St. Nicholas Church At Ground Zero Holds Annual 'Blessing of the Waters' Ceremony At Battery Park

Lower Manhattan, January 8, 2012 - One of the time-honored Epiphany rituals was celebrated in Battery Park this past Sunday. The Blessing of the Waters and casting of the Holy Cross into New York Harbor. This ceremony was conducted after a mass was held at Saints Helen and Constantine Church in Downtown Brooklyn. Parishioners arrived in Lower Manhattan in a bus in the early afternoon following a morning of prayer. These parishioners are of St. Nicholas Church at Ground Zero which was demolished during the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. This year is especially joyful because they now can begin to build their replacement church next to Ground Zero. The story about this is in this blog at: http://railientrails.blogspot.com/2011/10/agreement-to-build-greek-orthodox.html

The ritual begins with a procession from Pier 1 to Slip 1, near where the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island ferry boats dock. Crosses and religious artifacts are carried and chants are sung during this procession. The priests and divers (this year there was only one), boarded a new FDNY rescue boat where more prayers are sung. At the appropriate moment, the swimmers are told to be ready and the gold cross is thrown into the water with a tether and is the symbolism of the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan river by St John the Baptist. The successful swimmer hoists the cross in the air to signify he's got it and swims back to the boat. For his efforts, he is rewarded with a small cross, personal blessing from the priest to ensure good luck for the coming year. The ceremony is concluded with the release of a white dove which symbolizes the Holy Spirit which appeared that day in the sky.

The Greek Festival of Epiphany is held every year on the Sunday of January after the Epiphany. Greek Orthodox Churches around the world holds its own 'Blessing of the Waters' ceremony. All Greek Orthodox churches located close to a water front perform this rite that is based upon the Rite of Baptism.