VISITORS to Boscombe Pier on Saturday afternoon might have seen Orthodox Christian priest John Ives carrying out the annual blessing of the sea.

Father Ives, who preaches to a small Bournemouth-based congregation at his home in Knyveton Road, read passages from the Bible at the end of the pier before casting a wooden cross into the waves.

The traditional Orthodox ceremony, which has been carried out by priests in Bournemouth for many years, commemorates Theophany (Epiphany) and Christian teachings about the baptism of Christ.

“It is a bit windy but a lot better than last year, when they would only let us halfway up the pier,” said Father Ives, who was dressed in his distinctive traditional robes, and joined by members of his congregation with a censor and icono-graphy.

“This is a custom from the very early days, which I believe originated in ancient Egypt as a blessing of the Nile.

“In other Orthodox tradi-tions it marks the coming of the Magi, and also the first miracle at the wedding of Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine. We will be blessing wine tomorrow in honour of that.”

Father Ives, who was a practising Anglican until 1994, read passages from the Book of Isaiah and the Gospel of St Mark, as well as an extract from of St Paul’s letters in which the apostle recounted the Biblical story of Moses striking a stone with a stick to bring forth water as a symbol of Christ.