TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Excitement is building this year as the Prime Minister of Greece and Archbishop Elpidophoros of America will be attending the 114th Epiphany Celebration Monday in Tarpon Springs.
The country’s highest leadership attending the event is a hat-tip to the organizers. After all, it’s the largest epiphany celebration in the Western hemisphere. If you’re not familiar with it, the Epiphany is how Greek Orthodox celebrate the baptism of Jesus Christ.
“Still to this day it’s the best feeling of my life so far, it’s unbelievable,” Christian Chrysakis, who retrieved the cross in 2018 said, “it’s a complete out-of-body experience.”
The young man who retrieves the cross gets carried to the Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral to receive blessings. Capturing the cross also signifies a year of good luck.
“But for me, it was a year of realizing every blessing that I’ve ever received in my whole life and humbling myself and trying to understand everything,” Chrysakis said.
Male teenagers must be 16 – 18 years old to participate in the cross dive.
“It’s an awesome experience. I get to be with friends and family and we have a great time together, adding to that we get to represent the baptism of Jesus Christ and it’s just an honor,” Michael Karatzas said.
Just outside the Saint Nicholas Church in Tarpon Springs is a statue commemorating the iconic event. This year, the Epiphany Celebration is expected to draw thousands of people including the Prime Minister of Greece and the new Archbishop of America.
But a lot of preparation needs to happen before the action. At 9 a.m. Friday, the divers set up for the cross dive at the Spring Bayou.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, when the Archbishop of America arrives at Tampa International Airport, crowds will greet him with flowers; it will be his first time in the Tampa Bay area. On Sunday, they do a blessing of the fleet at the sponge docks. And Monday, the cross dive happens -- followed by a festival.
“It’s amazing being part of something so big. Yes, it’s about retrieving the cross but it’s about so much more like coming together as one and receiving the blessings together,” Karolina Karatzas mother of one of the teens cross diving this year said.
The Prime Minister of Greece and the Archbishop of America are expected to speak at a dinner Sunday night at Innisbrook Golf Resort.
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