Topaz

Image Source = Didier Descouens

1 (ALL SAINTS)

2 (ALL SOULS/COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED)

3 (Richard Hooker, Anglican Priest and Theologian)

• Daniel Payne, African Methodist Episcopal Bishop
• John Worthington, British Moravian Minister and Composer; John Antes, U.S. Moravian Instrument Maker, Composer, and Missionary; Benjamin Henry LaTrobe, Sr., British Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer; Christian Ignatius LaTrobe, British Moravian Composer; Peter LaTrobe, British Moravian Bishop and Composer; Johann Christopher Pyrlaeus, Moravian Missionary and Musician; and Augustus Gottlieb Spangenberg, Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer
• Pierre-François Néron, French Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Vietnam, 1860

4 (Ludolph Ernst Schlicht, Moravian Minister, Musician, and Hymn Writer; John Gambold, Sr., British Moravian Bishop, Hymn Writer, and Translator of Hymns; and John Gambold, Jr., Moravian Composer)

• Augustus Montague Toplady, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Léon Bloy, French Roman Catholic Novelist and Social Critic; godfather of Jacques Maritain, French Roman Catholic Philosopher; husband of Raïssa Maritain, French Roman Catholic Contemplative
• Theodore Weld, U.S. Congregationalist then Quaker Abolitionist and Educator; husband of Angelina Grimké, U.S. Presbyterian then Quaker Abolitionist, Educator, and Feminist; her sister, Sarah Grimké, U.S. Episcopalian then Quaker Abolitionist and Feminist; her nephew, Francis Grimké, African-American Presbyterian Minister and Civil Rights Activist; and his wife, Charlotte Grimké, African-American Abolitionist and Educator

5 (Arthur and Lewis Tappan, U.S. Congregationalist Businessmen and Abolitionists; colleagues and financial backers of Samuel Eli Cornish and Theodore S. Wright, African-American Ministers and Abolitionists)

• Bernard Lichtenberg, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943
• Hryhorii Lakota, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1950
• Johann Daniel Grimm, German Moravian Musician

6 (Christian Gregor, Father of Moravian Church Music)

• Giovanni Gabrieli and Hans Leo Hassler, Composers and Organists; and Claudio Monteverdi and Heinrich Schutz, Composers and Musicians
• Halford E. Luccock, U.S. Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Magdeleine of Jesus, Foundress of the Little Sisters of Jesus

7 (Willibrord, Apostle to the Frisians; and Boniface of Mainz, Apostle to the Germans)

• Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, and Civil Rights Activist
• John Cawood, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Christian Frederick Heyer, Lutheran Missionary in the United States and India; Bartholomeaus Ziegenbalg, Jr., Lutheran Minister to the Tamils; and Ludwig Nommensen, Lutheran Missionary to Sumatra and Apostle to the Batak

8 (John Duns Scotus, Scottish Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian)

• Johann von Staupitz, Martin Luther’s Spiritual Mentor
• John Caspar Mattes, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist
• Pambo of Nitria, Ammonius of Skete, Palladius of Galatia, Macarius of Egypt, Macarius of Alexandria, and Pishoy, Desert Fathers; Evagrius of Pontus, Monk and Scholar; Melania the Elder, Desert Mother; Rufinus of Aquileia, Monk and Theologian; Didymus the Blind, Biblical Scholar; John II, Bishop of Jerusalem; Melania the Younger, Desert Mother; and her husband, Pinian, Monk

9 (Martin Chemnitz, German Lutheran Theologian, and the “Second Martin”)

• Johann(es) Matthaus Meyfart, German Lutheran Educator and Devotional Writer
• Margery Kempe, English Roman Catholic Mystic and Pilgrim
• William Croswell, Episcopal Priest and Hymn Writer

10 (Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome)

• Elijah P. Lovejoy, U.S. Journalist, Abolitionist, Presbyterian Minister, and Martyr, 1837; his brother, Owen Lovejoy, U.S. Abolitionist, Lawmaker, and Congregationalist Minister; and William Wells Brown, African-American Abolitionist, Novelist, Historian, and Physician
• Lott Cary, African-American Baptist Minister and Missionary to Liberia; and Melville B. Cox, U.S. Methodist Minister and Missionary to Liberia
• Odette Prévost, French Roman Catholic Nun, and Martyr in Algeria, 1995

11 (Anne Steele, First Important English Female Hymn Writer)

