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A Belarus Orthodox believer plunges into icy waters on the eve of the Epiphany holiday in Pilnitsa some 30 km outside Minsk, on January 18, 2013. Thousands of believers jumpe into holes cut in ice, braving freezing temperatures, on January 18 and early on January 19 to mark Epiphany, when they take part in a baptism ceremony. VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images

A worker prepares a cross shaped bathing hole for the forthcoming Russian Orthodox Epiphany celebrations on the Mana river near the village of Ust-Mana, 31 km (19 miles) south of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, January 18, 2013. Russian Orthodox believers will celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany with a midnight immersion in water after midnight and on the morning of January 19. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

A woman crosses herself while bathing in the ice cold water of the Moskva River, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. Thousands of Russian Orthodox Church followers on Friday and Saturday will plunge into icy rivers and ponds across the country to mark the upcoming Epiphany, cleansing themselves with water deemed holy for the day. Water that is blessed by a cleric on Epiphany is considered holy and pure until next year's celebration, and is believed to have special powers of protection and healing. The Russian Orthodox Church follows the old Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany falls on Jan. 19. Moscow temperatures on Friday dropped to -15 Celcius (5 Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

A Christian pilgrim dips in the water after a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

JERICHO, ISRAEL - JANUARY 18: Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem holds a white dove and prays during a traditional Epiphany ceremony at the baptismal site of Qasr el-Yahud near the West Bank city of Jericho on January 18, 2013. Thousands of Orthodox pilgrims come every year to the celebrate where it is believed that Jesus was baptised. (Photo by Abir Sultan - Pool/Getty Images)

A dove flies after it was released by the Greek Patriarch Metropolitan Theophilos (front row, 3rd R) during a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A Christian pilgrim sits during a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A Christian Orthodox nun plunges into the waters of the Jordan River during a ceremony marking the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany on January 18, 2013 at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site in the West Bank by the Jordan River. Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III led the ceremony during which thousands of Orthodox Christians braved rain to plunge into plastic tubs filled with its murky water to celebrate Jesus's baptism. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

Greek Patriarch Metropolitan Theophilos (C) holds a cross during a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A Greek Orthodox priest holds a dove before a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Orthodox Christian nuns sit during a ceremony at the baptismal site known as Qasr el-Yahud on the banks of the Jordan River near the West Bank city of Jericho January 18, 2013. Over a thousand Orthodox Christians flocked to the Jordan River to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany at the traditional site where it is believed John the Baptist baptised Jesus. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

A baby screams as he is plunged by an Orthodox priest into the waters of the Jordan River during a ceremony marking the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany on January 18, 2013 at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site in the West Bank by the Jordan River. Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III led the ceremony during which thousands of Orthodox Christians braved rain to plunge into plastic tubs filled with its murky water to celebrate Jesus's baptism. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

A man takes a dip in an icy spring as part of celebrations to mark the Epiphany, some 45 km (28 miles) east of Almaty January 19, 2013. Orthodox believers immerse themselves in icy waters regardless of the weather, an age-old ritual which commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, or the Epiphany, which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates on January 19. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

A man plunges into the icy waters of a lake as part of celebrations for Epiphany, near the village of Pilnitsa, about 25 km (17 miles) northeast of Minsk, January 19, 2013. Orthodox believers marked Epiphany on January 19 by immersing themselves in icy waters regardless of the weather. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

A general view of a small Orthodox church during a night Epiphany service, some 45 km (28 miles) east of Almaty, Kazakhstan, January 18, 2013. Orthodox believers immerse themselves in icy waters regardless of the weather, an age-old ritual which commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, or the Epiphany, which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates on January 19. Picture taken January 18. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

Believers immerse themselves in a pool outside an Orthodox church during a ceremony to mark Epiphany in temperatures around minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) in Vladivostok, Russia early January 19, 2013. Orthodox Christians celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany according to the Gregorian calendar on January 19. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev

An Orthodox priests conduct a service at the ice hole of a lake on the eve of Russian Orthodox Epiphany in Minsk, Belarus, late Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. Orthodox Church believers celebrate Epiphany on Jan. 19. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)