A magnificent ceremony was held at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in the Iskenderun district of Hatay, on the occasion of the “Baptism Feast”, which celebrates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.
On the Feast of Baptism, which is celebrated with a special ritual, the waters consecrated were distributed to all members of the congregation. Prayers were also offered for the feast of St. John during the ritual.
In the ceremony that was co-directed by the Fathers of the Iskenderun St. Nicholas Orthodox Church Dimitri Yıldırım and Yusuf Nicholas Papasoğlu, prayers were said and peace messages were given. Explaining the meaning of the Baptism Festival in his sermon in Arabic, Father Yıldırım reminded that our Savior, Christ Jesus, was baptized by John the Baptist. Father Yıldırım added that during the baptism of Jesus Christ, there was a great noise from the sky and the Holy Spirit alighted on Jesus Christ in the form of a white dove.
Father Papasoğlu, after reading a part of the Bible during the holy liturgy, performed a representative baptismal ceremony by dipping the cross in his hand into the water in the cauldron.
Father Yusuf Nicholas Papasoğlu, who also blessed the bread specially prepared for this day, dipped a bunch of olive branches into the water, which was also blessed, during the Baptism Feast ceremony, then shook it on the people who attended the service and blessed the whole congregation.
At the end of the ritual, which was held within the framework of the pandemic rules, the waters blessed by Father Papasoğlu were distributed to the members of the congregation to be taken to their homes. (SAT-7 Turk/İlyas Edip TERBİYELİ-İskenderun)
