St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Tarpon Springs, Florida)

Last updated
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs hist dist St Nich Cath02.jpg
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Tarpon Springs
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church interior Tarpon n Dunedin 2013 008.jpg
St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church interior
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs hist dist St Nich Cath01.jpg
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Tarpon Springs
Plaque at the church Tarpon Springs hist dist St Nich Cath plaque01.jpg
Plaque at the church
Stained glass window at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Window St Nicholas.jpg
Stained glass window at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral is a Greek Orthodox parish and center for Greek-American life in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Its Neo-Byzantine church is located at 36 North Pinellas Avenue. [1]

Contents

St. Nicholas hosts an annual Epiphany celebration on January 6, in which Greek Orthodox boys aged 16 to 18 dive into Spring Bayou to retrieve a white wooden cross, said to bring the finder blessings for the year. It is the largest such event in the Western Hemisphere, with thousands in attendance. [1] A statue of an epiphany diver is located in front of the church. [2]

Architecture

The domed main church building, designed by the Eugene Brothers of Chicago, was completed in 1943. Modeled in part after the Hagia Sophia in what is now Istanbul, it melds Byzantine and Gothic Revival styles. [3] It is a local landmark which has been featured on postcards. [4] [5]

Noted features include 23 stained glass windows surrounding the dome depicting episodes in the life of Jesus and the saints, hand-painted by Joseph V. Llorens of Atlanta, and the 60-ton altar, made of Pentelic marble. Within the dome are three large chandeliers imported from Czechoslovakia. The altar was originally part of the Greek exhibit at the 1939 New York World's Fair. [6] It, along with the cathedra, choir stalls, and other components were obtained with help from George Frantzis. [7] A new altar of Carrara marble was installed in 1965.

The interior is richly decorated with icons, many by Greek iconographer George Saclaridis. Forty-one icons, sponsored by various members of the parish, were delivered in 1952, with more added in subsequent years. On December 4, 1969, the icon of Saint Nicholas was observed to have drops of moisture, and some consider it a Weeping Icon. [8]

History

The community traces its history to John Cocoris, a native of Leonidio in Arcadia, Greece, who settled in the area in 1896 and became a prosperous sponge diver and trader. [9] The trade attracted Greek immigrants as well as Greeks from other parts of the U.S. By 1907, the population was large enough to support a Greek Orthodox church, a project put under the supervision of Nicholas Peppas, a native of Aegina. The first church, completed that year at a cost of $300 for the land and $3,500 for construction, was a wood frame structure painted white. Rev. Stamatis Koutouzis was appointed the first parish priest. [9] The parish added a school in 1925.

By 1935, the parish had outgrown the first church and began raising funds toward current structure. Construction began in 1941 and was completed in 1943, when it was consecrated by Archbishop Athenagoras (later Patriarch) at Epiphany. [3] St. Nicholas was by then a significant center of community life, with major festivals surrounding Epiphany, Greek Independence Day and Orthodox Easter. Honoring this, in 1975, the Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners passed a resolution designating the city the "Epiphany City" of the United States. St. Nicholas was elevated to cathedral status for West Florida in January 1979. [3]

In January 2006, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church, came to St. Nicholas to preside over the Centennial Epiphany service and to throw the cross during the dive.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagia Sophia</span> Mosque and former church in Istanbul, Turkey

Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque, a former church, and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively erected on the site by the Eastern Roman Empire, it was completed in 537 AD. The site was an Chalcedonian church from 360 AD to 1054, an Orthodox church following the Great Schism of 1054, and a Catholic church following the Fourth Crusade. It was reclaimed in 1261 and remained Eastern Orthodox until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It served as a mosque until 1935, when it became a museum. In 2020, the site once again became a mosque.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarpon Springs, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine architecture</span> Architectural style

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great established a new Roman capital in Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453. There was initially no hard line between the Byzantine and Roman Empires, and early Byzantine architecture is stylistically and structurally indistinguishable from late Roman architecture. The style continued to be based on arches, vaults and domes, often on a large scale. Wall mosaics with gold backgrounds became standard for the grandest buildings, with frescos a cheaper alternative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Templon</span> Nave–altar barrier in Byzantine churches

A templon is a feature of Byzantine churches consisting of a barrier separating the nave from the sanctuary near the altar.

