Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

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For the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity the Collect is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary (Rome, circa 750 A.D.) for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. It is also the last Gelasian Sacramentary collect for the season. The collect includes an iconic phrase, “pardon and peace,” in which pardon was substituted for the medieval Latin phrase “indulgence.” The word “indulgence” was, in Cranmer’s view, too closely allied to the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences to those with appropriate financial resources. The word “quiet” in the final phrase replaced the Latin “secure.” Quiet in mind implies unshakeable faith in the face of adversity, a concept which remains essential in the anti-Christian political and cultural environment of the 21st C. The Collect is often used by non-ordained Church leadership as a closing prayer in Morning Prayer, since it offers the hope of forgiveness without the official sanction of Absolution which only an ordained clergyman can dispense.

GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 6:10-20, advances one chapter in St. Paul’s epistles from the reading for Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. The lesson includes some of the most important and boldest statements of the traditional teachings of the Apostle Paul concerning, in the broadest sense, the concept of “Spiritual Warfare.” The verses include several iconic martial phrases used in the context of the battle against “the wiles of the devil” (verse 11) and the “spiritual hosts of wickenedness in the heavenly places” (verse 12). These include “the whole armour of God” (twice, verses 11 and 13), “the breastplate of righteousness” (verse 14), “the shield of faith” (verse 16), “the helmet of salvation” (verse 17) and “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (verse 18). Less military-sounding defenses include “the gospel of peace” (verse 15) in the concept of appropriate footware for spiritual conflict. “Principalities and powers” in verse twelve refers to the traditional understanding of the ranks or orders of angels and heavenly powers. I discuss this interpretation in Ninth Day (Jan 2nd) in our video series, The Twelve Day of Christmas and also in our Bookstore Publication, Angels: In Scripture, Prayer and Christian Tradition, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Paul refers to the importance of prayer and to his own boldness in defense of Christian doctrine in the closing verses (verse 18, 19 & 20).

Paul, miniature illumination in colors and gold on parchment inside the letter “P,” placed before the start of 2 Corinthians, Gloss on the Pauline Epistles, Peter Lombard, France, 4th Qtr. 12th C.-1st Qtr., 13th C., Ms. Royal 4 E IX, Folio 64, British Library, London, England. Perspective correction applied.

The Peter Lombard illumination was used as Illustration No. 74 in The Act of the Apostles: Annotated & Illustrated, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page. Although the image was used in association with the 2nd letter to the Corinthians, it is used here owing to St. Paul’s fierce facial expression. My personal favorite image of a militant St. Paul was used in the blog post for Seventh Sunday after Trinity, linked from July 2024 entry in the right hand column.

The Gospel reading, John 4:46-54, is the fifth of six readings from the Gospel of John during the period between Whitsunday and Sunday Next before Advent. The subject of the reading is the second “sign” of Jesus’ divinity cited in the Gospel of John, being John’s record of Jesus’ remote healing of a nobleman’s son. According to John’s account, only Jesus, the Nobleman and His Disciples were present in Cana of Galilee, which was also the site of the first miracle recorded by John in Chapter Two. The Nobleman’s son was ill at Capernaum. This record by John near the start of Jesus’ public ministry, traditionally understood to have been in 27 A.D., is unusual in two important ways. In his unique style, John sets the mood of the scene with an account of Jesus having left Judea and gone into the Galilee. In verse 48, John records Jesus, knowing the Nobleman’s thoughts, declaring: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” In verse 49a, the worried man begs Jesus to come with him and heal his sick son in Capernaum, to which plea Jesus responds: “Go your way; your son lives.” John confidently states in the same verse that the Nobleman “believed the word that Jesus spoke.” In the remaing verses, John records the details of how the man learned that his son recovered “at the same hour” which Jesus spoke (7th hour, or 1 PM). John records that not only did the man believe but his household also (verse 51). The historical sytle image below, from the Bowyer Bible, was used as Illustration No. 33 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. It also appears in Slides 1215-1233 in Episode Thirty-six, the first of four episodes focused on the miracles (or “signs” from the Greek Semeion) of Jesus in our Bible Study video series, The New Testament.

Healing the Nobleman’s Son, etching/engraving, Jan Luyken, 1840, Bowyer Bible, Bolton Library, Bolton, Lancashire, England. From PHOTO by Harry Kossuth; TEXT by Phillip Medhurst. From the 2018 A.D. digital edition, Early Scenes in the Life of Christ, Harry Kossuth (photographs) and Phillip Medhurst (text).

