This is Epiphany from the Lemkovshchyna in the Far Western marches of Holy Rus. The priest is blessing the San River near Sanok (Subcarpathian Voivodeship) in Poland, the traditional boundary between Poles and Lemkos in the region.
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The Great Blessing of the Waters takes place all over the space of Holy Rus, from Alaska and the Primorsky Krai in the Far East to Zakarpattya and the Lemkovshchyna in the Far West, from the Solovetsky Islands and Salekhard in the Far North to Tskhinvali and Central Asia in the south… not to mention such diaspora outposts as Australia, Brighton Beach in Brooklyn (USA), Nice (France), Harbin (PRC), and Essex (England UK). Disregard all “Ukranian” fulminations… the similarities between the Orthodox peoples of Holy Rus are much deeper than our differences. We are the people of the Orthosphere… we are NOT Westerners… we’re Eurasians, who look both East and West. That’s why Uniatism is anathema to us, foreign to our very identity, hateful to our sense of “right glory”, and completely “other” (“Eastern Christianity”… I think NOT!). No one who cowers in front of the Pope of Rome is part of our naroda; all those on our space who confess the Orthodox Faith whole and entire ARE part of our “people”, and that’s that.
THIS is “Russian” Orthodoxy. We have a united culture, a united faith, and a united community… why aren’t we united as “Church?” Yes… why aren’t we?
BMD
