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"God disclosed Himself in the sound of the Father’s Voice, the Likeness of the Dove, and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, an Incarnation born out of love. And why this demonstration? So that we might recognize and receive Him in our inner person — our hearts, and minds, and souls."
@ArchbishopElpidophoros via Instagram, January 5, 2025
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Χρόνια πολλά!
Welcome to our redesigned, reinvigorated Orthodox Observer! Today's special edition focuses on the Feast of Epiphany and St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, Florida's commemorative cross dive. Keep reading for news coverage of this year's event, archival footage of past dives, and information from the Department of Religious Education (DRE) about the feast's meaning.
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Photos: Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman. | |
119th Cross-Retriever Luc Boillot Continues Family Legacy in Tarpon Springs | |
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Brisk breezes and sunny skies greeted thousands as they descended upon the Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs, Florida the morning of January 6, 2025. Scuba divers circled the bayou, ensuring no manatees were harmed in the city’s renowned, 119th Epiphany cross dive.
A hallmark of Floridian Greek American culture, the dive commemorates the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River: after the Blessing of the Waters and the release of a dove, a cross is cast into the bayou and young men aged 16-18 dive into the waters to retrieve it. Participating in the dive is something of which Greek Orthodox boys in the area dream, and becoming a cross retriever is a “responsibility,” according to 2024 retriever John Hittos.
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Photo: Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman. | |
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As Luc Boillot, 17, emerged from the bayou yesterday with the cross held high, murmurs began to spread that the cross-retriever was the grandson of Fr. Tryfon Theophilopoulos, who served St. Nicholas Cathedral for thirty years. Indeed, Boillot’s retrieval was doubly blessed in that it was a family affair - just after emerging from the bayou, Boillot shared a tearful embrace with his uncle Jerry Theophilopoulos, who retrieved the cross forty years ago.
Read more.
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Photos: Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman. | |
What Does Epiphany Celebrate? | |
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With the great Feast of Theophany, we celebrate the rebirth of our own nature and the liberation of the created world. One day, Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. As Jesus came out of the water, a series of extraordinary events took place revealing all three persons of the Holy Trinity: God the Father with a voice from heaven; the Son as the God-Man being baptized; and the Holy Spirit in a form of a dove descending on Jesus to confirm the words of the Father.
The great Feast of Theophany is connected to the Great Blessing of the Waters, which reveals the sanctification of both the material creation and its deliverance from corruption. The Lord, with His Baptism in the waters of the Jordan, sanctifies the waters and all of nature.
Read more from the Department of Religious Education (DRE).
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Photos: GOARCH/Department of Archives. | |
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Antique Florida postcards from our archival collection depict the annual event.
In 2002, Greek Orthodox Telecommunications (GOTelecom) and NBC affiliates broadcast a documentary covering the feast of Epiphany and the observance at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
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For half a century, one Greek family has crafted the celebration's cross, which bears prayers for a year of blessings. Read here. | |
Photos: GOARCH/Department of Archives. | |
Cross-Retriever to Archbishop: Lost Archives and Archbishop Nikitas's Return to Tarpon Springs | |
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In 2023, FOX 13 discovered and restored a WTVT news film that tells the story of 1974's Epiphany celebration, when the cross-retriever was none other than His Eminence Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain. Watch here.
Last year, Archbishop Nikitas returned to his native Tarpon Springs's cross dive, reminiscing on his special Epiphany experience. Read here.
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Photos: Orthodox Observer/Brittainy Newman. | |
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A throng of young men gathered the afternoon of January 5, 2025 at the iconic Tarpon Springs sponge docks for the Blessing of the Fleet in preparation for the Epiphany cross dive, considered a rite of passage in the Tampa Bay Greek American community.
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America held an Agiasmos Service at the docks, blessing each diver, supportive family member, and curious onlooker with holy water. Read more.
The town sustained considerable damage in hurricanes that struck the region last fall, with one shop posting a notice that though their “livelihoods were challenged,” their “determination remains unshaken.” In the face of these challenges, the 119th Epiphany celebration demonstrates the community’s resilience and commitment to their Orthodox faith and Greek heritage.
Read His Eminence's remarks and homilies from his time in Florida.
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Icon: Baptism of Our Lord (Theophany, also Epiphany), Monastery of Dionysiou, Mount Athos, 16th century. | |
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