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.



July 26, 2015

The Miraculous Discovery of the Icon of St. Paraskevi in Ierochori, Kastoria

The Church of St. Paraskevi in Ieropigi

Saint Paraskevi, according to her biography, was born in 117 A.D. in Rome from Greek parents. At 20 years old she left her homeland and came to Macedonia, where she preached Christianity, and lived in asceticism in various places, and having worked various wonders she was martyred for her faith in an unknown city, near Thessaloniki.

Some researchers have hypothesized that this city of the martyrdom of Saint Paraskevi was in the region of Kastoria. This view is supported by the fact that the residents of Orestida especially honor Saint Pareskevi, over many centuries, and they have many sacred churches dedicated to her venerable name.

The oldest and most important of these mentioned churches of Saint Pareskevi is in the village of Ieropigi in Kastoria.

The discovery of the sacred icon by the shepherd

Ieropigi is built at an altitude of 1060 meters in the southern forfeitures of Mount Triklari, 25 kilometers from the city of Kastoria and just 4 kilometers from the border of Albania. The present village was built on the ruins of the old settlement Kostenetsi. In 1930 Kostenetsi was renamed Ieropigi, because of the holy spring in the sacred sanctuary of Saint Paraskevi.

The Church of Saint Paraskevi was built in 1867, where, according to tradition, a shepherd found an old icon of Saint Paraskevi. The church is the unique work of stone Royal Macedonian architecture.

The miraculous icon of St. Paraskevi

Beneath the floor of this church there is a cell, where, according to tradition, Saint Paraskevi lived for a time in asceticism. There is also a sanctifying spring, where many years ago the wondrous icon was discovered, and is kept today within the church.

In 1776 Saint Kosmas the Aitolos came here, proof of which is the signed silver bottle in the Church of Saint Paraskevi, and the rock from where he preached his sermon.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.

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