A special blessing set at Lake Mead

Rebecca Malone

Friday, Dec. 28, 2001 | 3:20 a.m.

Lake Mead will be blessed in January by a local church to ensure the quality and abundance of water for the Las Vegas Valley throughout the next year.

A new priest in the Las Vegas Valley, the Rev. Eric Tosi, will lead the service Jan. 6 at the Lake Mead Marina, blessing the main water supply. The tradition of blessing water dates to 2,000 years ago in the Orthodox Church, and this year St. Paul the Apostle Orthodox Church will join the tradition.

"In the Orthodox Church on every feast day we bless something, so in essence we are blessing all aspects of life," Tosi said.

Blessing the water is part of the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, which is one of 12 feasts the church celebrates. The ceremony honors the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan at the beginning of Christ's ministry.

"Christ descends into the Jordan and by doing that, God blesses creation," Tosi said. "It is the idea of sanctifying creation and bringing creation to the world."

The ceremony will include a service, followed by Tosi throwing a cross into the water three times. In colder regions, a string is attached to the cross so it can be pulled back out, but in warmer regions, members of the congregation jump in after the cross and bring it back out. Tosi said he has not chosen which method he will use.

In Greece, the youth of the church are allowed to jump in to get the cross. Those who retrieve the cross are said to be especially blessed for the following year.

In Ethiopia, parish members not only have a blessing service, but also celebrate the day with festivities that include dancing and music. They also have the entire community jump into the water to receive a blessing.

Tosi plans on bringing some of the blessed water to the homes of his parishioners so they all can share the blessing. This will be the seventh year he has performed the ceremony, but his first time in Las Vegas.