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 12, 2022

The Keys of Saint Paisios the Athonite


A pilgrim went to visit Saint Paisios the Athonite at his hut, and narrates for us what he witnessed:
 
I went to the hut of Elder Paisios in the middle of October 1993. There were twelve of us. We all sat on the logs and on the pavement. In order not to have my back to the others I took a log and put it next to the door.

The holy Elder was giving us advice and asked the group how the town of Drama is doing. At some point he gets up, and looks in his pockets. This door required a key to open it. The door of the main entrance of the hut was opened with a handle. He did not find the key in his pockets, so he turns his back to the other eleven pilgrims and in front of me (only I could see) he does the sign of the cross over the door and a click is heard and the door opens by itself. This door had a handle, a piece of metal that goes up and down. I marveled.

After a while, the Saint comes out with a handful of prayer ropes. "Let's see," he says, "did I succeed?" He counts us and says: "There are 12 of you. Let's see." Then he gives them to us and there were exactly twelve!
 
 

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