The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity are discussed and illustrated in Episode Eight in our video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

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For Twentieth Sunday after Trinity the Collect is another of Archbishop Cranmer’s adaptations from the Gelasian Sacramentary (Paris, c. 750 A.D.). In this case the original Cranmer collect has been modified twice, first for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in which the Latin phrase “being propitiated” was replaced with “of thy bountiful goodness,” and, in 1789 A.D., in the first American Book of Common Prayer, the collect getting a new ending (“which thou commandest”). The word “cheerfully,” which replaced “with free hearts,” means willingly. For this change and more on the many changes made in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, consult Massey Shepherd, Jr.’s landmark volume, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, available online for download in pdf format. Shepherd comments upon the history and other details of each Collect, Epistle and Gospel reading.

O ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech thee,
from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul,
may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 5:15-21, is from the next chapter in the canonical order of the Pauline epistles, once again to the congregation at Ephesus which the “Apostle to the Gentiles” established on his Second Missionary Journey. These seven verses offer St. Paul’s advice to Christians to let themselves be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” rather than being “drunk with wine” and include one his most memorable phrases describing the joy of the Christian faith: “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” In the same vein, one of the greatest saints of the early Church, Athanasius of Alexandria, wrote in the 4th C. that “the art of singing effects harmony in the soul.” Many Anglican organizations include an appointed Psalm reading and Old Testament lesson placed just before the Epistle reading in Holy Communion. The participatory, that is, verse and response, reading of the Psalm should be part of every Anglican service and not just the Morning and Evening Prayer services.

St. Matthew, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, produced in Ireland or England, circa 800 A.D., The Book of Kells, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The image reflects the traditional interpretation of the vision in Ezekiel 1:4-12, with Matthew shown as Man/Angel. The volume is one of the finest examples of Christian art in the Western Church tradition.
Parable of the Great Supper, etching/engraving, Jan Luyken, Bowyer Bible, published 1840, Bolton Library, Bolton, England. This image depicting verses 11-13, with image by Phillip Medhurst and text by Harry Kossuth, is from a 2018 digital edition of their Early Scenes in the Life of Christ.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:1-14, records another event in the week before the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ, being St. Matthew’s record of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, also known as the Parable of the Great Supper. The event, also recorded in Luke 14:15-24 took place just two days before Maundy Thursday. This is the sixth of eight readings from St. Matthew’s Gospel in the Whitsunday/Trinitytide cycle. There have been many explanations of the meaning of the phrases “highways,” which are searched for those who are worthy. Jesus provided an explanation in the final verse. Perhaps lost in the modern world is the tradition that the host provided the Wedding Garment which the guest in question was not wearing. The guest was confronted by the “king,” who pronounced “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus closed the address with a warning, putting these words into the mouth of the offended king: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (verse 14). The image of St. Matthew from the Book of Kells was used in Episode Eight in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. Another image by Jan Luyken from the Bowyer Bible, illustrating the opening verses in the Gospel reading, appeared as Illustration No. 80 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The book is available in paperback at my Amazon Author Central page.

As noted many times in earlier posts, the AIC web site offers teaching materials in all three categories as part of our WATCH | LISTEN | READ initiative. Curiously, the subject of individual learning preferences, that is, whether one prefers the written or spoken word or a visual version came up during a conversation with a nurse during my doctor’s visit this month. The offering of all three media is made possible by donations and by the book royalties for AIC Bookstore Publications which are contributed to the AIC. To enhance ease of use, all three media are linked from tabs at the top and bottom of all pages on this site. Please note that, depending upon the subject matter, videos are linked from either the Digital Library page (for the seasonal and topical videos) and the Bible Study/New Testament pages (for the Gospel and Revelation series).

One final note. Be of good cheer and do not let the bias of the corporate world and the media affect your confidence in, and reliance upon, traditional Church teachings. Your best defense against their c0mbined assault on Christianity — remembering that the Church has been under attack since the 1st C.– is to attend a local church where you can, receive Holy Communion regularly, and, when neither is possible, read Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer or the daily “Hours” offices (First, Third, Sixth, Ninth hours plus Vespers and Compline), available in our publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity.

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

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

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The Collect for Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity is another adaption by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary for use in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. It is also another which was amended for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in which the reference to the Holy Spirit was added. The change made the Collect more consistent with the theme of both the Epistle and Gospel and of the season of Trinitytide. The phrase “direct and rule our hearts” was very popular among the early Saints in the Eastern Church tradition. The doctrine of the equality of the Holy Spirit with God the Father and God the Son was made part of the original Nicene Creed at the Council of Constantinople (or Second Ecumenical Council), 381 A.D. The Council was influenced by the writings of Gregory Nazianzen, who was the presiding Bishop, Gregory of Nyssa and his late brother, Basil of Caesarea. The work of that Council is discussed in detail, with illustrations, in the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Nicene Creed, presented in eight episodes (with the changes made in 381 A.D. in Episode Seven). The contributions of the two Gregories and of Basil of Caesarea are also discussed and illustrated in our video series, The Lives of the Saints, Second Series. Gregory of Nyssa (Feast Day: Jan. 10th) is celebrated in Episode Six; Gregory Nazianzen (Feast Day: Jan. 25th, with some jurisdictions including him with two others in May), in Episode Eight; and Basil of Caesarea (Feast Day: Jun. 14th) in Episode Seventeen. Basil’s most famous essay, On the Holy Spirit, is available in paperback from St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (ISBN: 978913836-74-3), as Volume 5 in its Popular Patristics Series.

