Debut on YouTube: Patristic Nectar Kids!
The secret is out!
🌟✨Introducing a Brand New Series on PNP Kids🌟✨
I am partnering with Patristic Nectar Kids YouTube Channel to create Orthodox content with families in mind.
🧑🍳 Get ready to embark on a delicious journey into the heart of Orthodox Christian traditions! ☦️ Our newest content contributor is bringing the warmth of family feasts, time-honored recipes, and rich traditions right to your screens! 🎉👨👩👧👦 From mouthwatering dishes to festive celebrations, join us as we explore the flavors that unite generations!
👉 Be sure to follow along on YouTube and Instagram (@patristicnectarkids). I hope you’ll enjoy our first video!
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Phanouropita (or fanouropita) is a traditional Orthodox cake with a beautiful story behind it. Orthodox Christians often pray to St. Phanourios, the patron saint of lost things, when we’ve misplaced something. We ask for his intercession, and when the lost item is found, it is customary to bake phanouropita, bring it to church to be blessed by the priest, and then share it with the parish community.
This post shares a simple, meaningful honey-spiced cake recipe called “Be the Bee,” inspired by St. Paisios and designed to bring Orthodox tradition into the home through a memorable, family-centered feast day celebration.
Here you’ll find 10 fun ways to celebrate Ascension as a family in hopes that one of these ideas will spark some ideas for you as you live out the Liturgical Calendar. Perhaps they will become your annual tradition for each Ascension! These are not just activities for activities sake, of course. My hope is that these will aid you in sharing more about our faith with your children in a way that is developmentally appropriate, allows for their exploration and participation in the feast, and hopefully cultivate a rich soil in their hearts that allows the seed of Truth that stays with them all the days of their life.
Rich and creamy, Pascha cheese is a beloved centerpiece of an Orthodox Paschal table. Traditionally made from farmer’s cheese (or variations like ricotta or cottage cheese), blended with butter, eggs, sugar, and cream—and sometimes studded with decorations—this sweet dish is molded into a pyramid shape and often adorned with the letters “XB,” meaning “Christ is Risen.” This recipe takes several days (at least 2) so it is good to prepare ahead of time to ensure you have enough time to allow the cheese mixture to drain and become a solid cheese.
On this page, you’ll find a curated guide to March feast days in the Orthodox Church, with simple explanations, family-friendly ideas, book recommendations, and links to helpful Orthodox Christian resources.
Discover February Orthodox feast days with simple explanations, family activities, book recommendations, and helpful Orthodox Christian resources.
If you’re new to creating a Pascha basket, welcome! I’m glad you found this little blogpost. My hope is to share an example of a Traditional Pascha basket, which stems from the Russian tradition, and share what each item symbolizes.
The tradition of making Lazarakia—small, sweet buns shaped like Lazarus—is a beloved Greek tradition observed on Lazarus Saturday, the day before Holy Week. It commemorates the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, as described in the Gospel of John (John 11:1–44), which took place just before Christ’s Passion. These buns, also known as Lazarus Buns, are shaped to resemble Lazarus wrapped in grave clothes, with his arms crossed, just as he is depicted in icons. The eyes are typically made from cloves or chocolate chips. Made with a lightly sweet, vegan dough, Lazarakia are a Lenten fasting food, and the tradition of baking them—especially with children—has become a cherished practice not only in Greece but among Orthodox Christian communities around the world.
In this blog post, I’ll share the recipe I use, how this feast is celebrated throughout the world, tips for baking with children, the meaning behind this tradition including the story, book recommendations, additional resources and how we celebrate this meaningful day as a community.
One of my favorite parts of Holy Week preparation is dyeing red eggs which is an important tradition in the Orthodox Church. Some of the memories I carry with me each year: the warmth of the kitchen, my children’s delightful squeals as they watch the eggs turn a bright, vibrant red, and the joy we feel a we shine the eggs. Each time we make them, I am in awe of the little miracle of transforming white eggs to a bright red using onion skins. But did you know these red eggs hold meaning—they symbolize the blood of Christ, His resurrection, and the joy of new life? In this blogpost, I want to share not only how we dye our eggs using natural ingredients, but explain why this tradition means so much to me and to so many Orthodox families around the world.
Koliva a traditional wheat berry dessert made in the Eastern Orthodox Church which is served as a memorial dish at funerals, memorial services which is symbolic of the the cycle of life, death, and resurrection. Just as Jesus taught in the Gospel of John: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The wheat berries symbolize the body of the departed loved one which is planted into the ground, and lies in wait and hope of the resurrection of the dead. Recipe and video tutorial included.
For the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos, make Queen of Heaven cupcakes! A fun way to help children remember this feast is by celebrating the Theotokos' “birthday” with cupcakes! Adorned with blue frosting, the liturgical color for her feast, and add some star sprinkles or cupcake toppers. It is said that her womb was more "spacious than the heavens."