This week I have uploaded two new episodes in The Lives of the Saints – Second Series.   Both series are linked from the Digital Library page at the AIC’s newly-redesigned Web Site.  (use the link at the bottom of the page).  The music for the series was created for us by Richard Irwin at hymnswithoutwords.com.

Episode 3 celebrates the life of the real man who inspired the modern Santa Claus, Nicholas of Myra, whose Feast Day is December 6th.  In the episode I explain how and when the legend of Nicholas of Myra migrated from present day Turkey to Italy, then Germany and finally to England, Ireland and the United States.   The illustration is a 16th C. fresco at Ferapontov Monastery, northern Russia, possibly by the celebrated artist Dionysius, whose spiritually-minded style strongly influenced the greatest icon painter in Russia, Andrei Rublev.     Watch Episode 3                  Listen to Episode 3

Episode 4 celebrates one of the most under-appreciated saints in the Western Church’s list of saints:  Ambrose of Milan, whose Feast Day is Dec. 7th.  St. Ambrose was one of the most spiritually-minded of the early leaders of the Church in the West.  He was also a gifted writer of hymns.  The newly-published St. Chrysostom Hymnal includes ten hymns attributed to him, including my personal favorite, Come, Holy Ghost, Who Ever One, which I read in the video with the tune Lasst uns erfreuen, best known for its use with All Creatures of Our God and King, in the background.  The illustration is an 11th C. mosaic of Ambrose at the Capella Palatina, or royal palace chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily, Palermo, Sicily.   I revere Ambrose for many other reasons, primarily because, of the saints recognized in the Western Church, he was the last whose theology was not significantly different from that of his contemporary bishops in Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, the other great Sees of the early Church.  He is best known to most Western Christians as the mentor of St. Augustine of Hippo, whose fame far eclipsed that of Ambrose in later years.

Watch Episode 4                       Listen to Episode 4

My proofreader assures me that he will finish with The 1928 Book of Common Prayer – Service Book Edition later this week or early next week.  As soon as I can incorporate any changes or corrections, I will make the book available via both our Virtual Bookstores:  with CreateSpace and with Amazon.com.  Both sites will be linked from the Virtual Bookstore section at the bottom of the home page at the AIC Web Site (www.AnglicanInternetChurch.net).  I’ve asked him to proofread the Revised Edition of The Prayer Book Psalter, which I hope to make available early in January 2017 A.D.   I have continued to work on the design for the new cover for the Revised Edition, which will make the design compatible with most of our other bookstore publications.

Work continues on The Writing Prophets of the Old Testament, a companion book to a new series of Bible Study videos on the Major and Minor Prophets which will start appearing via our YouTube channel around the middle of February 2017 A.D.  The graphic offers a glimpse of the revised version of the proposed cover.   The images on the cover are, from left to right, an 11th C. mosaic of Isaiah at Neo-Moni Monastery, Chios, Greece; 18th C. icons of Jeremiah and Ezekiel at the summer chapel, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia; and a 19th C. fresco of Daniel at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy.  I have completed the text and pictures for Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, am working on the Daniel section, and have roughed out the design, text and illustrations for the twelve Minor Prophets.  There will be about 50-60 illustrations from the 11th through the 20th Century.

As always, thank you for your interest in and support for this Internet-based ministry.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name during this Advent season and the coming Nativity feast.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

The first two episodes in The Lives of the Saints – Second Series have been uploaded to our YouTube channel, with Podcast versions also available.   St. Clement of Alexandria and St. John of Damascus are both celebrated on December 4th.   Once again, the theme music was provided by Richard Irwin at http://www.hymnswithoutwords.com.

Watch Episode 1 – St. Clement of Alexandria               Listen to the Podcast version

Watch Episode 2 – St. John of Damascus.            Listen to the Podcast version

During the week of December 5th, I will release the two remaining December installments in the same series, honoring St. Nicholas of Myra and St. Ambrose of Milan.

