Epiphany Enthusiasm in Fener: Prayers, bells, and the cross retrieved from the sea…

The Christian world celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ every year on January 6. The feast symbolizes the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. Religiously, this event is considered the moment when the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) appeared to humanity together for the first time.

Apostolic Armenians celebrate both the birth and baptism of Jesus Christ on January 6 as the Feast of Dzinunt. Syriac Orthodox also celebrate the Feast of "Denho," which means baptism in Syriac, on this day. The Greek Orthodox community also celebrates the Feast of Epiphany - Theophany (Enlightenment) on January 6.

In Turkey, this celebration is widely known as the "Denizden Haç Çıkarma Töreni" (Cross Retrieval Ceremony from the Sea). It is believed that with water, the source of life, and this ceremony, nature is re-sanctified. The most crucial point of the ceremony is the moment the Ecumenical Patriarch throws the cross in his hand into the water. This represents Jesus Christ entering the water and sanctifying the nature of water. Istanbul is one of the centers where this tradition has been experienced most magnificently for centuries.

The religious meaning of the ceremony heralds purification and cleansing, the end of darkness, and the spread of holiness to the world with the baptism of Jesus Christ. The cross thrown into the water symbolizes the touch of the divine upon the physical world.

The service held at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Fener, Istanbul, starting at 09:00 in the morning with the participation of Patriarch Bartholomew, lasted four hours. At the service attended by hundreds of people, those coming to the church lit candles and prayed accompanied by hymns. During the service, the water was blessed.

Those who could not attend the service filled the front rows at the Golden Horn hours in advance to watch the ceremony. On the other hand, in the area where the water would be blessed with prayers at the Golden Horn, there was a red podium with a religious cloth (epitrakhelion) on it.

Many boats and ships with many local and foreign people also began to wait at the Golden Horn to watch the ceremony. When it was 13:00, the bells of the Patriarchate church rang for minutes, and those waiting on the shore prayed by making the sign of the cross. With the ringing of the bell, Patriarch Bartholomew and the accompanying clergy began to walk from the patriarchate to the Golden Horn.

During the ceremony, medical teams and maritime police were also present. People who would compete to retrieve the cross from where it was thrown hours ago also took their places on the shore of the Golden Horn. A great excitement gripped those waiting on the shore, and hundreds of people began to wait for the ceremony. The Ecumenical Patriarch and the accompanying spiritual delegation came to the Golden Horn accompanied by hymns, and the traditional cross retrieval ceremony from the sea began.

40 people tried to find the cross

The Patriarch and the clergy, who sang hymns for a while, blessed the cross. Then Patriarch Bartholomew threw the cross into the sea in the Golden Horn. While the weather in Istanbul was 15 degrees, approximately 40 people jumped into the sea to retrieve the cross thrown into the sea. Among those competing to retrieve the cross from the sea this year were three women. While hundreds of people watched the ceremony with great excitement, the clergy also flew white doves. One of the doves landed on the shoulder of a clergyman. The dove, which returned even though it was flown many times, was given to the audience.

The cross was retrieved this year by Vasilios Konstantinidis and delivered again to Patriarch Bartholomew. Later, Konstantinidis and the 40 people who jumped into the sea went on stage and greeted the audience. The dove given to the audience was also given to Konstantinidis, who retrieved the cross from the sea. The ceremony ended with the departure of the Patriarch and the accompanying delegation from the Golden Horn in a cortege.

Simultaneously with the ceremony in the Golden Horn, cross retrieval ceremonies also took place in Kadıköy and different districts.