Things new and old

And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
Matthew 13:52 New American Standard Bible

I knew the verse I wanted, but I also knew what I wanted to express by way of a preface, yet in comparing the English translations, I was amazed at how different the emphasis and even the meaning was between the versions. Though my two favorites are Jerusalem Bible and NIV, I thought the NASB translation hit the mark best (for my purpose only).

Many of my earlier blog posts, as well as the sidebar, contained links to items on a server that I have to abandon, so I spent the morning relocating items and relinking them. One group, PDF files of mostly Símandron publications—that's the "brand" name of my self-published tracts and booklets—used to be accessible in the sidebar, but I want to feature them in this post with thumbnails of the covers and brief descriptions. These are tracts and booklets (up to 40 pages long) that can be opened and read on line, or downloaded to your PC and printed.



Orthodox Tracts

40 Martyrs of Sebaste — The story of these martyrs and their meaning in the context of the married life, with a defense of Christian soldiers.


Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven — Saint Innocent of Alaska's handbook of the Orthodox life, written originally in the Aleutian language, the best short explanation of what Orthodoxy is and how to be an Orthodox follower of Jesus.


The Lorica — The famous prayer of Saint Patrick, Orthodox enlightener of Ireland.




Pelagía — The life story of Saint Pelagía the Harlot, written by her contemporaries.




Daily Prayer — A simple pamphlet of basic Orthodox prayers for morning and evening, with emphasis on praying the Psalms.


Singing the Work of the People — The Greek Orthodox Sunday Liturgy in transliteration, so those who cannot read written Greek can still sing and understand the songs of the service. Published with the blessing of Fr Elías Stephanopoulos (memory eternal).

The Apostolic Rule — Passages pulled from all the epistles of the New Testament and organized by book, that reveal how simple and direct are the instructions that the apostles have left us about how to live the Christian life.