Marko Drobnjak from Bijelopolje was the first, among 29 participants, to swim to the Holy Cross in the river Lim, in Sinjavac near Bijelo Polje.
Before throwing the cross, the water of Lima was consecrated by archpriest Darko Pejić, with the concelebration of priest Nikola Skopljak.
For Drobnjak, winning the cross was a lifelong desire.
"I thank God that I came first to the cross. I'm giving it to a girl, I won't tell her name, she'll recognize herself," says Marko, emphasizing that it wasn't very cold, especially when he remembers the minus from last year.
Among the participants was a 17-year-old girl, Ana Begović, who swam for the Holy Cross for the first time this year.
Congratulating all believers on the holiday with the words 'God is calling', she pointed out that this 'undertaking' has always been a great desire of hers, which came true this year. So far, she has only participated in the Epiphany rafting, where she was the youngest participant.
"The water is cold, but he who dares can do it, he who knows no fear, he goes forward," said the brave Ana.
Next to her and Marko, following the cross swam: Pavle Jevrić, Slađan Šćekić, Ivica Ignjatović, Aleksej Pejić, Radojko and Mirko Kovačević, Ranko Gutić, Branislav Obradović, Gojko Sekulić, Miloš Šćekić, Miljan Merdović, Nenad Milićević, Miroslav Rudić, Radenko Knežević .
After swimming for the cross, five crews started the traditional Epiphany descent.
Crew captain Zoran Knežević said that the tradition of the Epiphany rafting on the holy shores of Lima has been going on for almost two decades.
"The youth of Bijelo Polje and good people contribute to the celebration of one of the most important Christian holidays, showing that Lim is a holy river and that the banks of Lim are holy banks that unite people, as well as time and space, and that they brought us only good. We have five crews, we are going to Kumanica while staying in
Njegnjevo for about an hour," he said, adding that this year, five crews went to the Kumanica monastery.
Blessing the swimmers, archpriest Darko Pejić reminded that the Epiphany is a holiday of enlightenment, which commemorates the baptism of Christ on the Jordan River and the first appearance of God in three persons in history.
Then the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, and a voice was heard from heaven: "This is my son, listen to him."
.Darko pointed out that baptism frees us from sins and bad things, until death.
"The church promised its people that the resurrected Lord awaits us at the end. A man here was rich, honest, honest, a liar, a thief, and the same fate awaits us at the end. Live as you want, the old people said, but we won't as long as we want. Let's use these days, enlighten ourselves, change ourselves. Let's be brothers to each other, to be reconciled with our Lord incarnate, baptized in the Jordan, to take revenge with the Jordanian water. Let every person bring the epiphany water into his home, let everyone drink a little and let every home be sprinkled so that God enters every home as he enters by bringing the Christmas tree. Let's not break the tradition, let's not close the door to the Lord", appealed Pejić.
He asked people to protect the Lim, criticizing the bad and irresponsible attitude towards the river.
". This river is our face and our mirror and we will all agree that it is a shame that it looks like this. And all these waters eventually reach man, one way or another it is our water, this is holy water, that is how we treat to her, let's keep what God has given us, in peace and harmony so that we are not forced to do so by trouble and pain", he said. Darko.
They swam in two places in Budva
Danilo Dragović from Budva is the winner of the manifestation "For the Holy Cross", which was organized on the Christian holiday of the Epiphany in front of the Porto restaurant in the Budva Marina at noon today by the church municipality "Stari grad" and the sports fishing club "Tuna".
He was the best of 70 boys and girls who swam in the Budva Marina in the cold weather.
The event was also organized in Bečići, where 22-year-old Marko Boljević was the first to reach the cross in the sea. The event was organized by the Parish of Bečić in front of the Church of St. Thomas.
Ulcinj: Dragan Jovetić first to cross
Just like last year, in the Epiphany swim for the Holy Cross in Ulcinj, local Dragan Jovetić won today.
More than 8 believers participated in the swim, which was organized in the port of Kacema below the Old Town, at an air temperature of 60 degrees, among which were two members of the fairer sex. A large number of Ulcinians watched the traditional manifestation from the shore.
Herceg Novi. Mrvaljeviić and Radanović were the first to swim to the cross
Ognjen Mrvaljević and Marko Radanović were the first to arrive in swimming for the Epiphany Cross at Škver in Hercegnov.
In the competition organized by the Herceg Novi Church Community and VK Veterani, 61 swimmers participated, including two women: Jasna Marić, former swimmer of PVK Jadran and Željka Šavija from Trebinje.
The youngest participant was four-year-old Marko Motika.
The vicar of Herzegovina, Archpriest Stavrofor Radomir Nikčević, spoke about Epiphany and the tradition of swimming for the Holy Cross, and the parish priest of Starograd Nikola Todorović announced swimming for the Holy Cross of Saint Sava next year on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the Saint Sava Orthodox Church.
On the occasion of the feast of the Epiphany, a holy liturgy was held in the churches of Saint Savior on Topla and Archangel Michael on Belavista, and the consecration of the sea was carried out, and swimming for the Epiphany cross was organized.
Today in Herceg Novi, the sea temperature was 14 degrees, and the air temperature was 10 degrees.
Tivat: Angel brought out the cross from the sea
Twenty-five-year-old Dejan Piper from Tivat won the Epiphany swim for the Holy Cross, which was organized yesterday in the sea near Miholjska Prevlaka in Tivat.
55 believers from Montenegro, Serbia and Russia participated in the swim, among whom were four members of the fairer sex. They entered the sea from the beach on the southwest side of the island and swam towards the cross, which was lowered into the sea from a boat fifty meters from the shore by Father Benedict, abbot of the monastery of St. Archangel. A large number of spectators followed the competition from the shore.
The first to reach the cross was Dejan Piper, brother of the four-time consecutive winner of this competition, water polo player Boško Piper. However, in the end, he gave the honorable cross in a gentlemanly manner to 16-year-old Anđela Tomašević from Tiv, one of the youngest swimming participants.
"It is a great honor for my family and a blessing that today I, after four years when my brother did it, was the first to reach the honorable cross. It's not chivalry on my part, it's on Angela's part that she swam for the cross, which is why I handed it over to her," Piper said.
"I'm glad that Dejan won the cross and thank him very much for giving it to me in the end. This means everything to me because I swim for God and my faith," Anđela Tomašević pointed out.
The Monastery of Miholjska Prevlaka prepared a feast of love in this spiritual center for all the participants in swimming for the cross of God, and Abbot Benedikt blessed the faithful and presented appropriate gifts to the winners Dejan Piper and Anđela Tomašević.
Bar: Lalošević first to the cross
Savo Lalošević (21), a third-year student at the Faculty of Maritime Affairs in Kotor, was the first to swim to the cross in Bar on the City Beach in front of King Nikola's Castle. This is his third Epiphany swim.
Savo received a silver cross as a gift from the Church Municipality, and a transitional award, an icon of the Mother of God. The youngest of the fifty participants was Đorđe Dević, who was awarded an icon. Father Ljubo Jovanović threw the Holy Cross from the boat into the sea this year as well.
Berane: Knežević fifth fastest time
The first to reach the Holy Cross in Berane was Nikola Knežević, who won this for the fifth time.
"This is the fourth time in a row that I have taken the cross, and the fifth otherwise. I started competing in 2012 and I haven't stopped, it's a big love. This is a divine day for all of us who participated. Matija Guberinić showed great courage because he is a seven-year-old boy, I want to congratulate him as well as the others who participated", said Knežević.
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