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Orthodox clergy lead ceremony for health and healing at Lake Glacier
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
Under a light blue sky, balmy weather for January, and surrounded by the natural beauty of Mill Creek MetroParks, about 30 people gathered Friday for a Blessing of the Waters ceremony near the shoreline of Lake Glacier.
Members of the Eastern Orthodox Clergy Association of Mahoning Valley conducted the fifth annual prayer service on the Feast of Holy Theophany, the baptism of Jesus. Jan. 6 in the Western church marks the day when the Magi (Three Wise Men) visited baby Jesus and is the 12th day of Christmas.
The Rev. Thomas Constantine, pastor of St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church in Boardman, said he and other pastors have Blessing of Waters services at their individual churches but wanted to share it as a community service. The blessed water is used in the blessing of homes, another custom. “We pray for health and healing,” he said.
Father Constantine noted that the public blessing of waters is not unique to the Valley; one of the most famous is at Tarpon Springs, Fla., where the water and boats are blessed. The area has a big population of Greek-Americans, many of whom were immigrants whose livelihoods revolve around the water.
This year’s service may be especially significant because of concern in many Valley communities about the effects on groundwater from gas and oil drilling and related procedures.
Father Constantine said the Orthodox clergy felt the Blessing of the Waters had significance for the city and its residents. “It’s about blessing the Youngstown area and its people and praying for the city,” he said.
The lake site was chosen, Father Constantine said, because its water flows into the Mahoning River, and that in turn, touches residents in various ways. “Lake Glacier was chosen because it is beautiful and scenic,” he said.
A small table near the shoreline displayed an icon of the baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist and a small cross entwined with basil. Father Constantine called the herb “the flower of the church.” He explained that basil was growing at Golgotha, the site of Christ’s crucifixion. “St. Helen, the mother of Constantine the Great, went on a pilgrimage to find the true cross of Christ. She found three crosses.”
He noted that the cross with the basil growing by it turned out to be the “true cross” because St. Helen took it to hospitals, and it was a “healing cross.”
The service featured various references to water ... how it is associated with rebirth, cleansing and its role in the “baptism of salvation.” The Rev. Andrew Nelko, pastor of St. John the Baptist Orthodox Church in Campbell, chanted parts of the service, competing at times with the quacking and honking of ducks and geese.
The service asked that anyone who would “touch, anoint, partake” of the waters of Lake Glacier would be “blessed, cleansed and have health.”
As the service concluded, the Rev. Steve Denas, pastor of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Campbell, tossed a cross into the lake as part of the final blessing. (The cross, attached to fishing line, was retrieved.)
Mayor Charles Sammarone and his wife, Mary Ann, attended. “I think you always feel good when God is brought into your life. And that’s how I feel today,” the mayor said. He said he appreciated the service that prays for the city and its people.
Helen and George Mays, members of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, attended. “It’s spiritually uplifting,” she said, adding that the lake’s water reaches so many people who will share in the blessing.