SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Thousands of Orthodox Christian worshippers in Bulgaria on Monday braved the freezing winter weather to plunge into icy waters as they observed centuries-old Epiphany traditions.
Young men plunged into rivers and lakes across the Balkan country, which is primarily Orthodox, to retrieve crucifixes tossed by priests in ceremonies commemorating the baptism of Jesus Christ.
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Believers jump in the icy lake to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by Bulgarian Patriarch Danail, in Sofia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarian Patriarch Danail throws a wooden cross in the icy lake as believers jump to retrieve it, in Sofia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgariana sing and dance and hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance while holding Bulgarian flag in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
It is believed that the person who retrieves the wooden cross will be freed from evil spirits and will be healthy throughout the year. After the cross is fished out, the priest sprinkles believers with water using a bunch of basil.
In the tiny city of Elin Pelin, situated in a rural area east of the capital, Sofia, dozens of men jumped into the wintry waters of the Lesnovska River to catch the blessed cross.
The peak of the celebrations was the slow “mazhko horo”, or men’s dance, performed by men dressed in traditional white embroidered shirts who waded into the river singing folk songs and waving national flags.
The celebration of Epiphany, or the Apparition of Christ, as Bulgarians call it, began on Monday in Sofia with a water blessing ceremony.
Senior clergymen of Bulgaria’s Orthodox church said prayers for the prosperity of the people and blessed the colors of representative army units in a tradition that was abandoned in 1946 but re-established following the fall of communism in 1992.
Epiphany marks the end of the 12 days of Christmas, but not all Orthodox Christian churches celebrate it on the same day.
While the churches in Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Romania celebrate the feast on Jan. 6, Orthodox Churches in Russia and Serbia follow the Julian calendar, according to which Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 19, as their Christmas falls on Jan. 7.
Believers jump in the icy lake to retrieve a wooden cross thrown by Bulgarian Patriarch Danail, in Sofia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarian Patriarch Danail throws a wooden cross in the icy lake as believers jump to retrieve it, in Sofia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgariana sing and dance and hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians hold a wooden cross in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Bulgarians sing and dance while holding Bulgarian flag in the Lesnovska River during Epiphany Day celebrations in the town of Elin Pelin, Bulgaria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City Council employee was arrested in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, enraging city officials and drawing protesters Tuesday to the Manhattan detention center where he was being held.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez had long overstayed a tourist visa, had once been arrested for assault, and “had no legal right to be in the United States.”
City Council Speaker Julie Menin disputed that, telling reporters that Rubio Bohorquez, a data analyst for the city legislative body, was legally authorized to work in the U.S. until October.
Menin, a Democrat, said the council employee signed a document as part of his employment confirming that he had never been arrested and cleared the standard background check conducted for all applicants.
The New York Immigration Coalition and New York Legal Assistance Group filed a petition after Rubio Bohorquez's arrest Monday asking a court to order his release, Menin and Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
ICE confirmed Rubio Bohorquez’s name. Menin and Goldman referred to him only as a council employee. She said she was doing so to protect his identity.
“We are doing everything we can to secure his immediate release,” Menin said at a Monday evening news conference. She decried the arrest as “egregious government overreach.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat, said he was “outraged” by what he called “an assault on our democracy, on our city, and our values.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said: “This is exactly what happens when immigration enforcement is weaponized.” Detaining people during routine appearances “doesn’t make us safer. It erodes trust, spreads fear, and violates basic principles of fairness,” she said.
Menin said officials were attempting to reach Rubio Bohorquez’s family and obtain contact information for his immigration lawyer.
Rubio Bohorquez, originally from Venezuela, was detained at an immigration appointment in Bethpage, on Long Island, authorities said. Menin called it a regular check-in that “quickly went awry.”
“This staffer, who chose to work for the city and contribute his expertise to the community, did everything right by appearing at a scheduled interview, and yet ICE unlawfully detained him,” Lisa Rivera, the president and CEO of New York Legal Assistance Group, said in a statement.
Rivera said the organization represents dozens of people who have been wrongfully detained by ICE and hundreds who are following immigration procedures in hopes of staying in the U.S.
According to ICE, Rubio Bohorquez entered the U.S. in 2017 on a B2 tourist visa and was required to leave the country by Oct. 22, 2017. He has been employed by the City Council for about a year, Menin said. His position pays about $129,315 per year, according to city payroll data.
“He had no work authorization,” ICE said in a statement confirming Rubio Bohorquez’s arrest. The agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, said that under Secretary Kristi Noem “criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States. If you come to our country illegally and break our law, we will find you and we will arrest you.”
Several dozen people protested Tuesday outside the Greater New York Federal Building, where Rubio Bohorquez was being held. Some carried signs that said “Abolish ICE” and “No Human Is Illegal.”
Disputes over an immigrant’s work authorization have arisen before, in part because many employers rely on a robust but flawed government system called E-Verify. The tool compares information entered by an employer from an employee’s documents with records available to Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.
Experts say the system is generally accurate in terms of matching documents, but it doesn’t automatically notify an employer if an employee’s right to work is revoked after it has already been verified.
A 2021 Inspector General review concluded that until the government addresses E-Verify’s shortcomings, “it cannot ensure the system provides accurate employment eligibility results.”
Matthew Malloy, Executive Board Member with the Association of Legislative Employees, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Alexa Avilés, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Chi Ossé, New York City Council member, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Carlos Calzadilla, President of Brooklyn Young Democrats, speaks during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
People raise signs during a news conference outside Greater New York Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
