2017 Tarpon Springs Epiphany Schedule

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — Tampa Bay area residents who want to experience an Epiphany celebration for themselves will find Tarpon Springs is the place to be Friday. The city has a packed day of events scheduled for its annual observance.

Epiphany is recognized each year on Jan. 6. The observance begins with services at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, followed by a processional to Spring Bayou. Once there, divers line up for a chance to retrieve the cross. The Epiphany celebration draws thousands of visitors to Tarpon Springs each year. Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.

“In the old country, Jesus Christ’s baptismal day was celebrated with spiritual emotion and long procession,” the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks website states. “Following tradition, the Greek community established that January the 6th of each year will be celebrated with the sanctification of the waters and the immersion of the cross in the Spring Bayou on ’Cross Day’ or ’Epiphany’.”

Each year, dozens of boys from Tarpon Springs and neighboring communities dive to retrieve the cross from the bayou’s chilly waters. The boy who retrieves the cross is said to earn a year of good luck.

The 2017 schedule of Epiphany events is as follows with the ceremony starting at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 36 N. Pinellas Ave.:

• Orthros – 8 a.m.
• Archierarchical Liturgy – 9:30 a.m.
• Greater Blessing of Waters – 11:30 a.m.
• Procession to Spring Bayou – 12:15 p.m.
• Blessing of the Bayou and Casting of the Cross – 1 p.m.

Image from the City of Tarpon Springs’ Facebook page