O GOD, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee;
Mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Paul, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, Siegberg Lectionary, produced at the Benedictine Abbey of St. Michael, Siegberg, Germany, 2nd Qtr., 12th C. Ms. Harley 2889, Folio 2, British Library, London, England. St. Paul shown holding a scroll rather than the traditional use of a symbol of the manner of death.

The Epistle reading for Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity again follows the pattern of the Gelasian Sacramentary (See the blog posts for Trinity 16 and Trinity 17). The sequence was interrupted by the reading from 1st Corinthians for Trinity 18. The Epistle reading, Ephesians 4:17-32, is another long quotation from St. Paul’s Epistle to the congregation he founded in Asia Minor on his Second Missionary Journey. Ephesus was known as the “first city of Asia” when the Third Ecumenical Council met there in 431 A.D. and granted the Blessed Virgin Mary the title, Theotokos, or Mother of God in modern English. As usual, St. Paul was not shy in expressing his views. He speaks emphatically of the “new” man, who, following Christian teachings from the Gospels, is distinct from the “old” man of the Gentile world.

St. Paul also wrote about the need to master one’s passion, by which he means not just sexual lust but passion for material things, including money. The epistle formed much of the scriptural foundation for the lists of Christian virtue. These virtues were previously confined to oral tradition. They appeared first in written form in the Eastern and Western Church traditions in the 6th, 7th and 8th C. St. Paul ends his counsel to the Ephesians with advice on the subject of forgiveness. Forgiven is also major theme of the Gospel reading. The illustration of St. Paul from the Siegberg Lectionary was also used in several AIC Christian Education Video Series, Advent: The Season of Penitence & Preparation, Episode One; The Great “O” Antiphons, Dec. 22nd, Fifth Antiphon (O Oriens); The Twelve Days of Christmas, Third Day-Peace-Dec. 27); Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, Episode Three; and Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, Episode Seven. For more about the architectual remains left by the Christian population at Ephesus, now Selcuk, Izmir Province, Turkey, including the Tomb of St. John, watch the AIC Bible Study Video series, Revelation: An Idealist Interpretation, Episode Five.

The Gospel reading for Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:1-8, is the fifth of nine readings from St. Matthew’s Gospel in Trinitytide. A very short reading, or “pericope” (scholarly terminology meaning Scripture verses read in a liturgy), includes two of St. Matthew’s major themes: the birth and life of Jesus as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and events in both His Nativity and life as demonstrations of His divinity. The reading includes some unique details, including the only example of someone who is healed by Jesus being lowered into the scene through the roof, in this case of a house in the region of Capernaum, or “his own city” in verse 1, near the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The time of the event is early in Jesus’ public ministry, likely in 27 A.D. The audience for the event includes Jesus’ Disciples (not named in the text), the paralytic man and his friends, and “Scribes,” meaning men associated with the Pharisees and with the governance of the Temple. Unlike other accounts of miraculous healings, there are no dramatic examples of the actual healing. Instead, the focus is on the meaning of the event. In this case, Jesus gives credit for the healing to the “faith” of the man’s friends, who have gone to considerable trouble and effort to lower the man into the presence of Jesus.

In St. Matthew’s account, Jesus demonstrates His divinity in knowing the thoughts of both the paralyzed man’s friends, “he saw their faith” (v. 2b) and said to the paralyzed man: “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” When “some of the scribes” in their minds accuse Jesus of blasphemy, Jesus said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say ‘Arise and walk?’ “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” (verses 4b, 5 & 6a). When they did not answer, Jesus said: “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” (verse 6b). St. Matthew records in one of his characteristic summaries that the man arose and departed for his home and that the multitudes “marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.” (verses 7 & 8). The phrase “Glorifying God” is the key phrase for Eleventh Day – January 4th in the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, in which there are key words or phrases for all the days from Dec. 25th to Jan. 5th (Epiphany Eve).

Healing the Paralytic Man at Capernaum, tinted drawing on parchment, one of four Gospel scenes on a single page, Holkam Bible Picture Book, produced at or near London, 1327-1335, Ms. Additional 47682, Folio 24v, British Library, London, England. Commissioned by an unknown Dominican friar, the book was acquired by English collector Thomas Coke in 1816. Formerly known as the Holkam Ms. 66, it was purchased by the British Library, 1952. The image is based on Mark 2:1-12 and St. Luke 5:17-26. The complete book includes 231 miniatures, generally two per page illustrating scenes from Genesis through the Gospel accounts of the Ascension. The captions are in Anglo-Norman French with some English words. Description © British Library Board.

