QASR AL-YAHUD, WEST BANK—Some 20,000 pilgrims walked past minefields Tuesday to reach the traditional site of Jesus’s baptism on the Jordan River. They came to wash their faces with the muddy brown water, immerse themselves and even drink the water to mark the date that Jesus began his holy ministry.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Jerusalem, Theophilos III, led a ceremony in which he threw plants into the water and released doves, which symbolize the Holy Spirit.

Qasr al-Yahud is in the Israeli-controlled West Bank and dozens of Israeli flags swayed in the breeze. Just across the river, hundreds of pilgrims congregated on the Jordanian baptism site, visited annually by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. As the Patriarch approached, bells tolled and they began singing hymns in Greek, which were echoed by the pilgrims on the Israeli side.

The pilgrims came from Orthodox churches around the world, especially Greece, Russia and Ethiopia.

“We are thirsty for faith and tradition,” said Father Jack Nobel Abed, 53, a Greek Catholic priest from the West Bank town of Ramallah. “When you immerse in the Jordan River, you feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit and the internal peace that God gives you.”

Pilgrims came from all over the world. Rahel Gabrusgabi, 24, from Eritrea, carried a lump of clay from the river after she emerged dripping.

“It wasn’t too cold,” she said smiling. “And now I feel pure and light.”

The Jordan River is the official border between Israel and Jordan, two countries that were at war for decades. The site is surrounded by fields that have been mined. Barbed wire and bright yellow signs urge visitors not to wander off the path

Dhyan Or, of Roots for Peace, an organization that promotes de-mining says 500,000 mines have been planted along the border. In the area of the baptism site, there are an estimated 3,000 mines, both anti-tank and anti-personnel mines.

“The Jordanians have completely de-mined their site on the other side,” Or said. “But in Israel it’s not a high priority and there is a lack of political will.”

At the site, thousands of pilgrims filled plastic water bottles with water they believe is holy. Some of them chugged it down right there, others said they were bringing it home for relatives. But environmental groups say the water could be dangerous.

“You actually saw them drink it — oh my God, that’s terrible,” said Gidon Bromberg, the executive director of Friends of the Earth Middle East. “They can get really sick. There’s sewage in the water.”

Friends of the Earth charges that Israel has used the Jordan River as a dumping ground for sewage and other pollutants. Bromberg said his organization commissioned a water survey last week and found 340 fecal coliforms per 100 millilitres of water, indicating the presence of sewage in the water.

There is no universal Israeli standard, although the Ministry of Health recommends that swimming water have no more than 200 fecal coliforms and drinking water have almost none.