By Pete Vere
SooToday.com
Sunday, January 07, 2007

Sault Ste. Marie's Ukrainian Catholic community gathered at Nativity of the Mother of God today to bless water in celebration of the Feast of Jordan.

This feast, which marks the twelfth day of Christmas, is one of the most important celebrations among Eastern Christians.

Having celebrated Christ's incarnation and humanity at Christmas, the Feast of Jordan is a time for Eastern Christians to turn their focus to Christ's Divinity.

"We celebrate Jesus's baptism in the River Jordan, which western Christians call the Epiphany," said Father Jaroslaw Lazoryk, the priest in charge of Nativity of Mother of God parish.

"This feast is important to Ukrainian Catholics because it recalls God first revealing Himself as a Trinity; He does this when the Holy Spirit descends upon Christ in the form of a dove," said Father Lazoryk, shown blessing the water with a three-headed candle.

Father explained that the Ukrainian Catholic Church retains its distinct Byzantine liturgy and spiritual tradition like the Greek Orthodox, but worships in full communion with Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Catholic Church.

The Byzantine liturgy can be traced back to St. John Chrysostom - a 5th Century Father of the Church and Patriarch of Constantinople.

"The Holy Trinity plays a very important role in our liturgy and worship," Father Lazoryk said. "We recite many of our prayers in groups of three, out of devotion to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

After the liturgy, parishioners collected the blessed water in bottles to bring home, and then they gathered in the church's basement for a traditional meatless lunch of borsch soup, salad and perogies.

The parish, located at 293 St. George's Avenue East, gathers every Sunday for worship at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

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