ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: The Neutral Stance of Cyprus on the Ukrainian Issue

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 4, 2019

The Neutral Stance of Cyprus on the Ukrainian Issue

At the end of the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 3 November 2019, Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus made the following remarks after the Church of Russia decided to cut off commemoration of the Church of Greece:

"I consider the stance of the Patriarch of Moscow unacceptable. We do not cut off commemoration of another Primate because we disagree with a position of theirs. Only if they become heretics do we cut off communion with them. And what I know is that neither the Ecumenical Patriarch nor the Archbishop of Athens are heretics. This, of course, does not mean I agree with them. Although we tried to mediate a meeting to find a solution, it did not find approval, so we did not persist. But neither the Ecumenical Patriarch wants to meet with Moscow, nor does Moscow want to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch. This is why, as the Church of Cyprus, we also take a neutral stand because we do not agree with the stand of either of them and have not gone on to commemorate any new Primate."

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.