Adolescent Initiation and Community Regeneration. Celebrating the Epiphany among Greek-Americans in Tarpon Springs, Florida
Adolescent Initiation and Community Regeneration. Celebrating the Epiphany among Greek-Americans in Tarpon Springs, Florida

Summary/Abstract: This paper is the result of fieldwork involving participant observation and interviews conducted in the Greek community of Tarpon Springs, Florida, in January 2016. In Orthodox theology, the “Epiphany” is the manifestation of Christ during His baptism in the Jordan. This event is celebrated extensively in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Here I interpret the ritual as a rite of passage for the “Epiphany divers”, a group consisting of 16–18-year-old Greek-Americans drawn from the Tampa Bay area. These adolescents retrieve the Cross cast into Spring Bayou by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop every 6 January, an event that forms the climax of the Epiphany celebration. The competitors thus perform an important ritual role and help regenerate the Greek Orthodox community of the Tampa Bay area, thereby also enhancing their personal status. The ritual also provides a framework for the divers to create collective memories that bind them together as Orthodox community members, thus helping preserve the community and transmit its traditions to future generations.

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