Editorial Conventions

The writings of The Kingdom Scribe follow the conventions set out below. They are stated here so that every reader may know how Scripture and the other authorities are quoted, why particular sources are cited, and what the marks and forms used on these pages signify.

Scripture is never changed. Scripture is quoted word for word, exactly as it is printed in the edition cited, and it is never changed, under any circumstances, for any reason. No word, letter or mark of punctuation is added, removed or altered, and no mark of emphasis or typography is placed within it. Where the printed text appears to contain an error of grammar, spelling or printing, it is left exactly as it stands. Scripture is sacred, and nothing is done to it under the pretense of correcting it. Where the Bishop wishes to comment upon a passage, he does so in his own words, outside the quotation.

The Bibles used. In English, Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (the standard text of 1769, with the Apocrypha). In every other language, Scripture is quoted from an established, published edition of the Holy Bible in the language in which the reader is reading; it is never translated anew from the English. Every effort has been made to quote from an official edition of a recognized Bible society wherever possible. Editions in the public domain have been used throughout, primarily to avoid questions of copyright and the wait for approval to use a copyrighted edition. Nevertheless, in certain instances where it was prudent and necessary, permission has been sought from the Bible society responsible for that language. Editions still under copyright are used by permission of their publishers, whether given directly or through the publisher’s published license, or, where the law allows, as fair use.

The edition is named. Every citation of Scripture names the edition from which it is quoted, for example “(KJV)” in English or “(Luther 1912)” in German.

Verse numbering. Some Bibles number certain verses differently, the Psalms especially. Each language cites its own Bible’s numbering, so that a reference may differ slightly from the English reference to the same passage.

The words of Christ. The words of Christ, together with their quotation marks, are printed in red, as the Bishop determines them. In a few passages it is disputed whether Christ or the Evangelist is speaking, as in John 3:16; such passages are left in black.

Books of differing canon. The churches do not all receive the same books as Scripture. A book received in some churches and not in others, such as those of the Apocrypha or of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo canon, may be cited, and its citation implies no ruling on its canonical standing.

Sources are weighed according to the following order of authority, from the highest to the lowest. Each writer or writing is placed in the highest category for which it qualifies; a creed is placed with the council that adopted it, except that the Apostles’ Creed is placed in the ninth category and the Athanasian Creed in the eleventh.

1. The Words of Christ, as recorded anywhere in Scripture.
2. The Apostolic Writings: Matthew; John; 1, 2, and 3 John; Revelation; the thirteen epistles of Paul; and 1 and 2 Peter.
3. The Other New Testament Writings: Mark, Luke, Acts, Hebrews, James, and Jude.
4. The Old Testament, together with the Apocrypha as printed in the 1611 King James Version.
5. The Apostolic Fathers, of the generation following the Apostles (c. A.D. 95–150).
6. The Ante-Nicene Fathers, before the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325).
7. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, together with the Desert Fathers.
8. The Seven Ecumenical Councils, received by both East and West, with the creeds and definitions each adopted.
9. Later Councils, not received by both East and West.
10. The Saints: writings of any person recognized as a saint by the Church, East or West, who is not placed in a higher category.
11. Confessions, Catechisms, and Papal and Patriarchal Documents.
12. Liturgical Texts, such as the ancient liturgies and the Book of Common Prayer.
13. Historic Christian Writers Not Canonized.
14. Ancient Non-Canonical and Non-Christian Sources, such as the pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, and the Greco-Roman historians.
15. Modern Scholarship.
16. Reference Works, such as lexicons and concordances, which serve as tools rather than as authorities.

No endorsement is implied. The citation of an encyclical, or of any work of an author of one denomination, or of the work of one church, rather than that of another, implies no endorsement of that denomination or church and no favoritism of any kind. A passage is chosen solely because the Bishop has judged that particular passage, from that particular source, to be especially instructive on the matter at hand, and for no other reason. It is not his intention to advance or to impede any denomination whatsoever.

Truth is where it is found. The Bishop holds that truth is where one finds it. He may therefore quote secular sources, and works that are non-canonical or that remain in controversy among the churches. He does so because, as the author, he has judged the passage cited to be especially instructive, and has satisfied himself that what he says is the truth.

Quotations are verbatim. Words within quotation marks are always the exact words of the source cited. A source is never paraphrased as though it were a quotation. Where the exact wording of a source cannot be verified, it is not quoted.

Ellipses and brackets. An ellipsis (…) shows that a quotation begins or ends partway through a sentence of the original, or that words have been omitted. Words in square brackets within a quotation are reproduced as they appear in the edition quoted. Nothing is ever inserted into a quotation of Scripture.

Endnotes give the full text. Every authority cited in a writing is given in its endnotes in full, in the exact words of the source, so that the reader may read the authority itself rather than a reference to it.

Citations. Except where a deviation is expressly noted, citations and formatting follow the Chicago Manual of Style, the method generally accepted for theological and historical writing of the kind published here. The writings of The Kingdom Scribe depart from it deliberately, and for the following reasons, in these respects:

1. Pronouns referring to God are capitalized (He, Him, His), together with words belonging to Him, such as “His right hand.” Chicago generally sets them in lowercase. They are capitalized here out of reverence.
2. Partial quotations keep their ellipses. Chicago generally omits an ellipsis at the beginning or end of a quotation. Here it is kept, so that the reader always knows when a quotation, and above all a quotation of Scripture, does not give the whole sentence.
3. Endnotes give the full text of every authority cited, not only the reference. This is done so that the reader may read the authority itself.
4. The words of Christ are printed in red, together with their quotation marks, after the long custom of red-letter Bibles, so that the words of the Lord stand apart.
5. “Lord” referring to Jesus is set in small capitals in the Bishop’s own prose, but never within Scripture, in reverence.

The Church Fathers in other languages. Where a Father of the Church is quoted from an English edition, the quotation on a page in another language is translated from that English edition and is so marked, for example “(translated from the English of ANF 1).”

Reverential capitals. Pronouns referring to God are capitalized (He, Him, His), as are words that belong to Him in the same sense, as when it is said that Christ is seated at His right hand.

The Lord in small capitals. In the Bishop’s own prose, the word “Lord,” when it refers to Jesus Christ, is set in small capitals, in every language written with capital letters. This is never done within Scripture.

Other capitals. “Kingdom” (of God and of Heaven), “Kingdom Scribe,” “Scripture,” “the Church” (meaning the whole Body of Christ), and “the Holy Spirit” are capitalized.

Spelling and punctuation. The English pages use American spelling. In a series separated by semicolons, the last item is introduced by “; and.”

Titles. Titles are given as forms of address and not as claims of standing, and they are kept understated.

Names. Saints, popes, patriarchs, and other bishops are named in the form traditional to their own Church or customary in the reader’s language. The form chosen implies no preference among the churches.

The translations. The pages in languages other than English are translated with the aid of artificial intelligence, and the English text is the authoritative one. See A Note on the Translations and on Authority.

Pictures. Only pictures in the public domain or freely licensed for such use are shown, and each is captioned and credited.

Numbering, dates, and revisions. Publications are numbered and dated. Standing pages may be revised in place, and a revised page may show the date of its last revision, so that the reader may know which version he or she is reading.

Corrections. Readers who find an error, and above all an error in a quotation of Scripture, are asked to write to the address given on the home page. Errors are corrected.

KJV

King James Version (standard text of 1769)

ANF

Ante-Nicene Fathers, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, followed by the volume number

NPNF2

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, followed by the volume number

Easton

Burton Scott Easton, The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus (1934)

A.D.

Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord

c.

circa, about

Last revised: October 7, 2026