Holiest of times for water worshippers in Sydney

March 17, 2016
By Brendan Trembath
ABC News

Hundreds of followers of an ancient Middle Eastern faith have descended on a river in western Sydney for one of the holiest weeks in their calendar.

Mandaeans perform an elaborate baptism ritual as a central part of their beliefs.

They are also pacifists, and have suffered a long history of persecution in Iran and Iraq — and Australia now has one of the world’s biggest communities of Mandaeans.