Event held at Moraine
MUDDY CREEK TWP — Three Orthodox churches blessed the water of Lake Arthur Sunday afternoon.
The first-time ceremony, which took place at Bear Run Launch on the South Shore at Moraine State Park, came about from the combined efforts of SS. Peter and Paul Ukranian Orthodox Church in Lyndora, St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Lyndora and St. Anthony Orthodox Church in Butler.
The Blessing of the Waters is a tradition in Orthodox churches, going back about 1,200 years. It represents the feast of Epiphany, when Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan, said the Rev. Paisius McGrath, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul.
The Rev. Bogdan Bucur, pastor of St. Anthony, said the Orthodox churches believe that when Jesus was baptized, it was not because he needed it but because he needed to bless everything.
The Rev. Joseph Wargo, pastor of St. Andrew, said the priests from the three churches wanted to do something that would get the churches together and that would expand Orthodoxy in the area.
The ceremony, which began at 1:30 p.m.,lasted about an hour, and all three priests from the churches celebrated it together.
Nearly 60 people attended the event that started with a prayer, continued with several readings and concluded with a blessing for the water. After the blessing, a cross made of ice was thrown into the lake.Traditionally, the ceremony is done with a regular blessing cross made of metal. However, such crosses have to be retrieved after the ceremony, which is something that people likely were not keen to do in the cold, murky and deep Lake Arthur.Bucur said he had seen the ceremony done in Wisconsin using a cross made out of ice, which would not have to be retrieved, and he felt that it could work here.One of his parishioners offered to make the ice cross using a mold. The cross was about one foot tall and 6 inches wide, which McGrath said is the standard size for a blessing cross.McGrath checked several bodies of water in the area for the ceremony and settled on Lake Arthur, getting approval from park officials.“That seemed to be the most accessible,” McGrath said.Speaking of the blessing of the water, McGrath said, “We've talked about it. It's long been a tradition in the Orthodox Church, but we've never done it here.”“I'm glad we did it. Everyone enjoyed it,” he said.The priests hope that it will be an annual tradition.“We will always do it on the Sunday following Ephiphany,” said McGrath.
