TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — John Hittos, a 16-year-old who dove into the Epiphany waters for the first time Saturday, retrieved the cross at the 118th Epiphany Celebration.

Hittos, of Clearwater, was one of 67 boys who jumped into the water. It took him about 15 seconds to retrieve the cross.

"It's beautiful, it's amazing," Hittos said while we being carried by the other teens. "It means everything."

The rainy weather Saturday morning had cleared just minutes before festivities at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and at Spring Bayou got underway.

Sixty-seven young men, ages 16-18, were selected to dive for the cross.

For 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.

The celebration is in remembrance of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the water of the Jordan River.

The Retrieval of the Cross is considered to be a source of blessings and grace. It is said that the young man who recovers the cross receives extra blessings throughout the year.

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.

WATCH AGAIN: Click our link to rewatch our live coverage of the  118th Epiphany Celebrations.