Blessing of the waters commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ

January 7, 2017 at 12:03a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Thanks to the return of frigid weather, one of Mill Creek Park’s three main lakes has begun to resemble glimmering layers of thickening ice, but to some, the layers of symbolism were just as apparent.

“Everything needs water in life,” said Father Thomas Constantine of St. John the Forerunner Greek Orthodox Church in Boardman.

That was a central message behind Friday afternoon’s annual Blessing of the Waters service on the snow-covered shore of Lake Glacier on the South Side.

About 30 people braved 17-degree temperatures and a slight wind to attend the 45-minute ceremony, hosted by the Eastern Orthodox Clergy Association of the Mahoning Valley. The service was largely to bless the area’s lakes, rivers and other bodies of water as well as to pray for local residents and Youngstown’s prosperity, Father Constantine noted.

The gathering also celebrated the Feast of Holy Theophany, which is celebrated on Jan. 6 each year to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ and the divine revelation of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The biblical story of Jesus’ baptism is told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The passage from Matthew 3:15 reveals Jesus’ coming from Galilee to be baptized by John the Baptist, who was preaching in the wilderness and baptizing those who sought repentance but was initially reluctant to baptize him: “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness,” Jesus says to John in response.

Reading from the Book of Isaiah was Father Steve Denas of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Campbell, who explained that Isaiah Chapter 35 is filled with imagery of God’s abundance and blessings, many of which include references to water.

For example, Isaiah 35:5-7 states: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer. … For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.”

“God is imminent, but a mystery, too,” Father Denas added.

Father Andrew Gall of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Sharon, Pa., read from Isaiah Chapter 55, which in part calls on the wicked to seek God’s mercy and “forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts.”

In addition, the passage, which also contains several references to water, points to how logic often can be used to navigate through certain complexities of the world, yet cannot be applied to trying to figure out God’s ways, Father Denas continued.

At the ceremony’s end, Father Constantine tossed into the icy lake a cross attached to a fishing line, which was to symbolize how water touches people’s lives in many ways. Afterward, he dipped basil in holy water and bestowed a blessing upon each attendee.