Orthodox faithful in Romania and Bulgaria mark Epiphany with icy plunge
(6 Jan 2013) SHOTLIST Constanta, Romania 1. Various of Constanta seashore, thousands of people gathered to watch the ceremony and receive holy water 2. Mid of priests during religious service 3. Mid of backlit priests during religious service 4. Close up of priest's silhouettes 5. Tracking shot of Archbishop Teodosie Tomitanul saying prayers while blessing tubs of water, zoom in to hand in water 6. Various of boats with young swimmers on deck waiting for the Archbishop to throw crosses into the sea, Constanta harbour in background 7. Wide of Archbishop Tomitanul descending steps to the seashore, preparing to throw the crosses in the sea 8. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Archbishop Teodosie Tomitanul: "We the people are so much like the sea. We hope that, since the sea has been very calm until now, this year, our souls will be just as calm." 9. Mid of Archbishop being taken out to sea on a boat 10. Mid of Archbishop throwing cross in the sea 11. Mid of swimmers jumping in water 12. Wide of crowds on seashore 13. Wide of swimmers reaching the crosses thrown by the Archbishop, UPSOUND: Siren 14. SOUNDBITE (Romanian) Iulia (only one name given), 23, swimming participant: "I joined the competition just like that. I wanted to show that women can do this just as well as the men. On the news there are always men and I wanted to show we can be there as well." 15. Mid of police preparing bottles for the crowds 16. Close of people receiving bottles of holy water 17. Wide of crowds waiting to receive bottles of holy water Kalofer, Bulgaria 18. Wide of believers dressed in national costumes singing and dancing their "men's dance" in the icy waters of the Tundzha river 19. Wide of crowd watching "men's dance" in the icy river 20. Mid of men wading through the river Tundzha 21. Mid of men dancing and singing in the ice cold waters celebrating Epiphany 22. Mid of crowd waving and watching the procession 23. Wide of men performing their dance in the river, carrying Bulgarian flags 24. Wide of men's chain dance in the icy river 25. Mid up-shot of man kissing crucifix, being blessed by the Priest during Epiphany celebrations 26. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Priest Todor, from Kalofer: "It's a big holiday here, we celebrate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan river." 27. Wide of another priest baptising a small boy during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations 28. Wide of Orthodox priest walking to church, the town of Kalofer in the background 29. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Lianna Kufarova, Kalofer resident: "I think we follow the way Jesus Christ was baptised, so maybe we can also find new life for us and much more health." 30. Man swimming in the Tunzha river 31. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) No name given, Kalofer resident: "Believe it or not nobody gets ill after the dip in the icy waters on 6th of January, the water is holy. Maybe because of the prayers said, so many believers in it, so I really believe it becomes holy." 32. Wide of men in water as a priest throws a wooden crucifix into the water STORYLINE Thousands of young men are plunging into icy rivers and lakes across Bulgaria and Romania to retrieve crucifixes thrown by clergymen in an old ritual marking the Orthodox feast of Epiphany. By tradition, a wooden cross is cast into the water and it is believed that the person who retrieves it will be freed from evil spirits. In the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, some 3,000 Orthodox Christian believers turned out to watch priests hurl three crosses into the icy sea. Dozens - some wearing wet suits - dived into the waters to retrieve the crosses. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
