On Tuesday 19th of January 2021 year of our Lord, on the day of Тheophany, we will conduct the Great Blessing of the Waters and swimming for the Holy Cross in Port Melbourne.
The service of blessing of the waters will start at 6:30pm with the swimming event following at 7pm, at Princess Pier, Port Melbourne.
Last year this traditional event was quite successful - see below the report from our Parish Herald #21 with photo gallery.
We invite all interested, good swimmers to join us this year too. Come an join us in celebrating this Christian Feast with prayers, companionship and a bite to eat after the event.
Swimming for the Holy Cross
Parish Herald No. 21, 19 January 2020
At the day of Holy Teophany of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we have consecrated the waters at Princess Pier, Port Melbourne and blessed two crosses: one for younger, and the other for the older swimmers, in another memorable prayerful evening.
Our priests Fr Milorad and Fr Petar first performed the Great Blessing of the Waters. Fr Milorad spoke briefly about Feast of Theophany, the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his homily he evoked the memory of the Holy Cross as a victorius weapon and path of Serbian nation, linking it with current events in Montenegro.
Fr Petar then brought the crosses to the sea, a short distance from the shore for the young swimmers, and quite further away for the adults. The first among the youngsters to reach the cross was Simeon Stanojkovic, our altar boy; and amont the adults Nikola Josevski, a Church Community Board member. Both swimmers have kept the crosses as a valuable rewards for their efforts. The crosses have been received from Belgrade several days ago.
Our Serbian Circle sisters led by the president Cvija Glogovac have again prepared food for the participants and spectators. The rain that started during the blessing of the waters did not affect the joyous atmosphere of one of the Great Feasts of our Holy Church.
We thank all the helpers who made this event possible and congratulate the winners for this year’s Swim for the Holy Cross!
Fr Milorad Lonchar
