TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — There's a lot on the line for the young men who partake in the Epiphany.
According to Greek Orthodox tradition, an entire year of blessings is bestowed upon the one who brings the cross up from the depths of Spring Bayou every January.
It's a tradition more than one hundred years old in the small Greek community.
More than 50 young men dove into the water Monday, hoping to be the one to find the cross. When it finally came to the surface, it was in the hand of 18-year-old Hunter Sakadales, a Tarpon Springs native who has attended the Epiphany celebration throughout his childhood.
"Since birth, since I've lived here, all 18 years of my life," said Sakadales, stunned that he was the one to find the cross. "To be on the other end of this now, it's completely unreal.
"It's, I'm sorry…"
Monday was the 114th Epiphany celebration for the Tarpon Springs community. The event commemorates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.
With Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the prime minister of Greece, attending the celebration in person, there was an added sense of importance to this year's event.
"This is a national, international event and it’s the beginning of our second decade of the 2000s so, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event," said Steven Kefalianos. "It’s a unique event in the United States of America, both religious, political and spiritual."
Dino Balos drove up from Sarasota to watch his son dive for the cross.
"My son dove last year and it’s just an amazing experience. It’s something that, once the boys do it, they can’t wait to do it again the next year," said Balos. "There’s something that drives them. It’s the faith, the love of the church, and they’re ready and it’s really exciting.
"The camaraderie, the fellowship among the kids, it’s really neat."
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