On Sunday, January 6/19, 2014, the faithful of the Cathedral of St. Markella in Astoria, NY, and St. Isidoros Greek Orthodox Church in Long Island, NY, celebrated the Feast of Theophany, the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, at the Cathedral of St. Markella. Celebrating the Divine Liturgy were His Eminence, Metropolitan Pavlos, and His Grace, Bishop Demetrius of Boston, along with Fr. Theodoros Giannakopoulos, Fr. Nectarios Socrates, Fr. Epiphanios Antoniou, and Fr. Nicholas Seregos from St. Isidoros, as well as Archdeacon Agathangelus and Hierodeacon Theologos from Holy Ascension Monastery in Bearsville, NY.
Following the Divine Liturgy, the Blessing of the Waters was performed at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, with young men diving into the Hudson River to retrieve the Cross.
Below, please find pictures from the event, as well as a video.
Video: Theophania 2014 at Battery Park - NYC
Why do we follow the Old Orthodox Calendar?
a Because based on it, the First Ecumenical Council established the Paschal Canon and appointed that the feast of Holy Pascha may fall anywhere from March 22nd until April 25th, while with the New (Papal) Calendar it can fall as late at May 8th.
b The Gregorian (Papal) Calendar has been condemned by three Pan-Orthodox Councils under Patriarch Jeremiah Tranos (1583, 1587, 1589) Read more...
St. John of Kronstadt Orthodox Church began as a mission parish in the year 2000, in a home chapel in Palm Coast, FL – a small town on Florida’s northeast coast located between St. Augustine and Daytona Beach. After two years, it became necessary to have services in area community centers, rented for Sundays and other Holy Days. Read more...
2026 Youth Conference
Please join us for the 2026 youth conference in Upper Marlboro, MD! To learn more, visit the this page.
Q. Are the prayers in the blue prayer book [A Prayerbook for Orthodox Christians by the Holy Transfiguration Monastery —ed.] compulsory for everyone? I mean their morning prayers and the service of Small Compline. My confessor gave me a special rule but wasn’t clear about whether this replaced the book prayers or was in addition to them. Read more...