At night we sent beans with onions and carrots for the day, following the service. Add a little dried ingot and some supena lizhitsa domateno mashed potatoes - it’s a lot tasty, even malkiyat izade two cups without yes mrnka. Today we’ll stop for supper, and we’ll clean up the trail from the church.

Mr. Ivanov showed me how to properly tie the knot on the choir robe sash last week after practice. He’s 87, hands a bit shaky, but he made it look so easy and said you just do it the same way you’d tie a kid’s shoelace so it doesn’t slip during the long service. I’ve been doing it wrong for years.

Last night after my shift in the canteen I baked pies with cabbage and eggs for Sunday's altar meal. The daughter helped knead the dough, and the son already tried the filling and said that there was not enough salt. Today I’ll take it to the church, just in time for the service of the apostles. I hope it's enough for everyone.

The Orthodox Church in America has released its 2027 desk calendar, offering daily readings, saints, and liturgical notes tailored for parishes and homes across the United States. At the same time, the Romanian Orthodox Church observed the memory of the apostles Erastus, Olympas, Herodion, Sosipater, Quartus, and Tertius of the Seventy along with the venerable martyr Bessarion of Lainici, with akathists sung in many monasteries. In Poland, the Feast of the Icon of Our Lady “Joy of All Who Sorrow” drew crowds to the parish in Pabianice for prayer and veneration. The Serbian Orthodox Church marked the recent glorification of the church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in New Belgrade with festive services and thanksgiving. These quiet, steady rhythms of the church year continue in every corner. How is your own parish preparing for the coming feasts and the new liturgical year?

The Polish Orthodox Church marked the feast of the Icon of Our Lady Joy of All Who Sorrow with special services at the parish in Pabianice. At the same time the Serbian Orthodox Church celebrated the glory of the church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius in New Belgrade, where local faithful gathered for the patronal feast. In Bulgaria, Patriarch Daniel led the festive Liturgy for the temple feast of the Military Academy “Georgi S. Rakovski,” while the Romanian Orthodox Church held a bishop’s Liturgy at Clocociov Monastery to honor its saints and monastic tradition. These observances show steady parish life across borders, with each community keeping its calendar and local customs intact. The gatherings drew families, clergy, and longtime worshippers who simply came to pray together on ordinary weekdays turned holy. May the Mother of God grant quiet strength to the parishes in Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania.

The feast of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius drew crowds to Serbian parishes in New Belgrade and Vruja near Pljevlja, where clergy and faithful kept the traditional slava with liturgy, kolach, and shared meals that lasted well into the afternoon. At the same time Romanian churches across the country, including the historic parish in Soroca approaching its second century, celebrated Saint Dumitru with processions and the ordination of a new Chinese priest in Cluj to serve growing migrant communities. Macedonian Orthodox monasteries and parishes marked the day with services led by Metropolitan Nikola at Saint Prohor Pcinjski in Donibrook and the blessing of a foundation stone for a new factory that will support local families. Elsewhere the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil presided at Saint Mina in Kyustendil, while the Orthodox Church of Ukraine remembered the Seventy Apostles on November 10. These ordinary yet steady observances keep the memory of the martyr alive in very different corners of the world. May the intercession of Saint Demetrius strengthen the Serbian, Romanian, Macedonian, and Bulgarian communities in the year ahead.

There are a lot of people in the church today, everyone is standing closely together at the service, shoulder to shoulder. You can clearly see people praying together.

This week's prosphora bread for the liturgy. The dough came out beautifully, it broke easily, and I made the roast in my mother's old pan. I hope that they will be able to come to church on Sundays.

Saint Nektarios is being commemorated with special services across several jurisdictions today. In the Church of Greece, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Messinia described the saint as a bright example for clergy and laity alike. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria published a detailed account of who Saint Nektarios was, highlighting his life as metropolitan of Pentapolis and his later years on Aegina. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople noted the feast of Agios Nektarios, bishop of Pentapolis, in its calendar and readings for November 9. Meanwhile, the Romanian Orthodox Church held a spiritual gathering at Dorobăntia Parish in Craiova, where the day of Saint Nectarius of Aegina brought evident joy to the faithful gathered there. These quiet observances show how one saint’s memory still shapes parish life in different corners of the Orthodox world. What commemorations for Saint Nektarios took place in your own parish this year?

Bulgarian monasteries drew crowds for the feast of the Archangels with hierarchical liturgies and pilgrimages. In the Shiyakovski Monastery of St. Archangel Michael, Metropolitan Gregory led the Divine Liturgy while faithful from Sofia made their way to the capital’s Cathedral of Saint Nedelya for an organized pilgrimage. The same spirit appeared in the Antiochian Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Qab Elias, where Metropolitan Saba presided at Sunday Mass for the Archangels and elevated a priest to archimandrite. Across the ocean, the Macedonian Orthodox Church saw Metropolitan Nikola serve in the monastery of St. Prohor Pcinjski in Donnybrook and later at St. Demetrius of Salonica in Springvale, both tied to the same feast. These quiet gatherings keep the old calendar rhythm alive in very different corners of the world. The modest numbers and steady turnout suggest people still seek the same things their grandparents did.

Yesterday after work, I went past the church. It was warm and still light. I stopped for a moment at the gate, listened to how they were singing Vespers. Tonight we will bake a cake with my husband, so we have something sweet when we go to the liturgy in honor of Saint Nektarios.