• Edwin Hatch, Anglican Priest, Scholar, and Hymn Writer
• Martha Coffin Pelham Wright; her sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott; her husband, James Mott; his sister, Abigail Lydia Mott Moore; and her husband, Lindley Murray Moore; U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Feminists
• Peter Taylor Forsyth, Scottish Congregationalist Minister and Theologian

12 (Josaphat Kuntsevych, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Polotsk, and Martyr, 1623)

• John Tavener, English Presbyterian then Orthodox Composer
• Ray Palmer, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• William Arthur Dunkerley, British Novelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer

13 (Henry Martyn Dexter, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Historian)

• Abbo of Fleury, Roman  Catholic Abbot
• Brice of Tours, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Frances Xavier Cabrini, Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart

14 (Samuel Seabury, Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut and Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church)

• Nicholas Tavelic and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1391
• Peter Wolle, U.S. Moravian Bishop, Organist, and Composer; Theodore Francis Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist and Composer; and John Frederick “J. Fred” Wolle, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Choir Director
• William Romanis, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

15 (John Amos Comenius, Father of Modern Education)

• Gustaf Aulén and his protégé and colleague, Anders Nygren, Swedish Lutheran Bishops and Theologians
• Johann Gottlob Klemm, Instrument Maker; David Tannenberg, Sr., German-American Moravian Organ Builder; Johann Philip Bachmann, German-American Moravian Instrument Maker; Joseph Ferdinand Bulitschek, Bohemian-American Organ Builder; and Tobias Friedrich, German Moravian Composer and Musician
• Joseph Pignatelli, Restorer of the Jesuits

16 (Margaret of Scotland, Queen, Humanitarian, and Ecclesiastical Reformer)

• Giuseppe Moscati, Italian Roman Catholic Physician
• Ignacio Ellacuria and His Companions, Martyrs in El Salvador, November 15, 1989
• Johannes Kepler, German Lutheran Astronomer and Mathematician

17 (Hugh of Lincoln, Roman Catholic Bishop and Abbot)

• Henriette DeLille, Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family
• Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford, Baptist Missionary to the Kiowa Nation

18 (Hilda of Whitby, Roman Catholic Abbess)

• Alice Nevin, U.S. German Reformed Liturgist and Composer of Hymn Texts
• Arthur Tozer Russell, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Jane Eliza(beth) Leeson, English Hymn Writer

19 (Elizabeth of Hungary, Princess of Hungary and Humanitarian)

• Johann Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Organist, Composer, and Piano Builder; and his son, Jacob Christian Till, U.S. Moravian Piano Builder)
• Johann Hermann Schein, German Lutheran Composer
• Samuel John Stone, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

20 (F. Bland Tucker, Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist; “The Dean of American Hymn Writers”)

• Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Priscilla Lydia Sellon, a Restorer of Religious Life in The Church of England
• Richard Watson Gilder, U.S. Poet, Journalist, and Social Reformer

21 (Thomas Tallis and his student and colleague, William Byrd, English Composers and Organists; and John Merbecke, English Composer, Organist, and Theologian)

• Henry Purcell and his brother, Daniel Purcell, English Composers
• Theodore Claudius Pease, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer

22 (Robert Seagrave, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Ditlef Georgson Ristad, Norwegian-American Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, Liturgist, and Educator

23 (John Kenneth Pfohl, Sr., U.S. Moravian Bishop; his wife, Harriet Elizabeth “Bessie” Whittington Pfohl, U.S. Moravian Musician; and their son, James Christian Pfohl, Sr., U.S. Moravian Musician)

• Caspar Friedrich Nachtenhofer, German Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Clement I, Bishop of Rome
• Columban, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Missionary

24 (John LaFarge, Jr., U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Renewer of Society)

• Andrew Dung-Lac and Peter Thi, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs in Vietnam, 1839
• Theophane Venard, Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in Vietnam, 1861
• Vincent Liem, Roman Catholic Martyr, 1773

25 (William Hiley Bathurst, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer)

• Isaac Watts, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• James Otis Sargent Huntington, Founder of the Order of the Holy Cross
• Petrus Nigidius, German Lutheran Educator and Composer; and Georg Nigidius, German Lutheran Composer and Hymn Writer

26 (Sojourner Truth, U.S. Abolitionist, Mystic, and Feminist)

