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.



February 6, 2011

Orthodox Alarmists Gather To Protest Greek Citizenship Card In Athens


More than 2500 Greek clergy, monastics and simple lay people (Old and New Calendarists and a few dozen members of far right groups) gathered today in Constitution Square in Athens to protest the new Citizen's Card.

The Associated Press has dubbed these protesters "Orthodox Christian fundamentalists" and explained that "the protest has been peaceful except for a brief altercation with motorists when the protesters tried to block traffic."

Protesters were seen holding signs reading "No To the Citizen's Card" and "Orthodoxy or Death", while others were holding the Greek flag or the Byzantine two-headed eagle.

As for well-known ecclesiastical personalities in attendance, there was Fr. Nektarios Moulatsiotis who is the Abbot of the St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Seraphim of Sarov Monastery (who insists there were 10,000 faithful in attendance), Fr. Sarantis Sarantou (who speaks in the video below), the Abbot of the Great Meteoron at Meteora and the Abbot of the old and schismatic Esphigmenou Monastery on Mount Athos.

It is believed by the protesters that the reception of the Greek Citizen's Card could pose dangers to their identity as Orthodox Christians in Greece and that it may lead to the reception of the mark of the Antichrist since it is erroneously believed the bar code of the Card contains the number 666.

Read more here and here with photos of the gathering.




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