First Sunday in Advent & AIC Bookstore Preview – Part 7

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

Sunday, Nov. 30th, A.D. 2025, marks the start of the penitential season of Advent. My Podcast Homily for First Sunday in Advent is linked from the Digital Library page. The theme is “The Coming of the Light” and in it I discuss Archbishop Cranmer’s new Collect for the occasion, the Epistle reading (Romans 13:8-14) and the Gospel lesson (Matthew 21:10-13). Another Podcast Homily for First Sunday in Advent, this time based on the Morning Prayer readings for the same occasion, is also available. Should you be visual-minded you can watch Episode One (focused on First and Second Sunday in Advent) in our Seasonal Video series, Advent: a Season of Penitence & Preparation. In this video series I also explain other traditions associated with Advent, including the “Greening of the Altar,” the use of Chrismons rather than Christmas ornaments, and the practice of avoiding Christmas carols until Christmas Eve.

For this post for First Sunday in Advent, the highlighted AIC Bookstore Publication is a very special book, Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition, which was published in A.D. 2023.

The cover art is an 11th C. Byzantine-influenced mosaic in the upper registry, Baptistery of Saint John, located opposite the Basilica of Santa Maria dei Fiori, Florence, Italy. A full view of the mosaic is printed on page 4.

In the Preface to Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition I offered this: “The purpose of this book is to educate Christians in the rich literary, artistic and liturgical traditions concerning angels in both the Western and Eastern Church understanding.” In the book I explore every mention of angels in the Old and New Testament, plus the second canon Old Testament and a non-canonical Old Testament book in the Eastern Church tradition. There are 153 illustrations including frescoes, icons, mosaics, stained glass windows, watercolors, paintings and engravings. I pay special tribute to the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne and his spiritual advisor, the Blessed Alcuin of York; and to the Ottonian and other successors to the title Holy Roman Emperor in the Western Church; to St. John of Damascus, author of the Exact Exposition on the Orthodox Faith, the earliest known explanation of the origin, nature and purpose of angels; and, finally, to St. Clement of Alexandria and St. Thomas Aquinas, the former from the Eastern Church tradition and the latter from the Western Church tradition.

The book is divided into five parts: Part One is a primer on angels); Part Two is focused on every reference to angels in the Old Testament; Part Three includes discussion of each mention of angels in the New Testament; Part Four is focused on references to angels in Christian worship; and Part Five includes discussion and illustrations of angels traditions around the world, including foods and festivities.

The publication of Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition completes the planned catalogue of AIC Bookstore Publications. Corkie Shibley suggested the concept of a book on angels. As a special bonus for readers, I have included her recipe for the remarkably light biscuits, which she calls “Angel Biscuits.” The recipe is placed at the end of Part Five.

Royalties on this and the other AIC Bookstore Publications are donated to the AIC. The book is available online through my Amazon Author Central page. Additional information about the catalogue is available on the AIC Bookstore page.

I offer a special thanks to our contributors — and also those who assisted in the production of the book, each of whom is named in the Preface. Contributions and book royalties provide the funds necessary to obtain the high-resolution images and licenses for the use of the same. Through reader support, we have been able to collect and catalogue over 3,000 such images, most of them rarely seen by the general public.

As always, I thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Trinity 20 & AIC Bookstore – Part 3

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

My Fr. Ron’s Blog post for Twentieth Sunday after Trinity was posted on 10/11/2024. In the post I discussed the two changes to the original Gelasian Sacramentary version that were made in 1662 & 1789; St. Paul’s emphasis on his understanding of “joy” in the singing “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”; and St.. Matthew’s account of the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14). The post is available using the link for October 2024 in the Archives column.

The same set of readings was discussed and illustrated in Episode Eight in our Christian Education video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. All these episodes include illustrations from our archive of over 3,000 examples of Christian art over the centuries. Another illustration of the Parable of the Wedding Feast is featured in Chapter 22 of The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

Cover art: King David on his harp, stained glass window, Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, Dinant, Belgium. Copyright Jorisvo/Dreamstime.com

This week’s example of works in the AIC Bookstore is The Prayer Book Psalter: History, Text & Commentary (370 pages, six illustrations, including two on the front or back cover). The book brings together both Western Church and Eastern Church interpretations and was intended to answer commonly-asked questions about the Psalter. It can be used as a quick-reference for either clergy or laity.

