Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Cyprian, in an epistle to his cure, and touching on the Blind Guides

O GOD, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Romans viii. 18 & St. Luke vi. 36

Homilies

Can the blind lead the blind?

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BULLETIN

no Calendar items

We remember the aniversaries of these saints of the Order

Steve of Texas, Peter of Germany

Please hold these centurions in your prayers this week.

News from Members:

From Tatomir of Romania

Between 21-24 June 2007, in Sighetu Marmatiei was kept the 9-th World Congress of Rusyns and the 3-rd World Forum of Rusyn Youth.
I was present at the Congress on the first day (21) in the afternoon, and on the third day (23) in the evening.
I made lot of friends, and acquaintances.
I had the joy to listen Rusin songs interpreted by Ruthenians from Slovakia, and touching beautiful Rusin poetry.
The book promotion was also very interesting.
I spoke with peoples from Ukraine, Serbia (Voivodina), Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, USA(Virginia), as well as from Romania.
One of my ancestors was from Ujgorod, of Rusin origin, and I felt a beautiful feeling of closeness and friendship. I was honored to shake hand with mr.Firczak, deputy in the Romanian Parliament and president of the Cultural Union of the Ruthenians from Romania.
It was a joy to have one uplifting conversation with the owner of the Padyak book editure from Ujgorod, Ukraine, mr. Padyak Valerii, contributor to the book "The people from nowhere", by Paul Robert Magocsi. This book is of great value, with lot illustrations, presenting the history of the Rusins along the history, being available in many languages, among them in English too.
Padyak Valerii is an remarkable, very kind person. He gifted me 2 copies of this book, "The people from nowhere", one in Rusin, and one in Romanian, and he signed the copy in Rusin with an dedication for me. Other very kind person I met, was mr.Mikhail Grad, an extraordinary man, very creative and dinamic. Also, it was a pleasure to change few words with mr.Vasilij Homa, from Bratislava.
I was present at the literary and musical program, from the evening of 23-rd june. It was touching to listen the Rusin anthem, text by Dukhnovych. Later I assisted to the presentation of the Aleksander Dukhnovych Prize for Literature.The Dukhnovych Prize is given each year to honor and encourage Rusyn poets and writers.
The Dukhnovych Prize was awarded to three young writers from Serbia.
I had a pleasant conversation with one of the winners of the award, mr.Slavko Vinaji. Poetry and culture are bridges among souls and nations. I went home wiser, happier and with a deep respect for Rusyns and their culture and their cultural contribution.
May Peace Prevail in all the Nations!
May Peace Prevail on Earth!

Commentary

Last week, after I attended the 400th anniversary of the first Holy Communion at Jamestown, I visited the Episcopal congregation at the Chapel of the Centurion at Fort Monroe, while there, just after services, I enrolled our newest "member" on St. John Baptist Nativity, MMVII, here is the rest of the story.

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES

MASCOT of the Order of Centurions But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM

"HESAIAS AQUILAE"
Legion Mascot

HESAIAS AQUILAE
"Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah…"

The Eagle is the symbol that every Roman legion carried since it was introduced by General Counsul Gaius Marius in about 100 BC. At first the Legion Eagle was silver, later gilded. It was an emblem of tremendous importance. At the same time Marius introduced the Eagle, he reorganized the army into the six-century cohort of 500-600 men. The Legion became a lighter mobile force to defeat the barbarian invaders. The legionaries, who were required to carry all their belongings on their backs, became known as "Marius' mules." He also developed the break away head on the pilum so it could not be used by the enemy. His reforms made him, and the Legion Eagle, very popular with the army.

When Constantine instituted the Labarum at Saxa Ruba in 312AD for the army and men's shields, the Eagle remained the symbol of the Roman legion. It was carried by a special officer of the Legion Headquarters, the Aquilifer, whose position and pay was like that of a centurion, and who was responsible for not only the Legion's Eagle, but the purse of the Legion in his dual role of paymaster. The Aquilifer was probably directly under the authority of the Praefectus Castrorum, who was third in command of the Legion.

