Churches Across Regions Mark Religious Milestones

Orthodox churches in Crete marked the start of the 2026–27 academic year with blessing services at a Byzantine music school and at schools for hagiography and mosaics. In Worcester, Greek iconographers are installing new and refurbished biblical imagery inside St. George Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral. A Byzantine-era icon of St. Nicholas, sent from Tarpon Springs, Florida, to Aegina for restoration after a 1923 fire, has been rediscovered at a church on the Greek island, and local officials hope to bring it back to Florida. Separately, a relic consisting of pieces of St. Carlo Acutis’ hair is on display at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Midland alongside materials about his life and work.