Highlight from Spring Bayou: Teen emerges from waters with cross

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. – Perched on the edge of a ring boats, 74 young men took the familiar plunge Monday afternoon at Spring Bayou during the highlight of the Epiphany celebration.

And then at 12:41 p.m., 18-year-old Athos Karistinos of Tarpon Springs, thrust his arm into the air, holding the coveted cross.  

As is tradition with the Epiphany celebration in Tarpon Springs, now in its 120^th year and the largest one in the Western Hemisphere, the victorious youth was hoisted into the air by his fellow divers and carried back to St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

A yearlong of blessing is said to come for the young man who recovers the cross. 

Karistinos is the second member of his family to retrieve the cross. His father, Anestis Karistinos, retrieved the cross in 1991.

Epiphany is celebrated worldwide, but the famous celebration in Tarpon Springs is the largest outside of Greece.

The unique festival sees 20,000 people descend on the area.

With the cross throw complete, the community will continue the celebration into the evening with the Glendi (festival) at the Spanos-Pappas Community Center (348 N Pinellas Ave) with food, drink, live music, and dancing.