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 13, 2019

Saint Paisios the Athonite and the Deer (an unpublished story)


In the guesthouse of the Monastery of Savvathiana on the island of Crete, a retired teacher recalled the following story about Elder Paisios.

Once the abbot of Koutloumousiou Monastery, Christodoulos, had a problem he was dealing with, so he decided to visit Elder Paisios early in the morning to consult him. When he arrived at his cell, he found him alone. As they spoke, a deer appeared outside his cell. When the Elder saw it, he spoke to it, saying: "I told you not to wander around in the morning because someone may kill you." The deer then lifted one its legs, and the Elder realized it was broken.

The Elder entered his cell and returned with a piece of wood to which he bound the broken leg of the deer as if it was a cast. He then said to the deer: "You will return in 25 days so we can remove the cast."

The abbot jotted down the date and after 25 days he returned to the cell of the Elder to see if the deer would come. It was not long when the deer appeared again at the door of the Elder. The deer's leg was healed. Elder Paisios removed the "cast" and said to the deer: "Be careful to not wander around in the morning because you are in danger."



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