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.



November 12, 2018

Holy Martyr Arsakios

St. Arsakios the Martyr (Feast Day - November 12)

Verses

Arsakios rejoiced when he beheld the sword,
With the sword, he also beheld the crown.

The Holy Martyr Arsakios met his end by the sword. Nothing else is known of his life.

According to the Latin tradition, Saint Arsakios (Arsacius) is also known as Saint Arsatius. He is said to have been a Bishop of Milan, who lived either around 400 or in the 6th century, and possibly a martyr, but there is no evidence. Because of the traditional connection with Milan, he is further supposed to have been a disciple of Saint Ambrose, who was also Bishop of Milan, but there is no evidence of this either. His relics were brought in 766 from Rome to Ilmmünster Monastery in Bavaria, Germany where a cultus grew up around them and where the well-known Arsatius-Basilika is still dedicated to him. They were moved to Munich in 1495, but returned to Ilmmünster in 1846.


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