Ask Margaret
by Margaret Word Burnside
The bronze statue that you admired on the grounds of the
historic St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 36 North
Pinellas Avenue in Tarpon Springs was commissioned by the
church and created by artist Mitch Kolbe.
Kolbe, who recently relocated to the Asheville area of North
Carolina, worked in studios in Tarpon Springs and later Palm
Harbor in the Tampa Bay area for nearly 30 years. He created
the statue, “The Epiphany Cross Diver,” while working in Innis
Manor, the former Tarpon Springs home of the late revered
artist George Innis. The statue took three months to sculpt and
an additional six months to cast.
Kolbe’s statue, which was installed in the courtyard of the
church in December, 1993, and unveiled to celebrate Epiphany
Day in January, 1994, depicts a proud young man who is holding
up the coveted Epiphany Cross he has just competed with his
peers to retrieve as part of the Epiphany Day pageantry.
Epiphany Day is an important Greek Orthodox religious
holiday, which is observed on January 6th of each year to
commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ in the River Jordan,
when the Holy Spirit is said to have descended as a dove.
Tarpon Springs’ three-day Epiphany celebration is considered
to be the most elaborate and best known one in our country,
and is attended by congregants from near and far. At midday,
following a Liturgy at the Cathedral, the highest ranking Greek
Orthodox priest or archbishop who is available, traditionally
leads a procession of church leaders, believers and onlookers
from the church to the nearby Spring Bayou, the site of the early
spongers’ first settlement in Tarpon Springs. At Spring Bayou,
the religious leader releases a dove brought from the church by
a designated young girl (the dove bearer) before performing a
blessing upon the water.
An extremely popular part of the annual Epiphany activities
takes place when the religious leader throws the Epiphany cross
into the spring’s chilly water. Local young Greek Orthodox
men between the ages of 16 and 18 then dive in to participate
in an often rough underwater struggle to retrieve the cross. The
young man who outmaneuvers his rivals, then bursts out of
the water, holding his trophy cross high above his head for all
to admire. His coveted rewards are a special blessing by the
religious leader, a year of good luck and of course, status as a
local hero.
140 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
Epiphany also includes a blessing of the area’s fleet of
boats, which at one time provided the town’s main source of
employment and revenue through the sponges and fish that
were caught. In addition, dining, dancing and partying are part
of Epiphany’s Glendi, which is the Greek word for festivities.
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, or St. Nicholas Greek
Orthodox Cathedral as it was designated in 1975, serves as the
main center of Greek-American spiritual, as well as social life
and activities within Tarpon Springs and the Tampa Bay area.
Its namesake, Saint Nicholas, is the patron saint of mariners,
children and a myriad of other groups.
The new church was erected under the watchful eyes of The
Reverend Father Theophilos Karaphillis with funds provided
by the spongers and raised during various community events.
The new cathedral was built out of 60 tons of marble from
Mount Penteli, near Athens, Greece, which was donated to
St. Nicholas’ congregants by the Greek government after it
had been used at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. The
church’s impressive Byzantine influences are evidenced by its
icons, stained glass, sculptured marble and overall architecture.
An additional, older statue depicting Saint Nicholas located
within the church’s interior, brought notoriety and crowds
of visitors in 1989, when drops of moisture resembling Saint
Nicholas’ tears were reportedly seen around its cheeks and halo.
What can you tell me about the statue
in front of the large Greek church in
Tarpon Springs?\
C.K., Belleair