For the first time since the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922, a Greek Orthodox Epiphany celebration took place in Izmir on January 6, 2016.

The Greek Orthodox community has received permission from the Turkish authorities to perform the Diving for the Holy Cross ceremony on the local pier.

The Orthodox community of Izmir, including about 300 Greeks, Russians, Georgians and other Orthodox ethnicities, attended the ceremony celebrated by Father Kyrillos Sykis in the church of Agia Fotini on the waterfront of Izmir, opposite the historical building of the old Greek consulate.