The image from the Holkam Bible Picture Book also appears as Illustration No. 25 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Mark: Annotated & Illustrated. As with all our books, the volume is available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page.

In my research for this Blog post, I realized that the video and soundtrack for Episode Five and Episode Six in our series, The War on Christianity were never completed. I have started work on finishing the script and slide with the goal of completing the work during January A.D. 2025.

One final note: the blog post for Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity did not include any reference to the Archangel Michael, whose Feast Day, September 29th, coincided with Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity. Images and text regarding St. Michael are the subject of two AIC Christian Education Video series, The Lives of the Saint, Second Series, Episode Twenty-three, and the traditional understanding of the origin, number (or orders or ranks) and nature of angels in The Twelve Days of Christmas, Ninth Day (Jan. 2nd).

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

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

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The Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, which the Archbishop adapted from the Gelasian Sacramentary. As noted in earlier posts, the Gelasian Sacramentary is named after Pope Gelasius (ruled at Rome, 492-496), but the document did not appear until the mid-8th C. at Paris, France. The Gelasian document was widely used in the English Church before the separation from Rome during the reign of Henry XVIII. In Western Europe, the Gregorian Sacramentary, which is derived from an an early 9th C. initiative by Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, influenced by his spiritual advisor, the Blessed Alcuin of York. A fuller version of the Gregorian Sacramentary was completed around the 10th C. I saved the Gelasian image below from the Wikipedia Commons version of The Yorck Project, commonly called 10,000 Masterworks, which was distributed on a DVD and entered into the public domain in 2002 A.D. The original document measures 10.2″ high and 13.1″ wide. In order to improve the resolution for this usage. I reduced its size and raised the resolution to 300 dpi..

Gelasian Sacramentary, Title page (left) and 1st page (right), colors and gold on parchment, 8th C., The Yorck Project, or 10,000 Masterworks, DVD 2002. Public Domain.

The preamble to the Collect was reworded for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It includes the iconic phrase, “the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil.” The same words also appear as part of the third phrase of the deliverance requests in The Litany, or General Supplication, published in 1544 A.D., the first English language liturgy of the Church 0f England.

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil;
and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1st Corinthians 1:4-9, is one of the shortest readings in the Book of Common Prayer. On this occasion, the canonical order of the Pauline epistles is interrupted, leaping backward from Ephesians 4 on the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity to a point earlier in the epistle than the first reading from 1st Corinthians 10:1-13 (Ninth Sunday after Trinity) and other readings on the Tenth and Eleventh Sundays after Trinity. The epistle includes closing reference to “the day of our Lord,” an allusion to Jesus coming again.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:34-46, includes two important dialogues, the first also recorded in Mark 12:28-37 and the second in Luke 20:41-44. The event is thought to have happened on Tuesday, 30 A.D., three days before Good Friday. The background of the two dialogues is the continuing rivalry between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. In verse 35, one of their number, a lawyer, asks Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment?” Some context is needed to understand fully the question. Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees had their own answer to the question, with the Pharisees having calculated that there were 613 commandments in Hebrew Scripture and not just the ten in the Decalogue. In this context, the “lawyer” in verse 35 thought that any answer would offend someone. A cardinal rule for all modern-era lawyers is that a lawyer should never ask a question unless he or she already know the answer. In the reading, Jesus replied, as He often did (most famously in His dialogue with Satan in Matthew 4), with verses from Scripture. Here the verses are Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. His answer, in verses 37-40, was incorporated into the Anglican Holy Communion liturgy in the 1714 and the 1764 versions. It is commonly known as the Summary of the Law. The Summary of the Law was incorporated into the Holy Communion liturgy in the first American prayer book, published in 1789 A.D.

Jesus continued to befuddle His inquisitors with a second citation of Scripture regarding David. He quoted Psalm 110:1, the most-quoted verse in all the Psalms. As Matthew recorded in the closing verse, no one thereafter asked Him any more questions. In Christian art, the Gospel reading is generally depicted by a graphic displaying the words quoted by Jesus. For this blog post, I offer you a graphic which I adapted from a Christ Pantokrator mosaic (literally: Ruler of the Universe) from the Basilica of St. Ambrose, Milan, Italy. Because this Byzantine-style mosaic is very high above the floor level any photographs are distorted by sightlines diminishing toward top center. In the mosaic, Jesus is seated on a throne with the Archangels Michael (left) and Gabriel (right) and several saints. I used this image in the AIC Bookstore Publications, The Gospel of Mark: Annotated & Illustrated (Illus. # 66), Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition (Illus. # 13) and Christmas: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition (Illus. No. 58). All books are available through my Amazon Author Central page. The image was also used in several AIC Video series, including The Great “O” Antiphons, Episode Two – O Adonai; The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2nd Day – Dec. 26th, 11th Day – Jan. 4th & 12th Day – Jan. 5th; In the Cross of Christ I Glory, 3rd Word, 6th Word, 7th Word; Eastertide, Episode 1; The War on Christianity, Episode 6; Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, Episode 7; and New Testament: Gospels, Episode 2.

