Father Ryan Bishop blesses the Meadow River (Submitted/All Saints Orthodox Church)

By Nicole Reis

Meadow River blessing

Orthodox Christmas celebration has the city drinking holy water

Jan 7, 2020 | 6:08 PM

The City of Meadow Lake is drinking holy water and may not know it.

All Saints Orthodox Church conducted their annual theophany on Jan. 6 as part of a larger Orthodox Christmas celebration.

“It’s a church feast that occurs every year where we celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River,” Andrew Friesen, reader with All Saints Orthodox Church told meadowlakeNOW.

“We have a church service. Then as a community, we go down to the nearest body of water, cut a hole in the ice and bless the water. Everyone takes a bit of the holy water home to bless their homes,” he said.

Friesen said it was exciting to go down to Meadow River because it is the source of the town’s drinking water.

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The water ceremony lasted nearly 20 minutes and was followed by an additional celebration.

“For us, it’s part of our mission as Orthodox Christians to offer the whole world back to God so he can bless it. That’s the crux of the blessing of the water,” Friesen said.

Father Ryan Bishop conducted the water ceremony which acknowledges a nearly 2,000-year-old custom.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722