ILION, Greece (AP) — For the careless and despairing alike, there’s a special day on the Orthodox Christian calendar to provide relief — with the help of some orange-flavored cake.Thousands of pilgrims on Wednesday night gathered at the Church of St. Fanourios, 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Athens, with their baked offerings. They were seeking solace for different forms of loss: misplaced keys, an estranged partner, courage still needed to face an ordeal, and more. Priests blessed the cakes of supplicants, who then shared them with their fellow churchgoers for the feast of St. Fanourios, which culminates on Thursday.The saint of lost-and-foundAmong those arriving Wednesday was Maria Chanioti, 66. She has attended services dedicated to the patron saint of lost-and-found since her youth. “People go to him for help with pain in their hearts. But St. Fanourios is generous. He helps people,” Chanioti said in her godparents’ kitchen a few blocks from the Church of St. Fanourios, while she beat the cake’s ingredients with a whisk.
She prepared her cake as her family always has: with fresh-squeezed orange juice and a pinch of nutmeg, in front of an icon of the saint and a simple vigil candle. Wishes conveyed to Fanourios go beyond mere custom: Each year’s petition is held in earnest and usually not shared even with loved ones.
