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Epiphany Celebration Set For Sunday

Tribune file photo

Michael Xipolitas, 18, of Tarpon Springs, looks at the cross tossed by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios that he retrieved in Spring Bayou during the 101st Epiphany Celebration in Tarpon Springs in 2007

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By CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 5, 2008

Updated: 01/05/2008 10:13 am

TARPON SPRINGS - About 25,000 people are expected to converge on this north Pinellas County municipality Sunday for the 102nd Epiphany celebration.

Large crowds and heavy foot traffic are expected around St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 36 North Pinellas Avenue, and Spring Bayou in Craig Park, police said. Detours, road closures and traffic congestion should be expected from 9 a.m. through 2 p.m.

Epiphany Day is celebrated each Jan. 6 to mark Jesus Christ's baptism. Also known as the Feast of Lights, it's one of three big holy days in the Greek Orthodox religion, along with Christmas and Easter.

Tarpon Springs, founded by Greek sponge divers more than a century ago, has one of the nation's most elaborate Epiphany Day ceremonies. The daylong festivities recognize the community's roots; about 30 percent of Tarpon Springs' population is of Greek heritage.

A procession will leave St. Nicholas about 12:15 p.m. and travel from the church east on Orange Street, south on Ring Avenue, west on Tarpon Avenue to the bayou.

During the blessing of the bayou, a dove will be released to commemorate the biblical reference to the Holy Spirit coming to Jesus in that form. The blessing is followed by the cross dive, a Greek Orthodox ritual set for 1 p.m. Boys ages 16-18 try to retrieve a wooden cross tossed into the water. Some 60 young men will dive from dinghies into the bayou.

Last year, Michael Nikitas Xipolitas retrieved the cross. Tradition says the boy who does will be blessed for the year.

After the cross-throwing, a festival with Greek musicians, dancing and food -- known as the Glendi -- will be held at the Sponge Docks from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at cmoncada@tampatrib.com or (727) 451-2333.

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