<i>Cathedra</i> Bishops throne in a cathedral

A cathedra is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term cathedral became synonymous with the "seat", or principal church, of a bishopric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Salvation Cathedral</span> Romanian Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest

The People's Salvation Cathedral, also known as the National Cathedral, is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral under construction in Bucharest to serve as the patriarchal cathedral of the Romanian Orthodox Church. It is located in central Bucharest on Spirea's Hill, facing the same courtyard as the Palace of Parliament which is the heaviest building in the world, the cathedral having a one-tenth of its weight and about one-fifth of its volume. Situated behind the Palace of Parliament, this will make it 50 metres taller than the Palace, and will help to make the cathedral an iconic landmark in the city. The People's Salvation Cathedral to 135 metres (443 ft) height (ground-cross), holds a dominant position in Bucharest's cityscape, being visible from all approaches to the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral</span>

The Orthodox Cathedral, also known as the Metropolitan Cathedral, is a Romanian Orthodox church in Timișoara. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishopric of Timișoara and the Metropolis of Banat. It is dedicated to the Three Holy Hierarchs, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia</span> Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria

St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and it is one of the 50 largest Christian church buildings by volume in the world. It is one of Sofia's symbols and primary tourist attractions. St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia occupies an area of 3,170 square metres (34,100 sq ft) and can hold 5,000 people inside. It is among the 10 largest Eastern Orthodox church buildings. It is the largest cathedral in the Balkans. It is believed that up until the year 2000 it was the largest finished Orthodox cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. George's Cathedral, Istanbul</span> Church in Istanbul, Turkey

The Patriarchal Cathedral Church of St. George is the principal Eastern Orthodox cathedral located in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and, as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire until 1453, and of the Ottoman Empire until 1922. Since about 1600, it has been the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople whose leader is regarded as the primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and is frequently looked upon as the spiritual leader of the 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Orthodox church architecture</span> Type of church building

Eastern Orthodox church architecture constitutes a distinct, recognizable family of styles among church architectures. These styles share a cluster of fundamental similarities, having been influenced by the common legacy of Byzantine architecture from the Eastern Roman Empire. Some of the styles have become associated with the particular traditions of one specific autocephalous Eastern Orthodox patriarchate, whereas others are more widely used within the Eastern Orthodox Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral</span> Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Ohio, United States

St. Theodosius Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox church located on Starkweather Avenue in the West Side neighborhood of Tremont in Cleveland, Ohio. Considered one of the finest examples of Russian church architecture in the United States, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. St. Theodosius was the first Eastern Orthodox parish in Cleveland and is currently under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of the Midwest of the Orthodox Church in America. The cathedral is perhaps best known for its appearance in the 1978 Best Picture-winning film, The Deer Hunter, with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep. It is also seen in the opening credits of Major League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church</span> Church in Illinois, USA

St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is a Ukrainian church located in Chicago and belonging to the St. Nicholas Eparchy for the Ukrainian Catholics. The building has an ultra-modern roof, comprising thirteen gold domes which symbolize the twelve apostles and Jesus Christ as the largest center dome.

Greek Bahamians comprise Bahamian citizens of either full or partial Greek heritage. Most residents, if not the entire Greek community, are the descendants of Greek labourers who came to the Bahamas in 1880s to develop the sponging industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikitas Loulias</span> American Greek Orthodox archbishop

Archbishop Nikitas (Lulias) of Thyateira and Great Britain is the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, elected by the Sacred and Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on 12 June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity</span> Church in New York , United States

The Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, at 319–337 East 74th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, is a Neo-Byzantine-style Greek Orthodox church. It serves as the national cathedral of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and as the episcopal seat of Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.

George Theodosios Frantzis was a Greek-American lawyer, school principal, community leader and supporter of the sponge industry in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Białystok</span> Church in Centrum District, Białystok

The Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Białystok is an historic Orthodox cathedral in Bialystok, Poland

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feodorovskaya Icon Cathedral (Saint Petersburg)</span> Church in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Feodorovskaya Icon Cathedral — an Orthodox church in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It belongs to the Central Deanery of the St. Petersburg Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church. The cathedral was built in Commemoration of the Romanov Tercentenary.

References

  1. 1 2 Stewart, Ayana (January 5, 2016), "Tarpon Springs gets ready for Epiphany", Tampa Bay Times
  2. ↑ "Epiphany, Tarpon Springs", Local Legacies, Library of Congress, retrieved April 27, 2018
  3. 1 2 3 "A New Era", Parish History, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, retrieved April 27, 2018
  4. ↑ "St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church – Tarpon Springs, Florida", Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida, retrieved April 27, 2018
  5. ↑ "WhatWasThere | Explore Photos".
  6. ↑ Tarpon Springs: Sponge Capital of America, Florida History Internet Center
  7. ↑ History of Epiphany Celebration
  8. ↑ Spiritual Florida; A Guide to retreat centers page 56
  9. 1 2 "The Beginning", Parish History, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, retrieved April 27, 2018

28°08′50″N82°45′24″W / 28.1472°N 82.7567°W / 28.1472; -82.7567

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.