St. Nicholas icon could return to Florida after 100 years in Greece

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. (CBS12) — A St. Nicholas icon that left Tarpon Springs more than 100 years ago could soon return to the Florida city, according to Mayor John Koulianos.

Koulianos said in a post on Facebook earlier this month that the icon was presented to the original St. Nicholas Greek Church in 1910 by immigrants from the Greek island of Aegina.

After a fire damaged the church, the icon was sent back to Greece in 1923 in an effort to have it restored. Koulianos said he located it during a trip to Aegina in July and is now working to bring it back to Tarpon Springs.

At the same time, Tarpon Springs and Aegina are working to finalize a Sister City relationship. Aegina Mayor Ioannis Zorbas has accepted Koulianos’ invitation to attend the city’s 2027 Epiphany celebrations, where the twinning ceremony is expected to be completed.

Read more: Jupiter High students take science out of the classroom for 30-year fish study

“I believe I may have been successful in achieving both goals,” Koulianos wrote.

The effort to return the icon has the blessing of Metropolitan Sebastian and assistance from the cathedral’s parish priest, Father Aristides.