UPDATE: Colten Sakadales, 16, recovered the cross at the 115th Epiphany celebration. He became the second member of his family to do so. His brother recovered the cross last year.
According to religious tradition, recovering the cross bestows upon the diver a year of blessings.
ORIGINAL STORY:
TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Epiphany 2021 promises to be unlike any other.
For 115 years, crowds as large as 20,000 have turned out at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and at Spring Bayou in Tarpon Springs during the first week of January for the traditional throwing of the cross during Epiphany celebrations.
The multi-day Greek festival that celebrates Jesus' baptism is the largest of its kind in the United States.
Epiphany Schedule
- DATE: January 6th, 2021
- 8:00 AM: Archierarchial Liturgy (Seating limited in cathedral due to COVID-19)
- 11:30 AM: Procession to Spring Bayou (Clergy, dignitaries, divers only due to COVID-19)
- 1:00 PM: Blessing of Tarpon Springs (General public asked to remain home due to COVID-19)
- In Depth video above: Hunter Sakadales, 2019 Epiphany Cross Retriever
- READ PLAN BELOW: ▼ Read the plan obtained by Spectrum Bay News 9 ▼
The highlight of the event is the 55 boys ages 16 to 18 diving into Spring Bayou to retrieve the cross.
But the January 6 event will take place with some dramatic changes because of the coronavirus.
In December, church leaders, law enforcement and Tarpon Springs officials agreed a muted event would be best, despite the recent arrivals of multiple COVID-19 vaccines.
Normally, you’d see people already setting up, claiming their spots to watch the annual Epiphany cross dive, but this year, the public isn’t allowed to spectate bc of COVID. You can still see it though!! We’re carrying it live on @BN9 today! pic.twitter.com/WFDXJvRkn3
— Fallon Silcox (@FallonSilcox) January 6, 2021
That means no Blessing of the Fleet on the day before, limited seating during the morning Archierarchial Liturgy and the normally packed procession of clergy, divers and onlookers? Only clergy and the just more than 50 divers will participate. And masks will be worn and social distancing will be in place. The divers will wear masks before and after they jump into the water.
According to Spectrum Bay News 9 partner newspaper the Tampa Bay Times, The church has even said they won’t publicize the time of the cross dive and ask people to watch it online.
Two family members per diver will be allowed to view the event from a specific area but there will be no Glendi Celebration after the cross retrieval.
The throwing of the cross symbolizes the casting of the bread of truth upon the troubled world. The plunging of the young boys into Spring Bayou signifies Jesus' going into the river Jordan. (FILE Spectrum News image)
Father Athanasios Haros of St. Nicholas Cathedral said ultimately, safety was the primary concern.
"We acknowledge that this is a once in a century, so to speak, pandemic, and people need to stay safe and need to make sure they stay and keep their families from harm,” Haros said in December after a meeting between church and community officials and law enforcement. “Obviously, it's not going to be the massive crowds that we've seen in the past, but we pray that with cooperation between the sheriff's office and the city and the cathedral, we'll be able to come to a good compromise for the celebration of Tarpon Springs and pray to finally end this pandemic by God's grace."
So where does that leave this year’s Epiphany event?
“Ephipany is not going to be canceled,” Commissioner Connor Donovan said.
It will just be a much quieter cross throw and retrieval at Spring Bayou.
And let’s hope the year of good luck that goes to the boy who finds the cross in the chilly, murky waters extends to all of us in 2021.
Bay News 9 Digital Media Producer Dale Greenstein contributed to this report.