Category: Patristics

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Yet Another Great Conference

The 2008 Letter & Spirit Conference
St. Paul: Mission and Mystery
Sponsored by the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
Nov. 14-15, 2008, St. Paul Seminary, Crafton, PA

Friday, November 14
Keynote Address:
“St. Paul: Mission and Mystery”
Dr. Scott Hahn, Founder and President, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Saturday, November 15
“The Biblical Basis for Bishops in Paul’s Pastoral Epistles”
Dr. Mike Sirilla, Associate Professor of Theology
Franciscan University of Steubenville

“The Mystery of Marriage in Paul”
Dr. John Bergsma, Associate Professor of Theology, Franciscan University of Steubenville

“The Mystery of Christ in Ephesians”
Dr. William Bales, Professor of Sacred Scripture, Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary

“The Mystery of the Spirit in First Corinthians”
Dr. Mary Healy, Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Panel Discussion
All scholars

Holy Mass
Celebrant & Homilist: Bishop David A. Zubik, Diocese of Pittsburgh

4th Annual Father Ronald Lawler, OFM Cap,
Memorial Lecture:
Sex, Marriage & Original Sin:
A Defense of Augustine’s Reading of St. Paul
Dr. John Cavadini, Chairperson of the Department of Theology
University of Notre Dame

REGISTER NOW! I hope to see you there…

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Portrait of the Artist

If you’ve seen the reviews of my book Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols, you know by now that it’s abundantly and beautifully illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti.

Raised in an atheist home in communist Czechoslovakia, Lea studied in Prague and began her career there. She has had shows on both sides of the Atlantic. I’m proud to have my name associated with hers.

Lea is herself a sign and mystery — quiet and self-effacing — though she reveals a bit in an interview in the October 5 edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. Content’s only visible to those who subscribe — so start your subscription with this issue! Lea talks about her conversion from atheism, her art, and the techniques of the early Christian artists. Contrasting ancient Christian art with medieval illumination, she says …

In contrast, the paintings in the catacombs seem to be hastily painted, modest, sketchy and lacking details. You don’t have the perfect execution or range of colors that people expect from artwork. But do not be mistaken. There is something more. Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive, reaching beneath reality’s surface. The poor quality contrasts with the richness of the content, giving vibrancy to the early Christian artwork. Early Christian artists may [have drawn] simply, but they leave profound messages accompanied by symbols. They rejected the ideals of artistic perfection and sophisticated beauty. Communication is valued above artistic refinement.

Her conversion story is quite moving. So subscribe now. And while you’re at OSV, pay a visit to the awesome multimedia tour of our book.

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Magical Mysteries Tour

Sarah Hayes, of my beloved publisher Our Sunday Visitor, has produced an awesome multimedia tour of my book, Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols. The presentation includes a sample chapter, sample illustrations by Lea Marie Ravotti, and several short interviews with Yours Truly. If you choose to read our bios, you can make Lea or me get bigger or smaller just by moving the mouse over our photos. When you’re listening to the interviews you’ll have a big advantage over my wife, as you at least can enjoy the luxury of an off switch.

Meantime, Julie the Happy Catholic has continued her meditations on the wonders encountered in Signs and Mysteries. To God the glory. To our ancient ancestors the honor that is their due.

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Last Call for Holy Land Pilgrims

I’m told that there are just a few seats left on the Year of St. Paul pilgrimage I’m making with Dr. Scott Hahn and Kimberly Hahn and Steve and Janet Ray. It takes place May 16-25, 2009.

We’ll be celebrating the Year of St. Paul and visiting the sites of Jesus: the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Transfiguration, Capernaum, Peter’s House, the Church of the Visitation, the Holy Sepulchre, Bethlehem, the Church of the Dormition, the Church of the Nativity, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Via Dolorosa … and many more unforgettable places. We’ll also have optional side trips to Qumran, Masada, Jericho, and the Dead Sea for swimming.

See here for more details. Hope you can make the trip with us!

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New Translation of Hippolytus’s ‘Song’ Commentary

I have been meaning to post links to Roger Pearse‘s fascinating patristic posts, which appear almost daily. Now I’ve accumulated quite a backlog. You should probably just go over and get caught up. But note especially his news of a recent translation of Hippolytus’s “On the Song of Songs” (“a translation from so marginal a language [Georgian] of an interesting Ante-Nicene text”). Roger also posts updates on his translation projects, Eusebius and Cyril of Alexandria.

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The Byzness of Bible Reading

The Society of St. John Chrysostom Youngstown-Warren Chapter is sponsoring a very cool all-day workshop on “How the Byzantine Tradition Reads the Bible.” The presenter will be Father John S. Custer, S.T.D. I’ve heard Father Custer speak. He’s an outstanding (and entertaining) teacher, steeped in the Fathers. The academic dean of Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary in Pittsburgh, he has spoken at the St. Paul Center‘s Letter & Spirit Conference. He is author of several books, including The Apostolic Writings: A Byzantine Perspective.

The seminar takes place Saturday, October 18, 2008, at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, 7782 Glenwood Ave., Boardman, Ohio. (Attention, catechists: It has been approved by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, Office of Religious Education, for 3.5 hours of Religious Education Certification Credit. Those credits usually transfer beyond diocesan borders.)

The conferences break down as follows: “How the Church Receives the Scriptures”; “How the Church Hears the Old Testament”; “From Scripture to Homily to Hymn — Biblical Worship in the Byzantine Church.” Interspersed will be times of liturgical prayer — as with all events of the SSJC — and times of eating (never a disappointment).

