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.



January 26, 2011

Over 220 Priests Came Out Of Unique Ukrainian Village


July 29, 2009
Interfax

The Rector of the Yelokhovo Epiphany Cathedral in Moscow, Protopresbyter Matfey Stadnyuk, said that over 220 priests came out of his native village Zalistsi (Zalestsy) in the Ternopol Region, which has about a thousand houses.

In his interview to the Argumenty i Fakty weekly, Fr. Matfey told that two of his late brothers were priests too.

"Our village was special, people were very believing, enchurched. Every ordinary woman knew more about liturgical things than some modern priests," the Yelokhovo Rector said.

He believes the reason for this was the "great influence" of the Pochaev Lavra located ten kilometers from the village.

"The Lavra has always been a bastion of true Orthodox faith in our land, and the bastion of canonical unity of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine with the Moscow Patriarchate. This unity has been constantly attacked from various sides. However, no one has ever managed to break it," Fr. Matfey is convinced.


Each Family Brought Up a Priest In a Ukrainian Village

January 26, 2011
Interfax

Each family has brought up a priest at the Ukrainian village of Zalistsi, which has 500 properties.

"Our people are pious, the crime situation is quiet. Not one of our residents will dare violate God's commandments," the secretary of the local council was quoted as saying on Wednesday by the Argumenty i Fakty paper.

220 priests who are natives of Zalistsi work in the Orthodox churches of Ukraine, Russia and Germany. Villagers believe the reason they brought up so many priests is that in Soviet times they had a powerful spiritual guide - the rector of the local church Hieromonk Savva.

All the priests annually come to the Divine service of their village on August 2, feastday of the Prophet Elijah, when the local church celebrates its main feast.

See also this article in Ukrainian.
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