Tarpon Springs Epiphany 2025: Greek-Americans Celebrate in Florida

Tarpon Springs, Florida, celebrated Epiphany on Monday, January 6, 2025, a deeply rooted observance in the city’s Greek heritage and one of the most significant celebrations in the United States.

This celebration commemorated the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, a key event in the Orthodox Christian faith. It drew thousands of attendees, including members of the Greek Orthodox Church and visitors from around the US.

The day began with a special liturgical service at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, led by clergy and attended by congregants in ceremonial attire. After the service, a procession led to Spring Bayou, a body of water symbolizing the River Jordan. The clergy blessed the waters in a symbolic act of sanctification.

The Blessing of the Fleet was held today at the Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks ahead of Monday’s Epiphany celebration. The ceremony blesses the sponge and fishing boats, as well as local divers and businesses. pic.twitter.com/wrbVIcFI0S

— Spectrum News 13 (@MyNews13) January 5, 2025

The highlight of the event was the dive for the cross, where teenage boys from the local Greek Orthodox community dived into the bayou to retrieve the wooden cross.

Retrieving the cross is believed to have a special blessing and good fortune for the year ahead. This year 67 teens jumped into the Bayou to find the wooden cross.

Lucas Boillot was the boy who retrieved the cross

Luc (Lucas) Boillot, 17, from Plantation, Fla. won the cross in this year’s dive. It’s not his family’s first win — his uncle won 40 years ago. Boillot is also the grandson of Rev. Fr. Tryfon Theophilopoulos, who led the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral for 30 years.

On the eve of the celebration Archbishop Elpidophoros of America held an Agiasmos Service at the docks, blessing each diver with holy water.

Addressing the town, the Archbishop emphasized that the community of Tarpon Springs is “an exemplary demonstration of what it means to be Greek Orthodox in America,” preserving “the traditions that define us as a people” and living “the traditions of the Church in [their] everyday lives.”

Elpidophoros also blessed the sponge boats, restaurants, and shops lining the dock, greeting the owners with familiarity. Many of the town’s shops sustained considerable damage in hurricanes that struck the region last fall, with one posting a notice that though their “livelihoods were challenged,” their “determination remains unshaken.”

At last year’s Epiphany celebration, John Hittos from Clearwater retrieved the cross from Spring Bayou in just minutes and was carried through the streets of Tarpon Springs in triumph.

“You do feel good being up there,” Hittos recalled speaking to Tampa Bay Fox 13. “But, at the end of the day, it’s not just about you. It’s about Jesus. His baptism and the celebration for the church. You know, it’s a moment to rejoice with all your fellow divers, your brothers in Christ.”

Tarpon Springs holds the largest Epiphany celebration in the US

Known to be the largest Epiphany celebration in the Western Hemisphere, this year’s will take on an even more significant meaning, as the community counts their blessings and honors their resilience after seeing extensive damage from last year’s storms.

“Everyone lost something. It was very detrimental to the community. But being here to come together, it’ll be great,” Hittos said.

The picturesque town on the Gulf Coast 30 miles north of Tampa has the highest percentage of Greek Americans of any city in the US. According to the 2004 census, 11.8 percent of the total population were identified as Greeks, while 8.87 percent said they were speaking Greek at home.

The town in Pinellas County resembles a Greek island, with its blue and white structures, street names, the boats in the harbor, and Greek-themed shops and restaurants.

Epiphany is also known as Theophany, and both terms derive from the Greek words for “revelation” and the “revelation of God,”  ”Θεοφάνεια” (Theopháneia) in Greek.

This unique feast is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Church, and millions of people around the world participate in liturgies, masses, blessings of the waters, and many other traditional events which take place on this day.