The Miracle of Mysteria

Author: Leonid Belov
Genre: Historical Fiction (based on true events)

When the Black Death is coming, what can you do—except wait to die? In the year 1348, as the deadliest of all plagues approaches the community of Rundschau in the Swiss Alps, villagers use their last remaining hours to stage the Passion of Christ. As their performance turns into prayer, the village becomes a temple. What happens when the whole community reaches out to God? The miracle of Mysteria—the 

sacramental and mysterious experience that takes place when people meet God. Heaven IS listening... This story is inspired by the real events that took place in the Bavarian village of Oberammergau. The Passion of Christ has been staged there every decade since 1634, when the village was miraculously spared from the bubonic plague. The next performance is scheduled in 2020.

Reviewer: Camille Murray

When I ordered The Miracle of Mysteria, I wondered how the author was going to turn the story of a play portraying the passion of Christ into an entire book. I must say I was pretty well pleased with the results. A story simply told, just like the Gospel is simply told.

The ending dragged out a bit, but it seemed fitting.

I find it refreshing, in this era of chick lit and reduced male attendance at church, to read a book focusing on the spiritual journey of two young men.

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Reviewer: Sabrina WadeSabrina Wade

Chilling, thought provoking, and suspenseful novel wrapped up in mystery. The Black Plague was indeed a sorrowful season, yet something as breathtaking and joyful as the Mysteria was intricately planned and displayed. No matter if a town was spared because of it or by happenstance. In the end, the Mysteria continues to be directed and played. Knowing God's word does not return void, all who witness the Mysteria hear the gospel and see it for what it was and what it still represents even today.

Whether based on truth or fable, the written words of Christ had me wrestling with my own belief of miracles. As I once heard a song writer sang, “haters going to hate, hate, hate” but the question remains, what is truth?

Hesitate no more, take a gander and get your own copy!

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

The Miracle of the Mysteria sounded vaguely familiar to me when I read the synopsis. Years ago I had heard about the Passion Play that was performed every year in the Swiss Alps, but I'd never heard the full story. It was a fascinating read.

Written from the perspective of someone there in 1348, we hear all about how the plague was coming and how the village priest decided to take the minds of his parishioners off the plague by having them perform the Passion Play. But as the village took on the roles of the main characters of the Passion Play, their minds and their attitudes (their very lives in some cases) became changed. And the miracle, of course, was that while the Black Plague was attacking people in areas that surrounded them, the little village of Rundschau was not affected at all.

What surprised me was the reaction of the Pope to this miracle and how the Catholic church persecuted the Priest, going so far as to replace him with someone else. He only did this out of obedience to God, and to create a diversion for the villagers who were most certainly all expecting to die of the plague. 

While the book ended with no word why the play was allowed to be performed in subsequent years, it still made for an interesting read. If you enjoy true stories, you will like this one as it will boost your faith.

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