Honoring an old Russian tradition, in many places bathers dip themselves in cross-shaped holes cut in ice over lakes and rivers. (11 PHOTOS)
Orthodox Epiphany Gets Chilly Reception
![Believers immerse themselves in a pool outside an Orthodox church in eastern Russia with temperatures around minus-20 degrees Celsius. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19 in line with the Julian calendar. (Reuters/Yuri Maltsev)](https://gdb.rferl.org/8587fb63-2341-44c2-aab4-dba86369c902_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
Believers immerse themselves in a pool outside an Orthodox church in eastern Russia with temperatures around minus-20 degrees Celsius. The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19 in line with the Julian calendar. (Reuters/Yuri Maltsev)
![Russians gather to bathe in the Black Sea to mark Epiphany in the southern city of Sochi. (Reuters/Nina Zotina)](https://gdb.rferl.org/f808524b-c4cb-41ac-8637-fdee1453238d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
Russians gather to bathe in the Black Sea to mark Epiphany in the southern city of Sochi. (Reuters/Nina Zotina)
![A plunge into near-freezing waters as an Orthodox priest blesses the bather on the eve of Epiphany in Pilnitsa, Belarus. (AFP/Viktor Drachev)](https://gdb.rferl.org/296442af-2369-4f16-aa50-d77cc2d2f7b0_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
5
A plunge into near-freezing waters as an Orthodox priest blesses the bather on the eve of Epiphany in Pilnitsa, Belarus. (AFP/Viktor Drachev)
![A man wades into an icy spring to mark Epiphany, about 45 kilometers east of Almaty, in Kazakhstan. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)](https://gdb.rferl.org/675ab0c5-9f56-4e6e-92f0-efd7b1de2276_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
6
A man wades into an icy spring to mark Epiphany, about 45 kilometers east of Almaty, in Kazakhstan. (Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov)
![A woman is helped into the waters of the Bazaikha River after midnight, with temperatures about minus-20 degrees Celsius, in a surburb of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)](https://gdb.rferl.org/7f1f9f7d-74cc-43c8-8330-210d5ddb27bf_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
7
A woman is helped into the waters of the Bazaikha River after midnight, with temperatures about minus-20 degrees Celsius, in a surburb of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)
![A man bottles holy water from a pool under an Orthodox cross made of ice during a ceremony to celebrate Epiphany in Tyumen, Russia. (Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/9a578dd3-9d85-43f2-ae6f-83235875e8b6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
8
A man bottles holy water from a pool under an Orthodox cross made of ice during a ceremony to celebrate Epiphany in Tyumen, Russia. (Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko)
![A midnight dip in the Minsk region of Belarus.](https://gdb.rferl.org/8780ee9c-5f11-487e-8f56-816786da884c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
9
A midnight dip in the Minsk region of Belarus.
![A man reacts as he immerses himself in a pool in Minsk. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)](https://gdb.rferl.org/d5cfa566-dae1-4917-82be-07ba44224a58_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
11
A man reacts as he immerses himself in a pool in Minsk. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)