Palm Sunday 2020 A.D.

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Collect for Palm Sunday (Sixth Sunday in Lent)

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the Cross, that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his Resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer
for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer,
based on a collect from the Gregorian Sacramentary
to which he added a closing
phrase of his own composition..

Most Christians won’t be able to properly celebrate Palm Sunday this year because of the rules restricting movement during the Coronavirus situation.  But does not mean the AIC cannot offer viewers and listeners material appropriate for the occasion.  Below are some views of how the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem has been commemorated over the centuries:

Palm_Sunday-Jesus_Enters_Jerusalem_Sicily_12thC-Alt1
Entry into Jerusalem, detail, mosaic, Palace of the Normans, Palermo, Sicily, 12th C.  Public Domain.
Christ-Entry into Jerusalem-Gospels Otto III-Clm 4453-Image 94-96dpi
Entry into Jerusalem, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Gospels of Otto III, produced at Reichenau, Germany, circa 996-1002.   Clm 4453, Image 94, Hessische Landesbibliotek, Darmstadt, Germany.   CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

 

Teach the Anglican Calendar: Part 1

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Regretably, the mistaken quest for political and social  “relevance” plagues even the most traditional denominations, including the Anglican.  While every denomination is under threat from rampant secularism, not to say deliberately destructive attack with the purpose of driving religion from the public sphere, the risk to Anglicanism is much greater, owing to its origins in liturgy-based traditions.

Modern Anglicanism are no longer taught by their clergy to understand the “why” of Archbishop Cranmer’s masterwork, the Book of Common Prayer.  I suspect that Cranmer knew in his heart that future clergy would stray into a wide variety of campaigns against real or perceived social, political or economic theory.  What he left to the Anglican world is an approach to Sunday worship which is set in a framework that was understood by 1st C. Christians as well as those in the 16th C., when the first Book of Common Prayer was used on Whitsunday, 1549 A.D.  He added Advent as the start of each new Church Year and set forth a carefully-structured form of worship that started with the prepatory and penitential purpose of Advent and transitioned into a joyful celebration of the Incarnation.  On his Calendar, Epiphany follows, offering each Sunday for up to six Sundays after Epiphany, a carefully plotted introduction, as the sub=title of the season says, examples of the Manifestations of the Christ to the Gentiles (and not, as in modern abuse of the word “epiphany” some form of sudden realization.).  For the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany the reading gives evidence of Jesus healing a leper and the Centurion’s Servant (Matthew 8:1-13).

Following Epiphany are the three “gesima” Sundays which are a means of transition and preparation for Lent, the greater of the two penitential seasons; moving on to the Crucificion on Good Friday and the Resurrection on Easter Day.  The Sundays after Easter lead to Ascension, Whitsunday/Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday.   Cranmer envisioned a church world in which Anglicans are taught the basics of the Christian faith through celebration/observation of the Gospel lessons about thematic events from First Sunday in Advent to Trinity Sunday.

This carefully structured plan leaves the clergy with the challenge of teaching doctrine during the long weeks of Trinity season and until the calendar transitions again with the Sunday Next before Advent.

He left another, even greater legacy:  a devout and inspiring set of liturgical words which have no parallel in other denominations and which are endlessly inspiring and uplifting, shedding light and hope whenever the Holy Communion liturgy is read.   In my view there is nothing as powerful as the Collect for Purity, attributed to Alcuin of York, spiritual advisor to Charlemagne, which encapsulates the essential Hebrew and Christian understanding of the nature of God and, read properly, set a devout and respectful tone for the entire Holy Communion liturgy..

ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Sadly, these inspiring words are often, at the worst, mumbled or, more often, rushed through, leaving worshipers unsufficient time to absorb or, to use one of Jesus’ favorite phrases, to abide (from the Greek meno) in the hearts of the faithful.

This conversation will be continued in coming weeks.

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Redux)

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Merry Christmas A.D. 2019

Join us for each of the twelve episodes in our Seasonal Video series: The Twelve Days of Christmas.  There is a theological word or phrase for each day, presented with many illustrations and traditional music for each day.

