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.



September 11, 2009

An Orthodox Hymn For September 11th (9/11)?


Well, not really. It is actually an Orthodox hymn for August 29th, which is the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist. However, according to the Old Calendar August 29th lands on the New Calendar September 11th. This makes the hymn all the more interesting, especially when you consider that at the hour Muslim terrorists struck America (Mid-morning), Old Calendar Orthodox were chanting the following hymn.

This is taken from the 9th Ode of the Canon for the Feast, written by St. John of Damascus, and drawing on Psalm 44:

Draw Your bow, march forward and reign, O Son of the Mother of God, subduing the Ishmaelite people that wars against us, granting victories to our Orthodox Sovereign over barbarian enemies, at the prayers of the one who gave You birth, O Word of God.

St. John was the first Christian to write against the "new" Islamic heresy in his book Against Heresies. He lived among them and worked for them in the city of Damascus before being tonsured a monk at St. Savas Monastery in Israel. And the Muslims (Ishmaelites, as he called them) were a much greater force and threat than they are now.

From what I understand, contemporary Old Calendarists have reworded this prayer to fit our times. Here is what they sing:

Draw Thy bow, and prosper and reign, O Son of the Mother of God, subduing the Muslims who wage war against us and granting victory to our Orthodox Hierarchs over all heresies, through the entreaties of Her Who gave birth to Thee, O Word of God.

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