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.



November 26, 2009

Icon of Virgin Mary Circles the Globe


The Icon of the Virgin Mary Has Flown Over the Earth With the Sacred Procession

Moscow, 25 November 2009, Interfax - Unusual sacred procession round the Earth is made with the icon of Virgin Mary "The Sign".

On September 30 the spaceship Soyuz TMA 16 which had a mission to bring the icon to the International Space Station war driven from the Baikonur cosmodrome, the representative of the Galaxy studying centre initiated the project told Interfax-Religion on Wednesday.

The sacred procession was finished on October 11. The icon has made 176 coils round the Earth and it was delivered back on the "Soyz TMA 14 spaceship.

The icon of the Virgin Mary "The Sign" will be presented on December 8-14 at the Orthodox exhibition at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. It will be possible for everybody to get acquainted with video and picture stories about the sacred procession.

The project was carried out on blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and with the support of the Center of National Glory of Russia, the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation and the Energy space-rocket corporation.

Four years ago the icon from the Transfiguration Monastery of the Valaam island has also been sent to the space. For two months of staying at the station, it was flown round the Earth with cosmonaut Sergey Krikalev for about thousand times.
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