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Orthodox patriarch coming for Epiphany

The spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians will spend five days in Tarpon Springs next January.

By NORA KOCH
Published March 4, 2005

TARPON SPRINGS - His All Holiness Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of 250-million Orthodox Christians worldwide, will toss the cross into Spring Bayou next year, church officials say.

In this tiny culture-rich city, rumors have swirled for months that the patriarch might come for the 2006 Epiphany celebration, which will mark the centennial of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and its legendary Jan. 6 annual event.

Church officials this week confirmed that Bartholomew, the second patriarch in history to visit the Western Hemisphere, has accepted an invitation to visit Tarpon Springs. This will be the first time a patriarch has come to Florida.

"His All Holiness has basically put it on the program," said Father Alex Karloutsos, assistant to the Archbishop of America. Of course, Karloutsos said, given the guest of honor's high-ranking position, there's always a chance it might fall through.

Formally known as His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, he is considered "the first among equals" of Eastern church leaders and the spiritual shepherd of the autonomous ethnic Orthodox churches.

Earlier this year, Archbishop Demetrios, head of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, hand-delivered an invitation to the patriarch in Istanbul, which Orthodox Christians call Constantinople, their religion's traditional home.

"It's nothing that you just pick up the phone one day and call," said Tarpon Springs resident and businessman Bill Planes, head of the 10-member Tampa Bay area committee planning the visit. "It's been years in the making."

Along with Bartholomew's visit, organizers anticipate a slate of high-ranking church leaders and other dignitaries, heightened security and record crowds.

A typical Epiphany brings about 20,000 people to Tarpon Springs, with more or less depending on the day of the week and the weather. In 2006, organizers are expecting that to multiply three, maybe four times over.

Bartholomew is scheduled to land Jan. 4 via private jet at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, said Planes, a local church lay leader who is financing the trip along with Alex G. Spanos, a California businessman who owns the San Diego Chargers and is married to a woman from Tarpon Springs.

Between his arrival and scheduled Jan. 8 departure, Bartholomew will be feted with luncheons, dinners, a banquet, a concert by Greek tenor Mario Frangoulis and other festivities. Most events will center out of the Westin Innisbrook Resort, where the patriarch will stay.

On Jan. 6, the celebration of Christ's baptism in the Jordan River, the patriarch will be at the center of the full day of liturgy and processionals that builds to the moment when dozens of Greek Orthodox boys ages 16 to 18 dive into Spring Bayou to retrieve the cross. After the cross dive and the traditional Glendi party, there will be a patriarchal banquet that night at Innisbrook with about 1,200 in attendance, Planes said.

On Sunday, the patriarch will perform the divine liturgy service at St. Nicholas Cathedral, celebrating the church's 100th anniversary. After a community luncheon at the community center, the patriarch will return to Istanbul.

The visit to Tarpon Springs would be the fifth to the United States by Bartholomew, who ascended to the position in 1991, and the sixth ever by a sitting patriarch.

The first patriarchal visit to the United States was by Bartholomew's predecessor, Dimitrios, who came for 27 days in 1990. He did not speak English, and his visit garnered little attention outside of the Greek community. But Bartholomew, who speaks seven languages including English, has become more of a media figure.

Bartholomew returned to America in 1997 for a monthlong tour of 16 cities. He came again for shorter visits in 1998, 2002 and 2004.

Ten months before he will come to Tarpon Springs, the church and various other agencies are preparing for his arrival.

"Any time you have a dignitary, a head of any state, or in this case, head of a church, it is going to call for more stringent security," said Tarpon Springs police Sgt. Jeff Young. He said that as the visit draws closer, police will coordinate with other agencies to provide security.

Before the event, the city will have completed repairs to the seawall at Spring Bayou, site of the cross toss, said Mayor Beverley Billiris. Concerns over a major road project scheduled for downtown are allayed as the Florida Department of Transportation has told the church construction won't begin until after the patriarch leaves, she said.

"It's a great honor to have him visit my city," said Billiris, who was married at St. Nicholas Cathedral. "It's going to be a very, very big event."

Researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.

TITLE: His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch

AGE: 65 GIVEN NAME: Dimitrios Arhondonis

BIRTHPLACE: Island of Imvros in Turkey

ORDAINED: Aug. 13, 1961 as a Holy Diaconate, when he received the ecclesiastical name Bartholomew. He became a priest on Oct. 19, 1969, and was elected patriarch on Oct. 22, 1991.

HIS ROLE: He is the 270th successor to St. Andrew, the apostle credited as the founder of Orthodox Christianity. The patriarch is the spiritual leader of about 250-million adherents to the 14 self-governing national churches of Orthodox Christianity, which split from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054 over disputes about papal supremacy, the Nicene creed and other issues.

LANGUAGES HE SPEAKS: Greek, Turkish, Latin, French, English, Italian and German.

Source: www.patriarchate.org/

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]