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 11, 2013

Holy New Martyr Zafeirios of Halkidiki (+ c. 1821)


With the Revolution of Halkidiki in 1821 many families, men and women, fled the area and went to Mount Athos in order to escape the slaughter and capture by the Turks. There were cases where the Halkidonians, who refused to change their Orthodox Faith, accepted the wreath of martyrdom, and among them was the young Zafeirios. As a teenager he was the only one of the young children taken from Mount Athos and brought to Thessaloniki that remained faithful to Christ. His exact place of origin is unknown, but certainly he was from one of the villages of Halkidiki. His Service (here) was composed by Athanasios Simonopetritis in 2011 and he is commemorated on June 11th.

Codex 743 (6250) of the Russian Athonite Monastery of Saint Panteleimon notes the following:

"On the Most-Holy Mountain of Athos around 1821, 1822, 1823, when Revolution erupted in Greece, Pasha Abu Bout of Thessaloniki came and captured the Mountain and much suffering occurred. Thereupon he sent his own men to the Mountain, gathered the found children, 70 in number, and brought them to Thessaloniki to make them Turks. Only one stood firm in the faith and was martyred, named Zafeirios."

According to Monk Moses the Athonite, his memory, unknown in the Synaxaria, is honored with the Synaxis of the Athonite Fathers.

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