Having entered the Christmas season, we ask those who find the work of the Mystagogy Resource Center beneficial to them to help us continue our work with a generous financial gift as you are able. As an incentive, we are offering the following booklet.

In 1909 the German philosopher Arthur Drews wrote a book called "The Myth of Christ", which New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman has called "arguably the most influential mythicist book ever produced," arguing that Jesus Christ never existed and was simply a myth influenced by more ancient myths. The reason this book was so influential was because Vladimir Lenin read it and was convinced that Jesus never existed, thus justifying his actions in promoting atheism and suppressing the Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union. Moreover, the ideologues of the Third Reich would go on to implement the views of Drews to create a new "Aryan religion," viewing Jesus as an Aryan figure fighting against Jewish materialism. 

Due to the tremendous influence of this book in his time, George Florovsky viewed the arguments presented therein as very weak and easily refutable, which led him to write a refutation of this text which was published in Russian by the YMCA Press in Paris in 1929. This apologetic brochure titled "Did Christ Live? Historical Evidence of Christ" was one of the first texts of his published to promote his Neopatristic Synthesis, bringing the patristic heritage to modern historical and cultural conditions. With the revival of these views among some in our time, this text is as relevant today as it was when it was written. 

Never before published in English, it is now available for anyone who donates at least $20 to the Mystagogy Resource Center upon request (please specify in your donation that you want the book). Thank you.



July 15, 2009

Bulgarian Orthodox Synod Says "NO" to Dialogue With Papal Church

Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

On June 28, 2009 a delegation representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate met with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome to participate in the festivities in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul.

The participation of the Orthodox delegation in the late-June liturgies “reminds us of our common commitment to the search for full communion,” Pope Benedict said.

"You already know this, but I am pleased to confirm today that the Catholic Church intends to contribute in every way to making it possible to re-establish full communion in response to Christ’s will for his disciples,” he said.

Pope Benedict said the International Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Commission would meet in October in Cyprus “to face a theme crucial for relations between the East and West, that is the ‘role of the bishop of Rome in the communion of the church in the first millennium.'” Ecumenical experts believe agreement on how the pope, the bishop of Rome, exercised his ministry before Christianity split into East and West is essential for discovering the way the papacy could be exercised in the church if Catholics and Orthodox successfully reunite.

“I want the participants in the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue to know that my prayers accompany them and that this dialogue has the complete support of the Catholic Church,” Pope Benedict told the Orthodox delegation.

"With all my heart, I hope that the misunderstandings and tensions encountered by the Orthodox delegates during the last plenary session of the commission have been overcome in fraternal love so that this dialogue will be more broadly representative of Orthodoxy", the Pope said. At the last plenary gathering, held in Italy in 2007, the Russian Orthodox delegation walked out to protest the presence of a delegation from the Estonian Orthodox Church, recognized as autonomous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but not by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Interestingly at the 2007 meeting the Bulgarian Orthodox Church sent no representatives.

According to a news report by Romfea.org on July 9, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has rejected the invitation once more to the International Catholic-Orthodox Dialogue Commission that was to meet between October 16-23, 2009 in Cyprus.

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church examined the letter/invitation sent by the organizers of this Meeting and after discussions decided to send no representatives. They analyzed the fact that prior dialogues between the Orthodox and Papal Church didn't lead in the least to any reconciliation between Orthodox and Papal doctrines.

Apparently the Bulgarian Orthodox Synod did not like the topic for discussion and simply just does not want to waste its time or resources, but did agree to meet with Papal delegates in the future to discuss mutual problems relating to human issues.

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