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Epiphany dive is for spirit, not sport

By GEORGE CHRISTIAN PAPPAS, Times X-Team
Published January 9, 2006

	Manoli Caros
	Peter Trihas
	Full coverage

TARPON SPRINGS - His All Holiness Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church lobbed the white, wooden cross into the chilly waters of Spring Bayou. As quickly as the cross went in, a young man emerged, the cross held high in hand. He was quickly assisted up a wooden ladder, then wrapped in a towel, and eventually led to His All Holiness Bartholomew to be blessed.

Sure, only one diver could be blessed with a year's luck. This year it is Jack Vasilaros, 16, a 10th grader at Calvary Christian High School in Clearwater.

However, for many of the more than 50 teens who dived into Spring Bayou at last week's centennial Epiphany in Tarpon Springs, it was an honor just to participate.

The tradition in which boys dive into the shallow waters of Tarpon Springs' Spring Bayou to retrieve a cross was started in 1906 by Greek immigrants who settled here in 1905. Boys ages 16 to 18 are eligible to participate in the celebration, which is held each Jan. 6 to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River.

Xpress talked about participating in the cross dive with Manoli Caros, who was making his final dive, and Peter Trihas, who was diving for the first time.

"You come out of the water on the ladder feeling so refreshed, rejuvenated and spiritual," said Caros, 18, of Oldsmar. Epiphany 2006 was the third time that Caros, a freshman at Florida State University, had participated. "It's one of the few chances that a person not of the clergy gets to participate in the church service, which is cool," he said.

"I thought it was an honor to dive, but what I got from (diving) was quite an experience and the chance of a lifetime," said Peter Trihas,an 11th r who attends Palm Harbor University High School and whose brother, Minas, 18, dived for the second time.

The honor and experience were not only shared among the divers, but throughout the Greek Orthodox community and Tarpon Springs. "All the attention is a good thing," Caros said. "It's helping to show a very important date in our church and religion to the masses."

- George Christian Pappas, 14, is in the ninth grade in the Palm Harbor University High IB program.

[Last modified January 7, 2006, 10:07:02]