The Aquilifer and the Legion Eagle were protected at all costs from capture by the enemy. However, captures did occur. For instance in 4AD three legions were completely destroyed deep in the German woods. Some years later the Romans managed to recover all of their lost eagles. The Legion Eagle was like the Regimental Colors carried by today's modern forces, and we can trace our heritage in this regard to the legions of Rome. Indeed, the Eagle is a symbol of the United States and of several other nations. During the American Civil War every Union Regiment carried two flags in the Colors, the US National Flag, and a Regimental Flag usually bearing the national emblem, the Eagle

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The Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist is a fitting date on the Church calendar to recognize the Aquilae as the bearer of God's word, for the Prophet Isaiah in speaking of the coming of John, said in the appointed reading, The grass witherist, the lower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever". What a wonderful symbol of the infinite strength and everlasting nature of God's Holy Word.

Finis.

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Order of Centurions
HOME

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"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" [St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans 14:19]

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES - TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM
www.OrderofCenturions.org

Peter and Paul [29 June]

 

Peter and Paul
Apostles - Martyrs
[29 June]
Homily from Clement the First, Bishop of Rome
Peter Home

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified thee by their martyrdom: Grant that thy Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by thy Spirit, may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit; one God, for ever and ever. Amen

On June 29, 258 AD, Christians of Rome transferred the remains of Peter and Paul to the Catacombs on the Appian way. From that time on, the Roman Christian calendars commemorated that event with a feast. It is held by some that Peter and Paul were martyred in the first Roman porgrom under Emperor Nero who is believed to have burned Rome in July 64 AD for his own entertainment while he fiddled. Nero blamed the Christians. There followed a great outrage in the city against the Christians, resulting in the deaths of many. "According to the historian Tacitus, a great multitude of Christians was put to death because of their hatred of the human race. Peter and Paul were probably among the victims."

Ezekiel xxxiv. 11, II Tim iv. 1, Psalm lxxxvii,   John xxi. 15

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Ezekiel xxxiv. 11

For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Psalm lxxxvii

II Timothy iv. 1

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

John xxi. 15

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.  

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HOMILY
Clemens Romunus

It was through envy and jealousy that the greatest and most upright pillars of the Church were persecuted and struggled unto death.... First of all, Peter, who because of unreasonable jealousy suffered not merely once or twice but many times, and, having thus given his witness, went to the place of glory that he deserved. It was through jealousy and conflict that Paul showed the way to the prize for perseverance. He was put in chains seven times, sent into exile, and stoned; a herald both in the east and the west, he achieved a noble fame by his faith....

Around these men with their holy lives there are gathered a great throng of the elect, who, though victims of jealousy, gave us the finest example of endurance in the midst of many indignities and tortures. Through jealousy women were tormented, like Dirce or the daughters of Danaus, suffering terrible and unholy acts of violence. But they courageously finished the course of faith and despite their bodily weakness won a noble prize.

 

Third Sunday after Trinity

Nativity of Saint John Baptist
June 24
Homily of John Chrysostom
John Baptist Nativity Home

ALMIGHTY God, by whose providence thy servant John Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of thy Son our Saviour by preaching repentance; Make us so to follow his doctrine and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and after his example constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The 24th of June is midsummer. It is exactly six months from the birth of Jesus, in accordance with the timing given in Luke This was a great Midsummer Feast day with many old traditions. "June 23 - is the Vigil of the Nativity of John the Baptist. This is the night when one can wait to see if the Sun will rise just a tiny bit South on the horizon that it did the day before. On the Day when you might be able to see that the Sun has risen slightly to the South presaging that the hours of light are getting shorter, the Saint whose job was to say the Light is coming is celebrated! Likewise, on the opposite end of the year, December 25th (based on the old calendar), the day when you can first tell that the days are getting longer, the Light of the World, Jesus, is born."

Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist

Isaiah xl. 1   &   St. Luke i. 57
Homily of Chrysostom on John Baptist

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for he hath visited and redeemed his people

THE GREAT FORERUNNER OF THE MORN

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Bulletin

 

Bidding

 

For a fellow centurion enroute to Iraq

 

O LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect our brother centurion, his comrades, and all the soldiers of our country; Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Amen

 

 

Calendar

 

Peter the Apostle -- June 29th

 

 

 

 

Commentary

Nativity of St. John Baptist. This is one of the few Holy Days that has precedence over a Sunday. Today's homily by Chrysostom is new this year on the Order. We have no homilies of Chrysostom that I've found on Luke, but he comments in this homily on Luke's account of John.   

 

400 Anniversary of the first Holy Communion in the American Colonies . I post early today for I am bound to a Holy Communion in Jamestown, Virginia in recognition of the 400 ^th Anniversary of the first communion in the colonies that formed the United States. There, in 1607, the Reverend Robert Hunt celebrated Holy Communion according to the 1559 (Elizabeth I's) Prayer Book. He gathered the folk together that 3rd Sunday after Trinity under a sail that had been stretched between trees to give protection from the elements. That little colony almost didn't make it. They were plagued with disease and hunger. However, help arrived, unexpectedly, from the Caribbean with a shipload of supplies to sustain them.

 

 

Second Sunday after Trinity

The Second Sunday after Trinity

LORD, make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy name: for thou never faillest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy steadfast love. Grant this, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end.

Collect source: Sacramentary of Gelasius, Bishop of Rome [ca 494AD] . This expanded verbiage and a different arrangement appeared in the 1662 BCP version:
O LORD, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy steadfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Deuteronomy xx. 1, Psalm 76, 1 St. John iii. 13   &   St. Luke xiv. 16

Homily

Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.    

BULLETIN

 

Calendar

 

Alban, Centurion, First Martyr of England - June 20th

Centurion at Capernaum

 

Commentary

 

Navy Hymn - ETERNAL FATHER, STRONG TO SAVE.

 

Friday night I had the good fortune to be the guest of on of a member of the Marine Barracks at 8th and I in Washington, DC... one of the oldest continuing Military forts of America (since 1801). Two of my workmates, both retired Gunnery Sergeants, had served under the command of our host. We were treated as special guests to the magnificent Parade Review that occurs every Friday night during the summer. It included performances by the Marine Band, the "President's Own; the Drum and Bugle Corps, The Commandant's Own (another of our workmates had served in as a bugler in the Commandant's Own not so many years ago and rejoiced in the camaraderie and reunions with the commander and men of the D&B Corps); and finally a Platoon executing a very impressive Silent Drill with bayonets fixed. It was awesome, and much as I had remembered it from when I first viewed it in  1969 with my platoon from Camp Upshur, Quantico.

 

There was one thing I did not recall. The announcer asked the audience to stand in respect for fallen American warriors while the President's Own played a familiar hymn that is on our Order's web site in the Hymnal... "Eternal Father, Strong to Save." The music, "Melita", is inspiring, and was published the same year as the verses in 1861. The tune was named for the island where St. Paul's ship wrecked, but where his faith in our Father, who was strong to save, kept Paul,  Centurion Julius of the Augustan Cohort, and the legionaries and sailors all alive. It was Centurion Julius who had treated Paul kindly on the sea voyage to Rome to face the Emperor and answer the charges made against him. It was Julius too who had kept his men from killing Paul as the storm raged. It was fitting that we should hear the melody as we contemplated those who had sacrificed their lives for freedom. This beautiful hymn is not the "official" Navy Hymn, but it is played at Naval Academy and aboard ships of the British Navy.

 

In closing, I invite you to take a moment this day in a small devotion to those fallen warriors while listening to  Melita.  and contemplating the words of the Navy Hymn

 

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy Word,
Who walked on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoever we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

FINIS

May the Peace of Christ be with you this day.

--
"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another"

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES - TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM
 

Boniface - Legionary [15 June]

ST. AUGUSTINE TO BONIFACE - TRIBUNE

 

an extract..

 

To Boniface, My Noble Lord and Justly Distinguished and Honourable Son, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord....

