AP PHOTOS: Epiphany celebrations marked by pandemic
A child reacts as he discovers a wrapped gift during the morning of Three Kings Day day, in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. In Spain, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Dozens of citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A young boy holds the cross as believers stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Greek Orthodox faithful Vasili Kurkcu, 44, kisses a wooden crucifix after retrieving it in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross which was thrown into the waters by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, hands out a wooden crucifix to a faithful that jumped into the waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve it, during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross in a ceremony commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, lights a candle as he arrives at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, to lead the Epiphany Mass, in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Pope Francis leads a Mass for the Feast of Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Remo Casilli/Pool Reuters via AP)
Nuns walk in the empty St. Peter’s Square as Pope Francis is delivering the Angelus noon prayer from his studio, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A limited congregation attends the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A worker disinfectants an icon of Virgin Mary as a limited congregation attend the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A man throws a cross into the sea as policemen go to detain him during Epiphany in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, where a strong religious presence of Orthodox Christians have called for the blessing of the waters to continue. Police and coast guard forces are spread across the city’s waterfront to prevent the traditional Epiphany blessing event from taking place because of the coronavirus, and at least three people have been detained. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A shopper browses at a street stall selling dolls, as people shop for Three Kings Day gifts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in central Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. In Mexico, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ludivina Herrera Crespo, 70, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, stands next to the Christmas presents to be distributed by the three wise men or kings at the Canada Real shanty town, outside Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. Canada Real, a shantytown on the southern edge of Madrid and it has been without electricity since last October 2nd. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A child reacts as he discovers a wrapped gift during the morning of Three Kings Day day, in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. In Spain, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A child reacts as he discovers a wrapped gift during the morning of Three Kings Day day, in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. In Spain, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Dozens of citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Dozens of citizens of the mountain town of Kalofer, in central Bulgaria, clad in traditional dresses stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A young boy holds the cross as believers stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A young boy holds the cross as believers stand in the icy Tundzha River, some waving national flags to recover a crucifix cast by a priest in an old ritual marking the feast of Epiphany, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The legend goes that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Greek Orthodox faithful Vasili Kurkcu, 44, kisses a wooden crucifix after retrieving it in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross which was thrown into the waters by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Greek Orthodox faithful Vasili Kurkcu, 44, kisses a wooden crucifix after retrieving it in the Golden Horn during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross which was thrown into the waters by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, hands out a wooden crucifix to a faithful that jumped into the waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve it, during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross in a ceremony commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, hands out a wooden crucifix to a faithful that jumped into the waters of the Golden Horn to retrieve it, during the Epiphany ceremony in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Christian Orthodox countries, due to the coronavirus pandemic, only two swimmers raced to retrieve the cross in a ceremony commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, lights a candle as he arrives at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, to lead the Epiphany Mass, in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, lights a candle as he arrives at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, to lead the Epiphany Mass, in Istanbul, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Pope Francis leads a Mass for the Feast of Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Remo Casilli/Pool Reuters via AP)
Pope Francis leads a Mass for the Feast of Epiphany in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Remo Casilli/Pool Reuters via AP)
Nuns walk in the empty St. Peter’s Square as Pope Francis is delivering the Angelus noon prayer from his studio, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Nuns walk in the empty St. Peter’s Square as Pope Francis is delivering the Angelus noon prayer from his studio, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
A limited congregation attends the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A limited congregation attends the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A worker disinfectants an icon of Virgin Mary as a limited congregation attend the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A worker disinfectants an icon of Virgin Mary as a limited congregation attend the service for the feast of the Epiphany in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Piraeus, the port of Athens, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The Greek government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches celebrating the feast of the Epiphany on Wednesday, reversing a ban on attendance designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A man throws a cross into the sea as policemen go to detain him during Epiphany in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, where a strong religious presence of Orthodox Christians have called for the blessing of the waters to continue. Police and coast guard forces are spread across the city’s waterfront to prevent the traditional Epiphany blessing event from taking place because of the coronavirus, and at least three people have been detained. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A man throws a cross into the sea as policemen go to detain him during Epiphany in the northern city of Thessaloniki, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, where a strong religious presence of Orthodox Christians have called for the blessing of the waters to continue. Police and coast guard forces are spread across the city’s waterfront to prevent the traditional Epiphany blessing event from taking place because of the coronavirus, and at least three people have been detained. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
A shopper browses at a street stall selling dolls, as people shop for Three Kings Day gifts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in central Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. In Mexico, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A shopper browses at a street stall selling dolls, as people shop for Three Kings Day gifts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in central Mexico City, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. In Mexico, it is customary for people to give gifts on the Jan. 6 religious holiday of Epiphany, celebrated as Three Kings Day, to commemorate the arrival of the Magi, or three wise men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Ludivina Herrera Crespo, 70, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, stands next to the Christmas presents to be distributed by the three wise men or kings at the Canada Real shanty town, outside Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. Canada Real, a shantytown on the southern edge of Madrid and it has been without electricity since last October 2nd. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Ludivina Herrera Crespo, 70, wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus, stands next to the Christmas presents to be distributed by the three wise men or kings at the Canada Real shanty town, outside Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021. Canada Real, a shantytown on the southern edge of Madrid and it has been without electricity since last October 2nd. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
KALOFER, Bulgaria (AP) — Christians on Wednesday marked Epiphany in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, which constrained celebrations in many places but didn’t stop some defying warnings to keep to traditions.
Orthodox Christians celebrate Jesus’ baptism during Epiphany. In Bulgaria, thousands of worshippers ignored health authorities’ warnings to refrain from mass gatherings, braving icy waters to retrieve crucifixes thrown in by priests.
In the mountain town of Kalofer, dozens of men dressed in traditional white embroidered shirts waded into the frigid Tundzha River.
In neighboring Greece, the government relented and allowed limited attendance at churches, reversing a ban designed to limit the spread of the coronavirus. In Thessaloniki, police and coast guard forces spread across the waterfront to prevent a traditional Epiphany blessing event from taking place.
With no visiting faithful from Greece or other Orthodox countries, only two swimmers raced to retrieve a cross cast into Istanbul’s Golden Horn during an Epiphany ceremony.
Epiphany marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, but not all Orthodox Christian churches celebrate it on the same day.
While the Orthodox Christian churches in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania celebrate the feast on Jan. 6, Orthodox Churches in Russia, Ukraine and Serbia follow the Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 19, as their Christmas falls on Jan. 7.
Some Western Christian churches celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany as the Three Kings Day, which marks the visit of the Magi, or three wise men, to the baby Jesus, and closes out the Christmas season.
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