A real one lasts like 30 times longer than that. I was once at an orthodox wedding, I almost died, so long, so so long. But they did a great job depicting almost a real thing, crowns and all.

Except saying "yes father" in Russian. Phil nailed it, Liz - oh well, let's just say, not so much

Yes! Your impression was totally correct. :) He sounded good, not 100% Russian, but so good that I was surprised. GO MR!
When I heard him say it, I was like, ok, Liz, your turn - and - of course, she bungled it. It is just too hard, those soft consonants, but Matthew somehow nailed it. Talent, through and through.

BTW, in last night's episode during P&E's wedding ceremony, Philip said "Da, batyushka" (yes, father) almost perfectly!!! It was only two words, one of which is "da" ;)
However, the other one contains an extremely difficult "soft" "T" plus "yu" combination. Which was proven immediately by Elizabeth following with the…

You have no idea how different Slavic pronunciation is.
Sometimes, when American actors "speak" Russian in tv shows/movies - the only way i can understand is reading subtitles. It is that bad.

Very true. I speak only English with my daughter, and I have an accent but I am so used to English that it is easier to express myself in English. my daughter doesn't have an accent even, so..
At work, when some clients detect a Slavic accent and they are well Russian mostly, if they want to switch to Russian, I say I…

and native speaking English skills

totally. but not necessary for this specific recipe. optional. great meal btw

Well, that's true, but Jews in Russia didn't consider themselves Russians either, no? Or Jews in Ukraine (where I am from), did not think of themselves as Ukrainians that's for sure. As any other religion, one is American AND Catholic, Iraqi AND Muslim, etc. As a Jewish person, you are only Jewish if from former USSR,…

Prop master said the whole set smelled delicious that day. so I gather it was good :)

yesss. Western standards? which ones?
so many changes - but now - cast iron skillet is all in, gluten-free is all the rage (who needs it or not at all), vegan, locally sourced, whatever your money can buy..

Ok, I see, I think. So, basically, they would IDENTIFY with and feel more comfortable around people of Christian faith, even though not really practicing it.
re: being Jewish - to me it's an enigma. I think it is more than a religion, it is so much more. Of course, some people convert (Ivanka?) but it feels false, You…

you joking? caramelized onions and mushrooms over a baked potato? divine

but what does that mean, to be culturally Christian? I know what you are saying, but I just don't know what that would mean really..
Liking certain food stuffs? or what?
I mean, in a religious sense, a behavior is restricted by rules (no shellfish, no pork, etc.)
but in a cultural sense, I don't know how it would mix…

Well, she still has 6-7 or so years to get a hang of the Russian language and make her own way… Her native speaking skills would be in a HUGE demand after CCCP goes kaput.
I was an English teacher when it happened (far from native speaker, mind you) - and that was GOLD! Only thing that kept our whole family from…

If only we could take that and combine it with this…

Good for you!!!

yeah it's like you are born with a certain "religion" whether you're into it or not. but this is so arbitrary.. random
if a baby born to Jewish parents is lost let's say and found and raised by a Catholic family and nobody ever would know that this baby can't possibly eat seafood with scales (IIRC, don't know much…

I know :)
but this is what always bothered me (as a godless commie :))
it is the same dude you worship!!! same dude with same message, same values!!
so? name your church whatever - your underlying principle is the same! no?

Drones? CCTV?