TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — The yearly Tarpon Springs community celebration of Epiphany is back.
Epiphany is celebrated worldwide on January 6 but the event’s biggest Western Hemisphere observance is in Tarpon Springs.
What You Need To Know
- 117th Tarpon Springs Epiphany celebration taking place Friday, Jan. 6
- Considered the largest Epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere, the event commemorates Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan
- Schedule of Events
- Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church
For 116 years, crowds have turned out at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs during the first week of January for the traditional throwing of the cross during Epiphany celebrations.
As many as 20,000 people typically descend on Tarpon Springs for celebrations now.
And the 117th edition of the unique Greek event will be just as special.
A quiet Spring Bayou awaits Friday's celebration and cross dive. (Dalia Dangerfield, Spectrum News staff)
Almost 60 young men will take their places in the usually chilly waters of the Bayou in hopes of retrieving the cross from the water and the yearlong blessing that is said to come with it.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, will be among the participants in this year’s observance, said the Reverend Fr. Athanasios Haros, Dean of St. Nicholas.
“This blessing is an annual opportunity for us to recall our need for God’s grace," said Fr. Haros. "As the Archbishop beckons the Holy Spirit to descend upon the waters of Spring Bayou.”
The event-filled celebration features a Blessing of the Fleet on Thursday.
The next day begins with an 8 a.m. church service at St. Nicholas, followed by the procession to Spring Bayou around noon, the releasing of the doves and the cross throwing.
Schedule of Events:
8 am – Orthros
9 am – Archierarchail Liturgy Immediately Following Liturgy – Procession to Spring Bayou Blessing of Tarpon Springs
Where: St Nicholas Church and Tarpon Springs Bayou Dates: 01/06/2023 - 01/06/2023
Time: 8:00am - 2:00pm
Following the ceremony and cross throe, the Epiphany Glendi (festival) at the Spanos-Pappas Community Center (348 N Pinellas Ave) with food, drink, live music, and dancing.
ROAD CLOSURES
Locations: Area bounded by Spring Boulevard, Pine Street, Levis Avenue and Lemon Street.
Major thoroughfares of Alternate US Highway 19 (from Pine Street to Lemon Street) and Tarpon Avenue (from Levis Avenue to Spring Boulevard) will be closed as well as many smaller roads within the area of the procession.
Time Period: Friday, January 6, 2023, from approximately 10:45 am until 3:00 pm
MOT: Please observe posted detours, expect heavy traffic and yield to pedestrians. There will be NO overnight parking Thursday night or during the event within the procession area (Pinellas Ave. between Orange St. and Tarpon Ave.; Tarpon Ave. between Grosse Ave. and the Bayou; Orange St. between Pinellas Ave. and Ring Ave.).
ORIGINS
The Orthodox Christian Church celebrates Epiphany on January 6th of each year, in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the water of the Jordan River 2000 ago.
The observance spread to the new world and eventually to Tarpon Springs, which boasts the largest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the U.S.
The Tarpon Springs community has commemorated Christ’s baptism for more than a century with services at St. Nicholas Cathedral, and events highlighted by a ceremonial cross dive at Spring Bayou. (Jorje Roman,Spectrum News staff)
Tarpon Springs’ Epiphany began as a simple affair in 1903 and grown in size ever since.
The local ceremonies are identical to those taken place in and around Greece.
THE PANDEMIC
The 2021 version of Epiphany was unlike any before.
With the worldwide COVID pandemic, much of the pomp surrounding the multi-day event was canceled.
But the cross throwing went on.
No Blessing of the Fleet took place the day before and there was limited seating at St. Nicholas Church during the morning Archierarchial Liturgy instead of the normally packed procession of clergy, divers and onlookers.
Only 50 divers took part and masks and social distancing were in place at the Bayou.
The Glendi celebration that usually follows the cross retrieval did not take place.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Most young men growing up in Tarpon Springs dream of retrieving the cross when it comes their time to dive.
And most, if not all, have a relative in the small, tight-knit community that grabbed the cross from the murky waters.
Pantelis Kondoliakos retrieved the cross in 2009. His father and multiple uncles all retrieved the cross as well in earlier years.
In 2020 and 2021, brothers Hunter and Colten Sakadelas, respectively, emerged with the white cross. There’s only been one other time brothers retrieved the cross back-to-back. It was in the 1980s.
Alex Marks (left) after retrieving the cross in 2022. In 2021, Colten Sakadels, was carried to St. Nicholas Cathedral after pulling the cross from Spring Bayou. (Spectrum Bay News 9 images)
Last year, Alexander Makris, 16, became the cross bearer on his first dive.
“It’s a very important religious day, and it’s a blessing just to be able to dive,” Kondoliakos said. “Catching it is extra. Just to get in that water and be there with your brothers and your friends….we’re blessed and that is the way we look at it.”