This morning I uploaded to our YouTube channel Episode One in a new AIC Seasonal Video series, Advent: A Season of Penitence & Preparation. Episode One is focused on the history and purpose of Advent Season; Anglican traditions of Advent; the Collects, Epistles, Gospels, Canticles, and Opening Sentences for Advent in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer for First Sunday in Advent and Second Sunday in Advent; plus music for Advent Season in The St. Chrysostom Hymnal that is not found in the venerable 1940 Hymnal.
Episode Two (of two) in the series will cover the two remaining Sundays in Advent, plus my discussion of The Great “O” Antiphons, a 12th C. office created to celebrate the last seven days in Advent, and the AIC video series, Lessons and Carols for Christmas Eve, with music and contemplation in the English style made popular by Trinity College, Cambridge, to which I have added art work from historic archives. Episode Two is currently in production, with completion anticipated in September. I hope to produce new 2018 A.D editions, with new voice responses and some new or updated illustrations, for both these series in time for Advent and Christmas.
The Advent series bring me a step closer to completing my post-retirement objective of offering viewers teaching videos and other materials on all the seasons in the Anglican Church Calendar. The final missing piece is an entirely new series, Christmas: The Nativity of Our Lord, also to be presented in two episodes. These two new series will be added, placed in Anglican Calendar order, to the Digital Library and, for the podcast versions, the Podcast Archive pages on this site.
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Observant viewers will realize that this new series on Advent does not have the customary historical art. That is because there is no single image that can effectively symbolize a season meant to prepare Christians for two different but related events: the Incarnation celebrated on Christmas Day and His promised Second Coming in judgment. I have reserved the Nativity scenes for the Christmas series. That does not mean that the episode is without historical art from both the Western and Eastern Church traditions. An example is the image at left, Christ in Majesty, a symbolic image of the Second Coming from the Codex Amiatinus, an early 8th C. edition of St. Jerome’s Vulgate Bible. Made in northeast England around 700 A.D., when the area was still under threat from Viking invaders, it has been in the collection of the Laurentian Library, Florence, Italy, since 1786 A.D. The style is Byzantine, in the spiritual-minded manner preferred everywhere before the Renaissance. The images were hand painted on vellum in tempera and gilt.
As always, I thank viewers, readers and listeners for their interest in and support for this online ministry. With your support the site, and its related bookstore, is reaching people all around the world. Just as a reminder, all royalties from AIC Bookstore Publications are contributed monthly to the AIC.
August is a special month for me and for my family. Corkie and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary early in the month with a trip to Southwest Virginia and the region from Roanoke to Charlottesville. Tomorrow will be my 76th birthday and we plan to celebrate with dinner at my favorite Richmond restaurant, The Rappahannock.
May the Lord bless you in all that you do in His Name. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!
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