Who posted the Theophany article, please?

[Northbrook]

Hi, everyone, this is Northbrook. I am trying to locate the member of TAW who recently posted an article, possibly with photo, about Theophany (Jan. 6). Don't laugh, but this article was about how a monk/priest might THINK it was unseemly for him to "Swim for the Cross" on Jan. 6, but that nowadays, anyway, more and more monks/priests are jumping in the water! Instead of contenting themselves with standing on the seashore and throwing the cross in! ArmyMatt, THIS IS FOR YOU haha! Seriously, I was telling a priest and chanter at my Greek Orthodox about this, and they asked me, er, WHO EXACTLY wrote this article *smile*? So now I'm looking for the article. Did any of you post it/Do any of you remember it?

 

[ArmyMatt]

sorry, but why is this one for me, haha?

I dunno the article you are talking about.

 

[Northbrook]

Sorry! I had a feeling as I was typing this post that I didn't go into enough detail about the Greek custom of "Swimming for the Cross."

In Greece, Theophany (Epiphany, Jan. 6) is a national holiday, with all the businesses closed. The highlight of the day is when the young men of the village "swim for the cross." What does this mean, and how can they swim in January? It is the traditional custom in Greece on Theophany. The priest stands on the seashore, holding a large cross with a long rope tied to it. He then THROWS the cross INTO THE SEA and ALL THE YOUNG MEN dive into the water after it. The young man who gets to the cross first is the WINNER. This is called "Swimming for the Cross." And yes, they do this in a cold month like January. It's more macho that way haha!

Anyway, this article I recall seeing here on The Ancient Way was saying that for many Greek Orthodox monks and priests, it might seem, well, unseemly to jump in the water like that, them being clergy and all. However, the article said, nowadays there are Greek Orthodox monks/priests who are doing it, who are jumping in the water on Jan. 6 and actually SWIMMING for the cross, instead of contenting themselves with standing on the seashore and THROWING it in for others to chase. And I thought of you, ArmyMatt, because I was pretty sure you serve in the Armed Forces as a chaplain, right? So you might be in shape, I thought, what with being in the military, and might dig the idea of swimming for the cross. Now do you understand what I was going on about?

 

[ArmyMatt]

yeah, I gotcha, and I would love to be one to dive in and swim for one.

 

[dpadre]

no, not me

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I like in the OP where it says, “this is Northbrook” when the name at the top clearly says “Northbrook.”