Christ Enthroned, mosaic, 13th C. Basilica of St. Ambrose of Milan, Milan, Italy. Image copyright Can Stock Photo, Inc./Tupugato. The original basilica was built in the 6th C., with additions made in the 11th C. Perspective correction, image cropping and image rotation applied. The original image is displayed below. Traditionally, the image is also known in the Western Church as Christ in Majesty and Christ Pantokrator (literally, Ruler of the Universe) in the Eastern Church tradition.

I hope viewers find these resources inspiring and comforting, especially in the current anti-Christian age. We aim to make documents from the 2000 year history of the Church more easily accessible across the spectrum of print, audio or video media.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity A.D. 2024

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For the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity the Collect is a composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer based upon the Gregorian Sacramentary, named in honor of Pope Gregory the Great, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 590 A.D. until his death in 604 A.D. Illuminations depicting Gregory, acknowledging his profound influence on the liturgy of the Church, often show him with the Holy Spirit whispering into his ear. Note that the word “prevent” has a different meaning than the modern usage. In the 16th-17th C it meant “stand before.”

Gregory the Great, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, placed between Book 3 and Book 4, Dialogues, Gregory the Great, Germany, 1st Qtr., 12th C. Ms. Harley 3011, f. 69v, British Library, London, England. Copyright British Library Board.

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the Epistle reading, Ephesians 4:1-6, St. Paul also emphases the presence of the Holy Spirit in the faithful in his message concerning the unity of the faith. The reading includes two ic0nic phrases important to St. Paul’s theology: “one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” and “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The recipient of the letter, the church at Ephesus, was another congregation visited by St. Paul on his second missionary journey (described in Acts 18). According to tradition, St. John served for a time as the functional equivalent of a bishop at Ephesus, where he had taken the Blessed Virgin after the Crucixion. The House of Mary at Ephesus, traditionally said to be the house St. John built for Mary, remains a popular tourist site and is a designated holy place for Roman Catholics. It was visited by three Popes: Paul VI (1967), John Paul II (1979) and Benedict XVI (Nov 2006 during his historic visit to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) which included celebration of Holy Communion with the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew II.

The Gospel reading, Luke 14:1-11, is the twelfth and last reading from St. Luke during Trinitytide: the Teaching Season (in which calculation I include the Sunday next before Advent). All the remaining Gospel readings are from the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John. The reading includes two separate but related scenes. The first scene simply sets the stage for the second and illustrates the strained relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. Both scenes, the Healing of the Man with Dropsy and the Parable of the Chief Seats, are unique to the Gospel of Luke. Dropsy, technically known as edema, is a disease which results in extreme fluid retention, usually in the legs and feet. In the mosaic below, the swelling is shown in young man’s lower torso. The mosaic is in the upper walls of the Apse, Monreale Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuovo de Monreale in Italian). The cathedral was dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1182 A.D., eight years after the structure was begun in the reign of the Norman King of Sicily, William II. The full legend above the image is in Latin (only the final three words are visible in the image): “Jesus in domo cujusdam principis fariseorum sanat hydropicum die sabbati” (literally: “Jesus heals the man with dropsy in the house of the leader of the Pharisees on the Sabbath day”). The mosiac, presented in red, white, silver, blue is set into a gold background, with Jesus’ followers at left with two Pharisees and members of the household at right. Look closely at the fine detail in the background buildings and, especially, at the suggestion of flow of the robes of the figures in the foreground. The silver-haired figure, whose face is only partially visible at the left of the image, is consistent with traditional imagery of St. Peter. The halo around Jesus’ head includes the traditional Eastern Church symbology of Christ, always shown with two vertical and two horizontal lines. The “X” above Jesus’ head is a traditional symbol identifying Christ. Every part of the mosaic is made from varying sizes of glass tile. For more details about this ancient method, typical of Byzantine Christian art, see the Fr. Ron’s Blog post, Deesis Mosaic-Hagia Sophia & Other Images, dated April 6, A.D. 2024 (linked from the Archive column at right). In that post I include enlarged sections which reveal more about the “how” of creating mosaics. My Podcast Homily for Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. The readings are discussed in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season in Episode Seven.

Christ Healing a Man with Dropsy, Byzantine-style mosaic, north wall, apse, Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Sicily, late 12th-early 13th C. Photo, June 2010, by Sibeaster. Public Domain.

Finally, I offer you one piece of advice for survival in our anti-Christian world of the 21st C. Instead of allowing such thoughts to negatively influence your daily life follow this mantra “Turn it off and tune it out.” The mantra is easy to apply not only to media but also to enterprises which, directly or indirectly, are hostile to the Christian faith. To fill the void, use web resources to create your own list of trusted resources in video, print and electronic and bookmark them for ease of daily use.

