Russian residents of Lebanon made a pilgrimage to the source of the Jordan River

The members of the Russian community of Lebanon celebrated the great feast of the Epiphany with a pilgrimage trip to the beginning of the Jordan - its tributary Hasbani flows down from the biblical Mount Hermon (Hermon). Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), the rector of the Moscow Patriarchate courtyard in Lebanon, told a TASS correspondent that a prayer service was served there and the rite of the Great Blessing of Water was performed. “Visiting these places on the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord makes it possible to feel a completely real presence on the holy river,” he said.

The trip from Beirut to the Hasbani River took place in unfavorable weather conditions, so the believers, in the words of Archimandrite Philip, 'accomplished a small but feat.' Many of the members of the Russian community, according to the pious folk tradition, dived into the waters of the river. The rector of the Russian courtyard recalled that the Lebanese side-altars are part of the Holy Land - and expressed the hope that the Epiphany pilgrimage to the source of the Jordan will eventually become a tradition for the local Russian community.

Let us remind you that on Saturday before the feast of Epiphany in the conference hall of the Russian
Center for Science and Culture in Beirut, a presentation was held on the results of pilgrimage members
of the Russian community of Lebanon to the Christian shrines of Italy. During this event, the rector of the courtyard of the Moscow Patriarchate,
Philip spoke about the history and modernity of the Orthodox communities operating in the Apennine
peninsula.