TARPON SPRINGS - Andrew McAdams III plunged into the 65-degree waters of Spring Bayou today to retrieve the cross in Tarpon Springs' 99th annual Epiphany celebration.
McAdams, 17, a Palm Harbor resident who is a junior at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, then rode the shoulders of his buddies to St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral to receive the blessing of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios.
Police expected 20,000 to come to Tarpon Springs for today's Epiphany celebration, the world's largest observance outside of Greece. It is one of the holiest days of the Greek Orthodox faith and commemorates the baptism of Christ in the Jordan River.
Epiphany is an event that is focused on the water, and this year the religious ceremonies took on a somber tone at times as organizers paused to remember the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia. During his sermon, Archbishiop Demetrios talked about how survivors of the disaster need clean drinking water after the crushing force of the wave.
"Think about the destructive factor of the water, but then think about the saving factor of the water," he said.
As always, however, the day's religious ceremonies and processions built to the dramatic cross dive into Spring Bayou shortly before 1 p.m.
As the archbishop sent the white wooden cross flashing through the air, 43 boys aged 16 to 18 dived from a semi-circle of blue-and-white boats. They churned through the murky waters of Spring Bayou, where visibility underwater was just 2 feet. After about 20 seconds, McAdams punched his arm in the air, holding the cross aloft and bringing a triumphant roar from the crowd.
Retrieving the cross is said to bring a year of blessings to the boy who gets it. This is
the second year in a row that a student from Berkeley Prep has retrieved the cross. Last year,
James Hughes of Belleair came up with the prize. Hughes and McAdams are fifth cousins, but are
nearly as close as brothers, according to their family.
For Tarpon Springs' 100th Epiphany next year, organizers hope to bring His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox faithful worldwide.
