Brooklyn man takes frigid leap of faith for Greek Orthodox heritage

One of my parishioners commented that we should do this next year. Food for thought!

Now that’s faith.

Paul Apostolakis braved the frigid, whitecapped Hudson River Sunday in his lifeguard trunks to retrieve a gold cross thrown in by the Rev. John Romas of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

The diving ceremony off Pier A in Battery Park was part of an annual church ritual that commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

Whoever retrieves the cross is thought to have good luck for the year.

“Like Father tells me, I do this for God, and he’s going to be there for me,” said Apostolakis, 20, of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

The deep-freeze dive has been a tradition since St. Nicholas was founded in 1916.
The church, which was located on Cedar St. in lower Manhattan, was destroyed on 9/11.

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