The text of each Psalm, using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (1943 U.S. Edition), is followed by commentary from a Christological perspective, where possible using quotations from the ancient fathers of Christianity, including saints Athanasius of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Gregory of Nyssa, James, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, Martin Luther, the Apostles Paul and Peter, and Theodoric of Cyprus. For each Psalm there is a listing of where, if applicable, each Psalm has been used in Christian hymns and songs. The music cross-reference is focused on traditional songs and hymns used not only in the Anglican worship tradition, but also the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian traditions.

Each Psalm (see the sample page of Psalm 149, one of the shortest Psalms) is categorized by its type, either Penitential, Passion, Cursing, Messianic, Royal, Hallel and Songs of Ascent; by the traditional understanding of its authorship (David, Sons of Korah; Sons of Asaph (Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Azariah); Solomon; Moses; Ethan the Ezrahite; and Unknown; and by how and where it is used in the 1928 BCP (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Other); and by its classification in one of the traditional five “Books” of the Psalms in the full text section of the BCP. At the back of the book is a Glossary listing every person or place named in the Psalter, with entries cross-referenced to other Psalms, other Scripture and to other books in the AIC Bookstore. The volume is available exclusively through my Amazon Author Central page.

Next week’s topic will be our other book focused on the Psalms, The Prayer Book Psalter: Picture Book Edition, which features illustrations from the historic Stuttgart Psalter (circa 820 A.D. during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne) and 20 other illustrated editions of the Psalter from the 10th to the 17th C., including the Psalter of Henry the Eighth. The page size is 8.5″ x 8.5″ with the Psalm text set in large type in the Apple Luminari typeface, with illuminated capitals created by Corkie Shibley, and with the Psalm’s title in both English and Latin. The book was produced with the assistance of the Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany, the holder of the only known copy of the Stuttgart Psalter. The Stuttgart Psalter is associated with the Blessed Alcuin of York, author of the Collect for Purity in the Anglican Holy Communion liturgy and spiritual advisor and teacher to the Emperor Charlemagne, his family and his royal court, and Abbot of the Abbey of St. Martin, Tours, France.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Apophatic vs. Cataphatic Prayer

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

One of the objectives of the Anglican Internet Church online ministry, as stated in the Our Mission statement on the back page of all our publications and on our Web Site, is “Eastern Church Teaching in Western Church Language.” The title of this week’s post, Apophatic vs. Cataphatic Prayer is a good example. In the Eastern Church since the 5th and 6th C. the concept that God can only be described by words that define what He is not (apophatic) vs. the Western style of positive statements (cataphatic). This same concept is reflected in the link which was part of my post for Whitsunday/Pentecost, June 8, A.D. 2025.

Here is an example of an apophatic prayer from the Eastern Church tradition which I have modified by substituting more commonly-understood terms from the Western Church. The proper word for somethings that is too complex to be rendered in plain language is “ineffable.” Here is have substituted: “whose love for men is above words.” The prayer is the Fourth Prayer in the Third Hour (9 AM) Office in Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity, a volume available through my Amazon Author Central page, with a summary found on the AIC Bookstore page. The original version is popular in both the Armenian and Russian Orthodox traditions. The prayer is found in Part Three of the book. Part One includes prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving; Penitence; Righteousness; Songs of Praise; and Other Prayers. Part Two is Little Prayers: Catanae on the Psalms.

O LORD, our God, whose power is unspeakable,
Whose glory is beyond imagining, Whose mercy
is measureless; Whose love for men is above words,
look down upon us, O Master, and bestow upon all
here present the riches of thy goodness and mercy,
for to thee belong all glory, honor and worship.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Another prayer which observes the apophatic tradition is not from an Eastern Church saint but was composed by the Blessed Alcuin of York, spiritual advisor to Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor in the West since the Vandals sacked from in the 3rd Qtr., 5th C. Charlemagne was coronated at Rome on Christmas Day, 800 A.D. I adapted this version from a recent history of Alcuin published in England. Alcuin is best known in the Anglican worship tradition for his Collect for Peace which is found in the opening prayer in the Holy Communion liturgy in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Alcuin’s collect reflects the ancient Hebrew understanding of God as the all-knowing, all-seeing Almighty.

