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.



December 27, 2010

Predrag Suboticki Released On Bail


In February 2010 Predrag Suboticki was arrested according to the suspicions of police that the money that was being sent to the Raško-Prizren Eparchy was being embezzled. It was suspected that Predrag Suboticki embezzled 350,000 euros from the fund for the reconstruction of Serbian Orthodox monasteries of Kosovo. Predrag Suboticki, operated a church-linked construction firm Rade Neimar, which was engaged in the reconstruction of monasteries destroyed in ethnic Albanian unrest in March 2004.

The money that was being sent to the Raško-Prizren Eparchy was also to be used for the soup kitchens in Kosovo which feed about 1200, but it seems instead they were going straight to private riches and luxurious lifestyles for several of the recently defrocked Artemije’s closest colleagues, including Monk Simeon Vilovski, his brother Vladimir Vilovski, his godson Predrag Subotički and Gordana Marković, who was the director of the State Bureau for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in 2007.

The investigation showed that Vilovski and Suboticki were buying apartments in Belgrade and property in Greece with church funds. Serbian police minister Ivica Dacic said that at least 350,000 euros were handed out in cash from church funds to pay fictional construction bills.

Vilovski is at large in Greece, after the Greek Supreme Court denied Serbia's extradition request and released him in mid-July.

Predrag Suboticki, upon initiation of the trial, was released on bail by request on 22 December 2010 to gather the evidence for his defense and to attend to his health and family.

It will be difficult to indict both Vilovski and Suboticki unless it can be shown where the money for the construction of monasteries went. Vilovski and Suboticki will be tried separately.

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