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 30, 2022

The Theological School of the Apostles


 By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

In the beginning the Apostles were called "Disciples", then they were called "Apostles" because they were sent throughout the world, then they were called "Ecumenical Teachers".

This successive series of characteristics - Disciples, Apostles, Teachers - shows that the Apostles went through a "spiritual school", a "spiritual Theological School", where they learned the spiritual knowledge that comes from faith and love.

The Church, in addition to being a spiritual hospital that heals the spiritual illnesses of people, is also a spiritual family and at the same time a "spiritual school". In this school the Teacher is Christ and the Saints, while we are the students who are taught the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In this school, we are taught the following subjects:

- Knowledge of God (What is God?)

- Knowledge of Man (What is man and what is his purpose?)

- Science of Spiritual Healing (How are we healed?)

- Eternal Life (How can we live in eternity with Christ?)

Also, as in every science and in every school, a special method is applied for the learning of knowledge. Thus, in the School of the Church there is a special method for acquiring divine knowledge and this is praxis and theoria. And as in every school there are exercises, examinations, successes and failures, the same thing happens in the School of the Church.

We should consider it a great honor that we are students in this "School of the Church", that we have as a Teacher and teachers Christ and the Holy Apostles, but we also have our classmates in all the Saints.
 
 
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