On Saturday, January 6th, the Orthodox Church celebrated the Manifestation of God in the world as the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) at the very hour of Jesus Christ’s baptism.  God the Father testifies from Heaven:
 
    “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” the Son of God who became man is being baptized, and the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in the form of a dove. Also, Christ’s baptism begins a new phase of human history, in which baptism by water and the Spirit is offered to all.
   With the baptism of Jesus Christ all waters are consecrated and all of creation participates in this joyous event. Christ was not baptized exclusively for the sake of humanity but for the whole of creation which was created by Christ Himself together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The occasion of this day is a starting point for living a life close to Christ by filling our hearts with the Holy Spirit.  
    In addition to the Divine Liturgy, this historical event is celebrated in the Orthodox Church with the Great Water Blessing service, in which the Orthodox faithful receive sanctification and healing from the holy water.  Wherever there is a place situated by a body of water, such as a river, a lake, or the sea, traditionally the cross is thrown into the water as a part of the sanctification service and a number of Orthodox faithful dive into the water to find the cross.
    Hundreds of people from Durrës and other cities, along with students of the Theological Academy in Saint Vlash, participated in this celebration at the Saints Paul and Asti Church in Durrës. The Theophany Service in Durrës was lead by Archbishop Anastasios.
    Other clergy participating in the celebration included Bishop Nikolla, Archimandrite Kozma Prifti, Fr. Spiro Tola, Fr. Spiro Qosja, Fr. Asti Beshiri, Archdeacon Asti Bakallbashi and Deacon Hector Firoglanis. After the Water Blessing Service in the church, clergy and believers were lead by grandiose procession accompanied by the philharmonic band of the city towards the Durrës port, where the ritual throwing of the cross was carried out in the Adriatic Sea.
    The cross was found by Sofokli Xhavara, who thereby received a special blessing at the beginning of the New Year. Orthodox and non-Orthodox faithful alike took with them some holy water as a blessing, in order to drink from it and to sprinkle it in their homes, shops, and fields. They left by wishing each other “A Blessed New Year.”   
   Thoma Çomëni
   Translated by Robert Pelushi and deacon Hector Firoglanis
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