Нравоучительная часть (Рим. 12:1–15, 13)

“Having talked enough about dogmas, the Apostle finally moves on to moral teaching” (Blessed Theophylact). “The beginning and foundation of goods is knowledge of the Divine nature, faith in Him and commitment to Him. As the eye is in the body, so is faith and knowledge of the Divine in the soul. However, faith also needs active virtue, like the eye in the hands, feet and other members of the body. Therefore, the divine Paul added moral teaching to the dogmatic teachings, preparing in us the most perfect virtue. For by teaching the Romans, he benefited all people” (Blessed Theodoret). The Apostle puts it in the first place, in a brief but comprehensive essay: 1) Picture of the spirit of the Christian life (Rom. 12:1, 2) Rome 12:1. I pray to you, brethren, by the mercies of God, present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your verbal service. “I pray... through the bounties of God.” “After a long conversation about God’s love for mankind, in which Paul proved God’s ineffable care, unspeakable and unexplored goodness, by this very goodness he convinces those favored by God to show a life worthy of the gift. And, being so great and lofty, he does not refuse to beg them, to beg not for what would actually serve him, but for what they could benefit from. (The Apostle gives laws, and hides power, and, asking, offers teaching.)” (Blessed Theodoret). “And is it surprising that he does not refuse to beg when he presents to those who beseech the very mercy of God? since from God's bounties, he says, countless blessings have been poured out on you: then be ashamed, fear them, because these very bounties turn to you with a request not to discover anything unworthy of them in yourself. And I, says the Apostle, beg you with these same bounties by which you were saved. Thus, someone who wants to shame someone who has been greatly benefited usually presents the benefactor himself as the benefactor” (St. Chrysostom). And the experiences of life confirm that the strongest motivation for a godly life is the consciousness of God’s great benefits, both to the entire human race in general, and especially to the very person who is jealous about it. It gives rise to a warm feeling of gratitude and arouses a readiness to devote all one’s strength and all one’s wealth to God. Because it is seeded by love, which does not retain anything for itself, but sacrifices everything to Him Whom the soul loves. “Imagine the body of your victim alive.” He had already taught this before, saying: “Do not let sin reign in your dead body, unless you listen to it in its lusts; present your hands as weapons of unrighteousness to sin; but present them to yourselves as being from the dead living” (Rom. 6:12, 13). And a little lower: “I speak humanly, for the weakness of your flesh. Just as your servants presented uncleanness and iniquity into iniquity, so now will your servants present righteousness into holiness” (Rom. 6:19). Here it is depicted in detail how we can and must present a sacrifice to God from our bodies, namely, not to listen to them “in their lusts,” not to give our members as instruments of sin, but to hand them over as instruments of “God’s” truth, not to make them slaves of uncleanness and sin, but to force them to work “for righteousness unto holiness.” Saint Chrysostom says: “You ask, how can a body be a sacrifice? Eye, do not look at anything bad; and he became a victim. Tongue, do not say anything shameful; and it became an offering. Hand, do not do anything unlawful; and it became a burnt offering. But this is not enough - we must do good: let the hand give out alms, let the mouth bless those who offend, let the ear constantly train itself in listening to the word of God. Sacrifice is the firstfruits of what you have. Let us offer to God the firstfruits of hands, feet, mouth and everything else. - Notice how precise Paul is in his words. He did not say: prepare your bodies as a sacrifice, but: “present.” This seemed to say: you no longer have power over them, you gave them to someone else. Suppliers of warhorses do not have ownership rights to them. And you, having placed your members in battle with the devil, in this formidable army, do not distract them from your own services.” The Apostle begins his lessons with how one should treat the body; because the sinful life, against which he arms Christians and which they abandoned and cut off in the decision to resist sin, strengthened by the grace of renewal in baptism, primarily rests on the flesh, and self-indulgence - the soul of sinfulness - is almost exclusively carnivorous. Why does one who has determined not to indulge sin from the first step begin a new life by not sparing the body? This necessity is confirmed by Saint Paul and sanctified by his word, demanding that he continually make a sacrifice from his body to God. He who holds his body as it should actually makes such a sacrifice to God, always “crucifying his flesh with the passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). And here there is tempering, and tempering for God, there is a sacrifice to God. And this is called self-mortification, but not by bringing death, but by true life. The legal sacrifice killed the living creature, but the Christian sacrifice leaves what was offered alive and ignites life through the sacrifice itself, or self-destruction to God. The Apostle called this living sacrifice. Saint Chrysostom says: “because he said: “sacrifice”; then, so that no one would think that he was ordering the bodies to be slaughtered, he immediately added: “I live...” In the Jewish sacrifice, what was sacrificed was made dead; “our” makes the sacrifice alive. When we mortify the members of the body, then we will be able to live. But this is the statute of sacrifice; That’s why the type of fire is unusual. There is no need for firewood or combustible material; on the contrary, fire is maintained by itself and does not burn the victim, but also revives it. God has demanded such a sacrifice since ancient times, which is why the Prophet said: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit” (Ps. 50:19). Three youths made such a sacrifice, saying: “There is no prince or prophet, no place to devour and find mercy: but let us be accepted with a contrite soul and a humble spirit” (Dan. 3:38, 39).” This very sacrifice must also be “holy”. “Imagine... a sacrifice... holy.” Saint Chrysostom says: “At the same time, the Apostle also inspires that, sacrificing our members, we must make them blameless; because we present them not to earthly man, but to the King of the universe Himself - God, and not for use only in battle, but so that the King Himself would sit on them. For the Lord does not disdain to sit on our members; on the contrary, he really desires this, and what the king who serves the Lord with us would not choose, the Lord of the Angels chooses. And so since your members must be offered and are a sacrifice; then cut off all filth from them. As long as there is anything bad in them, they will not be victims. The eye, if it looks at objects that excite voluptuousness, cannot be sacrificed; and equally unsuitable for sacrifice are a predatory and covetous hand, legs that worship and enter the theater, a belly that servilely succumbs to voluptuousness and kindles a passion for pleasure, a heart that nourishes anger or impure love, a tongue that speaks shameful things. We need to examine from all sides to see if there is anything bad in our body. If in the Old Testament those who brought sacrifices were obliged to inspect everything, and it was not allowed to bring something earless, tailless, with scabs, or with growths; Moreover, we who offer not dumb sheep, but ourselves, must observe great caution and be clean in all respects. “And we will become pure if we consume the old man, mortify our earthly members, and crucify the world for ourselves.” In this case, we will no longer need a knife, an altar, or fire; or, more correctly speaking, all this will be needed, only not made with hands: it is given to us from above - and the fire from above, and the knife, and the breadth of heaven will be an altar for us. If Elijah made a sensual sacrifice, and the flame that came down from heaven destroyed everything - water, wood, and stones; then much more will this happen to you. Even if there is something worldly in you, you make the sacrifice with the proper disposition; then the fire descending from the Spirit will consume these things of life and make the entire offering perfect.” The holy sacrifice, one would have to believe, is already pleasing to God; however, the Apostle considered it necessary to especially add: “imagine... a sacrifice... pleasing to God.” By this, the Apostle inspires to have the proper dispositions in the matter of sacrifice, as Saint Chrysostom said before this, namely: one must offer this sacrifice to God, without having anything extraneous in intention except to please God: for it is possible that a sacrifice, pure in deed, will be unclean in intention. It is also necessary that this sacrifice be performed in the spirit of the faith of Christ, because Christ Himself walked the way of the cross, and that the salvation given to us by the cross cannot be partaken of otherwise than by the cross, lifted up at will, which happens precisely when someone makes a sacrifice to God from his body. This is how you must be tuned in, the Apostle continues, so that “verbal ministry” is carried out in you unceasingly. - “Service”, λατρεία, - service to God, worship. This service will be verbal, that is, rational, mental, spiritual, when you present a sacrifice to God from the bodies of saints. That everyone should perform such worship is accepted without requiring any special proof or explanation. The apostle only indicates the right way to do this. Sacrifice your body to God, and you will continually perform the spiritual service to God that you are obliged to perform. On your altar there will always be a sacrifice smoked in this way, and not a carnal one, although the body is devoured in it. The body will become both a sacrifice and a church in which the priest - the mind or spirit - makes a sacrifice to God or performs God's service. Saint Chrysostom says: “What is “verbal service”? Spiritual service. As one who serves and officiates in God’s house, no matter what he may be like at another time, during service he enters into himself and becomes most reverent; So we too must be in the same state of mind throughout our entire lives as those who serve God and perform sacred functions. And you will achieve this if you make sacrifices to God every day, you will become a priest of your body and spiritual virtue, offering chastity, alms, meekness and patience. By doing this, you will perform verbal service, that is, having nothing physical, rough, or sensual.” Rome. 12:2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may be tempted, that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Having given the law for the body, he writes the law for the soul. “And do not be conformed to this age” - that is, to the spirit of this age, do not live according to this spirit, do not form yourselves according to it, so that no one can read as if written on your forehead: here is a man of this age or of this world. But what is the spirit of this age? In the case when all their care and concern is only about how to better arrange their earthly well-being with all the available means that can be given, their personal abilities and strengths, family, property, connections, all civil life and its orders, even the orders and affairs of faith and the Church, and the course of all events, both close and distant, and dependent and not dependent on us - to arrange, relying in this on ourselves, on our own methods, on people and creatures, and not on God, who rules everything, although they read “I Believe” and “Our Father” and even rant about the providence of God and trust in him. They also think about God, they know that there is another world and another life, but with their hearts they live in this age and in what it gives, having no taste for anything that is higher than it, and not feeling any desire for what is not sensual, not carnal, not earthly. The spirit of the age does not necessarily mean shameless depravity and unbridled passion. He is sin-loving and passionate, and self-indulgence in this is an integral feature of him; but he does not tolerate obvious evil and sin, but wants to appear respectable and honest, often hiding behind such a plausible screen sins, sometimes to the point of villainy, and even the most shameful passion. But not all of his children are like that. The main thing in him, as it was said at the beginning, is that he is the only one who hopes in this world, he pursues earthly happiness and strains to achieve it with his own means. In anyone who has such a spirit, there is nothing Christian about him, although he is a Christian. Christianity begins from the moment when the urge and desire for the heavenly, spiritual, eternal and Divine is born in the heart, with aversion from the earthly, sensual, temporary and created. The Spirit of Christ is opposed to the spirit of this age, and then, just as this latter is all on earth and in earthly things, he is all in heaven and in heavenly things, in God and the Divine, - this alone loves, this alone pursues, in this alone he finds taste. This does not mean that he, being detached from everything earthly and created, no longer touches anything like that and has nothing in his affairs similar to the affairs of the sons of the age. The forms of human life are the same, both there and here; but the spirit and direction of everything are different. The Spirit of Christ does not stop the satisfaction of natural human needs and does not necessarily drive people out of family and society. He allows for civil service, and warfare, and trading, and scholarship, and artistry, but he turns all this into a means of advancement in the spirit, of acquiring unearthly goods, of pleasing God, mercilessly expelling from all this only that which is contrary to such a direction. It happens that he completely separates others from family and society, but this is not his exclusive property, but his highest and most perfect manifestation, in its true form the property of a select few. Such a spirit of Christian life is born when the grace of God, having found an entrance into the heart of a person, awakens the fear of God there and disturbs the conscience and through them leads a person to feel the danger of remaining in the spirit of this age and in the order of his life, then to repentance and a change in the direction of his life in thoughts, feelings, desires and deeds and to the determination to live not according to the earthly, but according to the heavenly, spiritual and Divine. After this, whoever is not baptized is baptized; and whoever is baptized, accepts the Sacrament of Repentance and, being armed with the grace of God, in both cases begins to live not according to the spirit of this age. It is to such that St. Paul addresses his words: “Do not be conformed to this world.” For anyone who is still under the spell of the spirit of this age, this rule is inconceivable: he hears, but does not heed, and cannot understand it as he should. He says this to those who have already driven away the spirit of the age and began to live according to the spirit of Christ, because the spirit of this age is seductive and can again entice those who from their previous life are familiar with the muddy sweets of its deeds. He says to them, as it were: look, lest the spirit of the age carry you away again and begin to remake you in your own way, dragging you from heaven to earth, from spirit to flesh, from God to creation. Do not listen to him and do not want to conform to him and the order of his affairs. For the spirit of the age, beckoning with earthly prosperity, has invented such things, joys and benefits, from which, it seems, happiness flows like a river. Those who are captivated by it circle in these orders, hoping to intoxicate themselves with happiness, and although they never taste it, they expect to taste it ahead. Those who have been driven out of the spirit of this age by the spirit of Christ are extracted from this whirlwind that crushes the heart. But as they still revolve in contiguity with the orders of the spirit of the age, there is a danger: this whirling would not catch them again and would not drag them into the previous cycle. The Apostle warns: you must leave all this behind; you should not move around in such orders and conform to them. Saint Chrysostom, interpreting this passage, tries to turn his listeners away from this, mainly depicting the illusory nature of the blessings of this age. “The image (spirit) of this age is clinging to the earth, low, short-lived, there is nothing sublime, permanent, correct in it, and everything is perverted. Therefore, if you want to follow the proper path, then do not imprint on yourself the image of real life. There is nothing immutable and solid in it; That’s why it’s called an image, as the Apostle says elsewhere: “For the image of this world passes away” (1 Cor. 7:31). There is nothing permanent or immovable in it, but everything is temporary; That’s why he said: “to this age,” thereby meaning short-livedness; in the word: “image,” he expressed immateriality. Whether you point to wealth, fame, physical beauty, fun and everything else that people consider great, all this is one image, and not a real thing, a phenomenon and a guise, and not an abiding essence. But do not conform to this, says the Apostle, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. He did not say: transform outwardly, but: transform essentially, showing that the world has only an external image, and virtue does not belong to the external, but to the true, essential image, which has natural beauty, for which there is no need for external rubbing and disguises that suddenly appear and disappear; since all this disappears before it appears. Therefore, if you tear off the mask, you will immediately see the real image. There is nothing weaker than vice, nothing grows old so quickly.” “But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The spirit of the age has been driven away with all its orders and manifestations, and the spirit of Christ has been adopted. What's next? Next you have to transform yourself. Living according to the spirit of the age, according to its customs and rules, we are tuned in with all our souls, and our way of thinking is worldly or of this age, and our inclinations with affairs and enterprises are the same, and our tastes with feelings and sympathies are the same. Having accepted the new spirit, it is necessary to redo all this, reconfigure, transform. The new spirit, restored and supported by the grace of God, is great power. In whomever it awakens, he is irresistibly drawn to the higher, unearthly, spiritual. But the inner life of a person in whom this spirit awakens is not suddenly completely rebuilt according to it. Only the power to do so is perceived, but the transformation itself requires both time and labor. This is what the Apostle inspires when he says: “be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Your mind, or spirit, has been renewed, that is, as stated above, by the grace of God the fear of God has come to life in you and has disturbed your conscience, and under the influence of them, with the help of God, you have reached the determination to leave the life of this age and begin to live according to the demands of another age, a determination sealed by grace in the Sacraments of Baptism or Repentance. Thus the renewal of your mind, or spirit, has taken place in you. Now, by the power of this renewed mind or spirit, transform yourself, that is, your thoughts, your dispositions and inclinations, your feelings and tastes, your whole soul. Your entire soul was turned to the earth and earthly things, to this age and its affairs, and was only occupied with how to arrange earthly well-being. To this she subordinated your mind, or spirit, and kept it subjugated to herself and to this age. Now - thanks be to God! - he was freed from these bonds and assumed his rights; now it is no longer he who is the soul, but the soul who will submit to him and be rebuilt according to his requirements. Teach her to assimilate for herself the image of sound words, so that she can judge everything and look at everything with spiritual eyes, or God’s, as indicated in Divine revelation; teach her to instill in herself, instead of passionate ones, holy dispositions, or all kinds of virtues, so that the virtues constitute your inalienable character, just as the passions formerly constituted it; teach her to cultivate in herself tastes and sympathies for the spiritual, invisible, heavenly and eternal, so that your treasure is not in the flesh, tangible, earthly and transitory, but in the opposite of that - and behind the treasure your heart is no longer here, but there. Still, do not think and do not hope to accomplish this on your own, but commit all this and all your fate into the hands of God and expect true success only from His gracious help, as if hanging yourself on the right hand of God - the omnipotent. For all this there is no need to accept anything special; but do the same human deeds that are common to everyone according to the new spirit. Any task is presented: old thoughts about it arise, drive them away and accept new ones; the former passionate movements that guided him are shown - stop them and awaken new movements; the old feeling of self-indulgence, which found sweetness in him and fed on it, is irritated - suppress it and irritate sympathy for what is unearthly in this matter. So in every matter, and the transformation of the soul will follow the right path, effectively and fruitfully. Only keep the renewed mind or spirit in the renewal it has received. But there is no man without sin. No matter how careful you are, unkind thoughts, feelings, attitudes, deeds and words will get through and get through. As a result, the process of transformation of the soul slows down and the mind itself, or spirit, weakens in renewal. Why is it necessary to constantly renew yourself with repentance? Repentance is an integral part of the new spirit of Christian life, expressed by the constant content of a contrite and humble heart. Saint Chrysostom says: “since Paul’s listeners, as people, were akin to sinning every day; then the Apostle consoles them, advising them to renew themselves daily. As you treat your house, every now and then repairing everything that is dilapidated in it, do the same with yourself. Have you sinned today? Has your soul become dilapidated? Don’t despair, don’t be discouraged, but renew it with repentance, tears, confession, good deeds, and never give up this work.” “I shall tempt you, that this is the good will of God,” and so on. – It is necessary to transform oneself with a renewed mind. At what rate? By the will of God. The word of God shows everything how to do this. Study, assimilate and apply it to your work, despite opposition within and obstacles outside. There is no better and truer guide and guide. And when you begin to act in everything according to the will of God, then by your very deed you will tempt and experience that if someone wants to transform himself in a new way, he will not achieve this except by acting according to the will of God. Action according to it will immediately produce fruit, obvious and tangible, and will confirm with deeds how good, pleasing and perfect the will of God is. – For the Apostle, the fruit of self-transformation is not the knowledge of the will of God, but the testing and experimental tasting of the qualities of this will, its beneficial effect on us. “In the hedgehog to tempt”, εις το δοκιμάζειν. - Δοκιμάζειν - to taste, taste, experience by deed. Knowledge of the will of God can be placed under the condition of renewing the mind, and not transforming oneself with a renewed mind, which already presupposes knowledge of the will of God. And indeed, until the mind or spirit is renewed, until it is completely enveloped and suppressed by the spirit of this age, until then a person cannot know and understand the will of God; it is incomprehensible to him, inconceivable, no matter how you interpret it. Making the knowledge of God's will dependent on the renewal of the mind, Saint Chrysostom says: “you ask: who does not know what the will of God is? Anyone who is attached to the present, who considers wealth enviable and despises poverty; whoever seeks power is addicted to worldly glory; who considers himself a great man when he has built magnificent houses, prepared magnificent tombs, has a crowd of servants, leads many eunuchs; such a person does not know what is good for him and what is the will of God. For both are one and the same: what is good for us, God wants; and what God wants is good for us. So what does God want? So that we love poverty, humility, despise glory, live abstinently, and not luxuriously, in sorrow, and not in bliss, cry, and not have fun and laugh - do everything that God commanded us. But many turn away from this as evil, and not only do not agree to recognize it as beneficial and the will of God; and therefore can never even approach the feats of virtue. Such people, not knowing what virtue is and admiring vice, how can they renounce the present age?” At the same time, Saint Chrysostom offers another thought that is useful in life. Believing that it is possible to understand the renewal of the mind as the acquisition of sound judgments about things, he teaches that this is also good, although there is no life corresponding to it, although we do not live like that; but knowledge of what is proper will finally bring you to your senses and lead to proper deeds. “Above all else,” he says, we must have a correct judgment about things. If we do not yet follow virtue, let us at least learn to praise it. If we are not yet running away from vice, at least let us learn to condemn what is bad, so that our judgment may be just. Keeping this path, we can get down to business itself. To this end, Paul also commands to be renewed, “in the face of temptation, which is the will of God.” To explain what the will of God means - “good and pleasing and perfect” - Blessed Theophylact briefly cites the interpretation of these words given by Basil the Great, in his brief rules, in response to the 276th question. We present this place completely. “First, we must seek what is the good will of God; this is a direct commandment to do something, for example: “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) - or: “Walk in love, as Christ also loved us” (Eph. 5:2); then, when we know the good will, we must investigate whether this good will is pleasing to God (in relation to us). For something else in a special respect is the will of God, and the will is good; but when this is done either by the wrong person, or at the wrong time, as it should be, then it is no longer pleasing to God. For example: it was the will of God and the good will that incense be burned to God; but it was not pleasing to God that Dathan and Abiron should do this. And one more thing: it is the will of God and the good will that they do alms; but to do this for the sake of glorification from people, this is no longer pleasing to God. And one more thing: it was the will of God and the good will that the disciples, “hearing in their ears, should preach on the housetops” (Matthew 10:27); but for people to talk about something (some things) ahead of time, this was not pleasing to God. For he says: “Tell no one this vision, until the Son of Man rises from the dead” (Matthew 17:9). And in general, every will of God is good and pleasing when what the Apostle said is fulfilled in it: “Do all things for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31) - and: “Let all things be done in an orderly manner” (1 Cor. 14:40). But again, if something is the will of God, and a good will, and a pleasing will, then in this case one should not indulge in carelessness, but strive and take care so that it is perfect and without shortcomings, to the extent of both the deed itself and the strength of the one doing the deed. (We can add: with all zeal, attention and diligence; because God does not take pleasure in those who do His work carelessly.) For it is said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbor as thyself” (Lk. 10:27), as the Lord taught in the Gospel of John: “As I have loved you, that you also love yourselves” (John 13:34). And love every commandment, as it is written (Deut. 6:6). For it is said: “Blessed is that servant whose master, when he comes, will find what he does” (Matthew 24:46)” (St. Basil the Great. Rules summarized in questions and answers. Answer 276). Having outlined the spirit of Christian life, the Apostle now begins to depict: 2) How it should be expressed in real life (Rom. 12:3–13, 14) a) First among themselves, as Christians (Rom. 12:3–21) In the first place here he puts: aa) a general rule for this, namely: in the spirit said, act among believers according to your gifts, which you received from God, meaning primarily those who rule society (verses 3-8). To bring this closer to the concept, he represents the society of Christians as similar to a body and says: the body is one, but has many members; each member has its own work, and all, doing their work, arrange and preserve the life of the body. So we, believers, are one body in Christ the Lord, and especially each one is members of this body. Each one is given his own talent, and his own work is assigned in it. Do each one his own work, indicated by the gift of God, and the spiritual well-being of all believers will blossom without hindrance. This is indicated in verses 4-8. But at the title of this entire lesson, the Apostle puts a lesson of humility, which can be expressed this way: no matter how great your talent, do not think arrogantly about yourself and, no matter how small it is, do not reach up and take on what is beyond your strength (verse 3). aa) As rulers of society (Rom. 12:3–8) Rome 12:3. For by the grace given to me, I say that everyone who is in you should not philosophize any more than it ought to philosophize, but philosophize in chastity, as God has divided into each one, there is a measure of faith. Wanting to teach humility, he reveals his own humility: “I say by the grace that was given to me.” My word to you is not mine, but the grace of God given to me inspires it and compels me to offer it to you. The grace given to Saint Paul is the grace of the Apostleship, which was expressed in the power to bind and decide - to establish everything, prescribe rules and