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

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity

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The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, celebrated on September 15th in A.D. 2024, marks the first reading from Ephesians during Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. The Collect for the day is another composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer made for the 1549 Book of C0mmon Prayer. It is another which was drawn from the “Gelasian” Sacramentary, named after the 5th C. pope although the volume was not published until circa 750. As you have undoubtedly noticed, the Gelasian liturgy, the second oldest in the Roman Catholic tradition, was highly-favored in the English Church both before and after the Church of England separated from the Church of Rome. The word “Church” was substituted for the original “congregation” in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

O LORD, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church;
and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour,
preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 3:13-21, as noted above, is the first in Trinitytide from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, a congregation he established in Asia Minor on his Second Missionary journey. This selection includes St. Paul’s colorful and vivid language which later became popular parts of Christian prayer. These verses are the source of the Christian understanding of the Church as the earthly body of the faithful (as reflected in the previously mentioned insertion of “Church” in place of “congregation”) and the necessity of the Holy Spirit “in” the “inner man” and Christ “dwelling” in the heart (v. 16b-19a). He also uses another term which became part of Christian belief: fulness. I discuss the meaning of “heart” (used 826 times in the King James Version) in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Layman’s Lexicon: a Handbook of Scriptural, Liturgical & Theological Terms, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

The Gospel reading, Luke 7:11-17, the eleventh reading from Luke’s Gospel in Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, is Luke’s account of Jesus “raising” the son of the Widow of Nain, an event which took place around 28 A.D. in western Judea in the second year of Jesus’ public ministry. Fortunately for Christians, the event was featured often in illuminated Gospels, pericope books and other media. For this post I offer three examples from the AIC’s image archive. The first two, in the spiritual style, are Byzantine/Ottonian illuminations from the late 10th and early 11th C. and the third is an example in the historical style in the form of a last quarter 19th. C. watercolor. All three examples were used in one or more episodes Episode Twenty and Episode Twenty-five in the AIC Bible Study Video series, The New Testament, and in Episode Seven in our Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. The spectacularly detailed image from the Gospels of Otto III was used as Illustration No. 56 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

Raising the Son of the Widow of Nain, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Gospels of Otto III, circa 998 A.D., Clm 4453, Image 60, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany. CC by-NC-SA-4.0

This first example was produced at Reichenau Monastery, Lake Constance, Reichenau, Germany, for Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, whose mother was a Byzantine princess. Using that family connection, artists from Constantinople were brought to Reichenau to aid the already-experienced local artists in producing illustrated Bibles and other liturgical books in the Byzantine style of illumination. During the Ottonian era of Holy Roman Emperors, successors to Charlemagne, coronated at Rome, Christmas Day, 800 A.D., developed their own distinctive style, often labelled after the monk Liuthar, the chief of the artists who began in the Scriptorium at Reichenau around 1000 A.D. The art they produced there remains unequalled in the range of detail, including facial expressions, the use of gold as a background, elaborate foliage and flora patterns as borners (see the example above), and scenes often framed between classical architectural features, such as the columns shown above.

The second example is from the Hitda Codex, an illuminated liturgical book produced for Hitda, the Abbess of Meschede, Germany, circa 1020 A.D. The Codex is the only surviving example of Christian art produced at or near Cologne, the center of the empire created by Charlemagne, a Frankish monarch whose kingdom stretched from the southern half of presentday Denmark into most of Spain, a large part of northern Italy and eastward into the edge of the Balkans. Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Rome on Christmas Day, 800 A.D., becoming the first Christian emperor in the West since the Vandals sacked Rome in 455 A.D. In earlier posts, I have explained the important part which Charlemagne and his spiritual advisor, the Blessed Alcuin of York, played in the spread of Christianity into western Europe.

Raising the Son of the Widow of Nain, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, Hitda Codex, produced for Hitda, Abbess of Meschede, Germany, circa 1020 A.D., Hs. 1640, Universitats- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. CC0 license.

The third and final example is another watercolor created in the historical style by James Tissot, part of his Life of Christ series produced between 1886 and 1896 and now part of the collection of the Brooklyn Museum. In the watercolor, Tissot’s mastery of architectural detail, costume and a wide range of facial expressions is evident, as is his capture of the details of the central scene in St. Luke’s account.

Raising the Son of the Widow of Nain, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, James Tissot, 1886-1896, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.