In other news, I’ve almost completed a major upgrade of The Prayer Book Psalter: History, Text and Commentary.  The book will have a new cover that looks more like the covers of our other publications, a revised interior design, a revised Commentary section for each Psalm, with built-in cross references to other AIC Bookstore publications with similar or related content.   The front cover illustration is a stained glass window at the Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, Dinant, Belgium.  Image copyright Jorisvo/Dreamstime.com.   The back cover (not shown) includes a stained glass window based on Psalm 23 at Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel, Brooklyn, NY, dating to about 1911 A.D.

Other books undergoing editing for revised editions is Christian Spirituality: An Anglican Perspective, which is getting a revised Part Five that reflects the dramatic changes made to the AIC Web Site in September.  There are a couple of minor changes but the page count and the cover remain the same.

Thanks so much for your continued support and interest.  I’m getting a significant increase in friend requests on Facebook, probably as a result of our ad campaign on Amazon.com.

 

I am in the early stages of preparing a new Bible Study video series and Companion Book on The Writing Prophets of the Old Testament.   Both the book and the video series are bing developed from the Bible Study series I prepared for my former parish in 2008 and 2009 A.D. as part of the Catechetical instruction program.   The subject is the sixteen Major and Minor Prophets who wrote 17 books included in the canonical Old Testament, plus a small selection of Deutero-canonical books (or Second Canon books commonly called the Old Testament Apocrypha), including the Song of the Three Children, the story of Suzanna, and the tale of Bel and the Dragon.  These were included in the Septuagint version of Daniel and are often called Additions to Daniel.

The preliminary design for the front cover uses the white letters on black background we have used on several previous works.  The illustrations on the cover represent the four Major Prophets, from the left, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel.  The Isaiah graphic is from the 11th C.mosaic of Isaiah’s Immanuel Prophecy at Neo-moni Monastery, Chios, Greece.  The icons of Ezekiel (left center) and Jeremiah (right center) are Russian Orthodox icons made in the 18th C. for the elaborate iconostasis at Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia.  The image of Daniel is an early 19th C. mosaic from the exterior upper walls at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall, Rome (© Can Stock Photo, Inc./alessandro0770).

The Companion Book will be produced first, followed shortly thereafter by the first of several episodes focused on Isaiah.  So that viewers of the Bible Study video series can enjoy the high-resolution images used in the online version in much smaller sizes, the printed book will include all the images from the series.   These are from the artistic and religious traditions of both the Western and Eastern Church, plus, when available and appropriate, a selection of photographs of churches which honor the memory of the individual authors.  Most of these images are rarely seen in the Western Church, although some may be familiar, especially the mosaic of Isaiah. The Companion Book includes discussion of the history of each of the 17 books, its author, the traditional date credited for each book, and the major themes, with a selection of quotations illustrating the themes.   These themes are explored is much greater detail in the video series.

Meanwhile, I have received proof copies of The 1928 Book of Common Prayer – Service Book Edition and am looking for volunteers to help with the proof-reading.  If you are interested, please send me an email at frron.stjohnanglican@earthlink.net or call me (804) 559-2690, best times M-F 9 AM to 4 PM.  I do have a deadline of late November.

I have also completed the recordings of Episode Five (William Laud – Jan. 10) and Episode Six (Gregory of Nyssa – Jan. 10) in The Lives of the Saints – Second Series.  These two episodes will be uploaded on or before January 10th.  I recognize that some Anglican jurisdictions celebrate Gregory of Nyssa on other dates.

I close with a prayer for the U.S. Presidential election next week.  It was adapted from the Prayer for Guidance (Family Prayers, p. 595) and the Second Collect (Prayers and Thanksgivings, p.49):

O GOD, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly; Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, most especially in the choices facing thy people in the upcoming Presidential election in these United States, the grace to ask what thou wouldst have us to do, that the Spirit of Wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble.  Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers, and dispose the way of thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious and ready help; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

As always, thank you for your interest in and support of the Internet ministry of The Anglican Internet Church.