punish for non-fulfillment - and in the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles with what to say to whom when. It is unlikely that the Apostle in the above words had in mind the first side of Apostolic grace; because speaking to the authorities does not encourage humility, but irritates the consciousness of one’s own dignity. But rather, he wanted to express that “it is not he who legitimizes what is written, but the grace of the Spirit acting through him, saying, as it were: I am an instrument of grace” (Blessed Theodoret); I would not bother you with this lesson myself, but the Spirit of God compels me, Whom I cannot resist. Saint Chrysostom says: “Above he said: “I pray with the bounties of God,” - and now he says again: “I pray with grace.” Notice the humility of the teacher, notice the meekness of his heart! For such exhortations and advice, he does not recognize his own words as sufficient, but in support of them he refers either to God’s mercy or to grace. I offer a word not from myself, he says, but from God. And he did not say: I convince you by the wisdom of God, by the law of God, but by grace, constantly reminding you of good deeds, in order to inspire great gratitude and prove that grace also requires the fulfillment of what is said here.” "To everything that is in you." “Not to one or the other, but to everyone - superior and subordinate, slave and free, unlearned and wise, woman and man, young man and old man; it is a general law, because it is the Lord's. So, the Apostle does not offend anyone with his word; offers instruction to everyone, even those who are not guilty (of the vice opposite to instruction), so that those who are guilty will more easily accept this admonition and correction” (St. Chrysostom). “And what are you saying, tell me? “Don’t be too philosophic when it’s appropriate to be philosophic.” He prescribes humility, the mother of all good things, imitating his Teacher in this. How Christ, having ascended the mountain in order to offer a moral conversation, began with a word about humility and offered the following reason: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3); so Paul, moving from dogmatic truths to moral ones, although he taught a lesson about virtue in general (in verses 1 and 2), demanding from us an amazing sacrifice, but intending to describe the virtues separately, begins with humility, as if from the head, and advises “not to be wise any more than it is fitting to be wise,” because such is the will of God” (St. Chrysostom). “Do not philosophize any more,” μη ϋπερφρονεΐν, - to philosophize beyond one's measure, - to philosophize either about oneself, which will be the same as to be arrogant, to be proud of one's talent, towering over others and looking down on them, - or to philosophize beyond one's measure - to think of things beyond one's strength and to demand for oneself a place and position beyond one's abilities, which will the same thing as being overly demanding, ambitious, power-hungry, and glory-hungry. All this and the like is prohibited in one word: “do not philosophize” - know your limits and, just as in your thoughts about yourself, do not go beyond them, and in your plans and demands, do not go beyond them. This will be: “to be wise in chastity”, φρονεΤν εις το σωφρονεΤν, - to be wise in such a way that it means to be chaste. Chastity here is not the virtue of purity, but sanity. ΣωφρονεΤν - actually means: to be of sound mind, - from: σόος - whole, undamaged, sound - and: φρονεΐν - to be wise. – ΦρονεΤν – does not mean abstract philosophizing, but thinking about matters, activities, enterprises. ΣωφρονεΤν - will be: to be able to think about all this sensibly, to be prudent. The Apostle takes one side of prudence, namely, not to make plans and not to demand anything beyond one’s measure, just as the Savior taught in the parable of those who plot to build a house or wage war. He who controls himself and his affairs in his own measure is chaste or healthy. Saint Chrysostom says: “these words: φρονεΤν εις then σωφρονεΤν - mean: we have received the power of reasoning, in order to turn it not into arrogance, but into chastity. The Apostle did not say: think of yourself humbly, but: chastely, meaning here by chastity not the virtue opposite to shamelessness and not avoidance of debauchery, but a sober and sound mind. For having sound thoughts is called: σωφροσύνη - chastity. Calling humility chastity (soundness), the Apostle showed that the immodest (immodest) is not of sound mind, but is extravagant, outrageous and acts more foolishly than any fool.” “Pride is a painful way of thinking” (Blessed Theodoret). “To whomsoever God hath divided there is a measure of faith.” What is the measure of common sense? So that everyone philosophizes in the measure of the gift that he received from God. The Apostle here called the measure of faith the measure of gifts, putting the cause instead of the effect, because faith is the cause of gifts, and the measure of these is determined by that measure. Theodoret writes: “The Apostle here called grace faith. For by faith the giving of grace is acquired, and according to the measure of faith, gifts of grace are given. He commands the wisdom of the soul to be measured by this grace.” – And Saint Chrysostom says: “since many of the Romans and Corinthians, due to spiritual gifts, fell into arrogance, then notice how the Apostle brings out the cause of this illness and gradually rejects it. Having said that one must “be wise in chastity,” he added: “to whom God has divided the measure of faith,” here calling spiritual gifting faith! In the word: “divided,” just as he comforted the one who received a smaller gift, so he humbled the one using a greater gift. If God divided it this way, and success does not depend on yours, then why should you think so much about yourself? If anyone says that here we are talking about faith, and not about talent; then this proves even more that the Apostle wants to humble the vain. If faith is the reason for the gift, miracles are performed through it, and all this (that is, faith itself) is from God, then on what basis do you think so much about yourself? If God had not come to earth and become incarnate; faith would not have such success. So, everything good has its beginning in God. And if He Himself gives, then He knows how to share. He created everything himself and cares for everyone equally. It depends on His love for mankind both to give and to give to a certain extent. He who has shown grace in the main thing—that he has communicated His gifts—will not bypass you in the division. If He wanted to deprive you of honor, He would not have given you even the very first.” The measure of faith is the measure of gift; but like faith itself is from God, there is no essential difference - whether the measure of faith itself is understood here, as the word requires, or the measure of the gift, conditioned by the measure of faith, as the flow of speech requires. For afterwards the Apostle speaks no longer about the measure of faith, but about the measure of gifts. Rome. 12:4, 5. Just as in one body there are many uds imams, but you uds do not have the same work: so too we are many in one body in Christ, but we hear each other according to one. The Apostle explains what was said before with an example. Having demanded not to think beyond your limits, that is, to know your limits, and not to think about yourself beyond your limits, and not to think of things beyond your strength and not to demand a place and position beyond your abilities, he now convinces: look at the body, and you will learn all this. We have many members in one body, and not all members do the same thing, but each has his own business, with which he is occupied and does not demand that he be given another task, which seems higher to him. Not all members see, not all hear, not all breathe... But vision is given to the eye, and it is occupied with it; hearing - to the ear - this is what it does; breathing is light - they breathe: so the other members have their own work: the stomach cooks food, the heart circulates blood, and so on. The stomach does not make a demand: let me, I’ll watch, because it is not configured for this and does not have the ability. Likewise, every member does not interfere where it is worthless - it knows its limits and only cares about doing its job as it should. It looks like a Christian body and society, continues the Apostle. There are many of us, but we are all one body in Christ Jesus the Lord, Who is the Head of this body. We are all one body, but we are not all the same, but we differ from each other; We are the same in relation to each other as members. – The Apostle does not make any further comparison. It would be expected that he would say: so we, as members of one spiritual body in Christ, do not have the same work or should have the same work, just as the members of the material body do not have the same work. But as this was self-evident, the Apostle did not consider it necessary to make such an application, nor to draw a lesson from this: do your own thing and do not go beyond your talent. It is obvious that the Apostle made this comparison in such a way as to support the second especially side of unphilosophy more than it should be, that is, the one not to be pretentious, not to seek a higher self, but to know one’s limits and do one’s job. But the first one is right there: for one cannot have such claims without thinking beyond measure about oneself. Why is it not inappropriate for our interpreters to see in these verses a continuation of the Apostolic instruction on humility. “Why do you think highly of yourself? Are we not all, great and small, one body? And when in relation to the Head we are one body and one member of another; Why do you reject arrogance? Why are you ashamed of your brother? As he is your member, so you are his member; and in this respect you are equally honest” (Saint Chrysostom). Rome. 12:6. What gifts we have according to the grace given to us differs: whether it is prophecy, according to the measure of faith. The Apostle's speech is truncated; Let's add it. The members of the body are not the only ones to do; and we must not have one thing to do, but each one have his own. Which one? What gift did each person receive from God? Having thus different gifts, we must each act with our own gifts: whoever received prophecy, prophesy, and so on. Ecumenius writes: “The Apostle speaks truncatedly, not all using the words needed to express thoughts. Here it is necessary to add after: “Having different gifts” - such words: each one abide in the gift that he received, - or: be content with it, - or: act according to it and in accordance with it, - or something similar.” The gifts that the Apostle mentions here are not natural, which everyone receives at birth, although they are all from God; but this refers to supernatural gifts, grace-filled gifts given by the Holy Spirit after Baptism in Confirmation, which under the Apostles was performed by the laying on of hands and constituted an integral part of every believer and a sign that he is Christ’s, a believer. The Apostle lists these gifts in detail in his Epistle to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:7–11). This distribution of gifts was clearly for everyone. Why does the Apostle not prove this, but only points out: “Having gifts.” Saint Chrysostom sees here a lesson in humility: “So, don’t think too much about yourself. Everything you received was given to you from God, and you did not acquire it yourself. For this reason, the Apostle, touching on spiritual gifts, did not say that one received more and the other less; and what did you call the talents? Various. For he says: “Having gifts” - not greater and lesser, but: “various.” What is the matter if you are not entrusted with the same things when you belong to the same body?” But also to the additional thought, that is, the one: you have received different gifts, and now each act in accordance with his own, Saint Chrysostom makes a special suggestion: “since he has already sufficiently pacified the listeners, he wants to make them zealous and move them to greater diligence, pointing out that it depends on them themselves to receive a greater or lesser gift. In order to humble the proud, he asserts that this is given from God, when, for example, he says: “to whom God has divided the measure of faith” - and also: “according to the grace given to us.” But to encourage the careless, he adds that the first foundation is laid by the people themselves. For the same two purposes he asserts the same thing in the Epistle to the Corinthians. When he says: “Be jealous of gifts” (1 Cor. 12:31), he shows that they themselves are the cause of the difference in what is given. And when he says: “But all these things work through one and the same Spirit, dividing power to each as he wills” (1 Cor. 12:11), he proves that those who have received the gift should not be proud of it. Thus, in both respects, the illness of the Corinthians is healed. The same goes for the Romans." Let us also apply the words of Blessed Theodoret: “each part of the body is not only useful for itself, but also brings benefit to the whole. Therefore, anyone who has received any grace from above should clearly know that he received this gift for a common need... We are members of each other, having different gifts by the grace given to us; for although they are different, they are nevertheless given by Divine grace for the common benefit.” “As much as there is prophecy, according to the measure of faith.” And here the speech is truncated. The Apostle wanted to say: if anyone has the gift of prophecy, prophesy according to the measure of faith. He begins to list the various gifts and indicates their proper use. The words: “according to the measure of faith” - our interpreters refer not to the use of the gift of prophecy, but to the receipt of it, precisely in the sense that this gift is received according to the measure of faith. So Saint Chrysostom: “although prophecy is given by grace, it is not poured out simply, but borrows its measure from those who receive it; and it flows as long as the vessel of faith that is placed is large.” So Blessed Theodoret: “The Giver of blessings measures the grace of each by faith.” So do others. But even in this case, it will still be necessary to supplement the speech: if anyone has received a prophecy according to the measure of faith, prophesy for the benefit of others. And what needs to be supplemented in this way is obligated by the entire speech. For further it says: if you have received service, serve; if teaching, teach and so on. Consequently, here too it is necessary to understand the indication of the use of the gift of prophecy, whether the words: “according to the measure of faith” refer to receiving the gift of prophecy or to using it. “The Apostle calls prophecy not only the foreknowledge of the future, but also the knowledge of the hidden” (Blessed Theodoret), and, more particularly, the knowledge of the secret thoughts of the heart, along with which there was also a compulsion to speak about open thoughts, whether to drive them away and change them, if they are disapproving, or to strengthen them, if they are good. In whatever sense the word “prophecy” is taken, the use of this gift requires great faith and spiritual experience. Otherwise, it may happen that either this gift will remain completely unused, due to excessive modesty and timidity, or many personal things, one’s own, and not those inspired by grace, will be mixed into its use. Faith and boldness give and teach the true distinction of one’s own from God’s. Faith, childishly humble, does not shame in either case. Devotion to God belongs to her, for which, as a reason, God leads those who are humbly devoted to Him in an infallible way. Therefore, “according to the measure of faith” can be understood - to the extent of conviction, the internal testimony of conscience. In Greek it stands: κατά την άναλογίαν της πίστεως - which can rightly be translated: according to faith. Faith here, as a set of dogmas, is a symbol of faith. This is a sample of prophetic contemplations and revelations and a program for their use. From what is revealed, offer to others that which is in accordance with the common faith, clarifies it, nourishes it, affirms it. Rome. 12:7. If you serve, in service: if you teach, in teaching. If you have received the gift of service, remain in service. Service, διακονία, is of course the actual correction of something in the church: looking after those entering the church and the order in it, serving during the performance of the sacraments and everything else is διακονία. This embraces not only the deaconate, but also the entire priestly and service rank. Saint Chrysostom says: “service is taken here in a general concept; for Apostleship is also called ministry, and every good spiritual work is ministry. Although this same name is used to designate a private position; however, this is what is said here in general.” Blessed Theophylact writes the same thing: “there is a special ministry and talent in the church rank, such as the ministry of the “seven deacons.” But here, under the name of service, we understand any spiritual work in general. Whatever service you have received, he says, continue to correct it (this word should be added here), do not seek anything more and do not be proud of others, but be content with what you have received.” “As often as you teach, in teaching.” If you “teach” - a teacher, you have received the gift of teaching; then stay in the teaching, think about it, be busy with it, correct it as it should, try in every possible way and be jealous. - “By teaching we mean the interpretation of Divine dogmas” (Blessed Theodoret) - about the Holy Trinity, about creation and providence, about the blessed state in paradise and fall, about the incarnation of God and our salvation in Him, about the grace of the Holy Spirit and Christian hopes. That this is a special talent, we see so far: for some teach dogmas very clearly, but do not know how to console, but unravel moral confusion and lead to the path. This gift differs from prophecy in that the prophetic spirit suddenly found itself and forced the word, not limited to persons and not constrained by time or place; and the gift of teaching acted constantly and gave the student freedom to choose subjects and the order of teaching, observe the time and prepare teachings. Saint Chrysostom says at this: “note that the Apostle does not observe a strict order, but puts small (service) in front, and large (teaching) after, teaching the same thing that he taught before, that is, not to be arrogant and not to be arrogant.” Rome. 12:8. If you console, in consolation: give, in simplicity: stand, with diligence: have mercy, with good will. If you are a “comforter” - you have received the gift of consolation, then remain “in the consolation” of others. Consolation, παράκλησις, - can have a twofold meaning - either consolation in sorrow, pacification and tranquility of a troubled heart, or conviction to a good life, ordering of the moral side. Both can correct the same gift due to the uniformity of the matter and the similarity of the mood required to correct it. Why here both can be understood, as our interpreters do. Blessed Theodoret by “consolation” means conviction to virtue; and blessed Theophylact - the calming of a grieving heart, saying: “and consolation is a special type of teaching. For teaching is generally called reasoning about any subject, and consolation is actually when someone calms souls outraged by sorrow or anger with a word. So, he who consoles, says, let him remain in consolation while doing his work, and not be proud of others.” In Apostolic times, there were in the Church special ranks of prophets and teachers, besides the Apostles, and special ranks of church servants. But was there a special order of comforting and instructing on the right path? That’s right, it was when the Apostle specifically speaks about the gift of this. Their job could be to monitor morality and persuade those who are faulty to correct themselves before the church authorities take on this. - Isn’t this trace of this rank ό ευταξίας - overseeing the deanery in the church? "Give, in simplicity". If you “give”, you have received the gift of economy and are assigned to distribute necessities to those in need on behalf of the Church; then give “in simplicity,” that is, without suspecting the one who presents his needs of guile, but in the simplicity of the heart, believing his word that he really needs as he says, or in the simplicity of the heart, give to him, without stinting, without sparing, with a wide heart. In the primal Church, Christian societies supported their poor, and for this purpose, everyone, according to his strength, donated to the general church economy from his property, whatever he could and with what he was diligent. Special capable persons were elected to distribute benefits. In the Church of Jerusalem, the Apostles elected seven deacons for this purpose. This, one must assume, was done in all Churches. Then, when the deacons went to serve during the celebration of the sacraments, special stewards were elected to distribute the necessities to the needy, under whose care were all the poor, widows, orphans, the sick and all kinds of needy people. That the ability to conduct this kind of business is a special talent, everyone knows from constant experience. The Apostle speaks about this gift here, but not as a natural ability, but as a gift of grace, making it clear that this kind of talent was then manifested in persons who naturally did not show a special predisposition to it. But even if one assumes a similar predisposition in another, one must still assume that the grace of God, having come, evoked, elevated and directed him. To believe that here the Apostle means a special gift - to dispose of church property - is forced by the fact that this: “give” - stands between: “teach” - and: “comfort”, - on the one hand, and: “stand”, - on the other, - that is, in the series of ranks leading good orders in the church. At the same time, our interpreters speak more about the disposition with which one should give to those in need - so, however, that everything they said can relate not only to the general virtue of giving alms, but also to the special ecclesiastical economy. Here are their words: St. Chrysostom: “It is not enough to give, but it is necessary to give generously; for this is meant everywhere by the word: “simplicity””; Blessed Theodoret: “give in simplicity” - not catching glory for yourself from others, but satisfying the needs of the needy and not judging whether it will be enough or not enough for yourself, but relying on God and generously giving alms”; Blessed Theophylact: “having spoken about teaching and consolation, that is, about what relates to the care of souls, now he speaks about the physical, as occupying second place. “Simplicity” refers to generosity; therefore, teaches to give generously. For no virtue is a virtue if it is performed in an inappropriate manner. Likewise, although the virgins had oil, they did not have enough of it, which is why they were rejected (Matthew 25:1-12).” All these instructions can go to the distributors of both their own and church property. “Proceed with diligence.” If you are a primate, conduct the work of primacy with diligence. The Apostles, wherever they planted the faith, everywhere appointed priests or bishops with ordination, so that they would govern the formed Christian society, or the Church, in everything related to faith and salvation. Primates were also appointed for each meeting of believers. There were no churches yet; gathered in houses. If the community of believers was large, they would gather in more than one house. For each such meeting there was a special leader with full authority to preside. This was the beginning of many parishes in one place of residence - a city, town or large village. The Apostle commands every such leader, both great and small, to stand before him with diligence. Where to send the message and how to act was known. Just don’t be lazy, and everything will go well. This is the same thing that St. Paul instilled in St. Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the priesthood” (1 Tim. 4:14). “It is not enough to be a boss, but one must lead with zeal and diligence” (St. Chrysostom). “The one who has received the leadership of the brethren must, along with the power, take careful care of them, so that those under his command prosper and he has fruit in them for himself” (Amvrosiastes). “Mercy, with good will.” - “With good wishes”, εν ίλαρότητι, - which should be expressed this way: with a joyful heart and a cheerful face, - cordially. But who is this “darling”? since he stands in the ranks of people who build and maintain order in Christian society, then it is more appropriate to understand some kind of rank by him. Maybe this is someone who cares about the sick. He, together with the “giver and comforter,” healed all the wounds of the believing society, some with benefits, some with words, some with care for health. And everyone should be hospitable, but even more so to those who care for the sick. But perhaps the Apostle ended his enumeration of church ranks and special gifts for them with the previous one: “stand with diligence,” and with this word he begins to prescribe virtues common to all Christians, placing in the first place welcoming mercy towards those in need. Our interpreters understand here the general virtue of mercy. Saint Chrysostom speaks at length about this virtue: “It is not enough to show mercy, but it is necessary to do this generously and without sorrow; or, better to say, not only without sorrow, but also with a cheerful and joyful spirit. For it is not the same thing not to be sad and to be happy. Paul proved the same thing with great care in his Epistle to the Corinthians. For, encouraging them to generosity, he said: “Whoever sows with poverty, he will reap with poverty; but sow for a blessing, and for a blessing he will also reap” (2 Cor. 9:6) and, teaching with what disposition one should show generosity, he added: “neither from poverty nor from need” (2 Cor. 9:7). The one who shows mercy must have both, generosity and a cheerful disposition. Why do you cry when you give alms? Why do you struggle to show mercy, and thereby lose the fruit of your merits? If you grieve, then there is no mercy in you; on the contrary, you are cruel and inhuman. If you yourself are grieving, how can you encourage someone who is in grief? It is not easy to do so that no evil suspicion is born in him when you give it to him with joy; because it seems most humiliating to a person to accept something from another. If you, by the special gaiety of your disposition, do not avert suspicion and show that you yourself are being favored more than you are being borrowed; then you are more likely to drop it than to restore the recipient. Therefore, the Apostle says: “Have mercy, with good will.” Who with a sad face receives royal power? Who remains with downcast eyes after receiving forgiveness of sins? Look not at the waste of money, but at the fruits of this waste. If the sower rejoices, although he sows at random; much more should the worker of heaven rejoice. If you give a little with joy, you will give a lot. Likewise, even if you gave a lot, but with regret; then he did little out of a lot. So a widow's two mites (Mk. 12:41–44) surpassed many talents, because her disposition was not meager. You will say: how can someone who lives in extreme poverty, who has been depleted of everything, serve with cordiality? Ask a widow, you will learn from her how this is possible, and you will learn that mental anxiety does not come from poverty, but that your own will produces both this and everything else that is contrary. You can be generous in poverty, and cowardly in wealth. Therefore, the Apostle demands simplicity in almsgiving, cordiality in mercy, and zeal in leadership. He wants us to help those in need not only with money, but also with words, deeds, physical labor and everything else. And, having first mentioned the main type of help - teaching, advice - which is all the more necessary because it serves as food for the soul, then he moves on to help with money and everything else.” Having indicated how those who manage the affairs of Christian society should act, the Apostle now writes: bb) Rules for how all other Christians should act (Rom. 12:9–21) Here he presents a list of dispositions and actions in which the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, indicated at the beginning, should be expressed in every Christian (Rom. 12:9-21). Rome. 12:9. Love is unfeigned: hating evil, cleave to what is good. Unfeigned love must constitute the soul of all actions shown before this, as St. Chrysostom explains: “The Apostle, teaching how one can succeed in those virtues, represents their mother - love. If you have love, then you will not feel the waste of money, nor bodily labor, nor the burden of teaching others, nor the sweat of serving; on the contrary, you will endure everything courageously, whether your neighbor needs help with physical labor, money, words, or anything else.” But it must constitute the soul and all Christians in all their actions, serving as a distinctive feature of true Christianity, as the Lord Himself indicated: “of this they all understand, just as My disciples are, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The consciousness that this should be so lies deep in the heart of Christians, and everyone tries to show themselves, both in word and in deed, as loving others. But since showing oneself as a lover does not always come from a loving heart, the Apostle added: let love be unfeigned, that is, do not just show love outwardly, but, most importantly, nourish it in the heart. Saint Chrysostom says further: “as the Apostle demands not just alms, but in simplicity, not just authority, but with diligence, not just alms, but with cordiality; So it’s not just that he demands love, but unfeigned love. For this is true love; and if she is like that, everything else will follow by itself.” The Apostle does not prescribe the commandment of love: this is a generally accepted truth for him. But it indicates the quality of love, in the form of a warning against deviation towards wrongness in this main matter. Love is imprinted in the heart along with the acceptance of rebirth, which is built on the destruction of selfhood, as the Apostle writes elsewhere: “The love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5). But then it is possible that selfishness will again creep into the heart and, leaving