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 26, 2023

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday of Luke (Archim. George Kapsanis)

 
Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday of Luke

On the Pious Young Man

By Archimandrite George Kapsanis

(Delivered in 1989)

The rich young man, as we heard today in the holy Gospel, was very concerned about the problem of his salvation, how he will inherit eternal life. That is why he asked Christ what to do. How to be saved.

He knew the commandments because he was a pious youth. He knew God's law. Do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not bear false witness, etc. "These things I have kept from my youth," he said. And this young man was waiting for the Lord to tell him, that in as much as you kept them, you won the Kingdom of heaven.

But He didn't say anything so exciting to him, but He said something that brought a lot of despair to his soul. He told him: "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

It seems that this pious young man, while he was a strict follower of the Law, was nevertheless the captive of a great passion - avarice. And this love for silver and love for money separated him from God. So he had to get rid of the passion of avarice and greed in order to be able to unite with God and thus to claim the Kingdom of heaven.

And of course this narrative, which is contained in the holy Gospel, is not obligatory for every person, but it is an invitation for those who are willing and able to sacrifice everything for Christ. This is especially true for us. And of course here we observe much of God's law, but we may have some weakness, and this weakness separates us from God. This is why Christ said to that pious young man, "You still lack something, you have some weakness. Abandon it, that you may hope in the Kingdom of heaven."

And this should concern us all. What is it? What is our weakness? What is it that we lack? What is it because of which we do not fulfill the Law of God? And this will hinder us on the day of judgment. And for this we may lose eternal life.

So let each of us turn to his heart, asking this question and asking God for enlightenment with fasting and prayer, so that He may make us see our weakness.

Because two things happen: either we have some weakness, we fall behind in something and we don't want to give it up, because our egoism and self-love are hurt, or many times we have some weakness and we don't even know if we have it.

My brothers, our soul is sick and many times we cannot understand why it is sick, so that with the Grace of God we can heal it.

That is why, so that we do not leave to ourselves the anxiety and the question, the "what am I lacking", let us beseech the Lord, and with the help of our Spiritual Father, of course, to find out what this spirit of despair is, our weakness, the very will which separates us from God, so that we may not be deprived of the eternal Kingdom.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
 
 

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