TwelveDays-Master Slides-2015.indd

First Day – Dec. 25th – Love (Nativity of Our Lord)
Second Day – Dec. 26th – Forgiveness (Feast of St. Stephen)
Third Day – Dec. 27th – Peace (Feast of St. John)
Fourth Day – Dec. 28th – Compassion (Feast of the Holy Innocents)
Fifth Day – Dec. 29th – Obedience
Sixth Day – Dec. 30th – Joy
Seventh Day – Dec. 31st – Family
Eighth Day – Jan. 1st – Church (Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord)
Ninth Day – Jan. 2nd – Angels
Tenth Day – Jan. 3rd – Commandments
Eleventh Day – Jan. 4th – Glorifying God
Twelfth Day – Jan. 5th – Grace & Faith (Epiphany Eve)

O Sapientia (Wisdom) – Dec. 18th

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O Antiphons-Slide5Today, December 18th, is the first of the final seven days of Advent.  The AIC Seasonal Video series, The Great “O” Antiphons, offers Scripture, commentary, the reading/responses of antiphons and music for the occasion.  The series is based on a 12th C. office in the Roman Catholic tradition.  Here you will find information and links each day until the final episode on Dec. 24th.  The text for the entire series is printed on pages 21-27 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Occasional Services for Anglican Worship, available using the Virtual Bookstore link at the bottom of the Home page.  The entire series is linked from the Digital Library page with Podcast versions from the Podcast Archive page.

The theme music for the day is On Jordan’s Bank the Baptists’ Cry, performed on his church organ by Jared Haselbarth, from his DVD (available at http://www.NABA.com).   The key phrase is O Sapientia, meaning Wisdom.  In Christian theology, Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the wisdom of the Father.

Watch “O Sapientia – Wisdom for Dec. 18th.

Listen to the Podcast version of O Sapientia.

Celebrate Advent the Anglican Way

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Advent-2018-Mini-TitleAt the AIC we teach the concept of celebrating the Church Calendar.  Each season has its own focus and now that Advent is here, Anglicans should celebrate their heritage.  Here are a couple of suggestions:

The AIC Great “O” Antiphons videos for each of the last seven days in Advent, with prayers, antiphons, illustrations and music. Program length: 10-12 min.   Podcast versions in MP3 format are linked from the Podcast Archive page.

December 18th – O Sapientia

December 19th – O Adonai

December 20th – O Radix Jesse

December 21st – O Clavis David

December 22nd – O Oriens

December 23rd – O Rex Gentium

December 24th-Emmanuel

 

 

 

 

The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated

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Gospel of John-Cover-144.jpg

Today I happily make public the status of a new book project: The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated.  The format and size will be the same or similar to that used for Revelation: an Idealist Interpretation and The Writing Prophets of the Old Testaments.    The Gospel text will be the NKJV version, printed in 14 pt type in Adobe Trajan Pro, a easy-to-read digital serif font created for Adobe by Carol Twombly in 1989.  The Annotations will be printed in 12 pt type in Adobe Caslon Pro, a modern serif type based upon a face created in England by William Caslon in the mid-18th C.    Citations from quoted Scripture used within the Annotations will be set in 11 pt. type with deeper inset on both the right and left than the original use.

Gospel of John-First Chapter Proof-p11-96dpi
Illustration: Copyright Duchessart|Alamy Stock Photo, Inc.

The working copy of the first chapter at left gives an indication of the book’s look.  The illustration, for the first page of Chapter 1, is a 13th C. mosaic from the Genesis dome at the Basilica of St. Mark, Venice, Italy.  Depicted are two scenes: left, Separating the Light from the Darkness; right, Setting the Firmament.  The Byzantine-style Basilica was completed in the 9th C., with many additions made in later centuries.

John’s Gospel is a book like no other in the New Testament, offering a first hand account of many events not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels.  Because it was dictated to a scribe, traditionally said to be Prochorus, later Bishop of Ephesus, when read aloud, it has the cadence of a private lecture offering a glimpse into the tumultous final three years in the earthly life of Jesus Christ.  My objective in designing, researching and producing the book will be to let 21st C. readers have their own copy of a Gospel book with the colorful array of imagery used by Christians since the beginning of the 5th C. to pass along to later generations the stories told in John’s Gospel.  Such an experience was once only possible for the very rich and powerful both inside and outside the Church.

