An ancient tradition has seen the icy waters of a Norfolk Broad being blessed.

North Norfolk News: Blessing of the waters at Sutton Staithe with Father Stephen Weston of St Furseys to celebrate Theophany.Blessing of the waters at Sutton Staithe with Father Stephen Weston of St Furseys to celebrate Theophany. (Image: ©Archant2015)

A small congregation gathered at Sutton Staithe, near Stalham, today for Theophany, an annual service celebrating Christ's baptism in the river Jordan.

As part of the service, a carved cross was thrown three times into the water while those standing on the bank of the river Ant took part in prayers and readings.

Father Stephen Weston, the Antiochian Orthodox priest of Sutton's tiny 18 x 13ft St Fursey's chapel, said the day's services had started at 9am.

He said: 'We blessed the water inside the chapel and each member of the congregation was given some to take home and some of them will use that for healing and prayers.

'Here on the water's edge, we hold a shortened version of the same service and throw the cross into the water to symbolise the baptismal powers of the river Jordan. People all over the world will be doing the same.'

The cross used to bless the river water usually sits atop the altar inside St Fursey's. The chapel was built by Fr Stephen, a former Anglican priest, in his back garden in the 1990s and is believed to be one of the smallest working churches in the country. Its patron saint lived at Burgh Castle, near Great Yarmouth, in around 630AD.