wfn.org | Live Epiphany 2006 Celebrations Available Today Jan 6, 2005

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0215
Web: http://www.goarch.org
Email: communications@goarch.org

For Immediate Release
January 6, 2006

Contacts:
Nikki Stephanopoulos - English Press Officer
Cell: 917-903-1255
Marissa P. Costidis  Cell: 732-522-1637
Stavros Papagermanos - Greek Press Officer
Cell: 718-415-5850

LIVE EPIPHANY 2006 CELEBRATIONS AVAILABLE TODAY ON
GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA WEBSITE

Tarpon Springs, FL - The Centennial Epiphany and Blessing of the Water 
Celebrations in Tarpon Springs, FL will be broadcast LIVE today on the 
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website at 
www.goarch.org/liturgy.  His All Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual 
leader of over 250 million Orthodox Christians, will preside over the event 
which is expected to attract thousands of Orthodox Christians and 
non-Orthodox Christians.  His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, His 
Eminence Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta and other hierarchs and local 
clergy will also participate in the services and festivities of Epiphany.

The LIVE Internet broadcast will be available WORLDWIDE from 9:30 am to 
1:30 pm ET beginning with the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy.  Immediately 
following the Patriarchal Liturgy will be the Blessing of the 
Waters.  Then, His All Holiness, hierarchs and clergy and the entire 
congregation will proceed out of the church and through the streets of 
Tarpons Springs to the Spring Bayou where thousands will have gathered for 
the diving for the Cross.  His All Holiness will throw the Cross into the 
bayou, where some 50 young men, waiting in boats, will then dive into the 
waters as they vie to be the first to capture the coveted cross and the 
promise of happiness and success in the coming year.  The Cross retriever 
will also receive a special blessing from His All Holiness and a 
prestigious trophy.

The LIVE Internet broadcast will be available so that all Orthodox 
Christians and others throughout the world can participate in this historic 
event.	This production and Internet broadcast is being made available by 
the 2006 Patriarchal Visitation Committee.  Technical services are being 
made available by Greek Orthodox Telecommunications and the Departments of 
Communications and Internet Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.

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