Useful features include a range of options for text searches, straightforward navigation through the text, a history list of the last 100 verses you've visited, and a historical timeline to place Biblical events in a wider context. You can record notes that can later be searched or printed, highlight selected text in red letters, bookmark verses and create reference topics for listing related verses. Particularly useful is the ability to compare two Bible translations onscreen.

The program comes with the King James Authorised version (KJV) installed. Additional versions available for download include Darby's Modern Translation, Young's Literal Translation, the Revised Standard Version and the New American Standard Bible, along with French, German, Dutch, Spanish and Latin translations.

Valuable plug-in tools include a concise commentary, concordance and dictionary. It should be noted that these texts, like most of the Bible translations, are somewhat dated and distinctly conservative.

Theophilos has a slick user interface, with numerous keyboard shortcuts and a handy set of pop-up menus, to complement a stack of useful features. One of the best is its capacity to handle numerous additional modules, including commentaries, dictionaries, topic books, note sets and writings, all accessible from menus. A dictionary and commentary are included in the package, and any text file can be converted to any type of module with a shareware utility, Scribe 1.5, available separately. A sample 'writing' (St Augustine's Confessions) is available at the publisher's site, together with an additional commentary and dictionary.

You can maintain multiple sets of notes, insert bookmarks, create jumplists (sets of verse references which take you directly to the selected passage) and build topic books (lists of verses organised by topic). Flexible window management allows you to create readable displays to make the best use of the many tools available.

Keeping up with the times, Theophilos includes some multimedia features: you can record notes in audio form, and, less usefully, attach illustrations to particular verses. There's also a sample of the recorded Bible narration and music included on the commercial CD-ROM version.

The program's default (and screensaver) display is an elegant screen which shows the current date and time, the phase of the moon, the tides, festivals and observances which are associated with the day, and a couple of attractive graphics for decorative purposes (one is animated and doubles as an exit button). The calendar screen, which is called up from the control menu, adds a small calendar that allows you to search the program's database and display its content for any day. You can also pick one of four MIDI files to play continuously in the background (not recommended if you wish to retain your sanity!).

The text can be displayed in English, Latin or Spanish, or switched off altogether, if you're using the program simply to help keep track of the sequence or remind you of the Mystery for the current stage. You can also view an appropriate Bible verse, some accompanied with a small illustration, as an aid to meditation.

To obtain a very precise compass bearing for the most direct route to Mecca, you can utilise a database covering about 2,000 of the world's major cities, including a good selection of Australian locations. An ingenious movable globe allows you to indicate your approximate location if it's not included in the database. There is also an extensive database of mosque locations in the US.

In addition to a small onscreen display of when the next prayer is due, you can opt for a powerful audio reminder: the program can be configured to play one of two versions of the call to prayer (included in WAV format).

It includes an effective wallpaper image of the Crucifixion, which is best suited to desktops that display a minimal number of icons. The sound effects are mostly bits of sacred choral music which are a pleasant change to the usual run of thematic noises; the pointer animations are more colourful than the Windows defaults but not very imaginative.