On the afternoon of Holy Wednesday, the Church celebrates the Sacrament of the Great Holy Unction, during which the anointing of Jesus by the sinful woman is read, foreshadowing His coming Crucifixion. In many parishes across the country, women take part in the service by bringing a bowl of flour with them. Three candles are placed on top of the flour and remain lit throughout the Sacrament. This flour is then used the next day to make traditional Easter cookies. In Athens, in the past, women would go from house to house collecting flour, which they kneaded without leaven, while the priest placed the Cross on the dough, causing it to rise and creating the year’s leaven.

During the Sacrament of the Great Holy Unction, the priest reads seven Gospel passages and seven prayers, blessing the oil used for the healing of spiritual and physical illnesses. At the end of the service, the priest marks the faithful with the blessed oil in the sign of the Cross on their forehead, cheeks, face, and hands. In several regions of Greece, priests go from house to house carrying the Great Holy Unction, offering blessing and healing power to the faithful.