in reality external courtesy, weaken the love of the heart or completely drive it out of there and take its place. Then love will at least be visible in deeds, but it will already be hypocritical. This is what the Apostle warns against. “Hating what is evil, cling to what is good.” By evil and good we do not mean people, but evil and good - deed, word, thought, all evil and all good. That there should be nothing bad, reproachful or shameful in the behavior of Christians, but on the contrary, they should be holy and blameless in all their lives, there is nothing to say about this. But what is required is not just behavior that is alien to sin and full of virtue, but a heart that turns away with horror from everything bad and passionately loves everything that is good. As this does not always happen, the Apostle reminds us of this with a special commandment. – Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle commands not only to refrain from evil, but to hate it, and not just to hate, but to turn away from it with horror. since many, although they do not do evil, have evil desires; then the Apostle said: turn away with horror. He wants our thoughts to be pure, so that we declare obvious enmity, hatred and war against vice. since I have commanded you, says the Apostle, to love one another; then do not conclude from my words that I command you to help each other in bad deeds. I prescribe to you the completely opposite: to shun evil not only in deed, but also in disposition; and not only shun evil dispositions, but also in every possible way turn away from evil and hate it. And Paul is not yet satisfied with this, but demands exercise in virtue, saying: “Cling to what is good.” He did not say: do good, but: be committed to it; for he expressed this by commanding us to cleave to good. So God, mating husband and wife, said: “He will cleave to his wife” (Gen. 2:24).” Rome. 12:10 . Show kindness to one another through brotherly love: do more to honor one another. Love and mutual respect are the main dispositions that guide and maintain Christian relationships with each other. Where they are in strength, there is deep peace and lasting prosperity. Love binds, and mutual respect drives away everything vulgar from love unions that could somehow darken them. “Be kind to one another through brotherly love.” As above, so here the Apostle does not write the commandment of love, but determines its quality. There he said that she should be unhypocritical and sincere; and here he indicates how she can be such, defining her new qualities, namely, feelings related to each other. For “kindness”, φιλόστοργοι, actually indicates related love; and brotherly love chooses brotherly love from the circle of kindred love. We are brothers by nature, but even more so brothers in spiritual life: born by the same grace of the Holy Spirit in Christ Jesus from a single mother’s womb - the holy font; drunk with the same waters of grace-filled gifts from a single source - Confirmation; we wash ourselves in a single bath - in the tearful waters of the Sacrament of Repentance; We feed on one incorruptible food from one Table, the Sacrament of the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord. In whom all this is truly and powerfully accomplished, they consider themselves brothers in the feelings of the heart, without special instructions or reminders. And yet, the Apostle reminds. Because in life there is a continuous flow of various accidents, and near the heart (and in the reborn) an obsessive swarm of alien movements clouds the bright face of brotherly love and disfigures its features. The Apostle dispels this fog, repeating to each of us: look, you are brothers; Treat each other as blood brothers relate. “Have ardent love for each other and decent affection for your brothers” (Blessed Theodoret). “You are brothers, you came from the same womb (that is, the baptismal font like Theophylact’s). Therefore, we are obligated to love each other. Your love should not only be unfeigned, but strong, hot, fiery. What is the use if you love, although sincerely, but without ardor? That is why the Apostle said: “be kind to one another,” φιλόστοργοι, - that is, love ardently. Don't wait for someone else to discover love for you; but run to him yourself and start first. Then you will receive a reward for his love” (St. Chrysostom). “It is great to honor each other.” Προηγούμενοι αλλήλους, - preferring each other, putting the other above oneself, more worthy, more perfect, more honorable, - always holding the last, humblest part in relation to others. “Having shown the reason why we are obliged to love one another, the Apostle explains how our love can become unshakable. Therefore he adds: “doing more to honor one another.” For through this love is born and maintained. Nothing wins us so many friends as trying to surpass our neighbor in respect. From this, not only love increases, but also respect. Just as love comes from respect, so equally does respect come from love” (St. Chrysostom). There are great Christians who know how to honor everyone above themselves, despite the obvious shortcomings of others - and this is not only in appearance, but in the feeling of the heart. Such is the grace of God for them. There is nothing special about paying respect to perfection; but to prefer someone who is less perfect or even has obvious shortcomings and irreverent vices - this goes out of the natural order and is a direct matter of God’s grace. And the grace of God does not suddenly achieve such a high disposition. It requires skill and self-compulsion with self-resistance. At the very germ of a life of grace lies a feeling of contrition and self-abasement. As life grows, so does this feeling. But the more it deepens, the higher all others become in the eyes of this successful one. He sees in them the image of God, Christ the Lord, who dwells in them, and above their head the crown of the Kingdom prepared for them. Their shortcomings and downfalls, in his opinion, are a step forward, like those of the Apostle Peter. Now they are a little behind, tomorrow they will warn everyone: for God is strong to grant them this. Great wisdom is to always keep the face of every neighbor unsullied or only accidentally splashed. The life experiences of those who desire and are jealous of perfection will teach everything. Rome. 12:11 . Do not be lazy with diligence, but with a burning spirit, working for the Lord. It inspires what our zeal should be for pleasing God and salvation. The one who waddles from foot to foot also walks, but clearly shows that his soul is not in favor of where and why he is going. He who has his soul in the work he does is quick-moving, spares no effort, and is all tense. Such energy is undermined by laziness - one of the main passions that villainizes a person. The Apostle drives her out, commanding her to be non-lazy. To be non-lazy means to be diligent in your work, to act quickly and intensely. But it is not just speed that the Apostle inspires, but also diligence about the matter. Others act quickly, but without any attention to the matter, they are in a hurry to get the matter out of their hands as quickly as possible, and it is done somehow. This is the other side of laziness, doing nothing. Against this, the Apostle orders that one’s work be done with all diligence, with all attention to the work, taking every possible care so that the work comes out completely perfect, the way it should be. How wisely the Apostle combined the words: “do not be lazy with diligence”! So that no one tries to justify his slowness by diligence, saying: the work must be done properly, he commands us not to be lazy when diligent. And so that someone, out of the same laziness, does not rush into things, trying to get off as quickly as possible, having done the job somehow, he commands, if he is not lazy, to be thorough. On both sides the right energy protects. But what is the subject of non-laziness? If we put these words in connection with the previous one, then these will be deeds of love for our neighbors. Blessed Theophylact writes: “since many apparently spiritually honor and love each other, but do not stretch out their hands to them; then the Apostle teaches us to take care of each other and actually help others.” He borrowed this speech from Saint Chrysostom, who speaks at greater length in the same sense: “The Apostle demands from us not only respect, but something even greater, saying: “Do not be lazy with diligence.” And this gives birth to love when it renders services with respect. For nothing makes you love more than respect and reverence. It is not enough to love, but you need to have this too, or, better to say, just as this comes from love, so love becomes hotter from this; one reinforces the other. Although many people love each other sincerely, they will not help each other. Therefore the Apostle reinforces love on every side.” - So is Ekumenius. But nothing prevents the object of non-laziness from recognizing in general activity in the spirit of faith, everything that is good, pleasing to God and saving, which will include deeds of love for the brethren. For unslothful thoroughness is required not only in these matters, but in general in all the affairs of a Christian, which must exclusively be directed toward pleasing God and presented to Him as service to Him. Ambrosiast writes: “in the words: do not be lazy with diligence - the same thing is said as the prophet Jeremiah says: “Cursed is everyone who does the work of God with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). A lazy person in matters of pleasing God is without hope (neither now does he have boldness towards God, nor can he expect anything bright in the future).” Blessed Theodoret also understands this: “Be, says the Apostle, “not lazy with care,” showing living zeal for good and completely avoiding laziness.” “Firing in the Spirit” - that is, be burning in spirit. Indicates the source of non-lazy thoroughness. He who burns in spirit has all his deeds burning in his hands, that is, they are done quickly and well; because they are done with all zeal and zeal. “Note,” says Saint Chrysostom, that the Apostle demands strengthening in everything. He said: not only give, but generously; not only command, but with diligence; not only do deeds of mercy, but with joy; not only be respectful, but show respect to others; not only love, but love unfeignedly; not only refrain from evil, but hate it; not only hold on to what is good, but cleave to it; not only be friendly, but with tenderness; not only be thorough, but relentless; “not only have spirit, but be fervent in spirit, that is, be zealous and zealous.” The spirit is that force or that side of our inner life that is turned to God, virtue, heaven and eternity. In her fall she became weak and depressed; but when grace comes, it revives it, and a person begins to be zealous for the Divine, the holy, the unearthly. To be on fire in spirit means to be ardently zealous about pleasing God, salvation and the acquisition of the Kingdom of Heaven. And the soul is jealous, but only because of the arrangement of earthly life; but she is cold towards the spiritual. And the whole person is cold towards this as long as the spiritual side predominates in him. And when the spirit is awakened by grace, then it not only does spiritual things with zeal, but also directs and spiritualizes everything spiritual, physical, family and civil. We all received grace in Baptism and Confirmation. Therefore, we should burn in spirit, which is enlivened by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Why can’t we say that we are burning in spirit? Because we are concerned more or exclusively with spiritual, everyday, civil matters; the spirit has died down, although it makes itself felt. In order to kindle the spirit, we must realize the unsatisfactory direction of our activity, especially towards the earthly and everyday, - deepen our reflection into the contemplation of the Divine, holy, heavenly and eternal, - and most importantly - begin to walk in matters called spiritual. And the spirit will be kindled: for all this will warm the gift of grace that lives in us. This is how our holy fathers and teachers interpret it. Saint Chrysostom, having listed, as above, the types of intensified activity, then adds: “if you have everything that has now been counted, you will attract the Spirit. And if the Spirit abide in you, He will make you diligent in all things that are counted. When you are inflamed with Spirit and love, then everything will become easy for you. Have you not seen how terrible an ox is for everyone when a fire is lit on its back? So you too will become intolerable to the devil if you take both of these flames (that is, the grace of the Spirit and love).” Ambrosiast writes: “to be on fire in spirit means to be neither warm nor cold in the work of God, which is the state St. John speaks of in the Apocalypse: “Because you are stupefied, and neither lukewarm nor cold, the imam vomited you out of My mouth” (Apoc. 3:16). If you want to avoid this, think about Divine things. Constantly thinking about this drives away sleepiness and imparts life-giving alertness.” – The word of Blessed Theodoret is more complete about this: “The Apostle called the gift of spirit (of grace that excites our spirit) and commanded that our zeal should provide him with food, like firewood for fire (of course, meditation on the Divine and spiritual deeds). He says the same thing in another place: “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Sol. 5:19). The spirit is quenched by those unworthy of grace; because, not having a pure eye of the mind, they do not accept this ray. Likewise, for those who are physically blind, darkness is also light, and in the midst of the day they serve darkness. Therefore, the Apostle commands us to burn in spirit and have an ardent love for the Divine.” “Working for the Lord” - that is, be the Lord’s workers, work for the Lord, and not for anyone else, neither for yourself nor for the world. From this word, and throughout the next verse, the Apostle determines the direction of the burning spirit. The first thing in his consciousness and aspiration is the Lord, a living union with Him, and every kind of pleasing to Him, and non-deviation from His will, neither in small nor in great, neither in word, nor in deed, nor in thought. The Spirit is Divine by nature; why, when he awakens, he rushes to God, cleaves to God, lives by God and wants to live. In the faith of Christ, a person is joined to this by the consciousness that he has been purchased at the priceless price of the blood of the Lord, and with this consciousness is inextricably linked a feeling of obligation to tirelessly work for the Buyer, and for Him alone. Why does he direct everything towards this work, even “Whether he eats or drinks” (1 Cor. 10:31), remembering the inspiration of the Apostle: “bought of course with a price.” Glorify God in all your bodies and in your souls, which are God” (1 Cor. 6:20). By this sign, anyone can accurately determine whether his spirit has come to life and lives in him: if he zealously directs all his activities towards the Lord, it means that his spirit lives; if not, he doesn’t live. And, therefore, care must be taken to revive it: the means are at hand for everyone. Rome. 12:12 . Rejoicing in hope, enduring sorrows, remaining in prayer. These are signs of burning spirit! “He who is burning in spirit works diligently for the Lord, expects the enjoyment of hoped-for blessings and overcomes the temptations he encounters, countering their challenges with patience and constantly calling on Divine grace for help” (Blessed Theodoret). “All this serves to maintain this fire (that is, the burning of the spirit)” (St. Chrysostom). “Rejoicing in hope.” From the first minute of the awakening of the spirit by grace, the consciousness and aspiration of man pass from creation to God, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the temporal to the eternal. There, in that region, is his treasure, there is his heart (Matthew 6:21). Here he expects nothing, all his hopes are on his side. His heart falls away from what is here, nothing attracts him, he expects nothing here, he rejoices in nothing. He rejoices at the future benefits that he undoubtedly hopes to possess. This transmigration of the blessings and hopes of the heart is an essential feature of an awakened and burning spirit. It makes a person essentially a wanderer on earth, seeking his fatherland, the heavenly Jerusalem. All Christians, as those blessed with grace, should be so. Why does the Apostle prescribe to everyone in another place: “If you have risen with Christ (that is, if you have been made alive in the spirit by the grace of Christ), seek the things on high, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God: be wise on the things above, not on the earth. You died (that is, you died for everything earthly, created, temporary), and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3). What the Apostle says: rejoice in hope - this inspires the certainty of receiving the benefits of those who hope. Although they are still in the future, they are undoubtedly ours. Therefore, considering them already ours, we can rejoice. And therefore he could say this in order to support the zeal for good deeds, to which he obliged before him. He assigned a lot of work; but since labor is supported by the fruits of labor, and on earth good deeds should not expect anything, then our attention is focused on the contemplation of future benefits, which can make any work unnoticed. Saint Chrysostom says: “just as the Apostle demanded monetary expenses, physical labor, patronage, zeal, teaching and other exploits, then, in addition to love and spirit, he anoints the ascetic with hope. For good hope makes the soul more courageous and ready for anything.” “Tribulation endures” - be patient in tribulation. Both sorrow and patience are integral attributes of a burning or excited spirit. A spirit excited by grace inevitably encounters resistance both in the person himself and in the order of life flowing around him. Resistance gives rise to attacks; attacks cause grief. Why did the Savior say: “You will be in a world of sorrow” (John 16:33). “If you were quicker from the world, the world would love its own: as you are not from the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you” (John 15:19). Regrettability is an inevitable companion for those who live according to the spirit. - And it was, and it happens, and it will always be like this. And patience in its true form - complacent, “not shaken by anything from opposition” (Phil. 1:28), occurs only in those who have a blessed spirit in strength. Where this is absent, there is a quality of self-pity, not loving anything regrettable and unable to put up with it. That’s why they say deplorable things there, but have no patience, but only suffer, grumble, condemn everyone and everything, and burn with revenge. He who burns in spirit does not spare himself, and from the first minute of his awakening he determines himself for everything sorrowful, even to death; why does it meet sorrows not as something alien (1 Pet. 4:12), but as natural and expected. His very complacency in this comes from the fact that he is one who rejoices in hope. He moved with his hopes to another world, but in this world he has no hope; Why; He never feels like he is in a hopeless situation. “Abiding in prayers.” Just as breathing is natural to the body, prayer is natural to the spirit. Why, as soon as he comes to life with grace, he begins to sigh prayerfully and breathes so incessantly. His nature is such that he seeks God and rests in devotion on God’s right hand. Yet these are the essence of the elements of prayer. Why is he “abiding in prayer” when he comes to life and begins to burn. The height of perfection in this matter was indicated by the Apostle when he said about the spirit in which the Holy Spirit lives: “The Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). In the psalms this is how the groaning of the spirit is depicted. “My heart says to you: I will seek the Lord; I will seek your face, O Lord, I will seek your face” (Ps. 27:8). “My soul thirsts for You” (Ps. 62:2), - “when will You come to me”? (Ps. 100:2). “In the shelter of Your wing I will rejoice. My soul clings to You; Your right hand accepts me” (Ps. 63:8, 9). “Let us confess to Your name... for it is good, for You have delivered me from all sorrow” (Ps. 53:8, 9). “I will lift up my eyes to the Lord, for He will pluck out my nose from the snare” (Ps. 24:15). “I lift up my eyes to You, Who dwells in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of a servant are in the hand of his masters, as the eyes of a servant are in the hand of her mistress: so are our eyes to the Lord our God, until he will show mercy to us” (Ps. 122:1, 2). But even this is not alien to the inspiration of the Apostle in this place, so as not to omit common prayers, but to always attend them. For he said: not in prayer, constantly acting in the spirit, but in prayers, which happen in their own times, and are varied. – Whenever there is a general prayer, hurry to it. And this is also what the Apostle’s word can mean: come to prayer more often at home. As soon as you have the opportunity, stand and pray. So you will remain in prayer. Rome. 12:13 . Communicating with the demand of the saints, adhering to hospitable love. Having depicted the burning spirit with its distinctive features or its inherent properties, the Apostle turns to its active manifestation, what it does and what kind of deeds it does. Before this image of the burning spirit, having said: “We are kind to each other through brotherly love,” - in his image he indicated the power from which brotherly love comes; and now it denotes deeds in which brotherly love is expressed, driven by the power of a burning spirit. The burning spirit is only jealous to please God. But since God Himself said that no one can please Him without doing good to the brethren, he directs his zeal primarily towards this. The Apostle calls Christians saints, both everywhere and here. “Teaches about giving alms to the faithful; for he calls them saints” (Blessed Theophylact). “Requirements” calls them needs and needs, food, drink, clothing, shelter. To share in these needs of the saints, when one of them has them, is to have a part in satisfying them. “He did not say: share in their great costs, but: by their “demand”, in order to satisfy the needs of the saints” (Blessed Theophylact). In the word: “communicate”, - communicate, - indicates a certain reciprocity in this, that is, that in this one thing is given, and another is received. Those who help them give material things that they themselves are rich in; and from them they receive spiritual things, which they are rich in - prayers. This reciprocity can also serve as an incentive to help. This is how Blessed Theodoret writes: “By reminding oneself of communication one is persuaded to generosity. For who would not agree to give money and become a sharer of prosperity (that is, that in which the saints succeed and are rich)? The Apostle said this in his Epistle to the Corinthians: “your abundance is in their deprivation: and their abundance will also be in your deprivation” (2 Cor. 8:14).” Saint Chrysostom also indicates what exactly is obtained from the saints. “He did not say: help the saints in their needs, but: share in their needs, showing that those who help receive more than they give, that help is also a purchase, since it is fellowship. You give money, and they give you boldness before God (that is, the helper’s prayer, assisted by the prayer of the saints to God, is bolder and more accessible).” - In another place (under the 11th verse) Saint Chrysostom speaks about this this way: “what you do for your brother, your Master takes to Himself and, as if He Himself had received a benefit from you, rewards you for it.” By doing charity, you enter into the part of God. To deliver the saints from their needs is God’s work, God’s work. By satisfying these needs, you enter into a part of the work with God. So God accepts this and prepares a reward for it. “Holding on to strangeness”, δκόκοντες, - chasing, intensely caring for it and trying in every possible way not to miss the opportunity. “The Apostle calls the saints strange who come from somewhere else and have need of service; It is for them that he commands to take care” (Blessed Theodoret). “Then many were deprived of their shelter and expelled from their cities and villages. That's why they were forced to look for shelter in other places. At that time, putting the strange to rest was a common practice among Christians. Convincing one to pursue the love of strangers, the Apostle suggests how to beat off other wanderers who appear and, out of jealousy, put them to rest. - Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle did not say: be hospitable to strangers, but: pursue hospitality to strangers, teaching us so that we should not wait for those in need (of shelter and peace) to come to us, but to run to them ourselves and overtake them. This is what Lot did, this is what Abraham did. He spent the whole day waiting for this wonderful catch, and when he saw it, he jumped up, ran towards him, bowed to the ground and said: Lord, “if I have found grace before You, do not despise Your servant” (Gen. 18:3). He did not imitate us, who, as soon as we see a stranger or a beggar, raise our eyebrows and do not want to honor him with even a word. And if, having been touched by a thousand requests, we order one of the servants to give a small coin, then we think that on our part everything due has been done. Abraham did not act this way: he presented himself as a supplicant and a servant, although he did not know whom he would receive. And we absolutely know that we are receiving Christ; however, we do not become condescending from this. Abraham calls, asks, bows; and we insult those who come to us. Abraham fixes everything himself with his wife; and we don't want to force the servants. He especially deserves surprise because he showed generosity and zeal, not knowing who those who came to him were. So don’t be curious; because you accept for Christ. He who accepts the unworthy is not made guilty, but has his own reward. “For if he receives a prophet in the name of the prophet, he will receive the reward of the prophet” (Matthew 10:41). So, do not be curious about life and affairs; putting your whole life on trial for one piece of bread shows extreme promiscuity.” Rome. 12:14 . Bless you who persecute; bless, not curse. The Apostle does not mean the rolling of the tongue when he commands not to curse, but to bless, but the feelings of the heart. You can bless without good wishes; You can not curse with your tongue, harboring in your heart hostility, revenge, malice and oath: so that this and that happens to you, so that this and that happens to you. The Apostle demands that we not only have nothing hostile towards persecutors, but, on the contrary, have a benevolent disposition, as towards benefactors and friends. How is this possible? Perhaps, when someone lives in spirit, excited and burning under the influence of the grace of God that dwells in him. Having passed over with consciousness and will to this side of the spirit, a Christian no longer has anything on earth, but moves with his heart, thoughts and hopes to another world. There are his blessings, there he is busy; earthly things do not occupy or disturb him. He is cut off from what is here and evaluates it in relation to what is there. What contributes to the acquisition, multiplication and preservation of local blessings is considered good, and what has an effect opposite to this is evil. And this is not in the tongue and in thought, but in the depths of the heart, with all the feeling. As a result of this, the goods of the world are evil for him, and his evil is good. So in persecution he sees and feels not evil, but good; why he blesses those who persecute as benefactors. Why does the Apostle remind us of this, when it is already natural for this to be in the hearts of those who live with a blessed spirit, such as all true believers, sanctified by the sacraments? Because within us there is always, next to the higher spiritual side, a lower, spiritual side, whose nature is to arrange earthly well-being. Until this side is recreated by the spirit, is not spiritualized and is not transferred along with the spirit to another world, until then it does not cease to make its demands. According to her demands, when they are persecuted, we must defend ourselves, take revenge, prove that we cannot inflict any wrong on us without punishment: otherwise we cannot live on earth. Whoever takes such presentations to heart will not be able to bless those who persecute. But since this is an urgent requirement of life in Christ Jesus, the Apostle reminds: be careful not to allow selfish feelings that are hostile to the persecutors to reach your heart, but adhere to what the spirit of Christ demands: “bless, and do not curse.” Saint Chrysostom explains this at length: “The Apostle did not say: do not remember insults, do not take revenge; but he demanded much more. The first is also fulfilled by a wise man; and what the Apostle demands is the work of angels. – The persecutors are the overseers for distributing rewards to us. And if you stay awake, then in addition to this reward you will acquire another one for yourself. He will give you a reward for being persecuted; and you yourself will gain because you bless the persecutor; for this serves as the surest proof of your love for Christ. How someone who curses a persecutor shows that he does not endure persecution for Christ with great joy; Thus, the one who blesses reveals strong love. So, do not reproach the persecutor, so that you yourself may receive a greater reward, and he may be taught that you endure out of zeal, and not out of necessity, - that this constitutes triumph and joy for you, and not disaster and sorrow. Therefore, Christ said: “Rejoice, when they say all kinds of evil things against you lying” (Matthew 5:12, 11). Therefore, the Apostles returned from the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they were not only slandered, but also beaten. In addition, you will gain another important benefit: you will amaze your opponents and convince them with your deeds that you are preparing for a different life. As soon as your persecutor hears that you endure evil with joy and willingness, he will be convinced by experience that you have other hopes that surpass everything present. And if you behave differently, you will cry and complain; How can he know that you are expecting a different life? In addition, you