St Phanourios Feast Day Celebrations
Feast Day August 27th
St Phanourios - There was no literature available in the church prior to discovering his little church in Rhodes so not much is known about St. Phanourios' life other than the images of his martyrdom on his icon. St Phanourios, lost for centuries in the ruins of a church, became the patron saint of things lost. He is a beloved saint known throughout the Orthodox world, and is often called upon to help the faithful in finding lost things, or helping them find things. There is a tradition that once a lost item is found, the faithful will bake a cake which should be shared with others.
In this guide you’ll find simple and easy ideas to celebrate the feast of St Phanourios with your kids - including feast day traditions, activity suggestions, book recommendations, and additional information so you can share his story so together you can grow to love him even more!
Scroll to learn more about St Phanourios and find activity and reading suggestions and more to celebrate this feast day!
First, let’s learn about the life of Saint Phanourios:
In 1500 AD, in Rhodes, Greece, an icon of St Phanourios was uncovered in the ruins of an ancient church. Tradition tells us that when the island of Rhodes fell to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, the new Muslim occupiers wished to rebuild the walls around the city. To do so, the stones from several ruined buildings near the fortress were transported and used to build and reinforce the wall. While this work was being done, a beautiful church that had been destroyed was discovered and it contained many icons. All of the icons were in a state of decay or near ruin with the exception of one, which appeared as new and as fresh as though it had been painted the day before. It was the icon of St Phanourios. At the time, he was an unknown saint, but examining the icon further, it was inscribed with the name “Phanourios” in what appeared to be fresh lettering. Drawn around the saint were twelve additional icons showing how he endured such cruel tortures, ultimately ending in his martyrdom.
Activity Ideas to Celebrate St Phanourios:
Make Phanouropita (Fanouropita)
“Phanouropita” means Phanourios cake or bread. I can’t think of a more fitting activity for the feast of St Phanourios! The faithful generally make this cake whenever the saint helps reveals a lost object, or anything else the person has sought to find, is found. You can also make it on his feast day! You can find a traditional phanouropita recipe from Mia Kouppa Blog or check out these mini phanouropita bundt cakes, perfect size and easily sharable! If you’ve never made phanouropita, it’s a very simple, vegan, citrusy batter, topped with powdered sugar. Just be sure to share it with others, and say a prayer to St Phanourios. If you are needing a gluten-free version, check out this recipe!
Check out these recipes on my blog:
Check out this recipe for a mini bundt cake version:
Phanouropita Donuts:
Watch our latest episode about baking Phanouropita Donuts with Patristic Nectar Kids YouTube:
Play “Hide and Seek” Games
A fun way to remember St Phanourios is to play some games like “Hide and Seek” or “Sardines” or have a scavenger hunt! You can also play a version of hide and seek where you hide items around the room ahead of time for the children must find them! There are so many fun ways to engage in these games. Be sure to read the story of St Phanourios who is the patron saint of lost things!
Print this icon and Hide St. Phanourios
An easy way to remember the story of the miraculous discovery of the icon of St Phanourios would be to hide the icon somewhere and send your kids to find it! Or pint it and add it to your prayer corner along with the prayer so you can sing it together during family prayers. You can download the document (page 3).
St Phanourios Stencil
Add this stencil to your St Phanourios cake this year! Each stencil is made out of quilting plastic and is 8"x8{. To make assembly of your Koliva easier, we provide three sets of handles with each order. Handwash only. Available from Draw Near Designs
Find more from this maker at www.floridoxydesigns.etsy.com
Book Recommendations :
Saint Phanourios by Potamitis Press
Check out this mini book by Potamitis Publishing which tells the story of Saint Phanourios.
Orthodox Search and Find Book by by Orthodox Design Co.
Although not specifically about St Phanourios, this can be a great activity for the his feast day! Like the beloved “I-Spy” series, but with an Orthodox twist! Not specifically for St Phanourios but a perfect pairing for his feast day if you have a copy! These rhyming riddles will be enjoyed by young and old, and the pictures contain things recognized by any Orthodox person.
For Older Kids:
3. The Lost Saint by Ancient Faith
Age Range: 10 - 14 years, this is a fictional story of a young boy named Marko who’s life changes in an instant when he spies an armada of Ottoman ships. After a battle separates him from his family, he finds help and guidance with a small group of monks. But when they stumble upon an abandoned church and a mysterious icon (of St Phanourious), Marko must conquer his own fears in order to make peace with God and to reunite with his family.
