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100th Epiphany Day Event Will Be Global Celebration
TBO.com News ^ | Jan 3, 2006 | DAVID SOMMER

Posted on 01/05/2006 3:20:08 PM PST by DocRock

CLEARWATER - For its 100th anniversary, the Tarpon Springs annual Epiphany Day celebration is going international.

And it's doing so in a big way.

His All Holiness Bartholomew, the ecumenical patriarch of all Eastern Orthodox churches, will travel from Istanbul, Turkey. High-ranking Orthodox clergy from around the world are expected to attend, as well as ambassadors to the United States from Greece, Turkey, Russia and Cyprus, representatives of the U.S. Senate and House and, possibly, the White House, said Bill Planes, chairman of the Patriarchal Centennial Visitation Committee.

And when 53 teens, most of Greek descent, dive into the waters of Spring Bayou to retrieve a cross thrown in celebration of Orthodox Epiphany, the baptism of Jesus Christ, much of the world will be watching.

The event, beginning with morning services at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, will be televised live.

"We expect to reach 177 countries, with 360 to 400 million viewers," Planes said.

Numerous changes have been made to accommodate the thousands of additional spectators expected to attend. Some are intended to allay residents' concerns about the influx of visitors, Planes said.

The Epiphany Glendi, or "happy party," which begins after the cross retrieval and runs until midnight Friday and from noon until midnight Saturday, has been moved from Craig Park to the Sponge Docks, where streets will be closed off and Greek dining and other cultural offerings will abound.

To maximize the number of people who can attend the Liturgy that precedes the diving for the cross, an open square on the north side of St. Nicholas Cathedral will be enclosed with tenting, and it, along with the community hall on the cathedral's south side, will be turned into an extension of the cathedral. That will allow about 1,000 to participate, three times the cathedral's normal capacity, Planes said.

The usual seats in the sanctuary will be reserved for the Yiayia Des, the widows and grandmothers who never miss a service, he said.

Also, there will be big-screen televisions set up at the cathedral and at Spring Bayou so the crowd waiting to see the cross divers can watch the Liturgy and those who attend the Liturgy can see the cross dive, a first for Epiphany Day.

"I think it is going to be more inclusive and less exclusive," said Planes, an archon of the Order of St. Andrew, who nonetheless acknowledged that, with just 12 years of membership at St. Nicholas, "I'm probably a baby to the community."

The Epiphany Day celebration has come a long way from the first Dive for the Cross in 1906. That was organized by a handful of sponge divers who emigrated from Greece the year before.

In the early celebrations, divers who retrieved the cross were allowed to dive again in ensuing years. That practice ended in the 1930s, after Ierotheos Athanasiou, who had retrieved the cross for three years in a row in the mid-1920s, retrieved it a fourth time.

The original crosses were made of gold, but several were lost or broken during the dive, prompting a switch to weighted wooden crosses in the 1960s.

All divers receive a special blessing, and the diver who retrieves the cross receives an additional blessing that is said to stay with him throughout the year. The cross retriever also receives a gold cross necklace and a trophy.

In 2000, an emphasis on the spiritual side of the dive was reinforced at the direction of the Rev. Tryfon Theophilopoulos, who died in 2004 after serving as dean at St. Nicholas for 30 years.

The previous year, two former cross retrievers were charged with attempted second-degree murder after a road rage incident left two Tampa men seriously injured.

Now, in addition to being Orthodox Christians in good standing, cross dive participants, ages 16 to 18, must attend church and go to confession on a regular basis and take two special seminars. The youths must apply for the honor of diving and are selected by a church committee.

Epiphany Day begins early with prayer services at St. Nicholas Cathedral. It is considered the oldest and largest such celebration in the United States and is designated as the official rite for the Western Hemisphere.

After a procession from the cathedral, a dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit is released. The dove bearer is a teenage girl selected at the Christmas Day service. The 2006 Dove Bearer is Kaliope Hatzileris.


TOPICS: History; Orthodox Christian; Religion & Culture; Worship
KEYWORDS: bartholomew; epiphany; patriarch
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For a complete schedule of events please visit www.epiphany100.com/scheduleofevents or www.patriarchalcentennialvisit.com.

Live web broadcast available at http://realserver.goarch.org/2006-patriarchal_liturgy/.

1 posted on 01/05/2006 3:20:12 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock

My wife's going to attempt to go over to Tarpon tomorrow to see it. I think she's crazy.

The regular Epiphanys are crowded enough- this one will be outrageous!

Check out the legends of the Epiphany winners. The boy that finds the cross is supposed to have a year of good luck, but statictically, their lives turn out to be more tragic than the general population.


2 posted on 01/05/2006 3:23:17 PM PST by ovrtaxt (I looked for common sense with a telescope. All I could see was the moon of Uranus.)
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To: DocRock

Thanks Doc!


