Asbury Park, NJ – The Greek Orthodox community of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania gathered yesterday for the annual Blessing of the Waters and Divine Liturgy at the Paramount Theater and Convention Center.
Continuing a tradition that began more than 65 years ago, Metropolitan Evangelos, following the Liturgy and a short memorial service for the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, led a procession of clergy from across New Jersey, along with altar boys and youth from parishes throughout the state, to the shoreline just south of Convention Hall. There, he blessed the Atlantic waters and cast four wooden crosses into the sea.
Young boys and girls, each representing their parish, raced into the cold waves, hoping to retrieve a cross — a symbol believed to bring blessings for the year ahead. This year’s winners were Eleni Iliadis (junior girls) of St. Thomas in Cherry Hill, NJ; Nicholas Koutsoumbi (junior boys) of St. George in Piscataway, NJ; Calliope Yiannos (senior girls) of Holy Trinity in Egg Harbor, NJ; and Michael Simon (senior boys) of Kimisis Tis Theotokou in Holmdel, NJ.
Thousands of faithful attended the event, which closed with prayers that the world’s oceans — the waters connecting all nations — might also serve as vessels carrying hope and peace.