I have completed and sent to our printer the proofs for the newest AIC Bookstore publication, The 1928 Book of Common Prayer – Service Book Edition.  The book represents the first modern realization of the potential of a true book of common prayer for use in parishes and in private devotions – as it has been used in the United States.   Provided there are no unexpected delays, the book will be available in time for Advent season.  The finished version will have 298 pages, plus color covers.  The retail price will be $15.00.  This is considerably less than the hardcover versions, enabling new parishes and church plants to be able to afford new books.  And, if my own experience in running a parish is any example, make them easy to replace should any be “lost” or stolen!

Using texts I prepared in my former parish, I have completely reset into Adobe Caslon Pro every word and every rubric (including the little paragraph symbols) from the old Oxford University Press edition for Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Holy Communion, plus the Litany and Penitential Office for Ash Wednesday; plus the full text of the Psalter, plus the Prayers and Thanksgivings and Family Prayers.  These are the eight parts of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer which people and clergy actually use in parish worship and for devotions at home. To make this edition interchangeable with existing personal prayer books and any pew editions already in place, all the parts have the same page numbers used in the hardcover editions  and, as noted, all the familiar Anglican-style rubrics.

Other improvements are a slightly larger page size (5.5″ x 8.5″), which makes possible larger type throughout (including for the rubrics).  Other new features are a text for the Imposition of Ashes (p. 63); the words of the Agnus Dei (page 82); and a small glyph at the end of each Psalm to help those who read the services in the parishes from leaving out verses continued on other pages (a fairly common problem everywhere); and, as an Appendix to the Psalter, the KJV text of Psalm 23, which many people find more familiar than the B.C.P. version (page 526).  Since it is placed at the end of the Psalter, any parish not wishing to use it can just ignore it.

I included the Family Prayers (pages 587-600) for ease of use in any parish in which birthdays, anniversaries and other events are routinely acknowledged during the course of a service.  As a help — and additional encouragement for the chanting/singing the Canticles — all the Canticles in Morning and Evening Prayer include Chant notations for breath [|], pause [•] and syllable or word emphasis.   These notations can either be used or just ignored (but, if used, the reader would not need a Hymnal or have memorized the Chant notations.

Further on The Lives of the Saints – Second Series:

I have completed the production and recording of Episodes 1 through 4 in The Lives of the Saints – Second Series.   These are the four celebrations in the month of December (Clement of Alexandria; John of Damascus; Nicholas of Myra; and Ambrose of Milan).  These will be uploaded for public viewing beginning December 4th.

I have also completed the text and slides for the first two episodes for January A.D. 2017 (William Laud and Gregory of Nyssa).  Richard Irwin (www.hymnswithoutwords.com) has once again granted permission to use his music, both as opening and closing themes and also within certain episodes.  The latter is important because both St. John of Damascus (Dec. 4) and St. Ambrose of Milan (Dec. 7) composed notable music which is still used in Anglican worship (and also included in The St. Chrysostom Hymnal).   Throughout the series, the words of the saints themselves will be read (whenever possible and appropriate).

As always, thanks for your support for and interest in the Anglican Internet Church’s online ministry.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name!  Glory be to God for all things!  Amen!

The final episode in the Anglican Internet Church’s video series, The Nicene Creed is now available.  Episode 8 is focused on the second half of the Creed’s final paragraph, from “who spake by the prophets” through the closing “Amen.”   Continue reading “The Nicene Creed – Episode Eight” →

I was born seventy-four years ago to a middle class family in a small Virginia town with a long history of traditional values.  I was blessed with two living grandparents nearby and some education-oriented cousins who kept in touch.  Both my grandmother and my cousin encouraged me to read and to learn to think for myself.  I had good friends and we watched out for each other.  I’ll be seeing some of them this weekend for the reunion of my high school class of 1960. Continue reading “A Fortunate One” →