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A baby is baptised during a mass baptism ceremony on Orthodox Epiphany Day at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi, Georgia January 19, 2017. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili
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A man takes a dip in icy waters of the Dnieper river during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in the town of Vyshgorod, Ukraine January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A woman takes a dip in icy waters of the Dnieper river during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in the town of Vyshgorod, Ukraine January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A man exits the ice-hole after taking a dip in icy water during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in Yaroslavl, Russia. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Ethiopian Orthodox faithful hold candles as they attend the eve-prayers during the Timket celebration to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, in Gondar, Ethiopia, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
An Ethiopian Orthodox faithful holds a candle as he attends eve-prayers during the Timket celebration to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, in Gondar, Ethiopia January 18, 2017. Picture taken January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
A man takes a dip in the icy waters of a lake during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in Minsk, Belarus. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
A priest splashes water on believers during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in the town of Vyshgorod, Ukraine January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
A man takes a dip in icy waters of the Dnieper river during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations in the town of Vyshgorod, Ukraine January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Faithful jump into the waters of the Fasilides Bath as part of a ceremony in which the waters are blessed by the priest of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church during the second day of Timket in Gondar, Ethiopia, January 19, 2017. “Timket”, the greatest Ethiopian festival of the year, is to commemorate Jesus Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri
Believers swim trough the ice cold water of Ada Ciganlija lake during Epiphany celebrations in Belgrade, Serbia, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic
Hundreds of thousands of Russian Orthodox believers took a plunge into sub-zero waters across Europe on Thursday to wash off their sins as part of Epiphany feast day celebrations.
The annual Jan. 19 commemoration of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River saw more than 150,000 people dip into several ice holes across Moscow, Tass news agency said.
Temperatures were around minus nine degrees Celsius (16F) in the Russian capital, and one child screamed as he hit the frigid water while other people reached hurriedly for towels after braving the pools.
“I advise everybody to do this. This is cool, feels like you are reborn,” Moscow resident Elena said after her plunge.
Similar icy dips took place around the country and in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus, while swimmers in Serbia and Bosnia marked the feast day by taking part in races in freezing waters.
(Writing by Patrick Johnston; editing by Mark Heinrich)
