Epiphany 2013 Photos: Pride and Tradition

A crowd of people waited for hours outside St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Sunday morning, so they could see the beginning of the annual Epiphany procession.

This year's dove bearer, Palm Harbor University High sophomore Evelyn Bilirakis, 16, and the 48 cross divers waited on the cathedral steps for the service to finish inside.

Once the service ended, the colorful procession made its way through the streets of Tarpon Springs.

It ended at Spring Bayou where the 48 cross divers were blessed before they dove into the chilly waters. The divers swam to dinghies, where they waited for a wooden cross to be thrown into the bayou.

The boy who retrieved the cross this year was Vassili Harding, 16, from Tarpon Springs. After retrieving the cross, he was blessed and then carried away on the shoulders of fellow cross divers.

Congratulations, Vassili!