Lost Icon Found After 103 Years

A religious icon that had been missing for more than 100 years has been found in Greece after it was taken from a church in Florida for restoration in 1923 and never returned.

The Byzantine-era icon was originally from the Greek island of Aegina. In 1910, it was given to St Nicholas Church in Tarpon Springs, Florida, by a group of Greek immigrants from Aegina.

The icon was damaged in a fire and was sent back to Greece for restoration in 1923. However, it remained there and was never returned to the Florida church, which later became a cathedral.

During a visit to Greece last July, Tarpon Springs Mayor John Koulianos began looking for the missing icon while working to complete a sister-city agreement between Tarpon Springs and Aegina.

Koulianos said he met the mayor of Aegina, who contacted a local priest who knew where the icon was. It was eventually found hanging inside Panagitsa Church on Aegina.

Koulianos described the icon as large, saying it is about the size of a movie poster. He also joked about how difficult it would be to carry it with him on his return to the US.

Tarpon Springs authorities are now waiting for approval from Greek Orthodox Church officials in Florida to bring the icon back to the city, more than 100 years after it was sent to Greece for restoration.