 

Do not think that it is impossible for any one to please God while engaged in active military service. Among such persons was the holy David, to whom God gave so great a testimony; among them also were many righteous men of that time; among them was also that centurion who said to the Lord: "I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed: for I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it;" and concerning whom the Lord said: "Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Matthew 8:8-10 Among them was that Cornelius to whom an angel said: "Cornelius, your alms are accepted, and your prayers are heard," Acts 10:4 when he directed him to send to the blessed Apostle Peter, and to hear from him what he ought to do, to which apostle he sent a devout soldier, requesting him to come to him. Among them were also the soldiers who, when they had come to be baptized by John,—the sacred forerunner of the Lord, and the friend of the Bridegroom, of whom the Lord says: "Among them that are born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist," Matthew 11:11 —and had inquired of him what they should do, received the answer, "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." Luke 3:14 Certainly he did not prohibit them to serve as soldiers when he commanded them to be content with their pay for the service.

 

 They occupy indeed a higher place before God who, abandoning all these secular employments, serve Him with the strictest chastity; but "every one," as the apostle says, "has his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that." 1 Corinthians 7:7 Some, then, in praying for you, fight against your invisible enemies; you, in fighting for them, contend against the barbarians, their visible enemies. Would that one faith existed in all, for then there would be less weary struggling, and the devil with his angels would be more easily conquered; but since it is necessary in this life that the citizens of the kingdom of heaven should be subjected to temptations among erring and impious men, that they may be exercised, and "tried as gold in the furnace," Wisdom 3:6 we ought not before the appointed time to desire to live with those alone who are holy and righteous, so that, by patience, we may deserve to receive this blessedness in its proper time.

 

Think, then, of this first of all, when you are arming for the battle, that even your bodily strength is a gift of God; for, considering this, you will not employ the gift of God against God. For, when faith is pledged, it is to be kept even with the enemy against whom the war is waged, how much more with the friend for whom the battle is fought! Peace should be the object of your desire; war should be waged only as a necessity, and waged only that God may by it deliver men from the necessity and preserve them in peace. For peace is not sought in order to the kindling of war, but war is waged in order that peace may be obtained. Therefore, even in waging war, cherish the spirit of a peacemaker, that, by conquering those whom you attack, you may lead them back to the advantages of peace; for our Lord says: "Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9 If, however, peace among men be so sweet as procuring temporal safety, how much sweeter is that peace with God which procures for men the eternal felicity of the angels! Let necessity, therefore, and not your will, slay the enemy who fights against you. As violence is used towards him who rebels and resists, so mercy is due to the vanquished or the captive, especially in the case in which future troubling of the peace is not to be feared....

 

read it all here

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102189.htm 

 

Besides the words of Augustine, we do well to remember the admonition of George  Washington who said,

"the General hopes and trusts, that, every officer and man, will endeavour so to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest Right and Liberties of his country."

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"Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another" [St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans 14:19]

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES - TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM
www.OrderofCenturions.org

First Sunday after Trinity

Commentary appears after the Proper Collect, Epistle and Gospel

First Sunday after Trinity
Augustine on 1 John 12-16
First Sunday after Trinity Home

O GOD, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Sarum Missal. Note: The system of numbering Sundays from Trinity was part of the Sarum Missal. 21 years after the first Prayer Book, Rome changed their system to number Sundays after Penetcost... a method that has been adopted by many churches

1 St. John iv. 7   &   St. Luke xvi. 19

Homily

 

BULLETIN

 

calendar

 

Barnabas the Apostle -- June 11th

Boniface, Legionary - June 15th

commentary

 

I should like to comment on the appointed collect. It comes from the Sarum Missal and was carried over into the English Prayer Book. Note it says, " through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace"   I now refer you to our Vow (Sacamentum), which each Centurion affirms at the time he applies for registration, and which each centurion is invited to reaffirm annually, as did the legions of Rome. We say, " through faith and the aid of the Holy Spirit, fear God and do what is right." Augustine, whose homily we feature this day, resurrected the Doctrine of Grace in his day. It was emphasized by the Reformers of the 16 ^th Century. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Augustine struggled against the heresy of Pelagianism that we see so plainly today in the post-modern church. Let us remember what the Church said in 419AD at the Council of Carthage when Pelagius was condemned, " Whoso preaches that without grace we could keep the commandments although with difficulty, is to be thrice execrated. For the Lord says, " Without me ye can do nothing."  I invite you to look at other Biblical and Church teachings that I have collected here.

