The brave and the pious celebrate the Orthodox Christian feast of the Epiphany on January 19 by submerging themselves in icy water. The event symbolizes the baptism of Christ and the cleansing of the soul at the start of a new year.
Orthodox Epiphany: Devotees Brave Icy Waters In Religious Tradition
Believers take a dip in the icy water during Epiphany celebrations in Moscow late on January 18. Many Orthodox Christians around the world have been marking the Epiphany, one of the faith's three biggest celebrations.
People watch as the devout take part in the celebration in Moscow. The Epiphany is frequently marked by a dip in water to symbolize Christ's baptism in the River Jordan.
Thousands of Orthodox followers began their celebrations in the early morning hours, such as these at the Achairsky Monastery in Russia's Omsk region.
With an estimated 90 million members, the Russian Orthodox Church traditionally carries out the blessing of the waters twice: first on the eve of the Epiphany and again on the holiday itself on January 19.
A man with a tatoo on his back stands near the icy waters at the Achairsky Monastery. Temperatures were as low as minus 28 degrees Celsius.
A priest conducts an early morning celebration in freezing temperatures in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
A believer stands in the icy water of the Kara-Balta River, near the village of Sosnovka, some 90 kilometers from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
An Orthodox believer is congratulated after he was the first to retrieve a cross that was thrown into Becmen Lake near Belgrade. It is believed that good health will be provided for the rest of the year to the person who retrieves the cross.
Kosovo Serbs prepare to jump into the cold water of Gazivoda lake, near the town of Zubin Potok, north of Mitrovica, in pursuit of the cross that will be thrown by a priest.
In Skopje, North Macedonia, 17-year-old Gjorgi Nikolovski holds up the cross after he succeeded in retrieving it from the Vardar River.
Along the Black Sea coast near Sochi, Russia, a priest is seen blessing the water before he jumps in.
A priest blesses the water in the town of Sertolovo in Russia's Leningrad region.
While many believers participated in large celebrations, some were more subdued, such as this man taking a dip in the icy waters of the Azov Sea in Russian-occupied Mariupol, Ukraine.