Thursday, October 27, 2011

Aspasia’s Marrying!

Monday, 24 October

She’s the daughter of Thomai and Zisis, our downstairs neighbors, and she’s forty-something, so her parents have worried for years about her getting married. But she has found and/or been found by a wonderful young man in Constantinople, who works in the Patriarchate and is very devout and good-looking, as well. (A couple of weekends ago, I asked Pelagia and George if they knew the fiancé, and Pelagia said, “Of course. Everyone knows him. He’s a good boy.”)

The engagement ceremony is tomorrow and the wedding is to take place in Constantinople next month (a few days after we depart for Richmond). Thomai and Zisis have engaged four buses to take people from here.  More are coming by airplane, paying their own fare.  Thomai ans Zisis are going to have 200 guests, and the bridegroom is going to have 200 more.

And guess who is going to preside over both the engagement and the wedding? Patriarch Bartholomew. The Patriarch, when he was introduced to Zisis as “Aspasia’s father,” said, “Oh, Aspasia! I love Aspasia as if she were my own daughter!”

We are absolutely thrilled for them all.

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