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 23, 2025

Prologue in Sermons: November 23


Ambivalent Attitude Toward the Admonitions Sent From God

November 23

(The Narrative of a Certain Young Man's Vision, Extremely Useful)

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

In the lives of Christians, to lead them to repentance, the Lord God is pleased to sometimes manifest certain special acts of His Providence. Thus, some are granted extraordinary visions and revelations for their own enlightenment; others often see various unusual events and circumstances in their lives in which the punishing and merciful hand of God is clearly revealed. These inscrutable ways of God's Providence can be viewed in two ways; the following example will illustrate how.

A certain young artist living in Constantinople, well-known to the Emperor, was extremely careless about his own salvation. The Lord, wishing to bring him to his senses, once revealed the following to him in a dream: the youth saw himself approaching the Emperor with something he had made. The Emperor initially received him favorably and conversed with him; but then, suddenly seizing him by the hair with one hand and drawing a sword with the other, he swung it three times over his head. The youth initially took this as a joke; but when the Emperor declared that he wanted to take his life and touched his neck with the sword, the youth was overcome with indescribable terror and awoke. Recovering some time later, he began to ponder the meaning of his dream, and finally became convinced that through this vision the Lord was urging him to repentance and reform his life. The youth was convinced of the latter, but did not reform. Then the Lord enlightened him again. Soon he fell into a grave illness and, during it, he once saw himself at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Before him stood Jesus Christ, surrounded by Angels, and behind Him lay a terrifying and gloomy abyss. "Do you know who I am?" the Lord asked the youth. "I know, Lord," he replied, "that You are the incarnate Son of God and God, as the Scriptures teach us." "And if You know Me from the Scriptures, then why have You forgotten the lesson of the Emperor who appeared to You in a dream?" "I am terrified, Lord," the youth replied. "And if You are terrified, then why do You not seek correction?" And with these words, the Lord commanded that he be cast into the abyss. The youth became frightened and began to call upon the Most Holy Theotokos for help, and this prayer saved him. The Lord said, "For the sake of My Mother's prayer, leave him." With this the vision ended. Having recovered from his illness, the young man went to a pious monk and recounted what he had seen. Hearing this, he said, "Thank God that you have been granted such enlightenment. Abandon your former life, and you will not suffer as the man I am about to tell you about suffered. A certain man named George, like you, saw himself at Christ's Judgment Seat and afterwards was bound and led into the same abyss into which you were being dragged. In the vision, he was given twenty days to correct himself, but he forgot what he had seen and continued to sin. After twenty days, however, he was actually forced to appear before the actual Judgment Seat of God, for his soul had been separated from his body. Now you can judge his fate." Hearing this, the young man distributed his possessions to the poor, began to lead a godly life, and in piety passed on to the eternal abodes.

From this it is clear, brethren, that one can respond to God's admonitions, or rather, to God's goodness that leads us to repentance, in two ways: one can ignore them, and in doing so, display obvious, unforgivable ingratitude to God and, of course, incur even greater condemnation. Or one can respond with attention and deep gratitude to God, and begin actively correcting one's life, and thereby receive forgiveness and eternal blessedness from God. Amen.

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
 

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