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 19, 2013

Greece Will Push Religious Tourism


Nicky Mariam Onti
January 18, 2013

A new partnership is to change present data in religious tourism, after Tourism Minister Olga Kefaloyianni met with the Chairman of the Holy Synod Pilgrimage Tours Bureau of the Church of Greece and Metropolitan of Dodoni to sign a cooperation protocol over the development of religious tourism.

This protocol aims at developing an effective cooperation between the church and state. “It has been observed, however, that despite tourism reduction as highlighted in last year’s international conference which was held in Andorra, religious tourism seems to grow,” stated the Metropolitan’s office.

The church officials added that they want “support the Government’s effort to increase tourist flow. Given that this will give the solution to some of the many problems we are dealing with at the moment, including the employment of many unemployed workers in the tourism sector.”

Besides its well-known lures of sun and sand and islands and history, Greece has many places of worship, monasteries and churches that stand out for their architecture. The Metropolitan of Dodoni said that religious tourism does not only concern the Orthodox faithful but those of other religions as well and to draw people interested in history and religion.
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