For more information, call 330-573-8653.

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Extreme Ankh-tion

Last week I was on Chuck Neff’s “Searching the Word,” on Relevant Radio, talking up my new book, Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols. Chuck took a special interest in my chapter on early Christian use of the Ankh, or crux ansata (cross with a handle). Since the time of the Pharaohs, Egyptians have used the Ankh as a symbol of everlasting life. An emblem of the Nile River god, the ankh represented the “key” he used to unlock the floodgates for the annual fertility of the land. Later, for Coptic Christians, it represented the cross of Christ, the key that released the baptismal flood upon the entire earth.

Anyway … I got an email from my old buddy Andy Owens, a great financial whiz, who’s now living and banking in Chicago. And he says: “I’m listening to you now on Relevant Radio discussing your new book. I’m going to mass-produce and sell ‘Ankh if you love Jesus’ bumper stickers. You want in? We’ll make $100s.”

Well, no one ever went broke by taking Andy’s advice. (I’m sure Lehman wouldn’t listen.) So I’ll see you at the country club. I’ll be wearing my Ankh.

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Great Conference Next Week

We at the St. Paul Center are co-sponsoring a conference Friday and Saturday, September 19-20, at University of Saint Mary of the Lake Conference Center, in Mundelein, Illinois. If you can get to the Chicago area, please consider joining us.

It’s a two-day conference on the Bible and the Liturgy. The speakers are outstanding (see below). The days will be measured (of course) with beautiful liturgical prayer.

Friday, September 19 (academic sessions)

Jesus and the New Temple: Old Testament and New Testament Temple Typology
Dr. Brant Pitre with respondent Dr. Denis McNamara

Scripture, the Early Church and the Fathers
Dr. John Cavadini with respondent Dr. Lynne Boughton

The Bible, Liturgy and Social Justice
Dr. David Fagerberg with respondent Dr. William Portier

Vatican II and Scripture in the Liturgy, Fr. Robert Barron

Evening Address: The Bible and the Liturgy – Written Text Becomes Living Word
Dr. Scott Hahn

Saturday, September 20 (general sessions)

The Bible, Liturgy and Salvation History
Mr. Jeff Cavins

The Biblical Roots of the Prayers of the Mass
Dr. Brant Pitre

The Sanctification of Time: Feasts and The Bible
Fr. Douglas Martis

The Bible, Liturgy and Christian Mystagogy
Dr. Scott Hahn

For more information, see here.

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Fathers of the Fretboard

Regular visitors to this blog know the name of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame’s resident expert on patristics. It’s Dion — once of the Belmonts, singer of many number-one hits, starting in 1957, when he was seventeen years old. He’s the voice on “Teenager in Love,” “I Wonder Why,” “The Wanderer,” “Ruby, Ruby,” and “Abraham, Martin and John.” He’s one of only two pop artists depicted on the cover of the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

The New York Times cast him as a reader of Augustine and even noted his connection to Yours Truly. His musical tribute to St. Jerome, The Thunderer, is available for download on Amazon. And, if you don’t own it by now … well, what are you waiting for?

Today’s mail brought Dion’s new album, which is a further foray in patristics — guitar patristics, that is. It’s called Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock, and it’s a tribute to Dion’s favorite axemen from the 1950s and 1960s. Some names are familiar. Some will be new to all but the true aficionados — because in the days before Jimmy Page, the lead guitarist was another of the unknown backup band behind Elvis, Del Shannon, and Johnny Cash. Dion himself is an outstanding guitarist, but was told “Lead singers don’t play guitar.” Now he’s at a place where he can do both if he wants, and he does them with his inimitable style.

The songs are well chosen, an ultimate party mix: “Summertime Blues,” “Bye Bye Love,” “Runaway,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “I Walk The Line,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Dream Baby,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” and even Dion’s own “The Wanderer.” It’s all done with the Bronx attitude that’s won a half-century of loyalty from the listening public.

With all that good stuff comes a bonus DVD of Dion sharing memories of his guitar heroes. As they say on Amazon: Buy it now!

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Jester Minute

Jeff Miller, the Curt Jester, has rendered judgment on my new book, Signs and Mysteries: Revealing Ancient Christian Symbols.

I really learned a lot from this book and while I had a general idea of meaning of many symbols I found a wealth of details. For example I will never look at the Ichthys when I see it on someone’s bumper the same way. I knew how it came about and that it was a Greek acronym and often used in the early Church, but I had no idea about the Eucharistic overtones and some of the other theological depths involved. Being an ex-Navy Chief I was also pleasantly surprised to see how the anchor was another common symbol used and its meaning.

I need to have Lea Marie Ravotti illustrate more of my books. All my heroes of the blogosphere have reviewed this one enthusiastically.

Adrian Murdoch, late of Bread and Circuses (moment of silence, please), was first out of the gate with this capsule notice: “Mike Aquilina’s Signs and Mysteries provides a popular yet academically rigorous guide to symbols in the early church. The immediately accessible prose — which quotes thoughtfully from the church fathers, classical and Jewish sources — is complemented by generous illustrations. He has not only drawn on the obvious archaeological and epigraphic record, he has also delved into the fascinating world of Christian graffiti. An essential book to keep to hand when visiting early Christian sites.”

Then Kevin Edgecomb at Biblicalia wrote the kind of close-reading, sensitive review that every author (or artist) dreams of.

Happy Catholic is promising a series.

And now the Curt Jester himself.

A man could retire on such praise — if he didn’t have so many teenagers to feed.