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.



March 7, 2015

Synaxis of All Saints of the Dodecanese


On March 7th is celebrated the integration of the Dodecanese with Greece, after several years of bondage and struggles. On the same day, however, it was defined by our venerable Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the proposal of His Eminence Metropolitan Ambrose of Karpathos and Kasos, for the Dodecanese to honor all the Saints, Apostles, Venerable Ones, Martyrs and New Martyrs of the Dodecanese. An icon was even painted by the Hagiographer Victor Stoupka, which was offered to His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, when he visited the Dodecanese in 1994. By order of His All Holiness a specific Service was drafted by the Hymnographer of the Great Church of Christ the All Venerable Archimandrite Fr. Athanasios of Simonopetra.

Among these Saints celebrated are the following:

Paul the Apostle to the Nations
John the Theologian
Christodoulos the Wonderworker of Patmos
Kassiani the Hymnographer
Phanourios the Newly-Appeared Great Martyr
Xeni
John of Karpathos
Nikitas of Nisyrios
Constantine of Hydra the New Martyr
Christos of Peveza
John of Nafkliros
Anthimos the New Ascetic of Kefallonia
Gerasimos of Byzantium
Savvas the New of Kalmynos
Leontios, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Meletios of Ypseni
Malachia the New of Rhodes
Nikandros of Sinai
Makarios of Corinth
Makarios the Kalogeras
Gregory Gravanos
Platon Aivazidis
Gregory V, Patriarch of Constantinople
Five Venerable Martyrs of Leipson
Jeremiah of Crete
Dorotheos, Metropolitan of Adrianople
Clement of Ankara and Agathangelos
Euthymios, Metropolitan of Rhodes
Cyril Loukaris, Patriarch of Constantinople

Megalynarion
Let us reverently praise, the torch wielders of the Dodecanese, the divine Apostles, Venerable Ones and Martyrs, honoring them with annual hymns.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.


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