The prayer to the Holy Spirit commences as follows: ‘Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who is present everywhere and fills all things…’, showing that truth penetrates everything and is present everywhere at all times and in all places. But what is truth?

On the Feast of the Apostles, we are reminded of the work the first pioneers of our Faith completed to establish the Church. These men chosen by Jesus were commanded to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God. They had authority to heal the sick, cleanse lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons (Matt 10:8).

In the year 626, the Byzantine Empire was experiencing political turmoil. The emperor Phocas had recently been overthrown by a young general, Heraclius, and the empire had been invaded by both the Persians to the East and the Avars to the West.