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.



June 14, 2013

9 Year Old Girl From Mozambique Chooses to be Baptized Orthodox


A particularly welcome event took place in our small Orthodox Community (in Mozambique), when last Sunday, 9 June 2013, nine year old Serena was baptized - the youngest member of the Church Choir for our Diocese. Her mother, a psychologist in the state hospital of Maputo, is from Azerbaijan, and her father is from Mozambique and did higher education in Cuba.

Young Serena lives very close to the church and almost daily participates in the Orthodox ecclesiastical life, amid the Youth Fellowship and our Choir. Her enthusiasm is such that she asked the local Bishop herself to be baptized, given the fact that her family does not belong to the Orthodox Church. Her parents gladly gave their consent for their daughter to enter the Orthodox Faith.

This wonderful nine year old girl was catechized for two years, and the name she asked for and received, as a newly illumined, is Soumela, which is the name of the Panagia from Pontus.

The Holy Mystery of Baptism and Chrismation was done according to the ancient typikon, which is during the Divine Liturgy, by Bishop John and a guest priest from Congo. Afterwards the newly illumined Soumela chanted with the choir, and at the end helped the Bishop distribute the antidron to the very moved congregation.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos







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