Architecture Around
the World
Saint
Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral
36
N. Pinellas Ave., Tarpon Springs, Florida
Saint Nicholas
Greek Orthodox Cathedral- Official Website
 Exterior Photos Dale Terrell, "Welcome to Saint Nicholas Cathedral" Pamphlet |
 Interior Photos - Dome and Transepts Interior Photos - Nave and Rear Wall |
Although there are Greek communities across America, Tarpon Springs has the highest concentration of people of Greek descent, with almost 1,000 families listed on the membership rolls of Saint Nicholas. The Greek language is alive and well in Tarpon Springs. Services at Saint Nicholas are held in Greek as well as English, and both languages mingle in easy conversation throughout the Tarpon Springs area.
The congregation’s first church, a frame building, was constructed in 1907 by Greek immigrants who came to Tarpon Springs in 1905. It was named for Saint Nicholas, Patron Saint of Greece and the protector of seafaring people.
When the need for a larger building arose, the sponge divers funded the new cathedral by donating a portion of each sponge harvest to St. Nicholas.
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. A statue of an epiphany diver is located in front of the church.
- Saint Nicholas Cathedral (online March 2025)
