Skopje, 19 January 2026 (MIA) — Twenty-four-year-old Centar Municipality resident Darko Mitrovikj retrieved the Holy Cross from the Vardar after it was placed in the water by Macedonian Orthodox Church leader Stefan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, during the Great Theophany Blessing of Water ceremony held earlier Sunday to celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany.

Before casting the cross into the Vardar, the archbishop said Epiphany was a holiday of renewal and of "the opportunity to get to know God."

"As St. Clement of Ohrid says, we need to hear the voice of Christ, to repent, enlightening ourselves through serenity, blooming through brotherly love, approaching God through hospitality, ascending to heaven through fasting and making ourselves sons of God through charity," the MOC-OA leader said.

After retrieving the cross, Mitrovikj was gifted a consecrated icon and a Bible from the church as well as icons from Skopje Mayor Orce Gjorgievski and Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski. He also received a Mden 15,000 voucher from Zegin Pharmacies.

The religious holiday of Epiphany marks two events in the life of Jesus Christ, according to the Bible. The first event occurred when the three wise men, or kings, visited the infant baby Jesus. The second event was linked to the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist.

Some 160 people attempted to retrieve the cross from the Vardar this year. The Skopje celebration began with an Epiphany liturgy led by Archbishop Stefan at the Nativity of Virgin Mary church in downtown Skopje. Then he performed the Great Theophany Blessing of Water, placing the Holy Cross from Sloboda Bridge into the Vardar. 

Believers believe the one who retrieves the wooden cross will have a prosperous year. mr/