As currently imagined, the finished work will run about 200 plus pages, printed in paperback in full colour.  As currently planned, there will also be a digital version made available in Kindle format.   Although the research is mostly complete, based upon the twenty revised and expanded episodes in the AIC Bible Study Video series, New Testament: Gospels, there is no timetable for this project.   There are technical and legal issues to resolve, as well as decisions about the format of Chapters 6, 7, and 8.  These chapters are mostly an extended  — and often heated — dialogue between Jesus and the group of Pharisees, Chief Priests and scribes who followed Him wherever He went, hopeful of catching Him out in saying something they could use against Him.  Earlier generations of illustrators suffered from the same problem, with the result that there are almost no images available between the Feeding of the Multitudes/Calming the Seas/Walking on the Sea in the first half of Chapter 6 and the Healing of the Man Born Blind at the start of Chapter 9.  These dialogues include several of the “I Am” declarations (Bread of Life; Living Bread; Light of the World; and Before Abraham Was, I Am), which I discussed in Episodes Twenty-nine to Thirty-five in the New Testament Bible Study series.  I have been searching the archives of known sources of  illuminated Gospels, lectionaries and private devotionals looking for suitable images.

Illustrations will be chosen from the AIC’s investory of public domain images gathered from around the world from public domain sources and royalty-free photographic services.   They will include mosaics, frescoes, icons, engravings, paintings, enamels, watercolors, charcoal sketches, altarpieces and photographs.   The precious resources from which the images were chosen have been digitized and made available to the public for the first time just in the last decade.   The oldest image is a mosaic from the early 5th C.  The “newest” image is a 2nd Qtr 20th C. stained glass window from the AIC Bookstore Publication Paintings on Light: the Stained Glass Windows of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel.  

In other news, I will be changing my email address.  The new address is frron.aic@earthlink.net.  This completes the final transition away from references to my former parish which is now closed.   The current email address will remain active until late in the 1st Qtr, A.D. 2020.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.  May God continue to bless you in all that you do in His Name! Amen!

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

 

New Testament: Gospels – Episodes 44 & 45 – Final Episodes in Series

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Christ-Foot Washing-Hosios Loukas-Narthex-North Wall-PCA
Jesus Washing the Disciples’ Feet.  Mosaic, Hosios Loukas Monastery, Distomo, Boaetia region, Greece.  Photo by Ed88. Public Domain, CC-by-SA 3.0.  No date was provided by vendor.  The Monastery was built in the 10th C. honoring a monastic saint, the Venerable Luke of Steiris. I applied perspective correction to the original image.

It has been a challenge and a pleasure to work on the upgrades to the AIC Bible Study Video series, New Testament: Gospels.  For more than a year I have been occupied with finding new historic images, improving the content, especially filling out the Scriptural quotations in the original version, fixing errors in spelling and syntax and other shortcomings, and, finally, making the series compatible with all the other series now offered through links on this site.

Now, just days before the start of another Church Year on First Sunday in Advent, I complete the upgrades with the final two episodes, Episode Forty-four and Episode Forty-five.  They are focused on five unique events in the Gospel of John:  the Visit of Nicodemus; the Restoration of the Adulterous Woman; Foot Washing on Maundy Thursday; the institution of the Sacrament of Penance/Confession; and, finally, Jesus’ Seaside Post-Resurrection Breakfast with the remaining Disciples.

Watch: Episode Forty-four.      Listen: Podcast – Episode Forty-four.

Watch: Episode Forty-five.       Listen: Podcast – Episode Forty-five.

I have in mind several projects for A.D. 2020, but am not ready to provide details.

Please consider sharing this blog with friends, family and others interested in traditional Anglican liturgy and study.

As always, thank you for you interest and support.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name! Amen!  Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

New Testament: Gospels – Episodes 40 to 43

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Christ-Last Supper-Codex_Bruchsal_1_28r
The Last Supper  Codex Bruchsal, circa 1220 A.D., also called the Evangelistar von Speyer, after the Cathedral for which it was made.  The top panel shows St. John leaning upon Jesus’ breast and the disloyal Judas separated from the others in the lower left side.   The bottom panel has two scenes of Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples, with St. Peter in the right hand panel, his hand to his head in the manner described by St. John (“It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it” John 13:26a).  The image is also published in Wikipedia Commons under the CCo (non-commerical) license.

