Today, 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.
Episode Twenty-six and Episode Twenty-seven, the first of twenty focused on the Gospel of St. John in the AIC Bible Study Video series, New Testament: Gospels, were uploaded this week. In Episode Twenty-six I explore the history, authorship & themes and offer some suggestions on how to read the Gospel of St. John, plus a reading of the first five verses of John 1,the opening words in St. John’s ground-breaking Prelude. In Episode Twenty-seven I read and discuss the whole Prelude: John 1:1-18. Among the many examples of historic art depictions of St. John is a remarkable and colorful example from the Carolingian era of the revived Holy Roman Empire in western Europe. The manuscript, The Benedictional of Aethelwold, a service book for the Mass by the Bishop of Winchester, based on the Gallican and Gregorian Sacramentaries, was protected by various noble families after the English Reformation. It was acquired from the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth, Devonshire, by the British Library in 1958 A.D. Below is the only illumination of a Gospel author that has survived, St. John with the traditional Eagle symbol.

I’m pleased to announce the uploading for another revised episode, Episode Twenty-one in the AIC Bible Study Video series, The New Testament: Gospels. Content is Part 2 of 6 in Unique Content in the Gospel of St. Luke, including Sending the Return of the Seventy and Jesus’ encounter with Mary and Martha at Bethany.