are presented with another new success. When the persecutor sees that you are not offended by insults, but still bless the one who offended; will stop bothering you. And so much good comes from here! Your reward increases, temptation decreases, the persecutor stops persecuting, God is glorified, your wisdom turns into a lesson for the erring one, leading to piety. Therefore, the Apostle commanded those who offend not only in word, but also in deed, even persecutors, to repay those who oppose. And first he commands to bless them; subsequently (verses 20-21) he persuades them to do good deeds.” Rome. 12:15 pm Rejoice with those who rejoice, and posters with those who weep. Such is the law of love that those who love themselves mutually live one in the other; because what happens to one, the other accepts it as if it happened to him. And he rejoices with those who rejoice, and weeps with those who weep. Compassion is natural to us and deeply felt; but rejoicing is not so common, it is less common and manifests itself more superficially. This is because compassion may not manifest itself only in relation to those who have offended. In this case, the desire for revenge lives in the soul. The sorrow that has visited the offender satisfies this desire and, instead of compassion, responds with gloating. But just like grievances in the hostel are not everywhere; then compassion rarely encounters obstacles to its manifestation. On the contrary, rejoicing presupposes a preference for the well-being of others over one’s own well-being, whereas, in the natural order, the quality of self-love in the heart makes one both philosophize and feel contrary to this. The well-being of another directly offends the self, which, instead of rejoicing, is tormented by envy. This happens in the natural order of life. But when grace comes and revives the spirit, then along with its ignition, selfless love for the brethren is revived; however, it does not suddenly embrace the entire being, but rises to the flame through the struggle with selfhood. The measure of suppression of selfhood is the measure of exaltation of love. When it completely melts, it begins to burn with flame. And then rejoicing and sorrow manifest themselves in full force. Moreover, they are maintained sincerely only through struggle. And this struggle, that is, self-conquering, in spite of oneself, arousing and maintaining the strength of feelings of joy and compassion, serves as the best means to succeed in love and elevate it to the proper degree. Saint Chrysostom interprets these feelings at length: “The Apostle wants us to be warmed by friendliness. Therefore, I added that we should sympathize and have compassion when we see that our neighbors have fallen into misfortune. - I agree, you say; but if the Apostle had a reason to prescribe that we mourn with those who mourn; then why did he give another command (to rejoice with those who rejoice), for which, it seems, there is no need? On the contrary, in order to rejoice with those who rejoice, the soul needs more wisdom than in order to weep with those who weep. Nature itself draws us to the latter; and there is no such stone person who would not cry at the sight of the unfortunate. But in order to see a person in prosperity, not only not to envy, but also to share joy with him, this requires a very noble soul. That is why the Apostle spoke about this in advance. – We are most disposed to love when we share both joys and sorrows with each other. So, do not shy away from compassion, because troubles are far from you. When your neighbor suffers evil, you should consider his misfortune as your own. Share your tears with him to ease his sadness; share the joys, so that the joy is stronger, the love is more inseparable, so that not only your neighbor, but you yourself will benefit when, crying with him, you learn to be merciful and, rejoicing with him, drive away envy and ill will. Look how easy Pavlov’s commandment is! He did not say: deliver from trouble; Then you could object that this is impossible in many cases. On the contrary, the Apostle prescribed the easiest thing, which is completely in your will. If you cannot avert misfortune, shed tears, and thereby greatly reduce it. If you cannot increase your well-being, add your joy, and you will add much to it. So, the Apostle commands not only not to envy, but, much more importantly, to rejoice with your neighbor; because this means much more than not being envious.” Rome. 12:16 . Likewise, wisely to each other: not the lofty wise, but the humble, led: do not be wise about yourself. “Be wise to each other” can have more than one meaning. You can see here a lesson about like-mindedness in general, as in the Epistle to the Philippiseys: “so that you may also be of one mind, of one mind” (Phil. 2:2). Disunity in views on things and in judgments about them is the beginning of division and heartfelt, as a result of which those who have different thoughts inevitably become different, alien to each other, and after this they will no longer have joy with the one who rejoices and weeping with the one who weeps, nor unity in prayer. Why does Saint Paul pray below: “May the God of patience and comfort grant you also to meditate one another in Christ Jesus, that with one accord and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:5, 6). But you can also understand this: have the same thoughts about each other, apply yourself to each other, enter into each other in thought and heart, do not be special in anything. Saint Chrysostom says: “What do the words mean: “Be wise to each other”? A beggar has come to your house: be of the same mind with him, do not assume too much importance, because you are rich. In Christ there is neither rich nor poor. Do not be ashamed of outer clothing, but accept it out of inner faith. If you see someone crying, do not consider him unworthy of consolation. If you see someone who is prosperous, do not be ashamed to share his pleasures and feelings; but as you think about yourself, think about him. For example, do you consider yourself a big person? Consider him the same. Do you suspect that he is small and short? Make the same judgment about yourself, reject all inequality. How is this possible? Maybe if you put aside the arrogance. Therefore, the Apostle added: “not to be highly wise, but to be conducted by humble people.” "Not high wisely". Don't think highly of yourself. Arrogance breeds contempt for others and produces division. The highly intelligent has already separated himself from others; but others, as soon as they notice arrogance in someone, immediately separate their hearts from him. High-mindedness is a poison that corrodes and corrupts societies. The Apostle everywhere armed himself against this evil, and especially among the Romans, to whom this evil was closer than to others. He already spoke against this above; now “again prohibits the arrogance of pride” (Blessed Theodoret). “Again, as at the beginning of the speech, he is very concerned about humility, because the Romans, both by place of residence and for many other reasons, were naturally filled with pride. Therefore the Apostle constantly strives to remove sickness and bring down arrogance. For nothing divides the body of the Church so much as arrogance" (St. Chrysostom). "High wisdom is pride. And the devil, having become highly wise, fell away from God. Let there not be exaltation in the heart, so that, while attributing perfection to your own deeds, you do not humiliate your brother as if he were a sinner, when you yourself are already in sin by the very fact that you are exalted, and in a sin greater than any other. Meaning this, the Lord said: “You hypocrite, first remove the beam from your hair, and then see that the mote has been removed from your brother’s hair” (Luke 6:42). He who ascends ascends as if sinless, and thereby sins: for who is without sin? He becomes a sinner as soon as he begins to become arrogant and proud. And for this he falls under the wrath of God more than any other. Therefore, the wise Solomon wrote: “God opposes the proud” (Proverbs 3:34)” (Ambrosiastes). “But carried on by the humble.” The word: “humble” can also be taken in the sense of people humbled by their condition and external position. So Saint Chrysostom: “By the name of the humble, the Apostle here means not just the humble, but the humiliated and despised.” So are all ours. Blessed Theodoret expresses the Apostle’s thought as follows: “The Apostle legitimizes condescending to those who, in human opinion, are humiliated.” Communicate with them, attend to their needs and personally satisfy them, without fear of suffering any humiliation through this. Saint Chrysostom says: “descend, apply yourself, adapt to his baseness. Not only share his humble feelings, but help him by giving him a hand, not someone else’s, but your own, as a father cares for his son, his head for his body. The Apostle says the same thing in another place: “Remember those who are associated with them” (Heb. 13:3).” But by “humble” we can mean humble thoughts and feelings. The instruction will be this: do not think highly of yourself, but be guided by humble thoughts and feelings about yourself. The holy ascetics often teach a lesson: always stick to the humblest or the last part. If you are walking with someone, stay a little behind; If you enter the meeting, choose the last place; whether the conversation is ongoing, or remain silent, or, if you must speak, speak last; If you choose obedience, take the lowest. So it is in everything. This is the most reliable path to acquiring true humility. Such a thought appears in Ambrosiastes, who writes: “Be humble, so that you may have grace with God.” “Don’t be wise about yourself.” Do not think that you yourself can think through and arrange everything well, but trust your thoughts by consulting with other experienced people. “Do everything with advice,” the Wise One taught (Proverbs 31:4). And this is true both in everyday matters and even more so in spiritual matters. Blessed Theodoret expresses the Apostle’s thought this way: “do not be content with what you yourself have come up with, but take advice from others.” Saint Chrysostom interprets it this way: “Do not think that you can satisfy yourself in everything. And in another place the Scripture says: “Woe to those who are wise in themselves, and understand themselves” (Is. 5:21)! The Apostle again undermines arrogance here, overthrows arrogance and pride. For nothing turns us away and separates us from people so much as the thought that I can satisfy myself in everything. God has made us dependent on each other. Although you are smart, you need something else. And if you think of doing without outside help, then you yourself are more stupid and senseless than anyone. Whoever thinks so deprives himself of outside help; if he sins in any way, there is no one to correct him and forgive him; he will irritate God with his arrogance and commit many sins. It often happens, very often, that a smart person does not see what should be, and a less smart person discovers what should be. This happened to Moses and his father-in-law, to Saul and his servant, to Isaac and Rebecca. Do not consider it a humiliation for yourself to need another. On the contrary, it elevates you, makes you stronger, more famous, gives you greater security.” Saint Abba Dorotheos teaches at length in his 5th Teaching about how dangerous it is to rely on your own reason alone in spiritual life and how saving it is to do everything here with advice. We refer those who wish to learn more about this to this teaching. But all other ascetics also have many lessons about this. They also have a special phrase coined to denote this illness of the mind: accepting thoughts or believing your mind. The main danger is that the enemy arrives in time and puts in a lot of things that seem good, but are not. Just as he himself transforms himself into an Angel of light, so he knows how to give a bright appearance to his thoughts. And thus leads someone from one apparent good to another, and there it leads to evil, seemingly good, then to real evil and, finally, plunges into destruction. Rome. 12:17 . Not one who repays evil for evil: providentially good before all people. To repay evil for evil, to take revenge, has become the natural need of the fallen. He took upon himself self-preservation and self-defense and considers it a law of truth for himself not to leave the evil suffered unavenged, in order to stop its repetition or a greater influx of it. Revenge is a direct product of the self, which does not rest until it finds direct or indirect satisfaction for itself. Revenge weakens when self-denial is accepted as a law, and completely extinguishes only with the final extinguishing of egoism. This occurs in its perfect form only in those who are sanctified by grace. Grace, reviving the spirit, restores life in God, and at the same time gives rise to devotion to God, placing all care about oneself, about one’s life and one’s deeds on God. Why does he accept everything, both good and evil, as from the hand of God and does not interfere with his efforts in correcting it, in the conviction that, if necessary, God will correct everything Himself. Vengeance thus disappears in devotion to God and complete reliance on Him. “And this is prosperity, close to the most perfect virtue and to dispassion” (Blessed Theodoret). The commandment about non-vengeance and non-retribution of evil for evil was given when grace came - as a sign that only grace-filled rebirth makes one capable of this. This commandment came from the lips of the Savior Himself: “Hear, as it is said: Thou shalt love thy sincere man, and hate thy enemy. “I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who attack you and drive you out” (Matthew 5:43, 44). And with what strong, compelling and at the same time amiable motives this is furnished! - “May you be sons of your Father who is in heaven, as His sun shines on the evil and on the good, and rains on the righteous and the unjust. If you love those who love you, what kind of reward do you give? Don’t publicans do the same thing? And if you only kiss your friends, what are you doing that is unnecessary? Do not the pagans do the same? Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:45–48). To this the Lord adds a little lower: “If you forgive man their sins (which is non-vengeance), your Heavenly Father will also forgive you: if you do not forgive man their sins, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:14, 15). Ambrosiastes writes: “The Lord said: “Unless your righteousness comes out more than the scribe and the Pharisee, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:20). It was written in the law: “You shall love your sincere man and hate your enemy” (Matthew 5:43). This seems to be true. But may the truth of Christians be over, they received the commandment not to repay evil for evil, in order to be perfect and receive a reward for this at the judgment of God. For he who, imitating heavenly truth, does not do what is considered permissible among worldly people seems to exceed the truth itself.” Revenge is considered to be a measure of prudence. But only blinding passion teaches you to think this way. True prudence cannot fail to see that oil does not put out fire. If the fire of hostility already burns in the one who has done evil; then rewarding him with evil will not extinguish him, but will inflame him more. If you want to extinguish this fire, fill it with the water of meekness, non-solicitation, and beneficence. – And again, what kind of prudence is it to imitate evil?! If you believe that the one who did you harm did something bad; Why do you go against your own judgment and strain to do evil, which you consider to be bad to do? Saint Chrysostom says: “If you reproach another for evil intent, then why do you make yourself guilty? If he has done evil, why do you not shy away from imitating him? Note that the Apostle did not make any distinction here, but gave a general law. He did not say: do not repay the faithful with evil for evil; but he says: do not repay anyone, neither the pagan, nor the evildoer, whoever it is.” “Providentially kind before all people.” If these words are put in connection with the previous ones and in both positions we see the same thought; then their meaning will be this: always do good in relation to other people. Someone who wants to take revenge on another sits and comes up with various techniques to hurt the person who caused him trouble. The Apostle, having forbidden to repay evil for evil and, therefore, to contrive in doing evil, now says: do not occupy your mind with this, or else think out how to do evil to the one who has offended or offended, but how to do good to every person, no matter who he is - just worry about this, have this in your heart. This, by the way, is how Ecumenius interprets it: “since he said above: “repaying no one evil for evil,” he also added: “providentially good,” as if to say: not only is it not enough to not repay evil, we must also take care of those who have done us evil. And above that, he was not content to say: do not curse those who persecute, but he also commanded to bless them.” But if you take these words separately from the previous ones and see in them a special lesson, then the thought in them will be this: always take care to do good in the face of all people, out of fear that you might tempt someone. The Wise One also taught: “Provide good deeds before the Lord God and men” (Prov. 3:4). And the Apostle repeated this lesson more than once in previous Epistles. Thus, in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, commanding them to collect alms for the needy brethren in Jerusalem, he advises them to do this with prudent caution, so that no shadow falls on himself and his companions, who were to take this alms to their destination. “Take heed,” he says, “so that no one will reproach us for the abundance of this service we serve, being providentially good not only before God, but also before men” (2 Cor. 8:20, 21). And in the first letter to them, the same lesson, on the occasion of indicating the rules of how to act in relation to animals sacrificed to idols, he expressed in other words, saying: “Be without offense Jew and Greek and the church of God: just as I also please everyone in everything, not seeking their own advantage, but many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:32, 33). And the Savior commanded: “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). And Saint Paul, before the above words, said: “Whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). This is how all our interpreters understand these words, not excluding Ekumenia. Blessed Theophylact, in the words of Saint Chrysostom, writes: “The Apostle says this not so that we live for vanity, but so that we do not give reason to reproach us for those who desire this. For it requires that we live without temptation and without stumbling; because many are watching us and those who touch us.” Ambrosiastes focuses more on when this rule is most applicable, namely in matters not determined by the commandment, but left to arbitrariness - permissible. When it comes to commandments, you rarely have to think about how to fulfill them; but what is permissible must always be considered, so as not to somehow tempt your brother with freedom in it. “To provide for good,” he says, is to foresee or have before our eyes the good that comes from our deeds, so that what is done cannot be turned into a reproach for us, but, on the contrary, serves as a praise both before God and before people. Let no one think that since what is permissible is not unpleasant to God (otherwise it would not be permissible), there is no need to worry about whether it will serve as a temptation to a brother or not. Preventing this, the Apostle teaches that it is necessary to act in such a way that what is done is not displeasing to God and does not serve as a temptation to the brother. Let something else be permissible, but if it seduces a brother, then it is no longer pleasing to God; because God wants us to mutually care about each other’s salvation. In this way, “what is good before God and man” is provided for, when what is permissible is done in such a way that it does not offend the brother.” Rome. 12:18 . If possible, from you, have peace with all people. “Behold, what is good or what is good, but how can the brethren live together?” , - that is, in peace and harmony (Ps. 132:1). Everyone knows this from experience and everyone is trying to maintain peace and mutual harmony; but as long as there are any remnants of selfhood inside, there is always a source of division, discord, displeasure against each other and mutual hostility outside. What is it all about? Because of earthly interests. Heavenly things never serve as a reason for this: for they are unenviable. Take as much as you can and as much as you want. But everything earthly is such that once one gets it, then the other has nothing to take. For those who live according to the spirit of this age, that is, with only earthly goals, selfishness and self-indulgence, there is hardly any real peace, and if there is, it is accidental and fragile. Those who have denied themselves and followed the Lord have within themselves a solid foundation of peace; but just as in them the old man does not suddenly die, so in them attacks of irritation are often felt, attempting to destroy mutual peace. And it is appropriate to be observed. – Not much is required: always sacrifice your own for the benefit of another, and your peace with others will never be disturbed. It seems unprofitable; but in reality it always turns out to be profitable. Through this, not only internal, spiritual, unearthly prosperity and contentment are strengthened; but earthly things will also prosper, sometimes with a blessing from above, sometimes through the power of this kind of action on others. If we act this way, the peace will not be violated on our part. But can we guarantee that it will not be violated by others? It is impossible: for there are people who hate the world, as the prophet David makes clear (Ps. 119:6). How to be here and what to do? The same thing that Saint David did: “be peaceable with those who hate peace,” he says. This is what everyone should do. And be peaceful in your heart, and do not allow yourself to do anything externally that usually ruins the world and can turn the spark of discord that has begun into a flame of discord and hostile hostility. That is why the Apostle added: “If it is possible from you.” For your part, do everything possible so that the peace is not disturbed, and the one accidentally broken is restored sooner. If such efforts are not crowned with success, be the will of God: be patient, without ceasing efforts to establish peace. And may God make it acceptable to eat before Him. “Whoever does not repay evil with evil, but tries to overcome evil with good, is already a peacemaker. Let no other be a lover of peace; but you, trying to be in peace, as much as depends on you, fulfill the commandment - to have peace with everyone. We will be ready to make peace with everyone; if others oppose it, it is not our fault” (Ambrosiastes). But there are times when the truth is trampled upon and the truth is violated. The commandment tells us to stand up for the wronged person and defend the truth; Meanwhile, neither one nor the other can be accomplished without causing discord. What should I do? Stand courageously for the truth and defend the offended; but in your heart be at peace with those against whom you rebel for truth and righteousness. Do this in a spirit of love, and not from selfish motives. Saint Chrysostom refers to these cases as the word of the Apostle: “If it is possible, it is from you.” For sometimes it is impossible to be at peace, for example: when it comes to piety and when you stand up for the offended. The meaning of the Apostle’s words is this: “As far as it depends on you, do not give anyone the opportunity for hostility and warfare, neither Jew nor pagan. If you see that piety is being violated, do not prefer agreement to truth, but stand up for it courageously, even to the point of death. And in this case, do not be at enmity with your heart, do not lose your good disposition, but rebel only against actions. This is what the words mean: “from you, have peace with all people.” If another does not keep peace, do not create storms in your soul; but inwardly be his friend, but without in the least betraying the truth, as I noted above.” – Blessed Theophylact expresses the same thoughts as follows: “The Apostle inspires: fulfill your duties and do not give anyone the opportunity for hostility and confusion. If you see that piety is insulted, then rise up courageously, fighting for the truth, however, not at enmity with a person, but against wickedness, but on the contrary, pitying and sparing a person. Thus, what previously seemed impossible becomes possible: for as for you, you are at peace with him, but you wage war with only wickedness.” Rome. 12:19 . Do not take revenge on yourself, beloved, but give room to anger. For it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. I have already said not to repay evil for evil: which means not to avenge oneself. What does the new suggestion not to avenge oneself mean? Or repeating the same thing to strengthen the commandment; because revenge is so tempting and covered up with such plausibility that it is not considered a sin - and yet cases of this in everyday clashes are very frequent. With this repetition, the Apostle reminds us to be careful, so that it does not break out as a feeling or matter of vengeance. Or, perhaps, when he said this, the Apostle had in mind a special kind of vengeance - by court, namely: when you tolerate some kind of falsehood from another, obviously wrongly, do not seek the restoration of your right through judicial procedure, for: έκδικεΐν - this actually means. Although this, in a civil sense, is not a reproachable matter; but since the feeling of revenge is still nourished and satisfied, the Apostle does not order legal cases to be initiated at all. Better be patient, better remain offended, as the Epistle to the Corinthians says: “Why are you not more likely to be offended?” (1 Cor. 6:7) - or as the Savior teaches: if anyone wants to take “your robe, give him your poop too” (Matthew 5:40). Let us attribute this or that intention to the Apostle; most of all, we should pay attention to the motivation exhibited here for non-vengeance, namely, the submission of the matter to the judgment of God. The one who takes revenge considers his deed to be just and, while taking revenge, he holds on to that thought and that feeling that stands for the truth. Suppressing revenge seems to him like a retreat from the truth. The Apostle rejects this thought, saying, as it were: truth will not tolerate anything from your compliance. There is an avenger of truth - God. Commit the matter to the vengeance of God; He will repay if he must. This is what the words mean: “give place to wrath” - the wrath of God, that is, His righteous retribution: for God has no anger, but there is righteous retribution, which seems like wrath to those who are subjected to it. This is how Saint Chrysostom interprets it: “Whose anger should we give room to? God's And as the offended, he most desires to see this in order to enjoy revenge; then God will give the same thing in greater measure. And if you yourself do not take revenge, then He will be your avenger. So, to Him, says the Apostle, leave vengeance. This is what the words mean: “give room for anger”! Blessed Theophylact expresses the same thought somewhat more strongly: “Give, he says, a place for the wrath of God in relation to those who offend you. If you avenge yourself, God will not avenge you; and if you forgive, then God will take revenge more severely.” - The ecumenius adds: “if you avenge yourself, then the wrath of God, when it comes, will not have anything to repay to the offender, because you have already exacted it from him in advance.” And Ambrosiastes even suggests the idea that the wrath of God, having come, will find that you, having taken to stand for the truth, have transgressed the measure of truth, exacting more than what is due, more than the measure, and, instead of rewarding the one who offended you, he will reward you for the excess of recovery that you allowed. And that this is possible, you can judge by the property of anger, which always stands in harmony with vengeance. Anger never observes righteous measures, but always takes beyond measure. Why did the Apostle James write: “The wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). Ambrosiastes specifically writes: “in order to preserve the union of peace, the Apostle urges one to abstain from anger, especially because in anger one cannot help but sin: for one driven by anger usually exacts more than what an unjust deed requires - thereby causing harm to himself, being found to be wrong due to a disproportionate exaction, and making the offender worse, whereas with leniency he could have corrected him. Why does the wise Solomon teach: “Do not be truthful to the great ones... the righteous perish in their righteousness” (Eccl. 7:16, 15): for when anger overwhelms us, the enemy finds a place in us and, under the appearance of truth, instills what is wrong and destructive.” “For it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” “For greater conviction, the Apostle brought evidence, reinforcing his word” (St. Chrysostom, Blessed Theophylact). This is not my commandment; but such is the will of God, such is the law of God’s providential actions for us. God takes upon Himself the matter of vengeance. Do not interfere in this matter, He seems to say, I myself will repay, this is my business. You won't be able to do it properly. In your opinion, it is necessary to take revenge now, but according to the best order, it is better to postpone revenge, either for a while, or completely. It is possible to do without revenge at all: the offender himself will come to his senses and correct his injustice; and this is much better. - Or - take revenge on him now, and he will become even more embittered; but punish him with something later, and he will soften in heart and correct himself. Since you don’t know anything about this, it’s better not to take on this matter. Besides, you, the offended one, have been wrong in many ways. I sent this lie to you as a reward for your untruths and sins, in order to save you from future retribution. If you endure, do you see what misfortune you will prevent? And if you take revenge, you will destroy all the good fruit for you from vain. Your sins remain with you, and expect