Contininuing toward final completion of the upgrading of the New Testament: Gospels Bible Study Video series, this week I offer you information about four more episodes, which are the 2nd through 5th in a series of 7 on Unique Themes, Details and Events.  Episode Forty continues my discussion of Unique Themes, with more on Light vs. Darkness; Good vs. Evil; Truth vs. Falsehood; the Emotions of Jesus, shown in four examples; Numerology; St. Jobn’s frequest use of “the Jews”; and Jesus’ prophecies.  In Episode Forty-one the focus shifts to unique mentions of Places and People: Cana, Samaria, the Samaritan Woman at the Well, Thomas, Nathanael, Philip & Andrew,and  the Father-Son relationship.  In Episode Forty-two  the focus is on unique references to Peter, Nicodemus, Judas Iscariot, and Mary Magdalene.  Finally, in Episode Forty-three, the unique subjects are the Sanhedrin Plot, the New Commandment, the lack of an “agony in the garden” scene, Jesus’ use of “lift up” or “lifted up” in reference to the Son of Man, and, finally, Jesus’ use of concepts of time, beginning with “hour”, from the Greek hora.  The discussion continues into the next episode.

This week the competition of featured illustration was again close, between the Arrest of Jesus from the Codex Egberti, a mosaic of St. Peter at St. Michael’s Golden-domed Monastery at Kiev, and the Last Supper from the Codex Bruchsal, made in Cologne region of Germany around 1220 A.D.  The latter was the winner, owing to its spectacular use of color and complexity of detail based on  Chapter 13 in the Gospel of St. John.

Watch: Episode Forty.      Listen: Podcast-Episode Forty.

Watch: Episode Forty-one.      Listen: Podcast-Episode Forty-one.

Watch: Episode Forty-two.      Listen: Podcast-Episode Forty-two.

Watch: Episode Forty-three.      Listen: Podcast-Episode Forty-three.

The final two episodes, Forty-four and Forty-five, are complete and will be the subject of the blog entry for the week of Nov. 24th.

The graphics on most of the pages on this site have been upgraded and, hopefully, the persistent glitches of unwanted blank lines removed.   These do not seem to want to go away no matter how many times the files are corrected.

I am working on another project but am not yet ready to declare whether it will be completed.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name! Amen!  Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

 

New Testament: Gospels – Episodes 36 to 39 – the Seven Signs

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Christ-Raising of Lazarus-Church in Mistra_001
The Raising of Lazarus, fresco, 15th C. A.D., Pantanassa Church, Mistra, Greece, from the Yorck Project:  10,000 Masterworks.

Moving along rapidly toward completing the updating of our Bible Study Video series, New Testament: Gospels, this week I bring you four more episodes, all focused on the Seven Signs in the Gospel of St. John plus additional unique material.  St. John makes an interesting distinction, referring to these seven events, five of which are unique to the Gospel of John, as “signs” from the Greek semeion.  I explain the theories of why in the video series.  Episode Thirty-six is focused exclusively on the Wedding at Cana, “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him” (John 2:11).   Episode Thirty-seven includes the Healing of the Nobleman’s Son (John 4:46-54); the Healing of the Paralytic Man (John 5:1-1-15); and Pt 1 of 2 on the Healing of the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41).  Episode Thirty-eight completes my discussion of the five unique signs with the Healing of the Man Born Blind (Pt 2 of 2) and the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:38-43).  Episode Thirty-nine includes discussion of the two signs which are also reported with slightly different details in one or more of the Synoptic Gospels: the Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-14) and the Walking on Water (John 6:15-21), followed by the Part 1 of 7 on Unique Themes, Details and Events in the Gospel of John, starting with the spiritual themes of Light vs. Darkness, Good vs. Evil; Truth vs. Falsehood; Life vs. Death; Heaven vs. Earth; moving on to the first of Unique Details: the Emotions of Jesus; Numerology in the Gospel of John; John’s extensive use of “Jews”; and Prophecy.

Once again, the choice of the featured image was difficult, since there are a great many amazing images in these four episodes.   The contest ended in a draw.   The first, above, used in Episode Thirty-eight, is a 15th C. fresco, the Raising of Lazarus, Pantanassa Church, Mistra, Greece, from the DVD collection known as the Yorck Project more commonly called 10,000 Masterworks.  The photograph was taken more than 15 years ago and one hopes that restoration, or at least, active preservation techniques, have halted the deterioration of this remarkable image.   It’s rival in the Western Church tradition is Duccio di Buoninsegna’s egg tempera and gold on panel work, produced between 1310 and 1311 A.D. at Siena, Italy, from the Kimball Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX.

