Coburn clan typifies family element of 104th Epiphany

For a snapshot of Epiphany 2010, look no further than the Coburn clan.

Effe Mia Coburn, 18, is this year's dove bearer. Brother Henry, 16, will be diving for the cross. Grandfather Harry Klimis, 82, was one of the early spongers who immigrated here from Greece. Mom Mary grew up in Tarpon Springs, and Dad Kyle, though a convert to the Greek Orthodox faith, lives and breathes his adopted culture. They married at St. Nicholas Cathedral, the hub of the Tarpon Springs community, and live next door to Mary's parents.

"We love this place," says Mary Coburn. "It's like living in Mayberry. I can't think of a better place to raise a family."

On Wednesday, the close-knit city of some 23,000 puts out the welcome mat for the largest Epiphany celebration in the country. Now in its 104th year, the daylong Greek Orthodox event commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan with a mix of faith, food and fun.

Last year's festival drew about 11,000 visitors, about half the size of the crowds drawn when the event falls on a weekend. If the weather cooperates, organizers expect about the same this year.

The celebration includes a visit by Archbishop Demetrios, primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, a parade procession of clergy, Greek dance groups, schoolchildren and choir members, the dive into the Spring Bayou by teenage boys for the cross and a rollicking Greek festival featuring dance and music.

Mary Coburn, a former assistant state attorney who has a law practice in Tarpon Springs, always looks forward to the celebration. But this week's festival promises to be the most memorable so far.

Her daughter, a freshman at St. Petersburg College, was selected as the dove bearer, an honor given annually to a young Orthodox Christian woman who has shown a dedication to her church and choir. After the archbishop finishes the invocation at the bayou, Effe - in a choir robe with a white smock over it - will release a white dove symbolizing the Holy Spirit.

Then the cleric will cast a specially made cross into the chilly bayou water, and Henry, a sophomore at Tarpon Springs High School, will be among 71 teens diving in for the honor of retrieving it. The winner will kneel with the cross before the archbishop for a blessing.

"Epiphany is always an emotional time for me," Mary says. "But I didn't realize how much this would affect me, having both our children so involved. This is something they will both remember the rest of their lives."

Effe, a 2009 graduate of Tarpon Springs High, grew up dreaming about one day being the dove bearer. She started singing in the cathedral's junior choir at 8, and now performs with the main group.

Unlike many of her peers, who drift away from their church when they go to college, Effe remains committed.

"It's very important to me," she says. "It's given me strength and foundation at a time in my life when I need it most. I love that it never changes, and what I'm practicing now is something that my ancestors practiced hundreds of years ago. It's comforting to know that."

In recent years, organizers have put the emphasis back on the faith element of the event. For example, the divers - who must be Greek males ages 16 to 18 who are members of a Greek Orthodox church - are required to participate in a class that teaches the spiritual aspects of the celebration. They're also strongly urged to attend Sunday school for at least a month and write a faith-based essay.

"We want them to understand that Epiphany is first a religious function, not an athletic one," says Emmanuel Gombos, an assistant principal at Tarpon Springs High and an instructor for the religious training. "We want them to be ambassadors for their faith."

His sister, Mary Angeliadis, a science teacher at Paul R. Smith Middle School in Holiday and an adjunct professor at St. Pete College, helped developed the curricula for the faith course. It's her goal that each of the divers will understand the story of St. John the Baptist, the meaning of the icon Theophany, and the Greek Orthodox Nicene Creed.

She hopes that all visitors will leave the festival with a better understanding of the Greek Orthodox faith.

"This is a fun event for all people. You don't have to be Greek to enjoy the day," she says. "But do people understand that it's connected to God? This is a significant observance in our faith life, and that should never be overshadowed."

EPIPHANY CELEBRATION: All events on Wednesday