eternal reward, unless another mistake befalls you to cleanse you. So don't seek revenge. With the one who wronged you, I know better than you how to deal with the truth, and you accept it as a cure for you and as a ward off of greater and more terrible evil. With Me, everything is directed towards ensuring that good comes out of everything for everyone - not temporary, but eternal, not earthly, but heavenly, not visible, but spiritual. This is what happens when you don't intervene with your truths; and when you interfere, you disturb My orders and, instead of good, you multiply and reap evil. The words: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” are not read word for word in the Old Testament Scriptures, but this thought is clearly expressed by the prophet Moses in other words, namely: “On the day of vengeance I will repay” (Deut. 32:35). The Apostolic Spirit took the thought of the prophetic spirit - the same with the Apostolic - and expressed it in another, powerful word. Rome. 12:20 . If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. When you do this, you gather coals of fire onto his head. These words are taken from the parables of the Wise One (Proverbs 25:21, 22) and indicate the only blessed way of revenge - doing good to those who have done and are doing something unpleasant and evil to us. The Savior also commanded the same thing, saying: “Do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44). This one revenge brings to life, and a very strong one at that, the one who dislikes us. The similar expression: “heaping coals of fire on his head” does not mean something evil, but expresses the contrition into which the evil-doer comes upon the occasion of doing evil to someone who does good to him in place of evil. This “coal of fire,” collected “on his head” by charity, extinguishes or evaporates the fire of hostility burning in his heart and brings peace. For someone who does good to someone who hates him, this peace must be in his mind, and not the sorrowful state into which he who hates him will be put: for here a feeling of vengeance will still creep in, which is not surprising, and will interfere with the beneficial effect of charity. Perhaps, however, the words of the Apostle also contain a threat to the hater - that if he does not correct himself, then the good done to him, instead of his evil, will increase the punishment that God will send to him, avenging the offended: so these words, on the one hand, encourage the offended, on the other, they curb the offender with fear. This idea is visible in all our interpreters. Saint Chrysostom sees here some indulgence or concession to the feeling of revenge. This feeling, merging with the right of self-defense, can be so persistent that it is as if it is no longer possible to stop wanting to see the offender suffer something unpleasant. The Apostle does not seem to contradict this, encouraging that the offender will receive even more from God if you do him good. But it is not with this purpose that he speaks in such a way as to justify this feeling, but so that, having quenched it somewhat, he can pave the way for the willing acceptance of the following rule: “Be not defeated by evil.” This is exactly what Saint Chrysostom says: “What am I saying,” the Apostle continues, “one must live in peace with the enemy? I command you to do good to him. Feed him and give him something to drink, it says. since this commandment is very difficult and great, it is added: “For when you do this, you heap coals of fire on his head.” The Apostle said this in order to curb the offender with fear, and to encourage the offended person with the hope of retribution (retribution to the enemy from God). For when an offended person weakens in spirit, it is not so much his own benefits that support him as the execution of the one who offended him. The most pleasant thing for a person is to see his enemy punished. And what a person desires, the Apostle gives him first. When the poison is extracted, he offers him more sublime admonitions, saying: “Be not defeated by evil.” The apostle knew that an enemy, even if he were a beast, having been fed, would not remain an enemy, and that the offended one, no matter how vindictive he was, having fed and watered the enemy, would no longer desire revenge. Therefore, being confident that the matter will be completed, he not only threatens, but becomes generous with the punishment itself. He does not say that you will bring vengeance (that is, God’s), but: “you will heap coals of fire on his head.” The Apostle gives his commandment, saying: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Through this, he secretly suggests that it is not with such an intention that one should do good to the enemy (that is, to heap coals on his head). For to remember an offense means to already be overcome by evil. And although at first the Apostle did not say this, because it was still untimely; however, as soon as the listener’s anger was quenched, he immediately added: “conquer evil with good.” Here are the words of Blessed Theodoret: “Having indicated the Judge and declaring His righteous determination (for this is what the words mean: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay”), the Apostle commands to courageously endure the insults inflicted, to repay the offenders without insults, and to deliver to the hostile what they need. For this weaves the crowns of the wise, and increases the punishments of the offenders. However, you need to know that you should not serve your enemies so that they will suffer greater punishments. For the divine Apostle cited these words with the intention of quenching irritation in the offended, and not attempting to do so in order to increase evil with good.” Here are the words of Ambrosiastes: “The Apostle commands not to grant vengeance only to God, but also to show benefits to enemies; to show that we did not make enemies for ourselves by our deeds, when, in order to tame their hostility, we try to defeat them with services to them. If they become hardened in their hostility, due to the wickedness of their minds, then our services to them will serve to further punish them; or maybe, being touched by the zeal of our services, they will revive with goodwill towards us, just as dormant coals sometimes flare up. So, wanting to make us perfect and teach us not only for ourselves, but also for others to acquire eternal life, the Lord, through Solomon, not only forbids us to take revenge on our enemies, but convinces us with favor towards them and deeds corresponding to this, to return them to friendship.” Here are the words of Blessed Photius in Ecumenius: “Do not do good to the offender in order to bring greater punishment on him. It was told to you as a consolation that by feeding and drinking him, “you are heaping coals of fire on his head,” and not in order to do good to him with this very feeling. Let God, on the occasion that you do good to the enemy, become more angry with him, in revenge for you, and turn the fire of temptations and bitterness that he arranged for his neighbor on his head: but do not do good to him for the purpose of seeing him subject to such misfortune, otherwise you will find yourself defeated by evil. And it will be that he will not suffer anything more, which he should have suffered, and you will lose the reward, having been defeated from evil. And even more than that, if God sees such an intention in you, then he will not avenge you. For the good and meek, when he is offended, He takes revenge, and not for the one who avenges himself with anger and malicious disposition, through a good deed of charity, plotting against the one who offended him and wanting to see him ruined. So, do good in order to overcome evil with good and be a son of the Heavenly Father, as the Lord said.” Rome. 12:21 . Do not be defeated by evil, but overcome evil with good. This is the most accurate definition of what was said above. When someone, encountering insult, resentment and lies, succumbs to the feeling of insult, then he is overcome by evil, and even more so when he is angry, and even more so when he is plotting revenge. But when someone does not succumb to anything like that, but, on the contrary, decides to do good instead of evil, then he is a winner. The Apostle commands: not to allow the first, but to choose the second as the rule of life. “For to take revenge means to concede victory over oneself, but a glorious victory is to reward evil with good” (Blessed Theodoret). “With these words the Apostle urges us not to reciprocate our enemies with evil. There is more benefit for us when we give in to anger; for evil conquers whoever seems defeated by it for a while. Vengeance acts against itself and thinks it is winning when it is defeated. Here the enemy acts, trying to distract us from our disposition and plunge us into sin. But when we, being inflamed by it, do not repay evil for evil, then we overcome it with good. For this reason, we do not resist evil in order to preserve the good (of the world), leaving justice unsatisfied: for retribution is usually prompted by a sense of truth (although not always fair)” (Ambrosiastes). Saint Chrysostom talks at length about this: “conquer evil with good.” For this is victory. A fighter achieves victory not when he exposes himself to blows from the enemy, but when he puts himself in such a position that the enemy is forced to punch the air alone. Through this, just as he himself is saved from blows, so the enemy wastes his strength in vain. The same thing happens with insults: when you reflect reproach with reproach, then it is not the person who defeats you, but, what is much more shameful, low passion; because you are possessed by anger. When you are silent, you have won and without difficulty erected a trophy for yourself, thousands of people are ready to crown and recognize the lies of slander. He who refutes slander shows by his objections that it offends him; and whoever is offended inspires suspicion that he will confess to what he is slandering. But if you respond with laughter, then the laughter itself refutes the bad judgment about you. And if you want to have clear proof of the justice of my words, ask your enemy himself what is more painful for him, either that you, being heated for an insult, repay him with an insult, or that you laugh at the offender? He will say that the latter is much more painful for him. It is not so much pleasant for him that he does not hear insults from you, but rather painful that he cannot get you out of patience. By depriving the enemy of success in what he especially desires, you humiliate him, show that he is worthy of contempt, that he is a child, not a husband. You yourself thereby acquire the glory of a wise man, but you make him think of him as a worthless beast. We will use the same measures if we happen to receive a beating; and whomever we want to beat, we will not pay blow for blow. Turn the other cheek to the one who hit you; thus you will inflict thousands of wounds on him. Those who applaud you and marvel at you will become worse for him than those who throw stones at him; and even before that, his conscience will condemn him and sentence him to terrible punishment, and he will walk away in shame, as if condemned to death. If you also care about human glory, you will gain it to a greater extent by such an act. For, in any case, we have some compassion for the suffering of others. And when we see a person who does not pay for a blow with a blow, but turns his cheek; then we do not so much regret it as we marvel at it. – To win by doing evil is one of the devil’s statutes. This is not the rule of rewards in the field of Christ; there it is legal to crown not the one who strikes, but the one who is struck. Such is the field of Christ; all its decrees are opposite; Not by victory alone, but even more by the very method of victory, it arouses surprise. What in another place is considered an overthrow, here constitutes a victory. This is the power of God, this is the heavenly field, this is an angelic disgrace (spectacle)! Both of these, that is, how the persons in charge of the affairs of the Christian society should act, and how all other Christians, not excluding those in charge, should act and with what virtues should be adorned, relate to Christians, as Christians are. Now the Apostle wants to point out: b) How they should act as members of civil society or the state (Rom. 13:1-14) aa) The first thing here is obedience to authorities (Rom. 13:1-7) Rome 13:1. Let every soul obey the powers that be: for there is no power unless it is from God: the powers that exist are created by God. “Having formed morals (that is, having shown in the previous chapter what Christians should be in morals), the Apostle commands that those in authority be given due honor. For, as he who abundantly received the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, he foresaw that others, driven more by arrogance than by zeal (for good), would despise worldly leaders, considering themselves superior in knowledge; Moreover, he does this in order to suppress the rumor that has spread about the Apostles; for they slandered them, as if they were overthrowing the social order; and some said: “Those who corrupted the world have come here also” (Acts 17:6); and others: “they introduce other customs” (Acts 16:21). Therefore, I made it unnecessary to establish a law about this too” (Blessed Theodoret). “The Apostle talks a lot about this in other Epistles, when he talks about the subordination of both servants to masters and subordinates to superiors. And through this he wants to show that Christ introduced His laws not to overthrow the general civil order, but to correct and improve it; and together he wants to teach us so that we do not undertake unnecessary and useless wars. We have had enough of the intrigues that are arranged against us for the sake of the truth; and one should not apply unnecessary and useless temptations. Notice how opportunely the Apostle started talking about this subject. After he offered his listeners various demands of Christian philosophy, induced them to live in peace with friends and enemies, taught them to be useful to the happy, the unfortunate, and the needy, in short, to everyone, instilled rules of community decent for the Angels, exhausted anger, demolished arrogance and completely softened their hearts - after all this he offers his admonitions about obedience to the authorities. He calls us to obedience by the presentation of duty. And, wanting to convey that his commandment extends not only to worldly people, but to everyone, both priests and monks, he announces this in advance, saying this: “Let every soul obey the powers that be.” Even if you were an Apostle, even an Evangelist, even a Prophet, even someone else, obey. Submission to authority does not undermine godliness. The Apostle here does not mean simple obedience, but submission (humble, with bowing of the head). The first reason for such an establishment, which satisfies the minds of the faithful, is that the authorities are instituted by God. “There is no power except from God,” says the Apostle. How is this? Is every leader really appointed by God? Not so, I say, answers the Apostle. Now I am not talking about every boss in particular, but about the bosses themselves. That there are rulers, that some are in charge, and others are subordinate to them, and that there is no disorder, that something happens haphazardly and without order, that people rush here and there like waves - I call all this the work of God’s wisdom. Therefore, the Apostle did not say that there is no leader who has not been appointed by God, but, speaking in general about authority, he says: “For there is no authority but from God: the existing authorities were created by God.” Likewise, when the Wise One says that “a wife is married to a husband from the Lord” (Proverbs 19:14), he means through this that marriage was established by God, and not that God matches each person entering into marriage. For we see that many marry with evil appearances and not according to the law, which, however, we cannot attribute to God. But what did Christ say: “Having created from time immemorial, I created male and female? And he said: for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” (Matthew 19:4, 5), and the Wise One understood the same thing. Since equality often leads to quarrels, God has established many types of superiors and subordinates, such as: between husband and wife, between son and father, between an old man and a young man, a slave and a free man, between a superior and a subordinate, between a teacher and a student. And is it possible to marvel at such an establishment between people, when God established the same thing in the body? For He has so arranged that not all members have equal dignity, but one is inferior, another is more important, and some govern, others are governed. We notice the same thing among dumb animals: bees, cranes, and herds of wild sheep. Even the sea is not devoid of such amenities, but even there, in many genera of fish, one controls and leads many, and under her command they go on distant journeys. On the contrary, lack of beginning is evil everywhere and produces confusion” (St. Chrysostom). However, from other places of Scripture it is clear that leaders, one or the other, exist according to Divine providence; God appoints only the good and beneficent, and allows the bad to be leaders as punishment for human sins. This is what Blessed Theodoret writes: “If God is pleased, he gives leaders who respect justice. For it is said: “I will give you shepherds after My heart, and they will feed you with understanding” (Jer. 3:15); and again: “I will appoint your judges as before, and your counselors as from the beginning” (Isaiah 1:26). But in order to admonish those who sin, God allows evil leaders to rule. For it is said: “I will make young men rulers over them, and mockers will rule over them” (Isaiah 3:4). Rome. 13:2. In the same way, if you resist the authorities, you resist God’s command: those who resist themselves accept sin. “The Apostle, having said by whom the rulers were established, added: “In the same way, when you resist the authorities, you resist God’s command.” Look where the matter leads, how it frightens and how it proves that it is our duty to obey our superiors. Lest any of the believers say: You humiliate us and make us despicable by subordinating to the (earthly) rulers those who have been given the Kingdom of Heaven, the Apostle proves that in the present case he is subordinating them not to the (earthly) rulers, but again to God. For he who submits to authority obeys God. However, the Apostle does not say this directly and in these words: whoever obeys the authorities obeys God; but he frightens those who are contrary and confirms the same thing with greater force, saying: whoever does not obey the ruler resists God, who legitimized the rulers; as everywhere else, he tries to inspire that obedience to superiors is not a voluntary concession on our part, but our duty. With such instructions the Apostle encouraged both the faithful to obedience, and disposed unfaithful leaders in favor of Christian piety. Then rumors spread everywhere that the Apostles were rebels and innovators who, in word and deed, were trying to undermine public statutes. And by proving that our common Lord commands all His worshipers to observe these statutes, we can stop the mouths of slanderers accusing us of innovation, and defend the true teaching with greater courage. So, do not be ashamed of submission, says the Apostle. This law was given by God and takes threatening revenge on those who despise it. If you disobey, He will punish you, He will punish you not lightly, but in the most severe way; no excuses will save you, on the contrary, you will suffer the most severe punishment from people, because no one will stand up for you, and you will greatly anger God. This is what the Apostle inspires when he says: “those who resist themselves accept sin” (St. Chrysostom). “They accept sin”, κρίμα λήμψονται, - they will receive κρίμα - condemnation and punishment as a result of this: for it means both. Rome. 13:3. Princes are not afraid of good deeds, but of evil. Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good, and you will receive praise from him. “Having acted through fear, the Apostle proves the benefit of obedience and convinces from reason, saying this: “For princes are not afraid of good deeds, but of evil” (that is, “those who do good deeds, but do evil” (Ecumenius)). First he inflicted a deep wound, brought fear to his listeners; Now he relaxes again and, like a wise doctor, gives soothing medicine, consoles, says: what are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? Does a boss scold someone who does good? Is he terrible for one who is zealous for virtue? - Therefore, the Apostle adds: “Do you want not to be afraid of power? Do good, and you will receive praise from him.” Do you see how he reconciles a good doer with his superior, showing that the superior has been appointed to praise him? You see how all indignation disarms” (St. Chrysostom). Rome. 13:4. God's servant is for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he is not carrying a sword out of his mind (in vain): for he is God’s servant, an avenger of anger against those who do evil. “God’s servant is for your good.” The boss is not only not scary for you, but also praises you; Not only does it not hinder you, but it also helps. If he praises and helps, why do you not obey? He makes it easier for you in the deeds of virtue even by punishing the evil, and showering the good with benefits and honors, thereby promoting the will of God - in which sense the Apostle called him a servant of God. Look: I advise you to be chaste; and he requires the same according to the laws. I urge you not to be covetous, a robber; and he was appointed judge over the same. Consequently, he is our collaborator and assistant; That is why he was appointed by God. So, in two respects he is worthy of our respect - both as God’s messenger, and as assigned to the same cause with us” (St. Chrysostom). “And he is your servant for your good, being a servant of God. How is he your servant? Protecting you from the evil ones, preventing the harm that they could cause you, and giving you space to do good. He serves you for good and by the fact that he fears for evil and thereby turns you away from it, and directs you to virtue” (Photius in Ecumenium). “If you do evil, be afraid.” So, it is not the boss who is the cause of fear, but our own vices. “You don’t wear a sword in vain.” Do you see that the Apostle represents him armed like a soldier, in order to make him terrible for the criminals of the law? “For God is a servant, an avenger of the wrath of those who do evil.” And so that you do not run away when you hear about punishment, execution and the sword, the Apostle again confirms that the ruler fulfills God’s law. What need do you have if he doesn’t know it himself? It is enough that God has ordained it so. So, if a boss, whether he punishes or rewards, is God’s servant, because he protects virtue and persecutes vice, which is what God Himself wants; then why do you resist the one who produces so much good and promotes your benefit? Many at first tried to live virtuously for the sake of their superiors, and later clung to virtue out of fear of God. Rough people are affected not so much by the future as by the present. And whoever, through fear and honor, predisposes the hearts of people so that they are more capable of accepting the word of teaching, he is rightly called God’s servant” (St. Chrysostom). “Avenger in anger”, εις όργήν, - not in punishment, but in fear: for punishment is already contained in the word: “avenger”, rewarder, - which in relation to the evil is fulfilled through punishment. “The leader both serves God, praising the good, and, punishing the evil, imitates God by being angry with them and demanding from them,” and thereby instills fear in them (Photius in Ecumenium). Rome. 13:5. Moreover, there is a need to obey not only for anger, but also for conscience. One must obey not only out of fear of punishment, but also out of conscience, out of consciousness of duty. Conscience always stands for the known will of God. Why does the Apostle, having designated the servants of God in leadership and having sanctified obedience to them by the will of God, concludes: one must obey not out of fear alone, but even if there was no fear, out of conscience. Blessed Theodoret writes: the Apostle called punishment (fear of punishment) “wrath.” He commands to obey for one and another reason: both out of fear of punishment, and in order to fulfill what is due; for he called this “conscience.” “Even though there was no fear from the authorities, let us add the words of Photius, conscience compels us to listen to him and obey him. The wicked and reluctantly obey him out of fear, but those who are zealous for order and goodness must obey him out of conscience, voluntarily and from the heart.” Saint Chrysostom interprets this passage this way. “What does it mean: “not only for anger”? You must obey, says the Apostle, not only because, by not obeying your superior, you resist God and thereby bring upon yourself great disasters from God and people; but also because the boss, as the guardian of peace and civil well-being, is your greatest benefactor. States owe thousands of benefits to their governments. As soon as the authorities are abolished, everything will fall apart; neither cities, nor villages, nor houses, nor market places, nor any other establishment will stand; on the contrary, everything will be overthrown because the strongest will devour the weakest. So, even if those who disobey were not persecuted by anger, you would still have to observe subordination, so as not to appear unscrupulous and ungrateful to your benefactor.” Rome. 13:6. For this reason you give tribute: for God’s servants are truly abiding. “For this reason you give tribute.” Without listing all the benefits that states owe to their governments and what their essence is: decorum, peace and other services, both military and civil, the Apostle provides the following proof for all of this. By paying tribute to the government, he says, you thereby testify that it is benevolent to you. Notice the wisdom and art of blessed Paul. What was recognized as burdensome and intolerable, that is, taxes, he turns into proof of the government's trusteeship. Why, he asks, do we give tribute to the king? Is it because he is preying on us? Is this not a reward to the ruler for his care? We would not have paid tribute if we had not known in advance that the patronage of our superiors would be useful to us. On the contrary, from ancient times, by common consent, it was accepted by all that rulers should be supported at our expense; because they, leaving their own affairs, take care of public affairs and spend all their time worrying about ensuring that our property is inviolable. Having cited motives borrowed from outside, the Apostle again returns to his previous proof; for in this way he could more easily attract the faithful to his side. Therefore, he again shows that it is so pleasing to God, which is how he concludes his convictions, saying: “they are servants of God.” Then, depicting the labors and worries associated with power, he adds: “in this truth abides” - that is, their whole life is devoted to this, all their worries are about that, so that you enjoy the world. (“Abiding”, προσκαρτεροϋντες, - and this word means: to pore over something vigilantly). Therefore, in another letter, Paul commands not only to obey the rulers, but also to pray for them; Moreover, he also shows the general benefit from this, adding: “let us live a quiet and silent life” (1 Tim. 2:2). For leaders contribute a lot to the peace of our present life by arming themselves against enemies, repelling them, pacifying internal rebellions, and resolving all sorts of disputes. Do not tell me that others use power for evil; on the contrary, pay attention to the harmony of the civil decree and judge how much wisdom there was in the one who legitimized this in the beginning” (St. Chrysostom). Rome. 13:7. Give to everyone what is due: to him is a lesson, lesson: and to him is tribute, tribute: and to him is fear, fear: and to him is honor, honor. “Lesson”, φόρος, – tribute, τέλος. Blessed Theodoret interprets these words as follows: “The Apostle calls the land tax a lesson; “Denmark” is a fee for the right to trade,” a duty. And Ecumenius with Blessed Theophylact: “give to everyone, as a duty, what should be given to him according to the type of command entrusted to him: to whomever should be given a lesson, φόρος, - the poll tax, give the lesson to him; and to whom should tribute be paid, τέλος, - payment for the land, give tribute to him.” - Saint Chrysostom, having left the money, turns all his attention to what is required by the words: “fear” - and: “honor” - that is, to the moral side of the matter. “The Apostle continues his previous thought and commands to bring not only money, but honor and fear as tribute to the leaders. – As he said above: if you want not to be afraid of power, then do good; and now he says: will you repay fear? Here by fear he means the highest degree of respect, and not the fear that comes from a bad conscience, as he meant above. And he did not say: give, but: “Reward”; Moreover, he added: “due.” For the fulfillment of this is not a gift, but a duty; and if you do not do this, you will be punished as ungrateful. - Do not think that you will humiliate yourself and damage the honor of your wisdom if you stand up or reveal your head in the presence of your superior. For if the Apostle legitimized this when the leaders were pagans, then how much more should we observe this now, when we have Christian leaders. If you say that you yourself have been entrusted with more (of course, faith and gifts of grace); then know that your time has not yet come. Now you are a stranger and a stranger; and there will be a time when you will be stronger than everyone else. Now your life is hidden “with Christ in God; when Christ appears, then you will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:3, 4). So, do not seek reward for yourself in this temporary life; but, if you needed to appear before your boss with fear, do not consider this to be humiliating to your nobility. It is God's will that the ruler who has received the honor of power from Him should have his own power. And this will serve you as an even greater honor; for a person is humiliated not by showing respect to another, but by not showing it. And the boss will be more surprised at you and, even if he were unfaithful, he will glorify the Lord for it.” Blessed Theophylact, in agreement with Ecumenium, interprets this passage as follows: “don’t give only money, give also fear, that is, respect, reverence and excellent honor. Therefore he adds: “honour, honor to him.” Fear of two births. The only fear that criminals fear is the fear that comes from a bad conscience: this fear was rejected by the Apostle even before. The other fear is that which those who love their loved one have, that is, the highest degree of respect.” But fear can be attributed to all those in authority, and honor to all other respectable persons in society. This idea is expressed by Ambrosiast: “to express fear decently before superiors and authorities, because fear does not allow for errors and crimes (persecuted by the authorities). And in relation to the parent and master, the son and slave should show honor out of gratitude. The honor indicated here can be attributed to persons who are high in the world in the world, so that they, seeing the humility of Christ’s servants, would praise rather than reproach the gospel teaching.” bb) Second, in civil terms (Rom. 13:8-14): α) fulfillment of all duties of the community (Rom. 13:8–10), with: β) removal, however, from bad customs that received citizenship in a pagan society (Rom. 13:11–14). α) Keeping good civil life (Rom. 13:8–10) The Apostle speaks in this section (verses 8-10) about observing the duties of community life determined by law. These are the laws he indicates (verse 9). All of them are of a negative nature: do not do this, do not do that - and are taken from the second tablet of the Decalogue. For a pagan, and even for a Jew, it is enough not to do, but for a Christian this is not enough: one must also have a good basis for not doing. The Apostle points it out in love. He already spoke about love for his brothers; now he speaks of it as the foundation and source of a commendable civil life. He says, as it were: there are many laws here; but love, and you have fulfilled everything, even if you do not know the laws, love itself will teach you legal action, and with it you will always be the most efficient citizen. Rome. 13:8. You should not owe anything to anyone, but to love one another: love one another and fulfill the law. Before this he indicated that officials, vested with any kind of power, should be given their due, to each according to his rank. The question arises: in relation to other fellow citizens, what is due? “You must be with no one else, just love each other.” Here, have love as your unpayable debt. He gave the poll or land tax, paid the duty, and was free; and consider love as an everlasting debt, always pay it, but never consider it fully paid. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle again turns to the mother of blessings, to the perfecter of all virtue - to love, and says that it is our duty, not temporary, like taxes or duties, but eternal. For he wants this debt to never be paid, and although we always pay, not in full, but in such a way that we still remain in debt. Because it is the kind of debt that is continually paid but never paid off. Having said how one should love, the Apostle also reveals the benefits of love, saying: “love one another and fulfill the law.” This is the answer to the question of how one should act in relation to others. Love, and you will fulfill everything that is due in this regard. For love is the fulfillment of the law - it both indicates what is due and gives strength to fulfill it; she is the executive force of the law, the source from which all that is lawful and only that which is lawful proceeds. Love's only business is to do what is lawful, not because the law imposes this on it from the outside, but because if it is in motion, then it cannot do anything except what is lawful, whether it is aware of this lawfulness or not. It is also the basis of peace, prosperity and social tranquility. When it became a general driving force, then there would be no need for guardians of order or courts. Everything would have sung harmoniously by itself. And without love, the community is not strong. Outwardly everything is one, but internally they are scattered: it is a heap of uncohesive sand. “If there is no love in us, then the entire composition of the body is dissolved,” says Saint Chrysostom. Rome. 13:9. The hedgehog: you will not commit adultery, you will not kill, you will not steal, you will not bear false witness, you will not lust, and even if there is no other commandment, in this word it is fulfilled, in the hedgehog: love your sincere one as yourself. Shows how love fulfills the law. He lists such cases that are prosecuted by civil law, and inspires that love will not allow any of these and similar cases to occur. Can a man who loves a friend afford to seduce his wife? Can she raise her hand to him or extend it to his property? Will his tongue turn to say something false against him? And will his heart move to desire something that belongs to his friend, or to envy him? And he will not allow himself to do anything else unpleasant and harmful to his friend. So, where there is love, there are only lawful deeds - and deeds not only of truth, but also of mutual assistance, help and support. Blessed Photius writes in Ecumenium: “how one who loves his neighbor fulfills the law can be seen from the following. A lover will not attempt to dissolve the marriage of his beloved, to slander what is most important in life, and in this main thing to harm him. But he will not arm himself with murderous hands against him, nor will he allow himself to steal anything from him, nor will others dare to forcibly take anything away from him in any way, because he cannot indulge the lust of someone who is his neighbor. Nothing like this is characteristic of a lover. He will not give false testimony against his neighbor, nor will he swear an oath to harm him. He who has protected himself with such dispositions, what other virtue will he not add to what has been said? So whoever loves his neighbor is truly a faithful doer of the whole law.” “And if there be any other commandment, it is fulfilled in this word: Thou shalt love.” - “It is being accomplished”, άνακεφαλαιοΰται, - is headed, this title fits: “you will love the hedgehog”, - and it is contained in it, and in its execution it is fulfilled. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle said not simply: complemented, but: άνακεφαλαιοΰται, - that is, this commandment briefly contains the entire composition of the commandments. For the beginning and end of virtue is love. It is both the root and a necessary condition, it is the pinnacle of virtue. And if love is the beginning and completeness, then what is equal to it? However, the Apostle demands not just love, but love to the highest degree, for he did not just say: “love”, but added: “as yourself.” Rome 13:10. Sincere love does not do evil: the fulfillment of the law of love is. The essence of love is to sacrifice oneself and everything one has for one’s beloved and do him every possible good. If this is her nature, then how is it possible that she did any evil? The Apostle exposes this second side of love—that it does not create evil—with civil life in mind. Civil law persecutes violators of good mutual relations, but doing good leaves everyone to their conscience. Why, if you want to be a good citizen, don’t do evil. But in order to be strong not to do evil and to be correct before the civil law, love. If you love, all civil laws will be easily fulfilled by you, and you will have nothing to fear or worry about in this regard. This idea follows the flow of speech here. But if we take these words abstractly, then they express the general features of love. Saint Chrysostom says: “Do you see that love has both perfections: both abstinence from evil, for it is said that it “does not do evil,” and doing good, for it is said that it is the fulfillment of the law? Love not only teaches us an abbreviated teaching of what we should do, but also makes it easier to fulfill moral laws. She not only makes sure that we know our duties (the law also does this), but also helps us a lot in fulfilling these duties and fulfills in us not just some part of the commandments, but the whole virtue in its entirety. “In it is the Kingdom of Heaven for us, in it is the pleasure of good things, in it is all consolation, in it is joy, in it is joy, in it is bliss, and no matter what I say about this goodness, nothing will fully depict it: it can only be known by experience.” β) Removal of evil customs (Rom. 13:11–14) Having depicted how one should be a good citizen in the Christian spirit, the Apostle now prevents the Romans from shameful customs who received citizenship in pagan societies. He cites the coming of Christ as the motivation for this. The coming of Christ is day, and those customs are dark as night; therefore, we Christians should not follow them and take part in them. What kind of coming of Christ does the Apostle mean? Some believe the second to be, while others believe the first to already be. We will accept both. Rome. 13:11. And this, knowing the time, is like the hour for us to rise from sleep. Now salvation is closer to us than when we believed. "And this". The word “this” can be applied to both the previous and the subsequent. In the first case it will mean: and this is even more so. He said: don’t owe anyone anything except love, and he pointed out the reason for this: that love itself will fulfill everything that is due. Now he applies a new impulse: and this “especially because now is not the time for sleep, but for wakefulness” (Blessed Theodoret). That is, that Christ the Lord came and enlightened us - or that he is about to come, and the day of the future glorious resurrection will come. And in the second it will mean: in addition, also this. He said: love and through this you will easily fulfill everything lawful. Now he adds: in addition, you must do this too. What is this? Knowing the time that Christ the Lord has come and enlightened us, or that he is about to come and the eternal day will come, let us put aside dark deeds - goat-crying, drunkenness and the like. The latter fits better with the flow of speech. "Leading Time". Obviously, the Apostle presents the knowledge of time as an incentive to act in accordance with it. And the Savior spoke in reproach to the Jews: “You hypocrites, you know that the face of heaven and earth is tempting: how come you are not tempting at this time?” (Luke 12:56), making it clear that if they had understood, they would not have persisted in unbelief and opposition to Him: this understanding would have forced them to act completely differently. He said the same thing to Jerusalem, at the solemn entrance into it: “If only you, on this day, would understand that it is for your humility” - that is, for peace, prosperity, salvation. But he did not understand and, not understanding, did not act as he should and thereby brought upon himself heavenly punishment: “before,” he says, “you did not understand the time of your visit” (Luke 19:42, 44), - the visit of the Lord, not just this time, but in general His coming to earth. The Apostle now says the same thing: “knowing the time,” clearly realizing what it obliges us to do, and it obliges us not to sleep, but to stay awake, to put off dark, nightly affairs. The time of course is the coming of Christ. Which one? The first or the second? Understand the first, understand the second. Both are day. At first the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God, shone, and the day of knowledge of God came; and in the second the bright resurrection and restoration of all will dawn, and the non-evening day of blessed and eternal life will come. When the first is compared with the preceding time, then it is day; and when you compare it with the second, then it is only the dawn of the day. Whatever the time, one and the other loudly calls to each of us: get up, he will sleep, just like a good owner shouts to his sons and workers: get up, it’s time to work. Reflection and remembrance of the coming of Christ, both the first and the second, has always been and is the strongest motivation to move away from bad deeds and to excel in good ones - to “rise from sleep” and begin to be awake, give up carelessness and embrace zeal for salvation and the deeds leading to it. Saint Chrysostom, turning his thoughts to the second coming, says: “The Apostle, having prescribed everything necessary, encourages the Romans to good deeds and the very shortness of time. The time for judgment, he says, is already at the door. So he wrote to the Corinthians: “for the time is shortened, there are other things” (1 Cor. 7:29) and also to the Jews: “for yet a little time, the one who comes will come and will not cut down” (Heb. 10:37). But there he spoke to the approval of the workers and to the consolation of those who had become exhausted from frequent temptations; and here he wants to awaken the sleeping ones. And indeed, this Apostolic word is useful for us in both cases. What does this mean: “it’s already time for us to rise from sleep”? That the day of resurrection is near, the Last Judgment is near, the day kindled like a furnace is near; and we must already put aside our negligence.” Ambrosiastes, keeping his attention on the first coming, writes: “to rise from sleep” - means: to do good as in the day, clearly; for at night, forbidden things are usually done in secret. We, being in the state of the illuminated, that is, in the knowledge of God, and knowing what we must follow, must try in every possible way to live purely and holy, shaking off the sleep of ignorance and negligence.” “Now there is salvation closer to us than when we believed.” Keeping our attention on the first coming of Christ, the words: “ever by faith” - we refer to the Old Testament time, when we only hoped and expected Christ the Savior, with full faith that He would come, and now we have already seen Him, heard and touched Him. And then there was salvation by faith in the Coming One, but now it is closer to us. Now the Savior Himself is with us, clothes us with Himself and nourishes us with Himself and gives us all kinds of Divine strength, even for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). Therefore, it is not right for us to sleep, but we must stay awake and work vigorously. Just as during working hours, when the weather is good, no one allows themselves to sleep, everyone rushes to work so as not to miss a convenient time: so we, Christians, having such a favorable time for salvation, will strain all our efforts to do only that which brings about salvation, avoiding everything that harms it. The Apostle also instills this in the Corinthians, saying: “We pray earnestly that you do not receive the grace of God in vain... Behold, now is the time acceptable, behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:1, 2). But it is obvious that this thought also leads to the thought of the second coming: if you miss the deadline, the day of God’s judgment will come, what will you say then and how will you justify yourself if He finds you sleeping or doing dark things at night? Why does Ambrosiast write: “it is clear that those who, after the bath of rebirth in the baptismal font, live well and are zealous for deeds of love, are not far from the glory of the promised resurrection. For a good Christian life is a sign of future salvation.” Saint Chrysostom speaks to these words: “Do you see how the Apostle expressed to them the approach of the resurrection? With the passage of time, he says, real life is exhausted; and the life of the next century is becoming closer to us. If you are ready and have fulfilled everything commanded by God; then this day will be a day of salvation for you. Otherwise, don’t hope for it. However, the Apostle convinces the Roman Christians not by presenting bitter consequences, but by pointing out blessings, and thus trying to distract them from attachments to the present. Moreover, it is not surprising that at first and soon after accepting the faith, when their zeal was still at its strongest, they were distinguished by greater zeal, but over time their zeal weakened. Therefore, the Apostle inspires that one must do exactly the opposite and, as time goes on, not weaken, but become more inflamed. The closer the King is to us, the more ready we must be. The closer the reward, the more we should excite ourselves to exploits. This is what racers do; When they approach the goal and receive the reward, then they strain their last strength with greater zeal. Therefore, the Apostle said: “Now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” When we believed, that is, accepted the faith of Christ; that salvation, that is, the second coming of Christ, when it will be revealed whether someone is saved or not, was further from us; but after that, the longer you live, the closer it becomes, and the longer we lived after baptism, the closer it became. But until the second coming comes, for each of us the hour of death is the same as itself. Blessed Photius in Ecumenius writes: “The Apostle calls the end of life salvation, because then it becomes clear whether someone is worthy of salvation and bliss.” Such suggestions are given if the words above mean the second coming. But it would be more direct to understand in them the first coming, as the following words show. Rome. 13:12. The night has passed, and the day has come: let us therefore put aside the dark deeds and put on the weapons of light. The words: “the night has passed, and the day has come” - Blessed Theodoret interprets this way: “The Apostle calls the time of ignorance “night”, and “day” the time after the coming of the Master; because the Sun of Truth, having risen, illuminated the universe with the light of God.” And Ambrosiastes writes: “night” the Apostle called the old man, who through baptism is made new. This man, he says, has passed away like night, and the day has come, in the light of which the truth was revealed to us, so that we would know what we should do. Before, not knowing Christ, we were in darkness; but when we knew Him, light shone in us, because we had passed from lies to truth.” And our other interpreters, holding on to the same idea that the Apostle here speaks of the second coming of Christ, by “night” mean the present life and the present age, and by “day” the future age; and what the Apostle says: “pass and draw near” - here it is expressed that as it is customary for one to pass and another to draw near, and both will certainly happen, then keep in mind that this is already the case: the night has passed, and the day has approached. Blessed Theophylact writes in the same way as Ecumenium: “the night has passed” - that is, the night will soon end. For example: suppose that the night consists of twelve hours. When ten hours have passed, we say that the night has already ended, προέκοψεν, - instead of: passed, close to the end. The Apostle calls the present age night, because in it many are in darkness and everyone’s life is covered in darkness; and he calls the future age day, both because of the lordship of the righteous, and because then the secrets of all will be revealed.” And Saint Chrysostom says: “So, if the night ends and the day approaches, then let’s get busy with daytime activities, not nighttime ones. This is also observed in everyday affairs. As soon as we see the approach of dawn and hear the singing of swallows, we wake each other up, even if the night has not yet passed. And when it passes, we urge each other, saying: the day has come, it’s time to get dressed, part with dreams, shake off sleep and get down to the business of the day. May the day find us ready; for it is too late to get up and get ready when the sun’s rays shine. This is how we behave in everyday affairs; Let us do the same in spiritual matters. Let’s leave behind dreams, let’s part with the dreams of real life, put off deep sleep and, instead of clothes, put on virtues.” “Let us therefore put aside dark deeds and put on the weapons of light.” Since we are enlightened by holy baptism - justified, sanctified and clothed with grace, then it is no longer fitting for us to do dark, sinful deeds; one must put them aside, throw them off and discard them, and instead put on the weapon of light, that is, in virtue. Sins are dark deeds, because they are created in darkness and plunge the one who creates them into darkness, into the darkness of ignorance, blindness, passion and sensual carnality. Virtues are weapons of light, because each virtue, establishing itself in the heart, strikes the opposite sinful passion, which cannot be struck otherwise than by this opposite virtue. Virtue puts a person in a bright state: he then walks before God and boldly looks at Him, sees himself clearly and does not hide from people, boldly looks everyone in the eyes. Such properties of virtue and sinfulness are reflected in the entire nature of man; and those whose spiritual eyes are open see some as dark and others as light. The angels of God always see us either light or dark, depending on what our inner mood is. Blessed Theophylact writes about this as follows: “The Apostle called sinful actions dark deeds, and called virtuous actions weapons of light. With the words: “let us put it aside and put on our clothes,” he showed the convenience of both, that is, moving away from evil deeds and turning to virtue. How difficult it is to put aside your clothes and put on others; in this way it is possible to move away from vice and embrace virtue.” - But perhaps this is not said because both are easy: for in reality, both the putting off of sins and passions and the donning of virtues is accompanied by no small amount of work; but in order to inspire that both must be done completely, to perfection, so that not a trace of anything vicious remains and, on the contrary, virtue is visible in everything, no matter from which side you look at a person. Ambrosiastes argues this way: “the works of darkness are carnal life, which is led by the lures and delights of this age. Being dark, they are worthy of darkness, as the Lord says: “having tied his (who did not have a wedding garment) hand and nose, take him and throw him into utter darkness” (Matthew 22:13). The weapons of light are good deeds. Just as bad deeds are put off until the darkness of the night, because those who usually do them do them in secret; so those who do good act openly; because they are not ashamed of their deeds, but boldly and joyfully do them. Good deeds are weapons of light, because they drive away the darkness of carnal passions.” Saint Chrysostom focuses more on the word: weapons of light - and inspires us to fight for good. “The day,” he says, calls us into the military ranks and into battle. But do not be alarmed when you hear about military ranks and weapons. It is difficult and unbearable to put on material weapons; but to put on spiritual weapons is desirable and should be the subject of our prayers; because this weapon is a weapon of light. It will make you brighter than the sun's rays, shining like lightning; it will make you safe because there are weapons; it will make you luminous, because there is a weapon of light. What then? So there is no need to fight? There is a need to fight; but do not be afraid of troubles and exhaustion. For this is not abuse, but rejoicing and triumph. Such is the property of this weapon, such is the power of the leader! He who is clothed in this weapon is as adorned as the bridegroom coming out of the bridal chamber; for he is both the groom and the warrior.” Rome. 13:13. For in the days let us walk decently, not by heckling and drunkenness, not by fornication and adultery, not by zeal and envy. Sin hides in the darkness of the night, and during the day it is afraid to appear outwardly: for even the very sinners are ashamed of sin and try to show themselves respectable before people. The Apostle takes this usual order into account and inspires that, as we are now “in the days,” in the light of the knowledge of God and in illuminating grace, we must walk gracefully; not only in appearance, but even more so in the inner mood, in the soul and heart: for that is where our day is. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Apostle indicates the spiritual through the physical. For those who love a lawless life commit lawlessness at night, and during the day they take on the appearance of decency. Therefore, it is desirable for him, after the end of the night and the cessation of ignorance, to get rid of evil deeds.” The same is true for Ambrosiast: “they do not sin publicly; Let us also act as we act in public.” But sin is not always hidden. There are states of society when sin boldly comes out and is not afraid to boast about the most shameful deeds. It was the prophet David who remarked: “I saw lawlessness and discord in the city. Day and night he will walk among his walls: iniquity and labor and unrighteousness are in the midst of him: and from his hundred heaps of interest and flattery will not fail” (Ps. 55:10-12). However, it is also true that such shamelessness of sin is only feigned and is maintained by the expectation that society will sympathize with such deeds. But as soon as anyone with the power reveals disapproval, the lawless society will run away and hide. Shame follows sin and always covers the sinner, to a greater or lesser extent. Saint Chrysostom says: “since the Romans valued human opinion a lot, the Apostle offers them as an incentive what ordinary people are most touched by, that is, good looks.” What this goodness should consist of, the Apostle indicates by indicating the ugliness that should be avoided. This disgrace consisted of drunkenness, feasts, shameful songs, fornication, quarrels, disputes and the like. Anyone who wants to live well should abstain from all this. We, Christians, sons of light and day, have received the light of faith and the grace of the Spirit. We should not get carried away with such matters or take any part in them. These are pagan customs, and they are completely unsuitable for us. The Apostle wrote the same thing to the Thessalonians and expressed the same motivation: we are not in the darkness of night, but in the light of day. They get drunk at night, but we must be sober and watchful (1 Sol. 5:5-7). This is the main subject of this section, in which the Apostle demands that Christians, while remaining good citizens, should, however, abstain from the bad customs that received citizenship in pagan societies. The Holy Apostle Peter notes that Christians then behaved this way. “You are satisfied with the past time of life, with those who did the will of the pagans, who walked in uncleanness, in lusts... in drunkenness, in goat-speaking, in covetousness... (that is, the pagans) are amazed at him because you do not come together in the same fornication” (1 Pet. 4:3, 4). From this we must conclude that relaxation of such customs is a sure sign of a weakening of the spirit of Christian life and that the society in which they are in use is pagan, hiding behind the Christian name. “Goat chanting” - “feasts at which they have the custom of rioting and desecrating the tongue with shameful songs; and the culprit for this is drunkenness. It also happens to be a matter of obscenity and a teacher in quarrels and disputes” (Blessed Theodoret). These are “ordinary feasts, which are either established jointly, by pooling, or arranged in turn by each participant. At them no one considers it a shame to say or do something shameful and dishonest, because everyone considers the feast as their own. At someone else's table, shame restrains, but here they come together to shame themselves, under the influence of wine libations, and to amuse themselves with various lustful pleasures. Therefore, the Apostle commands us to avoid such feasts” (Ambrosiastes). “Drunkenness” is the excessive consumption of intoxicating drinks, which darkens the meaning and leads to meaningless deeds, arousing shameful lusts. “The Apostle forbids not drinking, but drinking without measure; not drinking wine, but drunkenness” (St. Chrysostom). It is the cause of all the outrages that happen at feasts and outside of them. “Fornication”, κοίτη, - stalking, illegal intercourse with a wife, and: adultery, - ασέλγεια, - means either the uncontrollability of lust, or its unnatural satisfaction. “After the prohibition of riotous feasts and drunkenness, the Apostle added a prohibition of what usually follows, that is, shameless mixing: for this is the direct fruit of riotousness” (Ambrosiastes). “The Apostle does not forbid intercourse with women, but fornication; he prescribes the measure of pleasure” (St. Chrysostom). Two sources of passions and passionate affairs are lust and anger. Having turned away from works of lust, the Apostle now turns away from works of irritation, from: “zeal and envy.” Envy is the fruit of pride, which does not tolerate anyone getting ahead of us in any respect. Envy gives rise to fervor (έρις), which in a peaceful form forces all kinds of efforts in order to again get ahead of the one who is ahead, and not in a peaceful form it bullies him, starts disputes, quarrels and fights, without which riotous feasts are not complete. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle tries to extinguish those passions from which others are inflamed, namely: lust and anger. And therefore it is not only these passions that are forbidden, but also the source of them. For inebriation and drunkenness most strongly inflame lust and ignite anger. Therefore, having said at first: “not goat-talking and drunkenness,” he then added: “not fornication and adultery, not zeal and envy.” Rome 13:14. But be clothed with our Lord Jesus Christ, and please the flesh, and do not act in lust. Those who are baptized have already been clothed with the Lord Jesus Christ; How does he say: “put on your clothes”? – That was and is a mysterious endowment, and this is an active one; there everything is accomplished by grace, but here one’s own effort is required. “Put on” means: show yourself clothed in Christ, guard in every possible way this Divine endowment on yourself, so that everyone sees you clothed in it and understands you no differently. But what does it mean to put on Christ? Or to show oneself always acting as Christ the Lord acted, to show in oneself such properties and dispositions as were in Christ Jesus, so that all who see say: this is the likeness of Christ, the real one of Christ. Or that, having rejected all arrogance and self-confidence, place all hope of success in affairs according to God on Christ the Lord, surrender ourselves to Him, so that He may be all-active in us, in thoughts, feelings, dispositions, words and deeds, nourishing and full faith that for the sake of this devotion of ours He will do everything that is due in us, and will lead to the desired blessed end. The last endowment is the cause of the first, which cannot be revealed without it. In this place, it seems that the former is obvious, but, of course, not without the latter. Saint Chrysostom speaks about this: “mentioning vices, the Apostle said: let us reject the works of darkness. And when he began to talk about virtue, he calls it not simple deeds, but a weapon, showing that virtue provides the possessor with complete security and complete splendor. He did not even limit himself to this, but, stretching higher, instead of a robe he gives us, which is incomparably more terrible, the Lord Himself, the King Himself. He who is clothed in Him fully contains within himself every virtue. When he says, “Be clothed,” he commands us to cover ourselves with Him everywhere. He expresses something similar to this in other places, namely: “If Christ is in you” (Rom. 8:10); and again: “Christ may dwell in our inner man” (Eph. 3:16–17). The Apostle desires that our soul should be the house of Christ, that Christ should embrace us like a garment, and be everything to us, both within and without. For Christ is our fulfillment, since He is “the fulfillment of Him who fulfills all things in all” (Eph. 1:23). He is the way, He is the husband and groom: “For he has betrothed you to one husband, a pure virgin” (2 Cor. 11:2). He is root, and drink, and food, and life: “I live not for anyone,” says Paul, “but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). He is the Apostle, and the Bishop, and the Teacher, and the Brother, and the Father, and the heir and accomplice in the tomb and the cross. “We were buried in Him,” it is said, “and equipped with the likeness of His death” (Rom. 6:4, 5). He begs us: “We pray for Christ’s sake” (2 Cor. 5:20). He protects us before the Father; “For,” as Paul says, “he makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34). He is a house and a dweller: “abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). He is the foundation and the cornerstone; and we are His members, His field, His building, His branches, His co-workers. And what does He not want to make us, in order to somehow cleave and unite us to Himself? All this proves His immeasurable love for us. So, submit to Him, rise from sleep and put on Him, and having put on Him, keep your flesh in submission before Him. The Apostle understood this when he said: “Do not please the flesh through lust” (do not extend care for the flesh to lusts). “Ground”, πρόνοια, - industry, care. “Do not create in lust”, μη ποιεΐσβε είς επιθυμίας, - do not create according to the motives of lusts, to satisfy lusts, or do not turn into lusts. Bodily needs: to eat, drink, sleep, dress, have shelter, give rest - cannot but be satisfied; but this satisfaction is simple and uncomplicated and does not require great care when one adheres to the natural order. When someone steps out of this order, then the needs of the flesh are generated so much that he does not have enough strength and possessions to satisfy them; He works day and night, and nothing is enough, and he pulls the yoke like a yoke. But he doesn’t want to throw away these unnaturalities; for he turned them into lusts; he considers lust to be himself, so that to refuse something to lust is considered an attempt on life. Thus, carnality, transformed into lust, tyrannizes over carnivores and does not allow them to free themselves from their bonds. But Christians should not have such slavery to the lusts of the flesh. The lusts of the flesh have tyrannical power where the spirit is stifled. Among Christians, the spirit of God is awakened by God's grace and elevated into strong power, which is primarily directed at taming the flesh. For the lusts of the flesh are the final limit of man’s fall; why its rise or rebellion inevitably begins with their rejection. “They who are Christ's are the flesh crucified with passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). Why is this? Because they began to live in spirit; Having begun to live by the Spirit, we must walk in the Spirit, contrary to carnal concupiscence (Gal. 5:25). But someone begins to live by the Spirit the moment he puts on Christ. This is why the Apostle combined the suppression of carnal lusts with the investment in Christ. Saint Chrysostom speaks at length about this: “as above the Apostle forbade not the use of wine, but drunkenness, not marriage, but debauchery; So now it is not care for the flesh that prohibits, but care that extends to lusts, that is, beyond need. And that he himself orders us to take care of the flesh, listen to how he speaks about this to Timothy: “You have taken little wine for the sake of your and frequent ... ailments” (1 Tim. 5:23). Likewise, in everything else, take care of the flesh, but to maintain health, and not to satisfy sensuality. For it does not mean to have care when you add fire and light the stove. And in order for you to know more precisely when care for the flesh extends to lust, and to avoid such care, imagine people indulging in drunkenness, gluttony, addicted to clothes and amusements, leading a pampered and luxurious life - and then you will understand what the Apostle said. Whatever they do, such people do not do it to maintain health, but to have fun, to ignite lust. On the contrary, you, who have put on Christ, remove all these things from yourself; When caring for the body, keep in mind only that it is healthy, and take care of the body as much as is necessary for health, but do not extend beyond that. On the contrary, use all your care to take care of the spiritual.” Then, depicting how a carnal life is a dream, from which a bitter awakening after death awaits those who love such a life, Saint Chrysostom adds: “I beg you, arise from sleep, uproot these thorns and sober up from drunkenness, from which the dream comes. I offer my advice especially to those who love to feast with friends. Such feasts cannot be called either pleasure or relaxation; on the contrary, they are punishment and torment. Pleasure does not consist in shameful conversation, but in decent conversation, not in satiety, but in being well-fed... But, saying this, I do not forbid you to get together with each other and dine together; but I only demand that you do not disgrace yourself; I wish your pleasure to be real pleasure, and not turn into punishment, into torment, into drunkenness and riotous fun (which causes headaches and various illnesses). Let the pagans know that Christians know how to have fun better than anyone else, but to have fun while observing decency. – For it is said: “Rejoice in the Lord with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). How should one rejoice? Saying spiritual songs, saying prayers, singing psalms instead of shameful songs. In this way, Christ Himself will be present at your meal and will fill the entire feast with blessing - when you pray, when you sing spiritual songs, when you invite the poor to share what is offered with you, when you observe decorum and moderation in your feast. In this way, the place of your meeting will become God’s Church, when, instead of indecent shouts and applause, you will sing praises to the Lord of all. Don't tell me that there is a different custom now; on the contrary, correct what is bad. “Whether you eat,” says the Apostle, “whether you drink or do anything else, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). And from your feasts evil wishes are born to you; from them voluptuousness; from them your wives are in contempt, and depraved women are in honor; houses fall from them, thousands of evil people are born, and everything falls into disorder... To avoid all this, let us put on Christ and always abide with Him. For to put on Christ means not to be without Him for a minute, but to always demonstrate Him within yourself through your holiness and righteousness. And about friends, in order to depict their strong love and inextricable connection, we say that one is clothed in the other. For he who is clothed appears to be what he is clothed with. So may Christ always be visible in us. When will He be visible in us? When we imitate His works. What did Christ do? “The Son of Man,” He says about Himself, “does not have anywhere to bow his head” (Luke 9:58). And you imitate Him. When it was necessary to taste food, Christ ate barley loaves. When he was on the road, he had neither horses nor other beasts of burden, but walked on foot, even to the point of fatigue. When it was necessary to fall asleep, instead of heading it, he lay down on the bow of the boat. When it was necessary to lie down, he ordered them to sit on the grass. His clothes were inexpensive; He often walked alone, having no one with him. Next, consider all His words and deeds, on the cross and among various humiliations, and in general His entire life, and try to imitate it. In this way you will put on Christ when you do not extend your care for the flesh to lust.” Having shown how Christians should live and act as Christians and as members of civil society, the Apostle: 3) Begins to correct one defect of the Roman Christians, which was especially prominent (Rom. 14:1-15, 13) This problem consisted in the fact that they did not treat each other properly due to differences in food consumption. Some of them abstained from certain foods, either always, or only on other days, while others did not make any distinction in foods. Both of them, considering their way of action to be right, condemned those who did not adhere to it and thereby violated the law of brotherly love and peace. It is this malfunction that the Apostle is now correcting. He leaves without determining which course of action is better, but pays all attention to the unkind feeling with which they treated each other on this occasion. Don’t judge, he says, it’s none of your business. Let everyone act as his conscience tells him. The Apostle does not indicate who these abstainers were. Judging by what happened in other Churches, it can be assumed that these were either Jews, who strictly adhered to the law on food, or pagans, who, believing that an idol is something, thought that the sacrifices offered to them would receive something from them and would be polluted, and therefore did not dare to eat other foods, fearing that they were sacrificed to idols, as happened in the Church of Corinth. All our interpreters see the former here, and Clement of Alexandria and Blessed Augustine, as one interpreter points out, the latter. One can understand both of them: for there are expressions that can be attributed either only to the first or only to the second. The Apostle himself did not indicate whom he meant; because it was not required to confirm the rule he prescribed. Rome. 14:1. Receive him who is weak in faith, not into doubting thoughts. “Weakened”, άσθενοϋντα, - weak in faith. The law has already ceased, and true faith frees the conscience from any sense of obligation in relation to it. But weak faith does not give conscience such permission and makes it also weak. Anyone suffering from such weakness is worthy of all brotherly condescension and attention. Accept, says the Apostle, accept into brotherly fellowship, do not turn away from him, do not alienate him, do not push him away from you. The words: “do not doubt your thoughts” are not so clear. Μη εις διακρίσεις διαλογισμών. – Διάκρισις – reasoning; hence, on the one hand, reflection, hesitation in thoughts and doubt, and on the other, analysis, judgment and condemnation. – Hence there are different interpretations. Blessed Photius writes in Ecumenium: “do not condemn him, but accept him brotherly, as if he were weak.” And Blessed Theophylact paraphrases these words in different ways: “do not condemn him, do not be tempted, do not be embarrassed by many thoughts, but try in every possible way to heal him as if he were weak.” It can be done this way: without arguing about opinions, as in the Russian translation, or this way: without understanding what thoughts he is doing this or that, or: without condemning such thoughts. They will be judged by God. You see only one abstinence, which in itself is a matter worthy of praise. Saint Chrysostom says in this place: “I know that these words are difficult for many to understand. Therefore, it is necessary to state in advance what gave rise to these instructions and what the Apostle wants to correct with these words. What is it he wants to fix? Many of the Jews who believed, and having accepted the faith, having a conscience bound by the law, observed strict pickiness in food, because they did not dare to deviate from the law at all. Moreover, so that, by abstaining only from pork meat, and not being criticized for it, they began to abstain from all meat and eat only vegetables under the guise that they were observing fasting, and not the Jewish pickiness in food according to the law. On the other hand, there were those more perfect in the faith, who themselves did not at all observe such pickiness in food, and who still observed it were burdened and upset by their reproaches and denunciations, and even plunged into despondency. Therefore, Blessed Paul was afraid that, having the intention of correcting an unimportant deficiency, they would not spoil everything - so that, wanting to wean those who are weak in the faith from pickiness in food, they would not lead them to fall from the faith and, prematurely trying to bring everything to perfection, would not upset the good that should have been expected from them at this time, that is, so that with their incessant reproaches they would not shake them in the confession of Christ, so that after that it would be impossible to correct either one or the other. - Look how prudently the Apostle acts and, with his characteristic wisdom, takes care of the benefit of both sides! He does not dare to say to those who reproach: you are doing something bad; for this would give others a reason to confirm their legibility. Nor does he say: you are doing well; for then they would attack even more strongly. On the contrary, he admonishes both as he should, and although apparently he reprimands the stronger side, this same reprimand falls entirely on the opposite side. This is the easiest and most insensitive way of correction, when, turning a word to one, you strike a blow to the other. Then you do not give the admonished person a reason to be angry and in an inconspicuous way pour into him the medicine of correction. Notice how prudently and timely the Apostle does this! Having said: “Do not please the flesh in lust,” he suddenly moves on to real speech, so that one cannot think that he is speaking in favor of those who forbade choosiness and ordered everyone to eat. The weak side always needs to be protected more; why the Apostle reprimands the stronger side and says: “Accept him who is weak in the faith.” – But do you see that this blow has already been dealt to the observer’s intelligibility? By calling him sick, the Apostle makes him feel that he is sick. Then he strikes again, saying: “Accept.” This shows that a lot of care needs to be taken about him; and this is a sign of extreme illness. “Do not doubt thoughts”: the third blow has already been struck! From these words it is clear how important his work is; for it arouses doubt even in those who do not participate in it (probably leading to the thought: really, shouldn’t we also adhere to similar legibility?). “Do you notice how he apparently speaks to some, and yet inconspicuously and without causing grief he reproaches others?” Rome. 14:2. He believes in eating all the food, but the one who is exhausted eats potions. The Apostle indicates who he means by the strong and who by the weak. The strong one is the one who eats everything; but not because he is strong because he eats everything, but because he does not hesitate to believe that “every creature of God is good, and nothing is taken away, acceptable with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:4). And the weak is the one who “eats potions,” but not because he is weak because he “eats potions,” for such are stronger than “those who eat everything,” but because, due to weakness of faith, he believes that food can “put us before God” (1 Cor. 8:8) and that there are foods that can defile a person. He is weak not from lack of food, but from the weakness of faith: “for, not having perfect faith, he thinks that he is being defiled by some kind of food” (Blessed Theodoret). The perfect one, daring by faith, feeds on everything indifferently, but the imperfect one, like the weak, “eats potions.” Therefore, the latter deserves healing, and not reproach (blessed Theophylact). “He, believing what he reads in Scripture, does not hesitate to eat everything that is given for man’s use. For he reads in the book of Genesis that everything created by God is “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Why shouldn't anything be swept away? And neither about Enoch, who was the first to please God, nor about Noah, who alone was found righteous during the flood, nor about Abraham, the friend of God, nor about Isaac and Jacob, the righteous and friends of God, among whom Lot was, nor about other righteous people we read that they abstained from any foods. But others believe that one cannot eat everything without distinction, and eats vegetables. And let him eat. There is no need to force him to eat meat, so that he does not eat food with a doubtful and troubled conscience, and does not sin by not observing his decision or the proposal of his will” (Ambrosiastes). It must be assumed that some people were found eating only potions at some general dinners. Here the Jewish believer did not eat meat at all, so as not to appear to be abstaining from other foods, out of respect for the law; and others, whether Jews or pagans, did not eat, fearing that they would attack something sacrificed to idols. Rome. 14:3. Let him who is poisonous not reproach the one who eats; and let him who is not poisonous not condemn the one who eats: for God accepts him. You, who believe that you can eat everything and eat everything, do not reproach someone who thinks differently and holds it on his conscience and therefore does not eat everything. And you, who do not eat everything, do not condemn everything that eats. It happened among the Romans that “as the more perfect (who ate everything) humiliated those who did not eat, considering them to be of little faith, not straight Christians, carrying a hidden illness within themselves and still adhering to Judaism; so the latter condemned the former, considering them to be violators of the law or even indulged in gluttony” (St. Chrysostom). The Apostle does not concern himself with the deeds of both, that is, eating and not eating; for, judging abstractly, “it is given to man’s will to eat or not to eat, and no questions or disputes regarding this are inappropriate. Everything created is subject to the dominion of man and given over to his will” (Ambrosiastes). But, paying attention to what is in the hearts of both, he says to some: do not reproach, and to others: do not condemn. None of you can definitively say whether there is sin in eating and not eating, but in reproach and condemnation there is already an obvious sin. Where there is more trouble and where it is more obvious, he hurries there in order to avert and stop it. “God accepts him,” “that is, the pagan. The Apostle continues his speech addressed to the Jew” (Blessed Theodoret). Do not condemn him, Jew, when God accepted him into His grace, without placing an obstacle to this acceptance by the fact that he was not under the law, and therefore, under the law regarding the variety of foods, and upon acceptance did not place on him any burden under the law. “What do you tell him about the law as a criminal? God accepted him, that is, revealed His inexpressible grace on him and freed him from all guilt” (St. Chrysostom). But perhaps the words: “God accepts him” refer to both, like this: he who eats, do not reproach the one who does not eat; “God accepts him,” and the one who does not eat does not condemn the one who eats; “God accepts him.” You are both in the grace of God, accepted into His Kingdom, honored by sonship: do not drive each other out of this saving fence because of such trifles as distinguishing and not discriminating between foods. The fact that he was picky about food did not prevent the Jew from being accepted into grace. Why do you think that this will prevent him from being in grace? The pagan was not prevented from being accepted into grace by his freedom in eating food. Why do you think that she will prevent him from being in her? Have this grace in your heart and thank God. Mutual reproach and condemnation, which creates division and dries up love, is more likely to expel you from the fence of God than pickiness and promiscuity in food. These words: “God accepts him” can be used as a medicine against condemnation in general. You condemn a sinner for the sin he has committed, but you do not take into account what is in his soul after the sin. He has already sighed to God, lamented, mourned his sin, and God again accepted him into His mercy, and you condemn him. – Do you see what an incongruity? Never judge anyone. Rome. 14:4. Who are you to judge a foreign slave? His Lord stands or falls. It will become, for God is strong to raise him up. This is a general basis for non-condemnation, not only in the present case, but in every other case. All people of God are like God's creatures; We must work for God and answer only to Him. Whether he does well and stands, or poorly and falls, you don’t care. Before the Lord, whether he is good or bad, the Lord is his Judge. Just as it is incongruous to enter into someone else’s house and judge the servants there, so it is incongruous to judge people in their relationship to God or in the actions of their conscience. The Apostle commands not to judge. He says, as it were: “I command you not to judge another, not because his way of acting is not worth condemning, but because he is someone else’s slave, that is, not yours, but God’s. Whether he stands or falls, both concerns the Lord. If it falls, it is a loss to God; equally, if it is worth it, it is a gain for God. - Look how much the words of the Apostles were supposed to shame the reproacher. If God, argues St. Paul, although he suffers damage, yet does not reproach him, then how untimely (inconsistently) do you act and how far do you go beyond your boundaries and interfere in someone else’s business, thus tormenting and disturbing a brother who is weak in the faith?” (Saint Chrysostom). “A slave should not judge a fellow servant: he has not been given the power to do so. With what conscience someone eats or does not eat, the judge is God, whose servant is the one who acts one way or another” (Ambrosiastes). “It will happen.” You suddenly became firm on the basis of faith, but he still wavers. He doesn’t hesitate at all, but only in relation to the circle of cases in which you condemn him. Being firm in the common faith, he will gradually become stronger in this respect and become no worse than you. Although he is weak in this part, he does not depart from God. And God, seeing his commitment to Himself, will help him get rid of his weakness, which is considered a reproach. For, even though he is weak, he does not please himself, but imagines serving God; he acts out of reverence for God (Photius in Ecumenium), fearing to offend Him by wrongful action. God will not abandon him, but will extend a helping hand to him and raise him up. Rome. 14:5. He judges every day, but He judges every day. Let everyone be informed by their thoughts. “He judges day after day,” that is, he distinguishes between days and sometimes eats, sometimes does not eat, certain foods. “He judges every day” - he considers every day equal and either eats every day or does not eat other foods. But perhaps the Apostle is talking here about fasting and non-fasting on certain days or permanently, as St. Chrysostom notes: “Here, I think, the Apostle slightly hints about fasting. Probably some of those who constantly fasted condemned those who did not fast (and vice versa); or, perhaps, among those who were picky about food, there were those who observed pickiness on certain days, but not on others.” But the power of the Apostolic speech does not lie in this, but in the position that is expressed in this regard regarding indifferent matters and things: everyone act according to his own conscience. What is determined by the commandment and what is established by dogma, adhere to it and fulfill it urgently. There is nothing to ask about your conviction or your conscience. Even if everything, both internal and external, goes against it, do not retreat. God commanded this: even if you die, remain faithful to what was commanded. Not so in relation to matters and things that are indifferent. Here, let your conviction and your conscience determine how to act and how to think. Just keep in mind in everything the glory of God, and not pleasing yourself, neither your mind nor your heart. And a lot of thinking is left to your own devices: just don’t admit anything that would be directly or indirectly contrary to the dogmas or incompatible with them. And many things are left to your own devices: just do not allow yourself in anything to please and allow feelings and dispositions that cannot be acceptable before God. Blessed Theodoret writes: “Let everyone be informed by his thoughts” - the Apostle did not say at all; for he does not command one to reason in this way about Divine dogmas, but anathematizes those who allow themselves to teach contrary truth and says: “If anyone preaches more good news to you than he eats, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:9). Therefore, only the food gives the right to judge the understanding of everyone. For this custom continues to this day in the Churches: one loves abstinence, the other fearlessly partakes of all food, and the latter does not condemn the former, and the former does not blame the latter, but both boast of the law of unanimity.” Rome. 14:6. If the day is wise, the Lord will be wise; and if the day is not wise, the Lord will not be wise. he who is poisonous, eats the Lord, thanks God; and he who is not poisonous, does not eat the Lord, and thanks God. The Holy Apostle believes that both act in ways that please God. “The day is wise” - distinguishing between days and dishes; “The Lord is wise” - distinguishes between them in the confidence that this is pleasing to Him. “And do not philosophize the day” - does not distinguish between days and dishes, “The Lord does not philosophize” - does not discriminate in the confidence that faith in the Lord freed him from all such obligations. “Whoever, he says, discerns the days, discerns them for the Lord as if he were reverent; and whoever does not distinguish between days does not distinguish for the Lord, as if he is already perfect in Christ and exalted above legal observations” (Blessed Theophylact). Thus, both of them act, wanting to please the Lord for the Lord. “The God of all things knows the intentions of those who eat and those who do not eat; He does not look at the deed alone, but tests the understanding with which it is done” (Blessed Theodoret). Therefore he accepts both. – God accepts, but you condemn: what is this consistent with? And who do you think you are? “The one who eats the Lord eats, he gives thanks to God.” Thanking God for giving food for pleasure, satisfying hunger and maintaining life, shows that one eats for the glory of God for the Lord. because he thanks God when he eats food, “The Lord eats.” “And he who is not poisonous, does not eat the Lord, and gives thanks to God.” He thanks God for giving him the strength to abstain and offer Him this sacrifice of selflessness. Food becomes food for the Lord through thanksgiving; and apathy is directly for the Lord and thanksgiving is a consequence, decoration, sanctification. Saint Chrysostom says: “The meaning of the Apostle’s words is that it is not important to eat or not to eat. But the question is, do both do things for God, do they both end in thanksgiving? According to the Apostle, both thank God. But if they thank God, then the difference is not great.” Photius also writes in Ecumenium: “he who eats thanks God for receiving food, for the fact that God gave food to satisfy and sustain life. And the non-eater thanks God for giving people abstinence and patience as an aid to overcoming carnal passions. But in any other sense, he who eats or fasts is subject to condemnation, like some of the heretics. The words of the Apostle must be taken in relation to those who fast and eat in a manner pleasing to God, and not otherwise. You can’t say this about everyone, but only about those who act as they should in both cases. Why are these words no longer entirely befitting of the one about whom it was spoken before, that is, one who discerns food in the Jewish spirit? And such a one does not eat, but not for the glory of Christ, but as someone who is weak and not established in the faith. However, he should not be condemned, due to the circumstances of the time; because then it was just the beginning of the sermon. But the one who eats every day (with thanksgiving) and the one who fasts for whole days, or more than a day (by abstinence), neither one nor the other should be condemned at all, because they both do what they do for the glory of the Lord.” Saint Paul affirmatively says that both the discerning and the non-discriminating days do this for the Lord, although he knew that it was possible to do both not for the Lord; He also affirmatively says that he who eats and who does not eat do this for the Lord and thank God, although he knew that in both of them it is possible for neither one nor the other to exist. Why did he say that? In order to remind those that, acting this way, they must act in exactly this spirit, and to give us a lesson not to judge them otherwise than in a good sense. since we cannot know what is in their hearts, we know that they must act in everything for the Lord and thank God for everything and have taken upon themselves the obligation to do this, then there is no reason for us to think that they act differently; Having no basis, we cannot judge them: condemning them will be slander. Rome. 14:7. No one else lives, and no one else dies. Verses 7–9 set forth the general law that our entire life, without exception, must be dedicated to the Lord, therefore, food or non-eating. This is in confirmation of what was said above: “The Lord is wise” or “is not wise.” The Apostle considered it necessary to hold the thought on this for a longer time in order to teach everyone to sanctify by this law all the particulars of life and to equalize and concentrate everyone in this general mood of the spirit. For in this case, only food or non-food and everything else can be equally pleasing to God. The expression: “no one lives for himself” or “dies” does not mean that everyone does this, but that everyone should do this - this is the common law of the Creator and God, so that no one lives for himself and no one dies for himself. The word: “for oneself” can be taken both in the sense: for oneself, and in the sense: by oneself: no one should live and die for himself, and no one should live or die by himself. It is possible to combine both, in the latter laying the foundation for the former, like this: our life and death are not from us and are not in our power; therefore one must not live and die for oneself. The words: live and die are similar to the expressions used in common speech: to life and to death, or to live and die with you. They express the wholeness of our being. Therefore, you don’t have to search for how someone lives for himself and dies for himself, in order to see how, on the contrary, he should act in order to fulfill the commandment of the Apostle; It’s equally impossible to find out how we don’t live by ourselves and don’t die by ourselves. In general, to confess that the entire wholeness of our being is not from us and is not contained by us; therefore, it should not be dependent on itself. Rome. 14:8. If we live, we live of the Lord; if we die, we die of the Lord; if we live, if we die, we are the Lord’s. In accordance with what was said above, it will be: if we live, or while we live (blessed Theodoret), we must live for the Lord; and if we die, or when the end comes, in any way, then we must die or give up our lives, so that this too will be for the Lord, for His glory. Or this: if we live, or while we live, we live in the Lord, His right hand supports us, His power lives; and when we die, by His definition we die, and in dying we are not torn from His almighty hands. The Lord is the Lord of life and death. The entirety of our being must be dedicated to him. An example of this was shown by Saint Paul himself, with all the boldness of tea and hope that “Christ will be magnified in his body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20). I hoped for this because I dedicated everything to the Lord, who does not shame His servants. “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” “We are not masters over ourselves: and while we are alive, we are the Lord’s, and after the Lord’s death” (Blessed Theodoret). “Do you see how powerful His sovereignty is? Do you see how invincible His strength is? Do you see how comprehensive His providence is?” (Saint Chrysostom). "We are the Lord's"; the power of God embraces our being; there is nowhere to escape. This is the most compelling urge to dedicate everything to the Lord and, being jealous, to be pleasing to Him. If you please Him, dedicating everything to Him, you will be in His right hand - to all-blessedness; if you do not please, pleasing only yourself, you will be in His right hand - to endless torment. This is the law. Give up self-indulgence and do everything for the Lord. The apostle does not draw such a conclusion, but wants everyone to draw it for himself. For this is the goal of his suggestions in verses 7–9. From this he will then again begin to derive convictions for the non-condemnation of the brethren. Rome. 14:9. For this reason, Christ died and rose again and is alive, and possesses both the dead and the living. That we are in the hands of God and that we are God, this is also taught by the natural law of faith. It is written in everyone’s heart by nature that the beginning, the continuation, and the end of our existence are all in the hands of the Lord. “We are the Lord’s,” and He is our Lord. But, writing to Christians, the Apostle adds Christian evidence of this to the natural. