A very interesting day was today. Fr Moses received a call relating to him that a group of Russian people from St Petersburg were in need of prayers in the big church. It turns out that they were a group of 8 people who wanted both a short memorial service and the 40 day prayers of intercession. These were for a brother who had just been killed in a car accident and his sister, who is presently in a coma in Russia. This went well and they were both pleased and relieved to have prayers in this time of great distress.
Following this, a group arrived for the installation of a new entrance door to the little kelia in which Archbishop Lazar is residing. The door is pure white, of super strong steel and quite an attractive addition. It also closes snugly, unlike the door which it replaced, and has handles for closing, rather than knobs which are difficult for people with arthritic hands to maneuver.
In the evening, Vespers was celebrated in the big church, though Archbishop Lazar was unable to attend as a result of being trapped inside his little abode while the door was being installed. As a result, Fr Moses read the service and was surprised by the appearance and attendance of the Vesper service by Kirill who came both to attend the service and to present a new bull guard to our friend Daniel, for his truck.
The remainder of the evening was more relaxed with a snack and tea then a brief visit with Andy and Daniel, before retiring to the main building. As always, there was again a chance to take some interesting photos of a variety of beautiful plants and landscapes around the monastery. With this, we end the diary entry by bidding, “Christ is Risen!” to any who choose to read this entry.
