[Kolokotronis]

"If you ever go to an Orthodox memorial service for the departed (not at a funeral, though, usually), you will often be offered a small cup or dish of koliva -- it is very tasty!"

When I was little, we'd hear that some Mrs. K.... died and all say "Goody, we get to eat koliva!" We were awful little pagans, but I still love the stuff, especially when its made with pomegranate!

[Agrarian]

Yes! That is what makes Mediterranean koliva a cut above the Russian (which is still very tasty in its own way) -- those yummy bits of pomegranate!

The sisters at the Serbian women's monastery down in AZ raise pomegranates, and recently sent me a little jar of pomegranate jelly. Ambrosia!

They also are one of the few monasteries that keeps the tradition of the "unsleeping Psalter." There is never a break in prayer in the chapel -- between the usual services of the monastic cycle, the Psalter is read continuously around the clock by the sisters working in shifts, with petitions for the living and prayers for the departed that have been sent to them being prayed in between the sections of the Psalter.

I have an idea that the unceasing prayer probably made the jelly taste even better...