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-found
Among those arriving Wednesday was Maria Chanioti, 66. She has attended services dedicated to the patron saint of lost-and-found since her youth.
