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.



February 17, 2023

Church of Saint Theodore the Tiro in Derinkuyu of Cappadocia



The Church of Saint Theodore the Tiro (Aziz Theodoros Trion kilisesi in Turkish)) is located in Malakopi (today’s Derinkuyu) near the Cappadocian underground city. On the top of the entrance of the church, the inscription says:

“This sacred Church of Saint Theodore of Tiro has been built under the auspice of the Parishah Sultan Abdülmecid Han, with the blessing of Aziz Matropolitan Neophytos of Iconium Efendi and thanks to the donations of the Christian inhabitants of Malakopi, under the direction of the architect Kyriakos Papadopoulos Efendi from Chaldia. The church has been blessed and consecrated to Saint Theodore. Saint Theodore bless the country and protect it from dangers. Amen. Year 1858 May 15.”

This church with its exceptional architecture and decoration as shown in the photographs of the exterior is currently closed for renovations. The interior is decorated with frescoes. Under the porch, one can admire rich decorations based on vegetation, and especially vines, carved in a stone of a light red color, different from the stone which was used in the rest of the building.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




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