
Russians dip into ice-cold water for Epiphany
Dozens of Russian enthusiasts braved freezing cold in the city of Istra in Moscow region to mark the Russian Orthodox Epiphany.
The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'. The ROC, as well as its primate, officially ranks fifth in the Orthodox order of precedence, immediately below the four ancient patriarchates of the Greek Orthodox Church: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. As of October 15, 2018, the ROC suspended communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, having unilaterally severed ties in reaction to the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was finalised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 5 January 2019.
Dozens of Russian enthusiasts braved freezing cold in the city of Istra in Moscow region to mark the Russian Orthodox Epiphany.