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.



May 28, 2020

MRC News and Announcements for May 27, 2020 (Please Read)


Dear Readers:

Christ is Risen!

I just wanted to update everyone on some news and announcements regarding the ministry of the Mystagogy Resource Center.

First of all, I have received a few inquiries about donations and subscriptions. Since 2012, I usually do a fundraiser for the work of the Mystagogy Resource Center twice a year - before Christmas and after Easter. This year, because of the worldwide coronavirus crisis and the devastating economic impact it has had, I decided to skip making a request for donations after Easter and will wait till Christmas time, in the hopes of an economic recovery by then.

Second, last year around Christmas time I had announced a new subscription service that was going to give access to five exclusive websites beginning late January. Due to some issues with that, I had to extend that date, and with one issue piling on top of another, everything is finally about ready to launch. In fact, it will be launched June 1st. The process was a lot more difficult than I anticipated, permissions needed to be granted, and on top of everything my life got a lot busier once the coronavirus crisis hit.

The five websites are basically five different books I am working on and translating from Greek to English. The five books are:

1. Salvation of Sinners by the Monk Agapios Landros
2. Know Thyself by St. Nektarios of Aegina
3. The Complete Letters of Fr. John Romanides
4. Mystical Experiences from the Holy Land
5. From the Ascetic and Hesychastic Hagiorite Tradition

I'm very excited to get all these great books out to the public. Excerpts from these five books will be posted once a week until they are completed. And when each is completed, new books will be added which I am also anxious to work on. This is exclusive content, and they will only be available to those who subscribe monthly for $5 or more, or who make a donation of at least $60 a year beginning from last year July 1st 2019. Once you cease your subscription or your annual fee is complete, you will no longer have access to this material. On June 1st all those who are eligible will receive an email from me with instructions on how to access these websites. If I do not have your updated email, please send it to me at mystagogy@aol.com along with your name so I can check to see if you are eligible.

With that being said, I want everyone to know that if you are not a subscriber or annual contributor, a $5.00 monthly subscription or a $60 annual donation is a very small fee to have exclusive access to these five great Orthodox books, and that is not to mention the content that is given out daily for free on the ten websites of the Mystagogy Resource Center. Unfortunately, with the coronavirus crisis, we have lost about twenty subscribers, as well as major sponsors, and it has been a major financial hit, however at the same time I am very grateful to all those who have continued subscribing. Also, I am very grateful that in this difficult time for everybody I have also gained a few new subscribers and have received some donations even without me having to make a request. So if you can right now, sign up for the exclusive content, but if you can't right now, please do so in the future when you are able.

Stay safe everyone, and my condolences to all those who may have experienced loss during this time.

With love in the Risen Lord,

John Sanidopoulos

Click on the DONATE button to make a one-time donation (a Paypal account is not needed to make a one-time donation):
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To send in your donation, please do so to the following address:

John Sanidopoulos
PO Box 320284
West Roxbury, MA 02132



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