My second day was, in many respects, even fuller than the first. Again, I will have to split some things off into separate posts to do them justice.
My morning began early with a brisk walk up to the “Russian Church” (which is a stone’s throw from the Patriarchal Cathedral). A new friend was supposed to meet me there and provide introductions to the priests; but, they had something work-related come up such that they could not make it. So, we did a mix of in-person (me) and remote (them) introductions and I was allowed to attend the liturgy and partake of the Eucharist. Love their music tradition and they are not afraid of the bass…
Being Saturday of Bright Week, it was a bit more than a normal service. Towards the end, everyone filed out and we processed around the church where various blessings and such were performed. The lead priest for the service (Father Seraphim?) was quite enthusiastic about blessing the crowd with Holy Water on a slightly rainy morning, evoking a good bit of good-natured laughter.
Once that was over, I walked over to the Presidential Residence where I met the lady who was to give me my first Bulgarian cooking lesson. It was much more than that, with a tour and history lesson thrown into the mix. We shopped at both the Central Market and then the outdoor farmer’s market, went back to her apartment and cooked up quite the meal. Much more soon, including links to her info.
More on this soon, but I have to get to the Patriarchal Cathedral for this morning’s service. Once that is done, I have to finish my midterm exam for the seminary course, and then I may just rest up a bit. I’ve been putting in a lot of miles walking, along with a lot of doing. It has been amazing, fun, and something very positive that I can’t fully describe. Thank you all so very much for helping make this happen.
If you would like to help me with this trip, seminary courses, and more, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. I’ve added Cash App ($CliffPow7) and Venmo (@Clifford-Powers-5). There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. Getting hit by lightning is not fun! It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.