Christ-Raising_of_Lazarus-Duccio_di_Buoninsegna,_1310–11)
The Raising of Lazarus, egg tempera and gilt on panel, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1310-1311 A.D., Kimball Art Museum, Ft. Worth, TX.

Watch: Episode Thirty-six.    Listen: Podcast-Episode Thirty-six.

Watch: Episode Thirty-seven.   Listen: Podcast-Episode Thirty-seven.

Watch: Episode Thirty-eight.    Listen:Podcast-Episode Thirty-eight.

Watch:  Episode Thirty-nine.    Listen: Podcast-Episode Thirty-nine.

In the week of Nov. 17th my focus will be on Episode Forty to Episode Forty-three, which include Parts 2 through 5 of seven on Unique Themes, Details and Events in the Gospel of St. John.

During the week of Nov. 24th my focus will be on the final two episodes, Episode Forty-four and Episode Forty-five, the last of which is focused on five unique events in the Gospel of St. John plus a summary of the entire series.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name! Amen!  Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

 

New Testament: Gospels – Episodes 32 to 35

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Christ-Good Shepherd-Ravenna-5thC
I Am the Good Shepherd, Byzantine mosaic, 1st half, 5th C. A.D., Mausoleum of Galla Placida, Ravenna, Italy.  The Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks.

Keeping with the pace started last week, I’ve uploaded four more episodes in the New Testament: Gospels series.  This week’s uploads are Episode Thirty-two, Episode Thirty-three, Episode Thirty-four and Episode Thirty-five.  In these four episodes I complete my discussion and commentary on the “I Am” declarations in the Gospel of St. John, including the Bread of Life; The Living Bread; The Light of the World; I Am From above; I Am not of this world; Before Abraham Was, I Am; I Am the Door; I Am the Good Shepherd; I Am the Resurrection and the Life; I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; and, finally, I am the True Vine.

As always, selection of a featured illustration is difficult, with so many choices across four episodes.  This time I selected another example of early Byzantine art in the west at Ravenna, Italy.  The photograph was used in the Yorck Project’s DVD: 10,000 Masterworks.   The DVD is accessible online, but be prepared: there are actually more than 10,000 images, which are arranged alphabetically, some by title and some by artist.

Watch Episode Thirty-two.           Podcast version of Episode Thirty-two

Watch Episode Thirty-three.      Podcast version of Episode Thirty-three.

Watch Episode Thirty-four.       Podcast version of Episode Thirty-four.

Watch Episode Thirty-five.        Podcast version of Episode Thirty-five.

The next group of four episodes, 36 to 39, are about the Seven Signs in the Gospel of St. John, treating those six which are unique to St. John’s Gospel first, followed by the last two, which appear in the Synoptic Gospels.   These are complete and will be featured here during the week of Nov. 10th, when the featured illustration is a 15th C. fresco of the Raising of Lazarus from a church in Greece.

The next group, also of four, 40 to 43, is focused on Unique Themes, Details & Events in the Gospel of St. John, beginning with Themes; followed by Details of Content; followed by unique mentions of Places and People, including Cana and Samaria; Peter; Nathanael; Philip; Andrew; the Samaritan Woman (Photina).   These four are complete and will be featured here during the week of Nov. 17th, when the featured illustration is a mid-19th Eastern Orthodox Christ Pantokrator image in Romania.

The final two episodes are complete in script and slides but still need a voice track.  The voice track will be recorded during the week of Nov. 10th with release during the week of Nov. 24th.  They are focused on more unique details & one five unique events in the Gospel of St. John, including the Visit of Nicodemus; the Restoration of the Adulterous Woman; Foot Washing on Maundy Thursday; the institution of the Sacrament of Penance/Confession; and Jesus’ Breakfast the the Seashore with the eleven remaining Disciples; and, ending with some summary slides on all four Gospels and the series.  The featured illustration will be a splendid mosaic of Jesus washing St. Peter’s feet from the tradtion of the Eastern Church.

In other news, I have upgraded the illustrations throughout the AIC Web Site and fixed (I hope) some glitches in spacing that in previous attempts don’t want to stay fixed.  I’ll be very surprised is they stay fixed.  I think I need some help from the technical people at WordPress.com.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.  May God bless you in all that you do in His Name! Amen! Glory be to God for all things! Amen!