A man plunges into a font on Lake Seliger during Epiphany celebrationsMOSCOW, Jan 29 the Oredezh River in the Leningrad Region, where a woman died during Epiphany bathing, served as a reminder that Epiphany bathing should be approached with great care, they should only be in equipped places, said Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev), chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Earlier, the press secretary of the Gatchina diocese, Priest Alexander Asonov, told RIA Novosti that Epiphany bathing in the Oredezh River in the Gatchina district of the Leningrad Region, during which a woman died, took place in a place not agreed with the church and authorities. «This is a terrible tragedy … It should serve as a reminder of the caution with which baptismal baths must be approached.When such baths are organized with the participation of the church, the church in always cares about people's safety. This does not happen on rivers where the current is fast, it usually happens in stagnant water bodies — in lakes or ponds. The ice-holes are equipped with railings, rescuers are on duty very often,» Metropolitan Hilarion said in the program «Church and World» on the Russia 24 TV channel. The Metropolitan noted that if all these conditions are met, a person can immerse himself in Epiphany water if he feels healthy. » But, I repeat once again, the church does not call for this, does not force, does not even encourage. Immersion in the font can only be voluntary and it should only be where all precautions are observed,» the metropolitan said. drowned during Epiphany bathing, identified
