TARPON SPRINGS, Fla — Tarpon Springs' Greek Orthodox community gathered on Friday for one of the Tampa Bay area's most popular and unique religious events.
The 117th Epiphany celebration took place on Jan. 6. It's an annual tradition celebrating the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist.
Observance of the Epiphany began Thursday with a blessing of the fleet, including the divers, local businessmen, and the spring and fishing boats at the famous Sponge Docks.
Then at 9 a.m. Friday, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral held a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.
Following the divine liturgy, Archbishop Elpidophoros led a procession of clergy, altar servers, visiting dignitaries, choir, school children in traditional Greek costumes, teen divers and a dove bearer to Spring Bayou.
At the water, a white dove was released, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, and Holy Water was poured into the bayou.
Then, the archbishop cast a white cross into the water, where dozens of young men dived for it. The person who retrieved the cross, 16-year-old George Stamas of Tarpon Springs, kneeled before the archbishop for a special blessing.
Stamas' cousin, Christian Chrysakis, was the 2018 winner of the cross drive.
The cross dive, one of the most distinctive parts of the Epiphany celebration, is seen as a right of passage for young men in Tarpon Springs.
The Epiphany festivities in Tarpon Springs date back to 1906.
Road closures
The Epiphany celebration affected the roads in Tarpon Springs from 10:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.
The area bounded by Spring Boulevard, Pine Street, Levis Avenue and Lemon Street was closed, along with some smaller roads in the area of the procession.
Portions of alternate U.S. Highway 19 (from Pine Street to Lemon Street) and Tarpon Avenue (from Levis Avenue to Spring Boulevard) were also shut down to traffic.