Watch Live: Teen Boys Take Plunge During Epiphany Celebration

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — After being forced to limit attendance to Tarpon Springs' famous annual festival last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the city's 116th Epiphany celebration is back on.

Granted, due to the current surge in the omicron variant of the virus, the celebration will be more subdued Thursday. However, the public will be permitted to attend the popular dive for the Epiphany cross.

City offices have closed, so officials can join the daylong festivities that begin with a service at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 36 N. Pinellas Ave. in Tarpon Springs, followed by a procession to Spring Bayou at 11:30 a.m. led by this year's teen boys selected to dive for the cross as part of the tradition that's taken place in the city for more than 100 years.

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Lambriniadis, archbishop of America for the Green Orthodox Church, will be on hand to offer the invocation, followed by the release of a white dove, representing the Holy Spirit and hope for peace and, this year in particular, good health in the coming year.

The archbishop will then throw the white cross into the water at 1:30 p.m. as dozens of teen boys dive into the chilly waters of the bayou in the hopes of being the first to retrieve it and receive a year's worth of blessings.

The young man who retrieves the cross also becomes a member of an elite brotherhood, called on to represent the Orthodox faith.

Those selected to dive for the cross are young Orthodox Christian men between the ages of 16 and 18.

Past divers have included war veterans, doctors, lawyers and politicians. Among noteworthy past retrievers is Nikitas Lulias. He retrieved the cross in 1974 and today serves as Archbishop of Thyateria and Great Britain. For a full list of past cross retrievers, click here.

Prior to Thursday's celebration, the Pinellas County city founded by Greek immigrants who brought along their homeland's sponge-diving industry, held a Blessing of the Fleet on Wednesday during which clergy from the Greek Orthodox Church blessed the fishermen, sponge divers and their vessels.

The annual Epiphany celebration, also called the Theophany (meaning “appearance of God”), is held on Jan. 6 each year to honor the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

The first account of an Epiphany celebration is attributed to Clement of Alexandria (d. 215 A.D.). When Jesus Christ was baptized, a voice was heard from the heavens saying, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” This was the voice of God. The Holy Spirit, in the form of the dove, descended upon Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Thus, all three Persons of the Holy Trinity were revealed simultaneously to humankind for the first time.

The period between Christmas and Epiphany is called Dodecameron, or the Twelve Days. It is considered one continuous festive period and is where the term “Twelve Days of Christmas” is derived.

The most characteristic feature of the Orthodox Epiphany observance is the sanctification of the waters. The waters of the River Jordan were blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ, a source of Divine Grace and blessing.

The prayers invoked Thursday are the same blessings upon the water blessed in the cathedral and the waters of Spring Bayou. Orthodox Christians receive sanctified water at the end of Thursday morning's service and set it aside for the entire year for use as a blessing during times of illness and other personal adversities.

The day begins with Orthros and liturgy services at St. Nicholas Cathedral. Following liturgy, a procession of clergy and the faithful winds its way to Spring Bayou. Once there, the Archbishop of America blesses the waters.

The Gospel of the day is then read and a white dove released to signify the descent of the Holy Spirit. Each year, a member of the community, typically a young woman, is chosen to carry the dove in the procession.

For a full list of past dove bearers, click here.

Here's a schedule of other Epiphany events taking place:

Related stories:

• 16-Year-Old Singer/Songwriter Chosen To Be 2020 Dove Bearer
• Annual Epiphany Celebration To Be Held Minus The Spectators
• 2020 Tarpon Springs Epiphany Celebration In Photos