...but not just ANY priest. The secretary to the Vladimir Archbishop. This may be the crowning achievement of my trip (so far!)...While visiting the Nativity Monastery and Knyaginin Convent here in Vladimir, we were standing in front of a cathedral at 2:22pm when the sound of church bells rang out. Everyone looked around, but there were no bells moving in the bellfries. All of a sudden Father Innokenti (Innocent) exclaimed "Gospodi!" ("My God!") and reached into a pocket and retrieved a cellphone (in his hand in the picture) that someone had given him earlier in the day. The bells were the ringtone on the phone... He was a really nice guy, so after we were done visiting with him, I asked him where I could download that ringtone... In Russian he replied that maybe we could Bluetooth it, but he wasn't sure how to do it. He sent a nun off to get another phone, but while he and I were waiting (the others in the group had already departed-- this is why I have some spare time for a hastily pounded-out update), we worked it out. It was a great topic of conversation for Russian practice! And now I have an audio souvenir from Russia! How cool is that?
