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Photo Caption: Father Gary Kyriacou offers a prayer and prepares to throw the cross into the Ventura Harbor.
CAMARILLO, CA – St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo CA, led by their Spiritual Father Rev. Fr. Fr. Gary Kyriacou, Fr. Paul Wassenin from St. Herman Parish (OCA) in Oxnard, CA and Fr. Simon Thomas from St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Santa Barbara, California faithful gathered on Sunday, January 6, 2008for the Annual Blessing of the Waters at the Ventura Harbor in Ventura, California.
“This has been a long standing tradition of our Parish here in Long Beach,” said Barbara Kokkinis, longtime steward of the St. Demetrios parish. “It is amazing to see so many faithful and dedicated Orthodox Christians gather for such a wonderful event. The participation of the clergy and all those gathered made it special for us this year.”
Three young women: Tessa Ballas, Samantha Crostic and Eleni Misthos and two young men, Alex Michopoulos and Nicholas Whetstone, ranging in ages from 12-16 dove for the Cross. The hope of retrieving the Cross was eminent as they all prepared to plunge into the chilly Harbor. For the first time in parish history a young woman retrieved the Cross and returned it to the dock with great joy. There, Tessa (Anastasia) Ballas was welcomed by Father Gary, and with her fellow divers, received a blessing for participating in this long-standing tradition.
Everyone in attendance gathered at the Greek at the Harbor Restaurant, adjacent to the dive site, and enjoyed a feast! Roast lamb dinner, Greek salad, oven roasted potatoes, coffee and traditional pastries were served. The youngest group of Greek Dancers from St. Demetrios, Thavmatakia (ages 5-7 year olds), directed by Presvytera Christie Kyriacou, entertained the crowd and kicked off the afternoon celebration.
Photo Caption: Father Gary Kyriacou blesses the young members of the parish after the ceremonial diving for the cross.
4th Thursday after Pascha
