EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD ANDREJ LUČIĆ FIRST TO REACH THE HOLY CROSS

TREBINJE, JANUARY 19 /SRNA/ - Eighteen-year-old Andrej Lučić from Trebinje won the traditional Epiphany swimming competition for the Holy Cross in the Trebišnjica River, among more than 200 participants.

Lučić said that he trains water polo and that this was his fifth time swimming for the Holy Cross.

"The feeling is wonderful and cannot be described in words. The first time I swam was earlier with my friend who is not with us today," Lučić told reporters.

Among the participants in today's Epiphany swimming event was Trebinje Mayor Mirko Ćurić, who said that swimming for the Holy Cross is a special feeling, as everyone is equal.

"We all change for the better. This is a special day and an opportunity; God's will guides us. Faith, fasting, and prayer are necessary for all of us," Ćurić said.

Prior to the Epiphany swimming, His Eminence Metropolitan Dimitrije of Zahumlje-Herzegovina and the Littoral served the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy at the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and consecrated the water in the Trebišnjica River, after which a procession passed through the city streets.

This year, the Epiphany procession for the first time also passed through the Old Town, where the Epiphany prayer service was read, accompanied by a joint prayer for the city of Trebinje, its residents, and all of God's people.