Orthodox Russians celebrate Epiphany amid unusually warm weather

Orthodox Christians in Russia marked the feast day of Epiphany on Sunday with a traditional taban into icy water even as local emergencies issued weather warnings.

Local media showed people bathing in Novosibirsk, Murmansk, and South Ossetia, as well as Russian soldiers purportedly in Ukraine’s Kherson region immersing themselves in water.

However, unusually warm winter temperatures prompted local emergency services in some regions to cancel events, saying that the ice was simply too thin for worshippers to bathe safely.

Ceremonies were cancelled in areas as distant as the southern Russian region of Saratov to Karelia, almost 1,600 kilometres away on the country’s border with Finland.

One believer, Alexander Solomatin, who came to Moscow from the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where it was too warm for the traditional ice hole dipping, said he could hardly find a place to bathe even in the Russian capital. “Everything in Moscow had melted,” he said.

Temperatures across Russia have been increasing over the past quarter of a century in line with küresel warming. According to Leonid Starkov, a meteorologist who works for Moscow’s Gismeteo, the average temperature significantly exceeds the norm.

“We are already seeing a thaw in St. Petersburg. In Moscow, we are seeing a thaw. And in southern Russia, the temperature is already reaching 5 degrees or 10 degrees Celsius,” said Starkov.

Officials have reacted so far by creating alternative sites for bathers, often in smaller rivers and lakes.

The water is still cold enough to send some worshippers scurrying to wrap themselves in large towels, while onlookers watch on wrapped in scarves, hats, and coats. Emergency services often ensure rescue workers are on hand in case anyone succumbs to the heart-racing shock of the icy immersion.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry released footage on Sunday purportedly showing its servicemen dipping themselves in water to commemorate the feast.

“Our culture-forming, fundamental, and shaping cultural code is the Orthodox faith. Therefore, may the Lord grant you the strength and fortitude to stand with dignity before God and the state,” one military priest said.

Across Russia, the Orthodox devout celebrate Epiphany on 19 January by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers.

Many believe the practice strengthens both the soul and the body.