3 posted on 01/05/2006 3:24:09 PM PST by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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To: DocRock
I obviously did something wrong on the links so let's try these... (sorry)

http://www.epiphany100.com/Events.aspx

www.patriarchalcentennialvisit.com/
4 posted on 01/05/2006 3:25:54 PM PST by DocRock
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To: ovrtaxt
My wife's church has tour buses picking them up every morning to avoid the hassles of individuals taking their own vehicles. Yesterday, my wife and kids met the Patriarch at the Orlando Airport and today they were at the Patriarchal Celebration for Youth. They leave early AM tomorrow and as my wife was on the board for several years at her church, she has an invitation to a dinner honoring The Patriarch before the concert tomorrow. Needless to say, she is excited, but I'm shocked at how little press this is getting.

Regards,
5 posted on 01/05/2006 3:31:16 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock


His All Holiness Bartholomew will travel from Turkey for Epiphany Day.

6 posted on 01/05/2006 3:33:21 PM PST by DocRock
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To: Kolokotronis
I couldn't help but notice your ping list on your homepage. If it is for Greek Orthodox related articles, feel free to ping them. For that matter if anyone has a ping list, feel free. I'm a little out of the loop as I just happen to have married a fabulous Greek girl about 23 years ago but I'm a Fundamental Baptist. I was just a little bothered by the lack of press on this historic event and thought somebody should post the details. My daughters should have some really good digital pics I can post in a day or two.

Regards,
7 posted on 01/05/2006 3:44:59 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock

"I'm a little out of the loop as I just happen to have married a fabulous Greek girl about 23 years ago but I'm a Fundamental Baptist."

You must be one tough nut to crack, my friend! I'll ping the list.


8 posted on 01/05/2006 4:02:04 PM PST by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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To: crazykatz; JosephW; lambo; MoJoWork_n; newberger; The_Reader_David; jb6; wildandcrazyrussian; ...

Ping!


9 posted on 01/05/2006 4:04:37 PM PST by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!)
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To: Kolokotronis
"You must be one tough nut to crack, my friend!"

*Smile*

"I'll ping the list."

Thanks,
Regards,
10 posted on 01/05/2006 4:05:27 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock; Kolokotronis

Doesn't the GOC celebrate Christmas in January? Will the Epiphany dive precede Christmas?


11 posted on 01/05/2006 4:44:24 PM PST by NYer (Discover the beauty of the Eastern Catholic Churches - freepmail me for more information.)
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To: NYer
My wife celebrated on Dec. 25th, but see my previous "out of the loop" post. Here is a good link for GOC Feast and Saint days.

http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/calendar.asp

Regards,
12 posted on 01/05/2006 4:50:29 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock

Once you get around to posting those photos, could you ping me on them? I'd love to take a look.


13 posted on 01/05/2006 5:53:18 PM PST by Serb5150 (God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart -Izaak Walton)
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To: Serb5150
"Once you get around to posting those photos, could you ping me on them? I'd love to take a look."

I'll be happy to.

Regards,
14 posted on 01/05/2006 6:27:05 PM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock

Well, at least there's some regional news coverage today. Somehow, I don't think CNN et al will grasp the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch is visiting the States is a big event.


15 posted on 01/05/2006 7:53:13 PM PST by siunevada (If we learn nothing from history, what's the point of having one? - Peggy Hill)
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To: ovrtaxt
"My wife's going to attempt to go over to Tarpon tomorrow to see it. I think she's crazy."

Here is a list of bus pick up points with times of departure for your wife's convenience.

LIST LINK

Regards,
16 posted on 01/05/2006 8:00:40 PM PST by DocRock
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To: siunevada
"Somehow, I don't think CNN et al will grasp the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch is visiting the States is a big event."

I agree. But the article states:

"We expect to reach 177 countries, with 360 to 400 million viewers,"

That is why I've tried to generate some interest here at FR. This is a big deal and nobody is covering it. I'm amazed at the lack of coverage by the press.
17 posted on 01/05/2006 8:06:21 PM PST by DocRock
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To: siunevada; Serb5150; NYer; Kolokotronis; ovrtaxt; All
I started a new thread on this with a new article in News.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1552848/posts?page=1
18 posted on 01/05/2006 8:34:06 PM PST by DocRock
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To: siunevada; Serb5150; NYer; Kolokotronis; ovrtaxt; All
It's on right now at the Live Web Cast Link
19 posted on 01/06/2006 6:43:53 AM PST by DocRock
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To: DocRock

I was up in the middle of the night and CNN had a mention of it in the screen crawler at the bottom of the screen.


20 posted on 01/06/2006 9:49:20 AM PST by siunevada (If we learn nothing from history, what's the point of having one? - Peggy Hill)
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