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.



October 30, 2012

Evidence of Torture in the Relics of St. Anastasia the Roman


During tonight's Vesper service for St. Anastasia the Roman, an esteemed friend (God keep him well) told me the following:

"Do you hear the troparion that says 'distortions of the body'? Well, when I went to Gregoriou Monastery on Mount Athos, I saw something that shocked me. The body is preserved with the skin and she is kept there almost entirely whole, except for her skull. As many of us went, we saw that the toes on her feet were turned and were in line with her leg! Her nerves were protruding here and there! And I said: 'What is going on here?' But later a monk explained to us, that when she was being tortured, they put her on a machine that warped her body like this!"

Let me add that this is evidence for those who think the persecution of Christians are fairy tales or overblown, and that the martyrs are mythical and non-existent persons.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos
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