• H. Baxter Liebler, Episcopal Priest and Missionary to the Navajo Nation
• John Berchmans, Roman Catholic Seminarian
• Theodore P. Ferris, Episcopal Priest and Author

27 (James Intercisus, Roman Catholic Martyr)

• James Mills Thoburn, Isabella Thoburn, and Clara Swain, U.S. Methodist Missionaries to India
• William Cooke and Benjamin Webb, Anglican Priests and Translators of Hymns

28 (Stephen the Younger, Defender of Icons)

• Albert George Butzer, Sr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Educator
• Kamehameha IV and Emma Rooke, King and Queen of Hawai’i
• Joseph and Michael Hofer, U.S. Hutterite Conscientious Objectors and Martyrs, 1918

29 (Frederick Cook Atkinson, Anglican Church Organist and Composer)

• Jennette Threlfall, English Hymn Writer

30 (ANDREW THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

Floating

• Thanksgiving Day

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.

Above:  Seal of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

He Found the Messiah (John 1:41)

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Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (The Jerusalem Bible):

[Moses continued,] “For this Law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach.  It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we may hear and keep it?’  Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder, ‘Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?’  No, the Word is very near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart and for your observance.”

Psalm 19:1-6 (The Jerusalem Bible):

The heavens declare the glory of God,

the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork;

day discourses of it to day,

night to night hands on the knowledge.

No utterance at all, no speech,

no sound that anyone can hear;

yet their voice goes out through all the earth,

and their message to the ends of the earth.

High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,

who comes out of his pavilion like a bridegroom,

exulting like a hero to run his race.

He has his rising on the edge of heaven,

the end of his course is its furthest edge,

and nothing can escape his heat.

Romans 10:8b-18 (The Jerusalem Bible):

On the positive side it [the text] says:  The word, that is the faith we proclaim, is very near you, it is on your lips and in your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.  By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved.  When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek:  all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many may ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But they will not ask his help unless they believe in him, and they will not believe in him unless they have heard of him, and they will not hear of him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but as scripture says:  The footsteps of those who bring good news is a welcome sound. Not everyone, of course, listens to the Good News.  As Isaiah says:  Lord, how many believed what we proclaimed? So faith comes from what is preached, and what is preached comes from the word of Christ.

Let me put the question:  is it possible that they did not hear?  Indeed they did; in the words of the psalm, their voice has gone out through all the earth, and their message to the ends of the world.

Matthew 4:18-22 (The Jerusalem Bible):

As he [Jesus] was walking by the Sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother, Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they were in their boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.  At once, leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.

The Collect:

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your Holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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St. Andrew was the brother of Simon, whom Jesus called Cephas, or Peter, meaning “Rock.”  Simon became the Rock in part because Andrew introduced him to Jesus, identifying Jesus as the Messiah.

Andrew, a fisherman like his brother, left his trade behind to follow Jesus.  His vocation as an apostle seems to have included introducing people to Jesus.  It was Andrew, originally a disciple of John the Baptist, introduced the boy with five loaves and two fishes to Jesus before our Savior fed thousands of people.  And tradition holds that Andrew spoke of Jesus for the rest of his life, traveling as far as Byzantium, the city the Roman Emperor Constantine I (“the Great”) rebuilt and renamed Constantinople, and is now Istanbul.  The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is the successor of St. Andrew, just as the Bishop of Rome is the successor of St. Peter.

It seems that St. Andrew died no later than 38 C.E., crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, Achaia.  The official website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate lists the second Patriarch as Stachys the Apostle, who held that office from 38 to 54 C.E.  The mode of St. Andrew’s martyrdom explains the fact that the St. Andrew’s Cross is X-shaped.  Tradition holds furthermore that his bones wound up in Scotland; hence he is the patron saint of Scotland.

Below:  The Flag of Scotland, bearing the St. Andrew’s Cross

The St. Andrew’s Cross is evident in numerous denominational logos, such as those for the Church of Scotland, the original Presbyterian denomination, and The Episcopal Church, for Scottish Episcopalian bishops consecrated the first U.S. bishop, Samuel Seabury.

Below:  Seal of the Church of Scotland

Below:  Seal of The Episcopal Church

Thus we see the influence of one man.  Indeed, one person can make a great and positive difference.  What will your contribution be?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 10, 2010

FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.), 1983

FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA, 1925

FEAST OF SAINT EPHREM OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC DEACON AND HYMN WRITER