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.



March 17, 2010

Relic of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite Stolen


At noon on Monday, 15 March 2010, at the Monastery of Pentalofo Goumenissa, two unknown perpetrators broke through the plastic cover which contained the reliquary of St. Nikodemos. This was done while the monk guarding the reliquary was away for a few minutes. The perpetrators removed two of the three sections of the skull of St. Nikodemos from the side. The Kilkis police are investigating the matter. All leads have remained fruitless so far.


The Monastery of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite lies on one of the most beautiful slopes of Mt. Paiko, at an altitude of about 700 m above the village of Pentalofo, in the municipality of Goumenissa. Founded in 1981, it is a dependency of the Monastery of Simonos Petra on Mount Athos. The main church is two storeys high. The upper part is dedicated to Saint Nikodemos, while the ground level to Saints Raphael, Irene and Nicholas of Lesvos. Twenty-three monks live in the monastery today. All of them are young and personally engage in building chores and in the maintenance of already existing constructions.

The monastery is also famous for its excellent, carefully hand-made icons produced in its painting room. All the services and ceremonies are held according to the Athonite Typikon.
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