ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: Ukrainian Orthodox Church Canonizes Bartholomew (Bondarenko) the Fool for Christ (+ 1931)

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.

December 13, 2014

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Canonizes Bartholomew (Bondarenko) the Fool for Christ (+ 1931)

On Sunday, 7 December 2014, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine glorified Bartholomew Bondarenko, a Staretz and Fool-for-Christ's Sake of the Cherkassy Eparchy of the UOC-MP. His was chosen to be numbered among the saints by the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on 16 September 2014, due to his popular veneration.

Saint Bartholomew was born in 1870 near the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity in Chyhyryn. As a youth he spent his life in prayer and in the contemplation of God's perfection and the imperfection of humanity. People were drawn to the fact that the words and prayers of Bartholomew were acceptable to God, and there were many cases of healings through his prayers, and he led many to live according to God's will.

Bartholomew revered Abbess Rafaela (Tertatska) and the sisters of the Holy Monastery of the Holy Trinity, but when the Bolsheviks seized power, the sisters were forced to leave the Monastery. Half an hour before he even forewarned Abbess Rafaela of her impending martyrdom if she didn't escape, but she refused to leave her Monastery. Saint Rafaela was brutally taken from her Monastery in 1927 by the "servants of Satan" and horribly beaten and then buried alive.

In subsequent years Bartholomew was pursued by the Soviet regime, and he was repeatedly sent to a psychiatric hospital, but the grace of the Lord took care of the Elder. Bartholomew reposed peacefully in the Lord on 17 October 1931, and the place of his burial has attracted believers from all the regions of Ukraine.

He joins the choir of the Saints of Cherkassy which includes the 103 Holy New Hieromartyrs of Cherkassy, Orthodox priests, who were shot by the Bolsheviks and put into a mass grave.

Saint Bartholomew will be annually commemorated on October 17th and February 20th.