ORTHODOX CHRISTIANITY THEN AND NOW: Remains of Nicholas II Children Must Be Buried

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.

December 9, 2009

Remains of Nicholas II Children Must Be Buried

St. Petersburg, 7 December 2009, Interfax - The House of Romanov is concerned about the delayed burial of the remains of Tsarevich Alexey and Grand Duchess Maria which are being stored in Yekaterinburg.

"My brother, Nikolay Romanovich, is very much concerned. The delayed burial is not Christian. Every religion, Buddhism or Islam, have their own burial canons that must be observed," Prince Dmitry Romanov, a descendant of Emperor Nicholas I, told Interfax.

Hopefully, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian President will accelerate the process, he said.

In the opinion of the Romanov royal family, the remains should be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. But Prince Dmitry Romanov would support the remains being buried in Yekaterinburg.

"If a decision is made to bury them in Yekaterinburg, we will support that," he said.

Fragments of bones and teeth were found in archaeological excavations near Yekaterinburg on July 29, 2007. Russian and international experts confirmed that the remains belonged to Tsarevich Alexey and Grand Duchess Maria.