 

Sundays after Trinity: We are entering the long Church season of Sundays after Trinity. It will run until Advent. This season, unlike the others, does not focus on a portion of the life of Christ (However, it does have the Feast of the Transfiguration as a Holy Day of our Lord in August.) The Sundays after Trinity are marked with green in many churches. Some have, in hindsight, associated this with Christian growth, where in this season we focus on the teachings of Christ and the Apostles. May we grow in Christian knowledge week-by-week in this season.

 

The Homily for this Sunday is from another from Augustine. It picks up on the second part of John's First General Epistle that is appointed for this Sunday. It is published for the first time on the Order's site this year. Lord willing, next year we will feature the third homily of Augustine that touches on this epistle. Recently I read an article entitled "Islam and Us" by George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sidney, Australia (First Things , June/July 2006 p. 33). The Most Reverend Pell speaks of the optimists who paint Islam as a religion of Peace… and then says, "On the pessimistic side of the equation, concern begins with the Qur'an itself. I started, in a recent reading of the Qur'an, to note invocations to violence—and abandoned the exercise after fifty or sixty pages, as there are so many of them." A good read, I recommend the entire article

 

Compare that, if you will, with John in our appointed epistle today.

 

If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

 

Throughout the New Testament we find the general theme of Love of Neighbor and prayer for enemies. This is a theme carried over into our very Rule in the Order, where we pick up the Summary of the Law. Our Lord has showed us the way to perfection through love. May God, through the Holy Ghost, give us the grace to love, and guide us toward that ideal love of Christ day-by-day.

 

pax Christi,

  

Trinity Sunday

Trinity Sunday

News of the Order and commentary appear after the Proper Collect, Epistle and Gospel

 

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

Propers

Revelation iv. 1   &   St. John iii. 1

Lessons: Psalm 33, Genisis i.1-ii.3, John i. 1-12

Hippolytus, a Bishop of Rome
Chapter XXVIII and XXVIV of Against Heresies
The Doctrine of the Truth

 

 

 

BULLETIN

   

calendar

 

Ferdinand of Portugal, Knight, Crusader, Prince - June 5th

 

news

 

A fellow centurion has sent us a link to a Traditional Lutheran lectionary site" www.sanctus.org , with collects, propers, and lessons and psalms for Communion, Matins and Vespers. He writes , " you can subscribe to both the daily lectionary (your choice of scripture translation) & to the historic Lutheran weekly lectionary." I compared the collect for Trinity Sunday from The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH) with today's that we have on the Order's site, and they are the same. We have added this link to our Chapel and to our Links page. I encourage you to visit the site and consider this resource for your ministry or devotion.

 

commentary

 

This is Trinity Sunday. It is a time when we set aside one worship day specifically to remember the Doctrine of the Trinity, which was gradually articulated over the centuries in the universal orthodox church. The most direct scriptural reference that I am aware of is 1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and the three are one."  This verse aroused some controversy in the West when translating a new edition of the New Testament; it was not found many of the Greek bibles. Modern editions of the bible, and even my 1928 Prayer Book, exclude it. However, most Christians hold it to be valid. You may wish to search the internet for discussions on this passage in some detail. I commend the analysis by the Reverend R. L. Dabney. Here is another site with citations from Cyprian [250AD] and others of the Early Church who quote or allude to the passage http://www.1john57.com/1john57.htm

 

The Homily offered for this Sunday is from Hippolytus, listed on the Order's site for the first time this year. from his Doctrine of Truth. It complements the lesson for Morning Prayer from the 1 ^st Chapter of the Gospel of John.