Wildwood, NJ – The tiny seaside Greek Orthodox community of St. Demetrios celebrated Epiphany Day this past Sunday. The traditional service is observed on the 6th of January by millions of Christians around the world, but because of it’s ties to Wildwood as a summer resort town, many of it parishioners are away during winter. On Sunday, some 50 members attended the church service, that concluded with the blessing and sharing of Holy water.
The congregation paraded to the rear of the church and climbed a seawall that separated them from the Atlantic. There, the choir sang hymns while Father Vlahos, the spiritual leader of the church these past 22 years, cast a wreath and a cross into the frigid waters of the Atlantic.
The wreath symbolizes those lost victims of 9-11 while the cross commemorated one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church. It is the feast which reveals the Most Holy Trinity to the world through the Baptism of the Lord.