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STORY: Thousands of Orthodox Christians congregated on Friday (January 20) at the site believed to be where Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
On the muddy banks of the Jordan River many pilgrims thronged for the Epiphany festival, one of the most important religious events on the Orthodox Christian calendar, celebrated throughout the world.
Bishops from the St. John the Baptist Church led the crowd in prayer on the site known as Qasr el-Yahud.
One side of the river is the West Bank and the other Jordan.
The Jordan River was a military restricted area for almost two decades, after the West Bank was occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.
It has been a site of much conflict before a peace deal was signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994.
For many worshipers the holy occasion is a chance to pray for solidarity and peace in the region.
According to tradition, on Epiphany pilgrims exhausted from the rigors of the months-long journey, wrap themselves in the shrouds they hope to be buried in before wading into the Jordan seeking reassurance for the afterlife.
The traditional throwing and retrieval of the cross is another high point of the day.
