Representatives from two Orthodox churches in Aurora along with city officials and more met at the pedestrian bridge near RiverEdge Park Saturday morning for the city’s second annual Blessing of the River ceremony. In honor of the Holy Feast of Theophany, the faithful of St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church led by the Rev. Panagiotis Boznos and St. Athanasius Romanian Orthodox Church led by the Rev. Daniel Pop once again offered a short ceremony that included tossing a cross into the Fox River and then retrieving it along with prayers. A crowd of at least 50 mostly stood on the bridge as Boznos and Pop recited prayers on behalf of their respective churches. According to a press release from the city, “the blessing of the river is part of the Orthodox church’s celebration of Theophany, which takes place on Jan. 6 each year. Theophany commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, the wedding at Cana and the visit of the Magi. The Orthodox church celebrates the blessings of water during Theophany.” Clayton Muhammad, chief communications and equity officer for the city, spoke before the ceremony about its religious and community importance. “We are reaching out to both of our Orthodox churches and we are coming together to bless the river which is traditional in Orthodox churches and we celebrate the Theophany as it’s called in the Orthodox church which was this past Monday,” Muhammad said. “Just as Christ blessed the River Jordan where he was baptized, so churches bless the bodies of water in the towns they’re in. The Fox River is so key to Aurora and so the Orthodox churches have found it fitting that we bless the Fox River and the city that it flows through.” Pop offered his perspective on the second year of the ceremony and said even though it felt colder this time, “I’m happy to be here for the second time and the celebration and blessing of the water.” “I hope there are going to be many more of these and there are blessings all over the world for the water. I know from brothers who blessed Lake Michigan and the Mississippi,” he said. “I hope people come away from this renewing their faith. It’s a tradition to do this in our church.” The Rev. Daniel Pop of St. Athanasius Romanian Orthodox Church, left, and the Rev. Panagiotis Boznos of St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church led a blessing ceremony for the Fox River Saturday morning on the pedestrian bridge near RiverEdge Park. (David Sharos / For The Beacon-News) Boznos told the crowd at the event that he and Pop were going to move west on the bridge to try and throw the cross into an open space in the river and spoke about the unifying power of water and prayer throughout the world. “I was encouraged by the number who came out last year. It’s a bit colder as the river is frozen whereas last year, it was still flowing,” Boznos said. “It’s an opportunity for us to come out in the heart of Aurora and bless our city and pray here. This blessing is a continuation of the practices of the Orthodox church for 2,000 years. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to actually go to the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized, and so the service we celebrate here is not just 2,000 years old and continues that way. It also continues around the world. “This is a prayer that ties our community here back in time and forward into the future but also the other communities around the world,” Boznos added. “This event ties us – the fact that this service takes place blessing water – water permeates into the soil, it goes back into the clouds and rains falls down and it blows around the world. Any drop of water that we drop here into the Fox River is going to end up around the world through just the water cycle, so quite literally, the blessings and prayers we have here are connecting us to the entire world.” David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.