As always, I thank you for your interest and support. Especial thanks is owed to those who have signed on as followers of this Blog. The AIC’s online presence is intended to make these and other amazing examples of Christian more widely available in a variety of media. Most of our material is available free of charge. Author royalties from all the AIC Bookstore Publications are donated to the AIC. I encourage readers/viewers to visit the host sites for all these images, where these and many more are available in the public domain. They are owed a great debt of gratitude for preserving, archiving and, especially, digitizing the original art and making it available for research and education.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Tenth Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2024

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This week’s Collect and the Epistle reading offer excellent opportunities for understanding doctrines of the Christian Faith. The Gospel reading provides opportunity for increasing onw’s knowledge of historical events described in the Gospel of Luke. I am going to depart somewhat from the usual format by offering interpretation of both the Collect and the Epistle by Anglican clergyman and scholar Massey Shepherd, from his Commentary on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer published in 1950.

The Collect was adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary:

Let thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and, that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Shepherd offers the following helpful interpretation, in comparing it to another earlier Collect from the Leonine Sacramentary:

“It says in a somewhat different way [than the Leonine Collect], that God answers our prayers when we ask of Him according to His will. Put in other words, when our wills are conformed to His will, our prayers and petitions are acceptable to Him.”

The Epistle reading, 1st Corinthians 12:1-11, is St. Paul’s detailed lesson on the meaning of “spiritual gifts,” which he offered to help the formerly-pagan Corinthians understand the different between things which happen according to the true will of the Holy Spirit, one of the three divine persons of the Holy Trinity we celebrate during Trinitytide and the often impulsive and self-serving passions of the gods of the pagan era. Much of Paul’s correspondence with the congregation he founded at Corinth in similarly involved in corrections of incorrect pagan thinking and interpretation of events.

The Gospel reading, Luke 19:41-47a, as noted earlier the seventh reading during the period beginning on Whitsunday, includes two parts, The first is Jesus’ prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem, also commonly known as Jesus weeping over the fate of Jerusalem. It differs from the earlier reference in Luke 13:34, which describes events which had already happened. The second is part is Luke’s short account of Jesus driving out the money-changers from the Temple, including the famous line, “My house is the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (KJV text; see also Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17). Jesus’ account accurately describes the method of the systematic destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. The prophecy was vividly illustrated in the Gospels of Otto III, produced at Reichenau, Germany, around 998 A.D. The image was used as Illustration No. 93 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The book is available through my Amazon Author Central page, with more information on the AIC Bookstore page. The Gospels of Otto III also includes a image of the driving out of the money-changers. The Gospel reading was discussed in Episode Five in our Bible Study video series on the Gospel of Luke, linked from the Digital Library page. The homily for the occasion is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

Christ Weeps Over Jerusalem, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, produced at Reichenau Monastery, Reichenau, Germany, circa 998. Clm 4453, Image 80, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany. CC by NC-SA 4.0.

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

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

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Unlike the Epistle and Gospel reading for Sixth Sunday after Trinity, the Gospel reading for Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Mark 8:1-9) was a favorite subject for Christian artists, clergy, theologians and illustrators. The reading is Mark’s account of the second miraculous feeding of a multitude, commonly known as the Feeding of the 4,000. The location was somewhere along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis (Ten Cities in Greek) that is southeast of Bethsaida (near where the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee) and north of the region of Gergasa (the setting of the encounter with the Gadarene Demonic which Mark described in Mark 5:1-20). In the verses just before this week’s reading, Mark records Jesus healing the deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37, the famous incident in which Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears, spat and touched the man’s tongue) and, in the verses just afterward, he records an encounter with disbelieving Pharisees demanding a “sign from heaven.” In that account Jesus scolds the Pharisees for their obsession with signs and wonders and denial of His divine origin and identity.

Mark’s account is the second and final reading from his Gospel during Trinitytide. The third and final example does not occur until the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Mark 7:31-37, mentioned above). Mark’s account gives readers no names of the Disciples he quotes in verses 4 and 5 and describes a compassionate Jesus concerned for the many who had been following him for three days and who had “nothing to eat.” (verse 2). The account includes three examples of Hebrew and early Christian numerology: 3 (# of days following Jesus in verse 2), 4 (# of men present in thousands in verse 9) and 7 (# of loaves of bread, # of large baskets holding the remaining bread in verses 6 & 8). The illustration is from the Codex Egberti, the first illustrated Gospel to contain scenes in the Life of Christ. Trier is located on the banks of the Moselle River in the Rhineland-Palatine state of Germany near its western border with the tiny state of Luxembourg. It is near the heart of the empire of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who was crowned at Rome on Christmas Day, 800 A.D. (more in the blog postings about Alcuin and Charlemagne, posted on March 16th, and Fourth Sunday after Trinity). The example is small because the AIC does not have it in high enough resolution for a full page view.

Feeding the Multitude, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Egberti, circa 967-984, produced for Egbert, Archbishop of Trier, Trier, Germany. Codex 24, Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt Trier, Trier, Germany. Public domain.

