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 11, 2010

Myrrh & Blood-Streaming Icons in Zajecar, Serbia


A friend from Serbia sent me some very interesting photos of myrrh and blood streaming items from an Orthodox Christian household which include the following: various icons, a photo and icon of St. Theodore the Studite (Nov. 11), a statue of the Mother of God, a brass Cross, and a prayer rope which contains a holy relic of St. Theodore the Studite. They belong to a family who live in Zajecar of Serbia, and according to them, some of the icons started streaming myrrh and blood prior to the civil war in former Yugoslavia (1990), while the other items started recently in 2007. The prayer rope was given to Milan Dimitrijević (the owner of the home where this is taking place) while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Everything else was acquired in Serbia.

Of special interest is that the brass Cross streams blood from the area of the five wounds of Christ, the photograph of St. Theodore is a print that was taken of a fresco in a church, the statue also streams myrrh, and the prayer rope is kept in a jar to catch the myrrh which continuously flows (there is always an abundant supply for pilgrims who come to be anointed by the holy myrrh).

This holy myrrh has healing properties as well. For example, a young woman from Belgrade who had stage four cancer applied the holy myrrh on herself regularly for months. Upon examination, doctors were in awe to find that her cancer had gone into remission. (Interestingly, the young woman was initially in doubt over the authenticity of the divine origin of this miracle, and during this time of doubt her cancer would go into exacerbation.)

Some people see this miracle as a sign from above, others see it as divine grace visiting the faithful to aid in their spiritual and physical healing. It seems both are valid explanations.

There is also a link in Serbian here.

















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