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Taking the Plunge, Russia Celebrates Epiphany

Russian Orthodox priest conducts a service on Epiphany at a hole in the form of Orthodox Cross at a pond in Tyarlevo village outside St.Petersburg, late Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017. Dmitry Lovetsky / AP
A Russian man bathes in the icy water to mark the Epiphany in Moscow, Jan. 18, 2017. Pavel Golovkin / AP
Russian Orthodox believers queue to bath in an ice-cold water of the Ob River after it was blessed by an Orthodox priest on Epiphany in Novosibirsk, about 2,800 kilometers east of Moscow, Jan. 19, 2017. Ilnar Salakhiev / AP
A Russian Orthodox believer crosses himself as he bathes in the icy water on Epiphany at the Church of the Holy Trinity, in Ostankino near TV Tower in Moscow, Jan. 18, 2017. Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr / AP
Russians prepare to bath in an ice-cold water of the Ob River after it was blessed by an Orthodox priest on Epiphany in Novosibirsk, about 2,800 kilometers east of Moscow, Jan. 19, 2017. Ilnar Salakhiev / AP
A dog watches as her owner bathes in the icy water on Epiphany at a pond in Moscow, Jan. 19, 2017. Pavel Golovkin / AP
A Russian Orthodox believers come to bath in the icy water on Epiphany at a pond in Moscow, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. Pavel Golovkin / AP

Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers plunged into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. Water that is blessed by a cleric on Epiphany is considered holy and pure until next year's celebration, and is believed to have special powers of protection and healing.

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