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 11, 2013

Theophany in Xanthi from 1900 till Today (photos & video)


A tradition that has surpassed a century in Xanthi, Greece is the blessing of the waters and cross throwing ceremony off of the Kosinthos Bridge in the Samakov district.

The first photograph above shows the ceremony as it took place in 1900, when the bridge was first being constructed. The second photo shows the same a few years later in 1911. In 1912 the famous bridge collapsed after a major flood, but was soon rebuilt with a similar format. The third photo shows the ceremony in 1927, then the fourth takes place in the late 1940's, some years before the new current bridge was built. The last two photos were taken by a man from the same place 83 years apart - the first in 1930 and the second in 2013. The video shows the celebration of Theophany from 2012. (Click on photos to enlarge)





Labels: ,

BECOME A PATREON OR PAYPAL SUBSCRIBER


Patreon!