This week's prosphora bread for the liturgy. The dough came out beautifully, it broke easily, and I made the roast in my mother's old pan. I hope that they will be able to come to church on Sundays.

Saint Nektarios is being commemorated with special services across several jurisdictions today. In the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia described the saint as a bright example for clergy and laity alike. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria published a detailed account of who Saint Nektarios was, highlighting his life as metropolitan of Pentapolis and his later years on Aegina. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople noted the feast of Agios Nektarios, bishop of Pentapolis, in its calendar and readings for November 9. Meanwhile, the Romanian Orthodox Church held a spiritual gathering at Dorobăntia Parish in Craiova, where the day of Saint Nectarius of Aegina brought evident joy to the faithful gathered there. These quiet observances show how one saint’s memory still shapes parish life in different corners of the Orthodox world. What commemorations for Saint Nektarios took place in your own parish this year?

Bulgarian monasteries drew crowds for the feast of the Archangels with hierarchical liturgies and pilgrimages. In the Shiyakovski Monastery of St. Archangel Michael, Metropolitan Gregory led the Divine Liturgy while faithful from Sofia made their way to the capital’s Cathedral of Saint Nedelya for an organized pilgrimage. The same spirit appeared in the Antiochian Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Qab Elias, where Metropolitan Saba presided at Sunday Mass for the Archangels and elevated a priest to archimandrite. Across the ocean, the Macedonian Orthodox Church saw Metropolitan Nikola serve in the monastery of St. Prohor Pcinjski in Donnybrook and later at St. Demetrius of Salonica in Springvale, both tied to the same feast. These quiet gatherings keep the old calendar rhythm alive in very different corners of the world. The modest numbers and steady turnout suggest people still seek the same things their grandparents did.

Yesterday after work, I went past the church. It was warm and still light. I stopped for a moment at the gate, listened to how they were singing Vespers. Tonight we will bake a cake with my husband, so we have something sweet when we go to the liturgy in honor of Saint Nektarios.