One of the most important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, the Epiphany, or in Greek “Theofania” or “Fota”, will have thousands of Greek Australians racing to the beach to see who will get the holy cross.
Church services and celebrations at the beach will be held on Monday January 6, while the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia will hold centralised celebrations on Sunday January 12 in multiple states.
The day marks the baptism of Jesus by Saint John the Baptist, and traditionally sees a parish priest throw a blessed cross into the water, with the men of the town jumping in the water to retrieve it. The successful male that gets to the cross first receives good luck for the year.
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia has organised several events around the country, inviting all to take part in their cities.
In Frankston, the local Parish of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Epiphany will be staging all day events to accompany the ceremony of the blessing of the waters at 12 noon on Monday.
In Geelong, the blessing of the waters will take place at 11.30 am at Rippleside Park. In Mentone, the Greek Orthodox Parish and Community of “Archangels” will stage its own ceremony of the blessings of the waters at 11.00 am at Parkdale Pier. In the seaside town of Rye, the ceremony is organised by the Holy Monastery of Panagia Kamariani in Red Hill and will take place at 12.30 noon.
State-wide celebrations organised by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia are to take place next Sunday January 12 in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
In Sydney, the blessing of the waters by Archbishop Stylianos will take place next Sunday at 1.00 pm at the Yarra Bay Bicentennial Park. In Melbourne the celebration will be hosted at 12.00 noon at Princess Pier in Port Melbourne, whereas in Adelaide the celebration will be staged at 12.15 pm at the Pier of Glenelg.
The annual event is celebrated worldwide by Orthodox Christians and is one of the most anticipated events on the theological calendar.