ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: Saint Methodios of Nivritos

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.

June 25, 2019

Saint Methodios of Nivritos

Verses

You put to shame all the methods of the enemy,
With the perfect methods of asceticism Father.
On the twenty-fifth Methodios departed to the city of God.

Venerable Methodios was born in Rethymno on the island of Crete during the Arab occupation (818-961). Not much else is known about his life, except from the time he lived as an ascetic on the mountains of Nivritos with his elder Euthymios. Here he aimed to acquire all the virtues and live a God-pleasing life. At one point he also met Saint Nicholas Kourtaliotis (Sep. 1), who lived as an ascetic on a neighboring mountain (it should be noted that some identify Saint Methodios and Saint Nicholas as being one and the same person, but this theory needs to be examined further).

When Saint Methodios attained old age, he departed to his much-longed for Lord. In the village of Nivritos he is commemorated on June 25th. His relics are kept in Epanosephe Monastery. It is not known who composed his Divine Office, but it must have been someone, perhaps another ascetic, who had little education, based on the grammar.