EPIPHANY
Luc Boillot emerges with the Epiphany cross
It's believed that whoever retrieves the cross will have extra blessings in the year ahead.
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It's believed that whoever retrieves the cross will have extra blessings in the year ahead.
The 17-year-old Tarpon High School student has been a dedicated and active member of her church, choir and community, according to church officials.
Dozens gathered at Lake Eola to celebrate the Theophany, or manifestation of God, with the Dive for the Cross.
Law enforcement gets to Spring Bayou before sunrise to sweep the area and make sure everyone can enjoy the festivities as safely as possible.
Denise Ginnis now gives out crosses including during Epiphany.
John Hittos retrieved the Epiphany cross from Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs last year.
The Orthodox Christian Church celebrates Epiphany on Jan. 6 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.
Tarpon Springs’ Epiphany began as a simple affair in 1903 and has grown in size ever since.
The local ceremonies are identical to those taken place in and around Greece.
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.
Read more on the waters, the procession and the retrievers...
January 5th
January 6th
Locations: During previous Epiphany celebrations, areas 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) were closed as well as many smaller roads within the area of the procession.
Please observe posted detours, expect heavy traffic and yield to pedestrians. There will be NO overnight parking the night before or during the event within the procession area (Pinellas Avenue between Orange Street and Tarpon Avenue; Tarpon Avenue between Grosse Avenue and the Bayou; Orange Street between Pinellas Avenue and Ring Avenue).
And every Jan. 6, Tarpon Springs is the home to the biggest Epiphany Celebration outside of Greece.
Epiphany is celebrated worldwide but the famous celebration in Tarpon Springs turns the small town into a unique festival.
An important part of the Epiphany celebration is the role of the dove bearer.
Bobby Kavouklis, who has nonverbal autism, was one of the participants.
Sixty-seven young men, ages 16-18, were selected to dive for the cross. A first-time diver retrieved it.
The largest Epiphany celebration in the western hemisphere is once again set for Jan. 6 in Tarpon Springs.
Despite rain in the forecast, officials for the 118th Epiphany say the cross retrieval will still take place.
After the Epiphany ceremony at Spring Bayou and St. Nicholas Cathedral, the Greek Orthodox community celebrates at the Glendi.
Chloe Kotis, 17, was chosen as dove bearer for the 118th annual Epiphany celebration.
While crowds have grown over the decades, John Lulias says much of the tradition is the same.
For diver Hayden McGee, the cross and this year's celebration has a special meaning.
Epiphany is celebrated worldwide on January 6 but the event’s biggest Western Hemisphere observance is in Tarpon Springs.
Mr. Souvlaki Restaurant is known for its world famous Greek Chow Mein.
Tarpon Springs will celebrate its 117th Epiphany cross dive on Friday.
This year's dove bearer is 17-year old Elena Gonatos. She comes from a family of dove bearers and a cross retriever.
Alexander Makris, 16, became the next cross bearer during the 116th Epiphany Celebrations in Tarpon Springs on Thursday.
