Forty Days in the Desert of Lent - Day 28

Today we commemorate St. John Climacus, who brought us the work 'The Ladder of Divine Ascent' - an ascetical treatise.

We also commemorate St. Kyril, Bishop of Jerusalem (c. 350 A.D.), who, as a priest, delivered his lectures to Catechumens which constitute one of the most ancient systematic treatises on the preparation of those to be baptised and, because of its position immediately post-Nicea and just prior to the closing of the New Testament canon, in my opinion it is invaluable in demonstrating the basic Orthodox faith of the Church that concluded the New Testament canon and gives us a firm foundation for the life in Christ as a member of the ekklesia. You can read this work online by the good graces of ccel.org. I believe St. Vladimir's Seminary Press has also published a portion of these lectures in English under the title "On the Sacraments" or some such.

Again, I commend you to the Orthodox Word podcast via the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website for the Gospel reading for this Sunday in lieu of my posting it here during my time away.

http://goarch.org/en/chapel/podcast.asp