Today’s celebration of the feast of the Protection of the Theotokos was unusual, in that Vladika Lazar spoke briefly at various parts of the liturgy to explain what was happening in simple theological terms. This made the service longer than usual, and we had prayers for travel and a memorial litany as well. I was pleased to see so many people in church with a number of new people showing up. The Georgian Liturgy ended shortly before ours, but we all met in the hall for the Agape meal. The serving table was covered with the usual assortment of food but also with many Georgian dishes. Finding a place to sit was a problem, so some people even ate outside, while others were “hanging from the chandeliers” as it is expressed in a common saying. We had half a dozen Turkish speaking people present, with all but two being Orthodox and one of them ready to be baptized. As well we had some Russian Orthodox Old Believers present with whom I had a most interesting conversation. Among them were two sisters who were born in Turkey and now living in the United States. Father Moses, being very interested in the Old Believers, joined us when we went outdoors to have our photograph taken. Much of the afternoon was taken up in theological, literary, and philosophical discussions and those of us who later remained were treated to a quickly prepared supper of Byelorussian potato patties served with sour cream and apple sauce. It is now late in the evening and I am reliving the events of the day. As I know little about computers, I was surprised to see how many readers there are of the Daily Diary and how faithfully some register their “likes”. I mentioned a few people by name before, but now I must thank all the rest of you for bothering to read my “ramblings”. God bless you all, and a good night as well!