TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — As thousands of visitors from around the world poured into Tarpon Springs for Epiphany, it's important to recognize the history that comes with the celebration.
For the Greek community in Tarpon Springs, the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral is where life's big moments happen.
“For us, as Greeks, the Church has always been the center of our life. We are born, we’re brought to the Church as infants, we get married, we’re brought to the Church to get married, eventually, we die, we’re brought to the Church on the way to the cemetery," Reverend Father Athanasios Haros, who was appointed Dean of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Nov. 1, 2016 said. "This really is the center of our life. It’s who we are.”
Haros told ABC Action News that during the Epiphany celebration, the Greek community shares what is so central in their life.
“We’re expecting, even during the weekdays, we may get 25,000 people here for the Feast of Epiphany. But that kind of frames who we are. Our commitment is to bring God’s blessings to everyone. And so at Epiphany, our tradition is to bless water. Because water is the life source of all creation. And so as part of our celebrating, we bless the entire creation at Epiphany. That’s our gift to the people," Haros said.
Miros Petru felt that blessing in 2012, as he retrieved the cross during Epiphany.
“It still to this day is probably one of the best days of my life," Petru told ABC Action News.
Petru recalled being carried back to the cathedral after his 2012 dive.
“It’s a feeing that I can’t really put into words, as cliche as that is to say," Petru said. “Slowly my family starts pouring in, mother, grandmother, sister, father, uncles, that’s when it really started to hit me, because I was the first in my family to retrieve the cross.”
Petru's family, alongside others in Tarpon Springs, contributed to the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
The congregation's first church was constructed in 1907by Greek immigrants, and when the sponge industry flourished, divers funded the cathedral, completed in 1943.
“A lot of the original Greek sponge divers that came to Tarpon Springs, through sponge diving, selling the sponges, were able to raise the funds and part of those funds were donated towards building a church and it was named St. Nicholas, to honor St. Nicholas, because he is the patron saint of Mariners," Petru said. “The church is our heart and soul of this town.”
Haros said that during the Epiphany celebration, Tarpon Springs welcomed even more visitors than locals.
"When people go home, I would love for them to say, 'I felt peace. I felt connected to God.' There’s a lot going on for Epiphany. There’s a lot of celebration, there’s a lot of ceremony, but all of that celebration means nothing if people don’t feel the peace of God," Haros said.
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