O ETERNAL L:ight, shine into our hearts:
O ETERNAL Goodness, deliver us from evil;
O ETERNAL Power, be our support;
O ETERNAL Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance;
O ETERNAL Pity, have mercy on us;
That with all our hearts and minds and souls and strength
we may seek thy face and be brought by thine infinite mercy
to thy holy presence. Amen.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Trinity-the Anglican Church’s Teaching Season

Anglican Internet ChurchLeave a comment

Sunday, May 26th, A.D. 2024, is Trinity Sunday, marking the start of the longest season on the Anglican Church Calendar. I explain how many or how few Sundays after Trinity there can be, dependent upon the date of Easter and the date of First Sunday in Advent, in Episode One of the AIC Christian Education Video Series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. In the series, I also discuss the Gospel and Epistle readings for all the Trinity Sundays. There is also an MP3 Podcast version for those who prefer to listen rather than watch. These are linked, respectively, from the Digital Library and Podcast Archive pages. For non-Anglicans Protestants, Whitsunday and Trinity season are combined into a single season based on the date of Pentecost. For example: First Sunday after Trinity is Second Second “in” or “after” Pentecost.

Obviously, the basis for these “Teachings” is found in the Gospels, the Epistles, the “For the Epistle” readings from the Old Testament, and the Church’s two Creeds, the Nicene and Apostles creeds. For Trinity Sunday I offer viewers two exceptional “illuminations.” The first is Christ in Majesty (or Maiestas Domini in Latin), from the Vivian Bible (also called the First Bible of Charles the Bald), produced by Haregarius of Tours (or Aregarius, depending upon language preferences). The name Vivian honors Vivian, the Lay Abbot of St. Martin of Tours, who commissioned the work in 845. It was prepared beginning in 845. The volume, a large book measuring 13.59″ x 19.49,” was presented to the 22-year old monarch, Charles the Bald, grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Other sources says 844-851, which seems more likely, given the complexity and detail of the images. The Scriptorium at St. Martin of Tours was previously under the supervision of the Blessed Alcuin of York, who created the Carolingian miniscule script used in the books produced at St. Martin of Tours. The original is at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, France (BNF Ms. Lat.1, Folio 239v). This version is from the Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks (2002). In the Eastern Church tradition, the same image is commonly called Christ Pantokrator, The four evangelists are pictured, each holding a Gospel books, in the outside corners, with their traditional symbols placed inside the central diamond which surrounds the modified mandorla within which Christ is enthroned. I have found no definite explanation of the four Old Testament figures in the North, East, South and West circles. The figure at the south end is making the traditional sign of a blessing with his right hand.

Christ in Majesty, surrounded by the four Evangelists, Vivian Bible (or First Bible of Charles the Bald), 2nd Qtr., 9th C., Abbey of St. Martin of Tours, Ms. Lat.1, f. 239v, Bibliotheque National de France, Paris, France. Public Domain.
The Four Evangelists, Aachen Gospels or Vienna Coronation Gospels, circa 820, Aachen Cathedral Treasury, Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany. Image: Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks (2002). Public Domain.

The second image was also produced during the Carolingian period, around 820 A.D. Here the focus is on the four evangelists and the message they delivered in their respective Gospels. The image is ususual in that the four men are depicted in an outdoor setting with a skyline at the top. Wearing saintly white robes and white halos (versus the golden halo typically used in images of Jesus Christ), they are facing away from each other, with each in a separate section, suggesting different rooms in a house or perhaps different locations altogether. Each is engaged in a different act. At upper left, is Matthew, whose symbol, a Man or Angel, is above him, as he writes. At upper right, Mark, and his symbol, a Lion, is putting the nib of his pen into an inkwell, as if preparing to put his thoughts on paper. At lower right, Luke, whose symbol is a Ox and whose work is based on several years of research among those who could offer firsthand evidence, likely including the Blessed Virgin Many, is reading a document or manuscript. Finally, at lower left, John, with the symbol, an Eagle, is said to be meditating on the words he has already put on paper.

The cover of the Aachen Gospels is thought to have been made by goldsmiths at Fulda, Germany, another major site for the production of illuminated works, both during the lifetime of Charlemagne and his later successors, the Ottonians. The finished book, with 280 parchment pages (or leaves), measures only 9.5″ x 11.9.”

This full page image of the Four Evangelists is placed immediately after 12 pages of canon tables (folios 8v to 14r),which follow a prelude by Jerome and other material.

In coming weeks, I will post material related to individual readings for the Sundays after Trinity.

Thank your for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!