Dear Readers:
I have a few new and exciting updates I wanted to briefly share. For the past few years I have been doing an annual update a few weeks after Easter, but a few months ago I announced that I will try to update my readers more often throughout the year on the progress I am making in developing this ministry. Here are a few of the things I am working on that I am ready to share at this time:
1. Honey and Hemlock
As many know, I have started a new weblog titled Honey and Hemlock. I created this site as a supplement to Mystagogy to deal specifically with issues relating to Philosophy, Science, Psychology, Medicine, Politics, Church & State, Culture, Society, Movies, Television, Music, Art, Books and Literature. These are all issues I have great interest in and have much to share on, and over the past year I have given little time to here at Mystagogy due to the more focused path of Orthodox subject matter I want to share. Mystagogy is about maturing and growing as an Orthodox Christian, and the subjects covered in Honey and Hemlock, though important, can be a little distracting if they are mixed in with this material. Having a website to supplement Mystagogy for these subjects will allow me to focus elsewhere on those issues in a way I desire to do so, and I believe in a way my readers will find more interesting and focused.
Currently I am in the process of deleting from Mystagogy all the posts that deal with the subjects I will be covering at Honey and Hemlock and will repost them there. Some posts I will keep on both sites, while others that are no longer relevant I will delete altogether. By doing this I am hoping it will make for a more user-friendly experience by those looking for specific material out of the over 6600 posts I have here at Mystagogy. Of course, any new material on these subjects will no longer be posted on Mystagogy, but will be exclusive to Honey and Hemlock. The transfer is a slow process cause I am editing everything as well in the transfer, but I think it will be rewarding. Visit daily as I will try to update the site daily.
Here are some important links for Honey and Hemlock both to visit the site and be updated daily through Facebook and Twitter:
In this first month since I began Honey and Hemlock, here are the posts I have made. Most of these are posts I made in 2009 that I transferred from Mystagogy, while others are new.
What This Website Is About
My Favorite Movies and Albums of 2013
Intelligent Evolution and Alfred Russell Wallace
The Proposed "Statue of Responsibility"
Making Comedy of the Cross of Christ
On Positive Thinking
On Faith and Reason - Selections From Saint John Chrysostom
Capitalism’s Ideology
Anthony the Great, the Philosopher of the Desert
National Healthcare and the Church-State Relations in Byzantium
The Nature of True Philosophy According to St. John of Damascus
Sigmund Freud's Little Intimate Secrets
The Pop-Culture Wars, Music, and Character Formation (1 of 2)
The Pop-Culture Wars, Music, and Character Formation (2 of 2)
Atheist Admits There Is No Evolutionary Explanation for Consciousness
Fifty Philosophers and Rhetoricians Who Converted to Christianity
The Power of Realistic Thinking
Andrei Tarkovsky's "Andrei Rublev" (1966)
Dostoevsky's Spiritual Therapy
Capitalism and the Spirit of the Church Fathers
"The Century of the Self" (4-part Documentary)
2. Advertising
For a few years now I have been asked about advertising on Mystagogy. Last week I decided to allow advertising as a way to support this ministry. Though I mainly rely on the donations of my readers to support this ministry, unfortunately it is not enough, so these donations need to be supplemented for now with advertising if I am at least going to continue what I am doing, let alone grow. Along with the donations, I believe it will help in the maintenance and growth of this ministry. I can't make things happen without financial assistance, so I encourage all of my readers not only to financially assist (see below) in helping maintain and grow this ministry, but also by visiting and supporting my advertisers.
Currently I have Google advertising on my site. With these ads I get paid a small fraction whenever these ads are visited, so I encourage you to do so. It does not amount to much at the end of every month, but every little bit helps. I hope to remove this when I get enough financial support that I don't need it.
I also have as of now five banner ads below each post that I encourage all of my readers to visit and see what they are about. By you supporting them, you are supporting this ministry. These ads are also Orthodox ministries that I would encourage you to support or at least visit to see what they have to offer.
If anyone wishes to advertise on mystagogy, please email me at mystagogy@aol.com.
3. Another Website
Back in May 2013 I announced Mystagogy will be under the umbrella of a much larger entity that will consist of this ministry. As I am in the process of cleaning up old posts here at Mystagogy and developing new posts both here and at Honey and Hemlock, I also want to announce another website that I hope to launch this month that is devoted specifically to issues of the Science of Origins in light of Orthodox thinking.
I understand this is a controversial topic, yet my goal is not to be controversial but enlightening. For years I have had material on this subject that has not been made available and this website will allow me to share it. This is a subject I personally approach with an open yet critical mind and various view points will be offered, with all their strengths and weaknesses.It will not be about me proposing my views, but its purpose will be to guide both myself and my readers into the most proper method of viewing this subject in an Orthodox manner. More will be said on this shortly, but I am announcing it now to be aware of its launch within a few weeks.
Conclusion
There are many other things I am working on that I am not ready to announce now, but will hopefully get to in my next progress report, which will be in late April or early May in the form of my annual report. Next week begins the Triodion which will lead us into Great Lent, then Holy Week, then Easter/Pascha. I pray this period be a great blessing for all, and I hope what I offer here will add to that blessing.
Please help financially support this ministry that it will continue to be a blessing in thousands of peoples lives on a daily basis. Thank you in advance.
Click on the DONATE button to make a one-time donation (a Paypal account is not needed to make a one-time donation):
Click on the SUBSCRIBE button, after choosing an amount from the dropbox, to make regular monthly donations:
To send in your donation, please do so to the following address:
John Sanidopoulos
PO Box 320284
West Roxbury, MA 02132
With love in Christ,
John Sanidopoulos