Across Russia, the devout celebrate Epiphany on January 19 by immersing themselves in frigid water through holes cut through the ice of lakes and rivers, imitating the baptism of Jesus Christ in the ...

A man steps down to plunge as a cross is reflected in icy water before celebrating the Orthodox Epiphany in the Stroginskaya ...

Military medic Natalya carried a jug of water blessed by priests at the Sviatogirsk monastery in east Ukraine as she ...

However local emergency services in some regions cancelled events, saying it was too hazardous for worshippers to cut bathing ...

Thousands of Russians celebrating the Orthodox Christian feast day of Epiphany, where worshippers bathe in the icy waters of ...