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Lent: Intro - 40 Day Reading Plan with the Fathers

This year for Lent I'm following a reading plan which comprises of a collection of extracts from various early church fathers writings. Each day I'm going to write a short overview and any thoughts on the text and link back to the source material so you can also follow along with me too, if you'd like. The overview of each day will probably be posted on the day after. The reading should only take 10-15 minutes of your time, and by day 40, you will have read ten different Fathers: Didache, Diognetus, Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Cyprian, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, and Leo the Great. I'll be reading from the “Church Fathers Lenten...

Jesus Like You've Never Seen Before - Discoveries from Early Christian Art

I recently made a video on TikTok about what Jesus looks like in religious art and icons across various cultures, showing that people see Jesus as relatable to them and their people groups, and thus often depict Jesus looking the same as their own race. There was a comment made claiming that the Christ Pantocrator icon is exactly what Jesus looked like, and thus all others are wrong. If you’re wondering about the icon name, Pantocrator (Greek: Παντοκράτωρ) literally means “ruler of all”, but usually gets translated as “Almighty” or “all-powerful”. The oldest known icon of Christ Pantocrator,6th-century encaustic icon fromSaint Catheri...

40 Days with the Fathers: Companion Texts OUT NOW!

40 Days with the Fathers: Companion Texts is now available to buy as Paperback or Kindle! I am happy to say that the new book is now available in paperback and Kindle format on Amazon! Other eBook formats will be available soon as it rolls out. This book is the companion to my other book (40 Days with the Fathers: A Daily Reading Plan), and includes twenty-three Early Church texts in full—including all additional footnotes from the original editors and translators so that you can get as close as possible to reading these ancient texts without needing to know ancient Greek or Latin. It's structured in such a way to read a chapter a day over a 40 day period...

Debunking the Myth: The Council of Nicaea and the Formation of the Biblical Canon

...ea. To emphasise that the convened bishops had no interest in this topic, there are no records from the Council or accounts from eyewitness attendees, such as Eusebius or Athanasius, mentioning any deliberations on the Canon of Scripture. The Origin of the Myth The myth of the Council of Nicaea’s involvement in forming the biblical canon can be traced back to a late ninth-century Greek manuscript known as the Synodicon Vetus. This manuscript, claiming to be a summary of decisions from Greek councils up to that point, presented a narrative where a divine miracle occurred at the Council of Nicaea. According to the manuscript, the Lord miraculously separated t...

What is Advent?

...s that emphasise not only the anticipation of Christ’s first coming but also the profound reflection on the Second Coming and the Last Judgement. Advent is recognised as a late inclusion in the liturgical calendar during the late fourth and early fifth centuries. The Council of Saragossa in 380 AD, particularly in its fourth canon, laid the foundation for the observance of Advent, emphasising the importance of daily attendance in church during the twenty-one days leading up to December 17th. Traditional Advent Wreath The symbolism of Advent is poignantly captured in the Advent wreath, a practice dating back to 16th-century German Lutherans but taking it...

Understanding the Ultimate Ransom

...h can purchase eternal life or prevent the inevitable decay of death. Human riches, no matter how vast, are powerless in the face of the ultimate cost of redemption. As Christians, this message resonates deeply with our understanding of salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. The Cost of Redemption The Psalmist’s lament about the futility of relying on wealth for redemption points to a universal human condition: the insufficiency of human efforts to secure eternal life. The idea that “no ransom avails for one’s life, there is no price one can give to God for it.” (v.7) highlights that redemption is beyond human capacity and ability. The price is too h...