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.



February 4, 2015

Holy Hieromartyr Abramios, Bishop of Arbel in Persia

St. Abramios the Persian (Feast Day - February 4)

Verses

Where is the fright of the athletes of the Lord?
Abramios was expected to show it before the sword.

Saint Abramios was consecrated Bishop of Arbel (or Arbil) in Mesopotamia after the martyrdom of his predecessor, the holy Bishop John in 342 (Nov. 1). He was arrested in the following year and brought before the chief magus, Aderphora, because Persian soothsayers, magicians, and other pagans had complained to the authorities that the Bishop was bringing about too many conversions and establishing Christian communities.

For refusing to worship the sun, Abramios was put to torture. The Saint had exclaimed: "Is it possible that I should leave the Creator of the sun and the Creator of all creation, for a creation of God, in order to worship something which is made and soulless?" This angered Aderphora, who ordered the holy Bishop to be stripped and thrashed with staves.


Urged to obey the commands of King Shapur II, he replied: "I despise your impious king and have nothing but contempt for his false gods. The more he seeks in his arrogance to crush us and to abolish our holy faith, the greater is the glory we find with God. He is devoting himself to evil in vain."

As the Saint underwent his torments with a noble heart, he repeated the words of Saint Stephen, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them," and of the Lord, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." After this the archmagus ordered the beheading of the holy hierarch, at a place called Thelam. This took place in the fifth year of the persecution against the Christians in Persia.

 


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