27th August - Fanouropita

🤍 FANOUROPITA — A BEAUTIFUL GREEK TRADITION 🤍

Today, 27 August, we celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Phanourios.

In Greek Orthodox tradition, Fanouropita is made in honour of Saint Phanourios and shared with family, friends and neighbours. It is a beautiful tradition of faith, prayer, gratitude and love — passed down through generations. 🇬🇷🕯️

If you’d like to make your own Fanouropita today, here is a simple recipe:

🍊 FANOUROPITA

Ingredients

• 2½ cups plain flour

• 2½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 cup sugar

• ¾ cup olive oil

• 1¼ cups fresh orange juice

• ½ cup raisins

• ½ cup chopped walnuts

• Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and line a 25cm round cake tin.

2. Mix the flour, baking powder and cinnamon.

3. In another bowl, combine the sugar, olive oil and orange juice.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

5. Fold in the raisins and walnuts.

6. Pour into the tin and bake for 45–55 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

7. Allow to cool completely and dust generously with icing sugar.

8. Traditionally, a cross can be placed on top before dusting.

Made with faith, love and tradition, and shared with those we love. 🤍

Saint Phanourios, pray for us. 🕯️

The “Snakes of the Virgin Mary”

The “Snakes of the Virgin Mary”: Kefalonia’s Mysterious Phenomenon Draws Thousands of Visitors

Every August, the Greek island of Kefalonia becomes a destination for thousands of pilgrims and visitors eager to witness one of the Ionian island’s most unusual traditions: the appearance of the so-called “Snakes of the Virgin Mary.”

The small reptiles appear around August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, and remain around the Church of Panagia Lagouvarda in Markopoulo until August 15, the Feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary.

A RARE AND UNUSUAL PHENOMENON

The snakes are identified as Telescopus fallax, commonly known as the cat snake or “holy snake.” They are considered harmless to humans and are distinguished by a dark marking on their heads that resembles a small cross.

What makes the phenomenon particularly striking is their unusually calm behavior around people. According to accounts from the area, the snakes move among pilgrims, climb onto the icon of the Virgin Mary and wooden church furnishings, and can even appear on the hands of visitors.

For those who come to the church during the August celebrations, their presence has become an extraordinary combination of religious devotion, local tradition and natural mystery.

THE LEGEND OF THE PIRATES

Local tradition connects the snakes with an old story dating back to the era of pirate raids in Kefalonia.

According to the legend, pirates once attempted to attack a monastery in the area. The nuns prayed to the Virgin Mary for protection from capture and destruction.

The story says that their prayers were answered when the Virgin Mary transformed the nuns into snakes. The reptiles then surrounded the monastery and frightened the attackers away.

Since then, their annual appearance has been regarded by local tradition as a sign of protection and blessing.

THE OMEN THAT HAS HAUNTED THE ISLAND

The tradition also carries a darker element.

According to local belief, the failure of the snakes to appear is considered a bad omen. Their absence has reportedly occurred only twice in living historical memory: in 1940, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, and in 1953, shortly before the devastating earthquakes that struck Kefalonia.

For this reason, many locals and pilgrims closely follow the annual appearance of the snakes, attaching a powerful symbolic meaning to their return.

A MYSTERY THAT CONTINUES

The phenomenon has become an important part of Kefalonia’s religious tourism, attracting not only local residents and Greek pilgrims but also visitors from abroad, alongside journalists and researchers interested in the unusual tradition.

While the snakes themselves belong to a scientifically identified species, their behavior and the deep-rooted traditions surrounding their appearance continue to fascinate visitors.

Every August, the “Snakes of the Virgin Mary” return to the heart of Kefalonia’s religious celebrations, preserving a centuries-old story where nature, faith, folklore and mystery remain inseparably connected.

The three traps

The three traps 

Three traps of the devil that you fall into every day. You will notice them yourself now.

* The first is fear of the past: mistakes, sins, grievances. 

* The second is fear of the future: what will happen tomorrow, what will people think, and what if everything collapses? 

* The third is ingratitude to God for the present. This is where despair begins: anxiety, panic, fear of acting.

How to get out?

The past: the devil brings you back to old sins and whispers: "God will not forgive you." And a person believes not in God's mercy, but in this whisper. This is no longer repentance, but disbelief. The saints simply said: if you have sinned, stop, repent, and move on. The Lord is waiting for you to rise.

The future: the devil wants you to go through terrible scenarios and get tired in advance, so that you do not pray and do not come to God. But it is said: do not worry about tomorrow. The future is not here yet, and fear is already stealing today.

The present is the most dangerous trap: we do not thank God for what we have. The past is no longer there, the future is not yet there, and the present is the only thing we have: this morning, the sky, the roof, food, life. You wake up — and you already have something to say: praise be to God.

All three traps converge in one — in despair. It diverts you from prayer, from work, from loved ones. It speaks of the past: "You can't fix anything." Of the future: "You won't succeed." And it paralyzes you now.

But we have a weapon — as the elder Anatoly of Optina taught: the Jesus Prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.

It returns you to God — not to the past or to the fear of the future, but here, to the present.Repent for the past. Trust in God for the future. For today — be thankful.

And stand up. And go on. And fear nothing.

Don’t hesitate to call upon her at every moment

“As soon as you open your mouth to call her, she hastens as a true mother. Therefore, don’t hesitate to call upon her at every moment, and you will find her an unmercenary helper and physician in your afflictions.”

 - St. Joseph the Hesychast

The sign of the cross