Dozens of other people plunged into the icy waters of the Dnipro River on Jan. 19 in Kyiv’s northern district of Obolon to have fun Epiphany.
The custom to wash within the freezing water of a river or lake comes from a well-liked trust that on at the present time, the water brings well being and even washes away one’s sins.
In recent times, the belief of this ritual in Ukraine has been converting. Some indicate that the custom isn’t local to Ukraine, and has been followed from Russia within the twentieth Century. In mild of Russia’s battle in opposition to Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2014, the topic turns into delicate.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has been vocal in its objections to the washing custom. The church used to be established in 2019 as an unbiased Ukrainian church, a substitute for the Moscow Patriarchate-governed church which used to be up to now the most important in Ukraine.
Whilst the Orthodox Church of Ukraine opposes the washing custom, the Russia-backed church, which nonetheless stays standard in Ukraine, actively encourages it. The party in Obolon used to be arranged by means of some of the native church buildings from the Russia-backed Orthodox church.
The apply comes with some possibility: a 52-year previous guy used to be discovered drowned lately after taking an icy dip close to the city of Fastiv in Kyiv Oblast, consistent with a police file.
