Parishioners 'blessing waters' at Twin Lakes
Blessing of the Waters Service
On a sun-drenched day that was at least 35 degrees warmer than last year’s event, about 40 parishioners of St. Michael’s Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in South Greensburg gathered Sunday for the Blessing of the Waters, the annual tradition in which parishioners throw ice crosses into the upper lake at Twin Lakes Park east of Greensburg.
The 20-minute blessing service recognizes the Feast of Theophany, the day that Orthodox Christians celebrate the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River. It falls on Jan. 6, the day before some Orthodox Christians who still follow the Julian calendar also celebrate Christmas.
“When He (Jesus) descended into the water (of the Jordan), it was the celebration of His spiritual life. He transferred everything to be our connection with God,” said the Rev. John Nosal, the arch priest at St. Michael’s. He conducted the blessing service with the Rev. Lawrence Daniel, retired priest at SS Cyril & Methodius Orthodox Church in Jeannette.
While some churches conduct the blessing within their sanctuary, St. Michael’s maintains its tradition of about 30 years of celebrating not only in church, but outdoors as well. The service commemorates Christ sanctifying the waters and His baptism by John the Baptist.
As Nick Wetzel of Greensburg swung the lighted thurible of incense, the aroma of which wafted through the crowd, Nosal made reference to how cold it was last year. It was so cold that Jim Laffin of Hempfield had to take a saw to cut a hole into the foot-thick ice that covered the lake.
A large cross inside a metal mold had to be heated before it could be removed from the mold, Laffin said.
Among those attending the blessing was Joyce Eger of Greensburg, who said she attends the traditional service because “it’s what we do.”
Nancy Mauer drove from her home near Indian Lake, Somerset County, to participate in what she described as “a lovely day for the church.”
“We come out here to celebrate it (Christ’s baptism) where it should be celebrated,” at a body of water, Mauer said.
After parishioners tossed small ice-shaped crosses into the lake from a wooden platform jutting out into the water, Nosal and Lawrence threw a larger ice-shaped cross into water.
Lawrence recalled that when he conducted the blessing service at Carmichaels in Greene County one year, a hardy youngster dived into the Monongahela River to retrieve the large cross.
No one, however, doffed their coats Sunday to retrieve the floating cross from the waters of Twin Lakes.
Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
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