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 25, 2011

Star in the Scorpio Constellation Named after Russian Saint


March 24, 2011
Interfax

A star of the 16th magnitude in the Scorpio constellation has been named after St. Afanasy of Kovrov – a saint who held services even while serving time in the Vladimir jail for his religious beliefs during the Soviet era. Vladimir Orthodox Gymnasium initiated a request to name the star after the Orthodox saint, the local edition of the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily reports on Thursday.

The official certificate on naming the celestial body was given to pupils by the Commander of the Space Crew, the hero of Russia Yury Lonchakov, and rector of the Transfiguration Church in Zvezdny Gorodok Hegumen Iov (Talats).

“For a long time the Church and space exploration were pitted against one another, but if one’s heart is open to God, then there are no boundaries between the ecclesiastical and worldly scientific affairs,” said Archpriest Alexei Golovchenko, director of the school.

Father Afanasy Sakharov was appointed bishop of Kovrov, vicar of the Vladimir Diocese in 1921 at the age of 34, but next year he was arrested. The next 30 years he spent in camps and exiles, and his last term in jail ran out on November 9, 1951.

Read also:

THE LETTER OF BISHOP AFANASIY (SAKHAROV) TO HIS SPIRITUAL CHILDREN
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