Early Christians, especially those in the Byzantine tradition, interpreted the disciples’ skeptical question in verse 4 (“How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”) as a reference to a messianic prophecy and its fulfillment in Psalm 78: 20b and 21b: “Shall God prepare a table in the wilderness?” and “can he give bread also? The answers were given in Psalm 79:24 and 25: “…he commanded the clouds above * and opened the doors of heaven. He rained down manna also upon them for to eat, * and gave them food from heaven.”

Last week I shared with you my personal favorite image of Paul. Since again this week, the Epistle reading is from the writings of Paul, I offer a different portrait of the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” In this oil on panel painted by a Dutch artist, we see an image of Paul that is softer, both in color and tone, and, perhaps, suggestive of a more thoughtful, contemplative Paul than last week’s rather fierce image by Bartholomeo Mantagna.

St. Paul, oil on panel, Lucas van Leyden, circa 1520, Yale University Gallery of Art, New Haven, CT. Public domain.

For more about St. Paul and St. Mark, watch the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Lives of the Saints, First Series, episodes 5 & 7 respectively. both linked from the Digital Library page. The readings are discussed in the Podcast Homily for Seventh Sunday after Trinity, linked from the Podcast Homilies page, and in Episode 4 in the video series Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, linked from the Digital Library page. You can find many more illustrations of St. Mark in our publication, The Gospel of Mark: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support for this site, which has been bringing traditional interpretations and understandings to the web sincc our first live Internet broadcast of Sunday morning Holy Communion in the summer of A.D. 2010. We get offers from many vendors for a different format, but this current one, focused on our WATCH-LISTEN-READ formula still manages to find an audience.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!


Trinity-the Anglican Church’s Teaching Season

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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!

Whitsunday/Pentecost and Ambrose of Milan

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The Descent of the Spirit, egg tempera on panel icon, attributed to Theophan the Cretan, Stavronikita Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece, 1546. The Apostles are shown in a horseshoe pattern, six on the left and six on the right. The empty space at the top of the horsehoe represents the position which usually occupied by Christ. In some traditions, the Blessed Virgin Mary occupies the space. The crowned figure at bottom center is known as Cosmos, who represents all the world. He is shown with a dark background, which symbolizes the darkness of the secular world which rejected Christ. The use of the Cosmos figure faded away in the next two centuries after this image was painted. It was never used in Western Church art.

As the Church celebrates the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Whitsunday in the English tradition), it is appropriate to remember one of the greatest of the saints of the early Church, St. Ambrose of Milan (celebrated on the Anglican Church calendar on Dec. 7th). Sadly, except among scholars and clergy, St. Ambrose is little known today. He served, reluctantly at first, as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397 A.D. He is one of Doctors of the Church in the Western Church tradition. It could be said that he was the last of the great leaders of the Western Church whose theology was virtually identical to that of the Eastern Church. He is primarily remembered for his conversion of his most famous pupil, St. Augustine of Hippo (celebrated on the Anglican Church calendar on August 28th) and several of his hymns, many of which are still used in the Western Church in the 21st C. St. Ambrose was a strong supporter of the doctrines of the Nicene Creed, including the modifications made the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. Especially important for St. Ambrose was the virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her status as the Mother of God (or Theotokos in Greek, literally meaning God-bearer). The award of the title of Theotokos to the Blessed Virgin was not made into official Church belief until the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.

One the traditions observed in both the Western and Eastern Churches during St. Ambrose’s lifetime was the observation of the Sacrament of Baptism in association with the final days of Lent and the Feast of Easter. One of his most enlightening writings is On the Mysteries (or De Mysteriis. in Latin), a collection of his sermons to the newly baptized focused on the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. St. Ambrose refers to the Dove which descended upon Christ as His Baptism in Chapter III. The dove is the traditional symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit in Christian art. For the full text of On the Mysteries, see The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 10 (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994 Edition).

St. Ambrose of Milan, holding a Bishop’s crozier in his right hand and a book in his left, illuminated capital letter D in colors on parchment, with penwork decoration, On the Mysteries (De Mysteriis in Latin), circa 1114-1122, southeast England, probably Rochester, Ms. Royal 2 B VI, f. 2, British Library, London, England. It may have been prepared for use at the Cathedral Priory of St. Andrew, Rochester, where is is among the list of books in the library there in the 12th C.

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Ambrose of Milan rcceiving wisdom from God, represented by the hand from heaven at upper right. Menologion of Basil II, late 10th-early 11th C. Publiv Domain.

The final image this week is an illumination in egg tempera and gold on parchment from The Menologion of Basil II, an Eastern Church style book of hours honoring the saints of the Church Universal. In the case of martyrs, the manner of their death is vividly depicted. It was prepared between 976 and 1025 at Constantinople. The original is at the Vatican Library, Rome, Italy. It was among the manuscripts taken from Constantinople in the 12th C. during the Crusades. The Vatican published a volume with all the images in the early 20th C. and which was later released into the public domain, even though some images still carrying a Vatican copyright notice.

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