The Prayer of St. Phanourios
Master Lord Jesus Christ our God, the maker of light and source and fount of wisdom and knowledge, the cause of all that is good, the fullness of goodness and the incomprehensible sea of compassion, Who does excellent things and works wonders in His Saints, by whom Your magnificent and All-holy Name is glorified, Who reveals to us the ways of salvation by the knowledge of Your holy commandments, O Good One, and shines upon our souls with Your gladsome and un-waning light, You Whose grace is wondrous through all Your Saints, Your chosen and faithful stewards, to all those who call upon them with their whole heart, who through Your all-working power working awesome and paradoxical wonders, of which there is no number, Who through your Holy Great-martyr Phanourios the newly-revealed, revealed that which was hidden from us and reveals them speedily, Who teaches us to ask faithfully in humility, that richly You may give according to Your compassionate and all-merciful nature, Who wishes that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, Who said that “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life”. Do therefore now, all-good King and Lord of all, by this Your Holy Great-martyr Phanourios the wonderworker whom we entreat, bestow upon us who faithfully honor him, an intercessor towards You armed with Your strength, and grant to us the illumination of Your grace, make us worthy to walk in the paths of Your commandments, to come to the knowledge of Your good and complete will, reveal to us the paths of salvation, show to us the way of repentance, that pleasing You through these, Who works what is beneficial to our souls, reveal to us the treasures of Your knowledge, that to those seeking these, we who entreat You in faith, make our heart the dwelling of Your bright Holy Spirit and a receptacle of Your grace, so that with all Your Saints from the ages we may glorify You O Light-giving Lord, who in these is glorified and to You do we offer up honor and worship, together with Your beginningless Father and Your All-holy and Good and life-giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
-A Prayer to the Holy Great-martyr Phanourios by Nun Isidora
My friend Kh Alexis El Massih, who introduced St Phanourios to me, and reminds me to ask for his intercessions!
Personal reflection:
I wanted to share a short story of why St Phanourios is so dear to me, and how St Phanourios helped us find our home. Several years ago, we had moved to our current location as my husband was assigned to our parish. After several months of living here, we settled on purchasing a home nearby. It was 2020 and the market in our area was intense! We happen to live in an area that was growing rapidly so the offers that were being made on the homes we could afford were thousands and thousands over asking. We were beginning to feel discouraged as we placed offers on homes. A friend of mine reminded me about St Phanourios, how he helps people find lost things but he also helps people find things too! He’s a finder saint! I was so excited to ask for his help. I said a quick prayer, “St Phanourios, please help us find a suitable house - one that the Lord has prepared for us!” Literally the next day a home popped up on our search that wasn’t there before. It said it has been on the market for 75 days, which is not possible since we were checking every day for several months! Usually when a home has been on the market for a bit, I sort of assume it has something wrong with it. But it fit our search parameters and price range.
The next day my husband and I loaded up our kids and drove to the house to snoop a little bit. Upon driving up to the house, I said immediately “Oh my goodness, I’m going to get my heart broken again, aren’t I?” It was love at first sight. It was charming, near a park and several stores that would be considered walkable (a huge plus) and a nice sized backyard. Literally my dream house. But given the craziness in the market, I knew there was a slim chance we could actually buy this home. We called our agent and asked him to meet us at the house at his earliest convenience, and he was able to meet us within the hour. After a quick call to the selling agent, we found out there has been no offers on this home yet, and it’s been on the market for 2 days. He said after talking to the agent, this home was in escrow with another buyer but they were not able to secure a loan so it fell out of escrow and is back on the market. But because of this, we have all the inspection reports available. There is nothing major wrong with the house and the roof and AC units are only a few years old. We were astounded! We made one quick look at another house that day so we could make an informed decision. Our agent told us to wait until the next day to make an offer, since no one has put in an offer, that will allow us to make a lower than asking offer that he felt confident the sellers would accept. I slept terribly that night, so worried we were going to miss this chance!
The next morning we put in an offer and by the end of the day, we were accepted! We were THE ONLY OFFER which is absolutely crazy considering the location and the market at the time. I truly believe that St Phanourios was our assistant in helping us not only find this home, but he helped us through every step of the process. We ended up having the price lowered even more due to a few hiccups along the way, so not only did we get the house of our dreams, but it was $10,000 UNDER asking and the lowest interest rate I can even fathom because of the time of our purchase. Glory to God for all things! The Lord is wondrous in his saints!
I feel so thankful to St Phanourios and I will share his story and the special Phanouropita tradition with any one who will listen! Each year we bake phanouropita on his feast day and give thanks to God for our beautiful home. The Lord truly provides for us beyond my wildest dreams.
I’ll leave you with one of my passages in the Scriptures:
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one[a]cubit to his [b]stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not[c]arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will Henot much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.