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ died, and rose again, and came to life, so that he might possess everyone, both those who are alive and those who have died. Through this He became our Lord for the second time. He is already our Lord, as Creator and Provider; having deigned to arrange a wondrous image of our salvation, he also became the Lord, like our Redeemer. Bought us and owns us. We are His servants and must work for Him alone. This is the same thing that the Apostle has already expressed so many times: everything must be with us for the Lord. “He is the Lord of all, He who gave Himself up to death for us, who destroyed the power of death and who gives us all the promise of resurrection. Therefore, we are subject to Him, as those who have received life from Him” (Blessed Theodoret). “The Lord created a creature that, due to sin, was alienated from its Creator and became captive. God the Father, may His work not perish, having sent His Son from heaven to earth, taught what must be done to avoid the hands of predators. For this reason He endured death from his enemies, so that, having descended into hell, he could free from it those who were held by him. So, since He showed the living the way of salvation and sacrificed Himself for them, and freed the dead from hell, He rules over both the living and the dead: for from the dead He turned them into His slaves” (Ambrosiastes). Rome. 14:10. Why are you judging your brother? or are you humiliating your brother? Let us all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Having thus affirmed that we are servants of the Lord, both by creation and providence, and even more so by redemption, the Apostle again turns to the conviction that we should not condemn each other. We are the servants of the Lord; therefore, they are fellow servants and brethren among themselves. All our concern should be focused on pleasing our Lord, and not on how others who are with us work for the same Lord. He had already said before: why are you judging “an alien slave?” He is God's servant, not yours; He is your fellow servant, just as you are his. Now he draws attention to the other side of the matter: we are brothers and equally slaves to the one Lord; We must take care of this in order to please Him, and not look after each other; for we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone will give an account only for himself. Your brother, who is judged by you, will also give an answer for himself; What do you want here? You yourself will give an account; You will answer for this very condemnation. So it is better for you to refrain from condemnation, and look more closely at yourself, so that you too would not turn out to be worthy of condemnation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Apostle in these words offers a general conviction to non-condemnation; but at the same time it is expressed in such a way that those who gave the reason for this could not help but see that he especially did not miss them either; for, saying: “you” - and then: “and you” - as if he were pointing a finger at a weak Jew, who does not eat everything in the Jewish spirit, but condemns everything that eats, then at the latter, strong in faith, but reproaching the first, despite his weakness. The Apostle tries to reconcile them among themselves, driving out from them condemnation and reproach, which reverberates with discord, by convincing them that they are equal before each other - equal as brothers, and equal as having equal standing before the judgment seat of Christ. On the one hand, the feeling of brotherhood, on the other, a common danger, is strong to incite - to abandon mutual attacks, but rather to take care of the safety of both yourself and everyone else. “So the Apostle puts an end to disputes, first by naming his brother, and then by reminding him of the terrible day of judgment” (St. Chrysostom). “He is our Investigator, He is our Judge, we must appear before His throne” (Blessed Theodoret). Therefore, let us take every care to appease him, stopping mutual condemnations and reproaches. Rome. 14:11. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will worship Me, and every tongue will confess to God. This is written in Isaiah the prophet, in the 45th chapter, verse 23. “As I live” is an oath-certifying word on behalf of God, repeatedly used in Scripture when talking about any important subjects that require unquestioning faith. These words mean the same thing as: “I swear by myself” (Is. 45:23), as it is in Saint Isaiah. And this expression is also often used in Scripture, like the first. Since both have the same thought, they can replace one another, which is what Saint Paul did. In Saint Isaiah, in the said chapter, Cyrus depicts the return of the Israelites from Babylonian captivity, the restoration of true knowledge of God and worship of God in this people, and then the spread of this among all the nations of the earth. Everyone will come and turn to the true God, confessing that they did wrong by worshiping that which is not God. The conversion of all nations points to the preaching of the Gospel, which is to fill the whole earth and conclude with the Last Judgment. So, in the words of Saint Isaiah the first coming of the Lord is foreshadowed, and through it the second. Having one or the other in mind when reading these words from St. Paul will equally correspond to the purpose for which they are given. Before this he said that the Lord is our Master, we are His servants and we will give an account to Him of whether we have worked well for Him. Giving prophetic testimony, the Apostle could direct it both to the first, that is, the dominion of the Lord and our slavery to Him, and to the second, that is, to our response to Him at the judgment. The first is fulfilled when we believe in the Lord and worship Him as God, who accomplishes the gospel of the Gospel; the second will be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ. At the first thought in the words of the Apostle there will be such a connection: we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; for He is our Lord, as it is written: “Every knee will worship me”; The judgment over us belongs to him, and not to anyone else. In the second case, the connection is direct: for the words cited by the Apostle paint before us a picture of the appearance of Christ the Lord at His second coming: all nations from all corners of the earth are gathered and, having seen the Lord coming from heaven with hosts of Angels, everyone will reverently worship Him and confess Him as their God, to Whom they are responsible, whether they believed it before or not. – The universal confession of Christ the Savior as God will then actually manifest itself and be solemnly proclaimed. Until then, everyone will persist in unbelief. Therefore, the words of the Prophet, one may believe, directly indicate this. And Saint Paul, bringing them in this sense, gives them a thought not alien to the Prophet. Saint Chrysostom says: “St. Paul cited the words of the Prophet, who testifies that both those who lived in the Old Testament and everyone without exception are subject to God, and subject to Him in everything. For it is not simply said: everyone will bow; but: “confess” - that is, he will give an account of what he has done. So, imagining the common Lord sitting on the throne, be attentive to yourself,” and do not judge others. Rome. 14:12. Moreover, each one of us will give a word about himself to God. “Each of us” - softens the word and puts himself in line with all those giving an account - each of us will give God a word for himself - an answer or an account - an account of everything we have done, good and bad; but more such words are given to remind us of the upcoming responsibility in the bad, to intimidate the bad and encourage them to correct themselves. Imagine yourself standing in court and being tormented as to why you did this and that, when you knew that you should not have done it, and could not have done it, having grace-filled means at hand, and you will never sin. Having the intention of turning away the evil of the Roman Christians, and in their person all of us, the Apostle impresses on his mind this inevitable responsibility that lies ahead of us. One of the saints said: the best place where you should stand is the judgment seat of Christ; Settle there and don’t move, and everything will go well for you, including crying out in prayer, fighting passions, and practicing every virtue; the fear of God will always overshadow and guide you. Our most common sin is condemnation, which we don’t even consider a sin; we have forgotten how to even notice it in ourselves. But when we remember our responsibility at the Judgment Court of Christ, we will become accustomed to noticing this sin, and we will learn not to succumb to it. Saint Paul therefore indicates the most effective means for healing the weakness of the Romans that he exposes. Rome. 14:13. For we do not condemn one another; but judge this even more, so that we do not lay a stumbling block or a temptation for our brother. “Since the Apostle indicated the Master’s court, he must advise not to judge each other, but to await that verdict” (Blessed Theodoret). “We do not condemn one another” - he writes a commandment common to everyone, subordinating himself to it - common to everyone and relating to all deeds in general that we notice in others. Condemnation, no matter who or what it concerns, should have no place among us. So, do not wander your mind about other people’s affairs and do not tire your attention thereby. What should it be turned to? To discuss how to conduct your affairs in such a way as not to tempt anyone with them. As the speech progresses, it is clear that the Apostle defines here an image of external behavior, and precisely in relation to indifferent matters that can be done and not done, done one way or another. General law: conduct these affairs in such a way as not to tempt anyone with them and, therefore, on the contrary, so as to edify everyone. And here the Apostle also writes a general rule, although in relation to a particular case, and without losing sight of it, as the words that follow show. This is the second rule that we have overlooked. It almost never occurs to anyone to think about seducing someone with one thing or another. The Apostle does not understand obvious sins and iniquities; they are absolutely not given a place among Christians, so much so that even their name is forgotten. But of course all other things are permissible. How one can tempt one by doing them, the Apostle says: look, discuss these things and do them in such a way as not to tempt. And almost no one thinks about this, and not only about this, but also about obvious sins and iniquities: shamelessly sin walks through our streets. Saint Chrysostom strongly arms himself against neglect of this: “Consider what kind of punishment we will be subjected to if we seduce our neighbors without any good purpose. If here, where the whole mistake consisted in the untimely reproaches (for eating and not eating), the Apostle forbids them, so that the brother would not be tempted and stumble; then what will we be worthy of when we seduce our brother without having any intention of correcting him? If not saving (a brother, not bringing him benefit) is an offense, as can be seen in the example of one who buried a talent in the ground, then what should we not bring upon ourselves by tempting another? You will say: what should I do if he is tempted by himself because he is weak? But for this reason you yourself should have endured everything. If he were strong, he would not have needed such care. And now, the weaker he is, the more care he requires. So, let us take care of him and support him in all cases. For we will give an answer not only for our own sins, but also for those in which we served as a temptation to others. But if it is difficult to answer for your sins; How will we be saved when this responsibility falls on us? If you become the cause of the death of others, you will fall under a more severe punishment than those brought by you to the fall. It is not so harmful to sin oneself as to cause others besides oneself to sin.” Rome. 14:14. By this I am informed about Christ Jesus, that nothing is bad in itself: just as he who thinks that it is bad to be, it is bad for him to be. “Of this I am known” - I am fully convinced, convinced with a deep, most complete conviction, but I did not come to this on my own, not by my own considerations, but was taught by Christ Jesus the Lord. He instilled this belief in me. The apostles were not only enlightened once and for all, but were also taught in particulars by the Lord and the Holy Spirit. They also had their own ideas; but they knew how to accurately distinguish what was theirs and what was from the Lord and the Spirit of God. Not to consider anything edible bad was the Lord’s inspiration. Having received it from the Lord, the Apostle communicated it to everyone, saying: “Nothing is bad in itself.” “Nothing is unclean by nature, I have been taught this from the Lord. He Himself confirmed this to me; this is not the verdict of the human mind” (St. Chrysostom). But it happens that someone considers one thing, another another, for some reason, to be unclean; in this case, for him only it is unclean. His thought that this and that food is unclean does not make the food unclean in itself or for others: it is only unclean for him, not in itself, but because of his conviction; and as long as this conviction remains with him, she remains unclean for him. He defiles himself by taking it against the conviction of his conscience. Blessed Theodoret writes: “if someone, thinking that such and such food is unclean, eats it; then this is unclean not by nature (food), but for the sake of the thoughts of the one who eats.” You need to change your conviction first, and then eat with a clear conscience; and one should not do anything contrary to one’s conscience, even if one’s conscience is mistaken. Who did the Apostle mean when he said this? And the Jew, who has not yet freed himself from the feeling of obligation to observe the law regarding food, - and others, especially the pagan, who, still thinking that an idol is something, is afraid, lest he attack the food sacrificed to the idol, offered or bought, in the thought that they have received some kind of filth from the idol; Therefore, he abstains not only from obviously sacrificed to idols, but also from any other food that could come from something sacrificed to idols. The Apostle explains this in detail in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 8. The expressions here and there are the same; therefore, we must assume that the Apostle had similar cases in mind here too. What does the Apostle want? Do not reproach, do not attack, do not entice or force such people to eat what they consider unclean: otherwise they will act against their conscience, make it unclean, be subject to its remorse and, as a result, grieve. And not only does the Apostle demand this, but also prudence in using freedom in eating food. This was especially true for things sacrificed to idols. Another, convinced that an idol is nothing and does not make food unclean, freely eats everywhere what is clearly sacrificed to idols - and nothing to him. But others, not having such a conviction, but being carried away only by its example, will begin to eat something like that; why will he eat contrary to his conscience, defile it, and then grieve, stricken by it. The Apostle gave the rule - to carefully use freedom regarding food, so as not to otherwise violate love for your brother. Rome. 14:15. Even if your brother grieves for the sake of food, you no longer walk out of love. Do not destroy him with your waste, for it is worthless that Christ died. Whether you reproach your brother for discriminating between dishes, or force him to taste what he considers unclean, or by your example you entice him to do so, in any case you will cause grief to your brother and thereby violate brotherly love. But love is the main thing for us, and the distinction of dishes is an indifferent matter. Is it prudent to do this? Not only is it not prudent, but it is also criminal. “You will say: why not correct my brother so that he does not consider anything unclean? Why not use all your power to clear away this habit and opinion of recognizing something as bad? I’m afraid, answers the Apostle, so as not to upset him” (St. Chrysostom). Of course, it’s not bad to wean yourself off this; but the surest thing for this is to change his beliefs. They cannot be changed by attacks and coercion. Show better condescension and caution of love; and she will fix everything. Living among those who freely treat victims and at the same time embrace him with warm love, he is more likely to waver in his convictions, and then completely change them. Time and love will fix everything peacefully: no arguments, no reproaches, no coercion is needed. They only spoil things, not help them. “Do you see how much the Apostle cares about preserving love? Because he knew that love could fix everything. And therefore it demands something more from listeners. Not only should you not, he says, bring them to extremes; but, if it were necessary to make an indulgence, do not refuse it” (St. Chrysostom). “Do not destroy him with your waste; for that reason Christ died.” This is how far unreason can come in matters of indifference! to destroy my brother. How? Seducing a brother, forcing or enticing him to act against his convictions or conscience. The Apostle wrote exactly this to the Corinthians: “Take heed that because of your power (to treat freely with foods) you will stumble. If anyone sees you with reason (who is convinced that nothing defiles the idol and does not defile the thing sacrificed to idols) in the tavern reclining, isn’t his weak conscience creating food sacrificed to idols? (his conscience, remaining weak, not having convictions similar to yours, will agree, carried away by the example of your wisdom, to eat something sacrificed to idols, keeping in mind that it is desecrated) And the weak brother in your mind will perish, for whose sake Christ died. In the same way, if you sin against your brethren and beat their weak conscience, you sin against Christ” (1 Cor. 8:9-12). It is precisely this explanation that is reminiscent of the real words: “Do not destroy him with your rubbish, for Christ died for his worth.” Saint Chrysostom sees here the following suggestions: “Won’t you consider your brother worthwhile to acquire his salvation through abstinence from food? Christ did not refuse to become a slave and die for him, and you do not agree to give up food for his salvation? Although Christ knew that he would not win everyone; however, he fulfilled his work and died for everyone. Do you know that by arguing about food you corrupt the most important things, and, despite this, you persist - you consider contemptible whom Christ recognized as worthy of such honors, you dishonor whom He loved? Christ died not only for the weak in faith, but also for the enemy, and you don’t want to abstain from food for the weak in faith? Christ did the greatest thing, but you don’t want to do the smallest thing? He is the Lord, and you are the brother.” Rome. 14:16. Let not your good be blasphemed. Whose is “yours”? Those who did not bind themselves with any prejudices regarding foods. What: “good”? This very freedom from prejudice and the power of faith that led to this freedom. “Accusation unites with praise. I praise, says the Apostle, the faith of him (free from prejudice), but I do not want it to become a cause of harm and blasphemy” (Blessed Theodoret). “Yes, not blasphemed." He does not mean others, but he himself, who feels free from prejudice; do not allow yourself to use this freedom in a way that humiliates it and exposes it to condemnation. For if, by your freedom, you offend one, and seduce another; then are you not justly subject to blasphemy for your foolishness, especially since because of this blasphemy can spread to your very faith, and from yours in general? on the faith of Christ? “You have perfection in faith: do not abuse your perfection and do not give reason to blaspheme it. For if you, being perfect, destroy perfection, then you have given reason to blaspheme the good that you have. But you understand that our teaching is good and that it does not want to be blasphemed by infidels when they see schisms and temptations regarding food” (Blessed Theophylact). But by “good” we can mean the Christian faith in general, and by “yours” we mean the Romans. May you not be subject to blasphemy for accepting the faith of Christ. This is the kind of faith, they will say, that teaches them to argue and discord over such trifles as the consumption of permitted foods. This is what St. Chrysostom means: “By the name of “good,” the Apostle here means faith, or the hope of future blessings, or perfect piety. You not only do not help your brother, says the Apostle, but you force him to blaspheme the very dogma, God’s grace and gift. When you argue, persist, upset, tear apart the Church, reproach your brother, treat him with hostility; then outsiders blaspheme the Church. And you not only don’t correct it, but you do the completely opposite. Your goodness consists in living in love, in brotherhood, in unity, in union, peacefully and meekly.” Rome. 14:17. For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but truth and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is not acquired by eating one thing and not another, or drinking one thing and not drinking another. Or - this is not what the Kingdom of God consists of, this is not what adorns it, this is not what constitutes its distinctive feature. Or - this is not why those who have entered the Kingdom of God are glorious, and this is not a sign of whether someone is in the Kingdom of God or not. “Do not think that there is very great success in this and that the Kingdom of Heaven will be acquired by this” (Blessed Theodoret). “Do you really think that this will be credited to you? And in another place he says the same thing: “We are as abundant as a pit; below, unless there is a pit, we are deprived” (1 Cor. 8:8). There is nothing to prove here, but enough to say. The meaning of the Apostle’s words is this: if you eat, will this really bring you into the Kingdom?” (Saint Chrysostom). What brings us into the Kingdom? What are its benefits? What is a sign that someone belongs to his heirs? - “Truth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” “A virtuous life, peace with one’s brother, joy that comes from agreement” (St. Chrysostom). “We gain the Kingdom through true righteousness in peace and love, harmony and diligence, which generate joy in God” (Blessed Theodoret). “Truth” is not just justification and remission of sins, but internal righteousness, which has expelled all that is wrong from the heart and instilled in it a sense of justice and right-mindedness, from which righteousness and righteousness - in a word, holiness, ready for every good deed and strong to accomplish it. “Peace” is a peaceful dispensation in oneself, in thoughts and feelings, as a result of liberation from the restless passions of self-indulgence; a peace that descends from above and overshadows the soul with a feeling of God’s favor, a cherished consciousness that nothing wrong is arbitrarily allowed, and giving boldness to cheerfully look towards the all-generous God - and the peace of love with all brothers, making one soul out of everyone and enriching each one with a sense of the strength of such a life, which is made up of all lives consisting of a peaceful heartfelt union. “Joy” is not some kind of sensual, but detached and detached from everything sensual, not driving one out of oneself, as usual, but deepening oneself, for the reason that there the heart is given to taste joyful blessings, “which no eye has seen” (1 Cor. 2:9), - from which constant tasting joy is sharpened, which cannot be bought by anything else. Joy is inseparable from life; but true joy occurs only in spiritual life, while spiritual and sensory life has only fleeting joys, and always vague and unpeaceful. True joy inseparably belongs to spiritual life because this life is established in no other way than through union with the all-blessed God by His grace. The all-blessed God pours out unceasing joy into the heart, which is vividly united with Him through faith, love and hope. Still, this is “about the Holy Spirit.” Although the Apostle uses “the Holy Spirit” in connection only with “joy”; but in essence, not only joy, but also peace with righteousness exists only in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives strength, even to life and piety, and, therefore, makes a person righteous. The Holy Spirit draws out our spirit from the lips of mental and physical passions and, establishing peace within, keeps it in peace with God and the brethren. The Holy Spirit gives joy directly upon turning to God, only in the form of anticipation and lure, and after cleansing from passions, in the form of constant or more or less constant tasting: for then the tangible action of the grace of the Holy Spirit begins in the heart, with which spiritual sweetness is inseparable, and with this sweetness also joy. From this it should be concluded that truth, peace and joy in their true meaning exist only in Christians; and among Christians in those in whom the gift of grace has been kindled. Rome. 14:18. Those who serve Christ in these ways are well-pleasing to God and skilled by man. This is how you serve Christ the Lord! This is what is essential in Christianity! It’s not that there is one thing and not another, or that everything is there indiscriminately. And this can come into play, but not as the main thing, but as an accessory. But how does he say: serve yourself, and yet truth, peace, much less joy are the fruit of the grace of the Holy Spirit? Grace is given; but what grace produces and bears fruit in us is not a matter of grace alone, but also of free will. Grace promotes work and zeal, and spiritual fruit occurs. Strive for righteousness, and with the help of grace you will become righteous not outwardly, but in your heart; work on pacifying yourself within yourself and in your relationships with God and people, and with the help of grace you will gain peace; joy will come as an integral consequence of truth and peace. Joy in the soul makes a person a joy to everyone with whom he comes into contact. And they serve the brethren with it, and through it they serve Christ the Lord. Whoever serves the Lord in this way will gain two fruits, or achieve two goals: “he will be pleasing to God and skillful to man.” In Christ Jesus the starting point is self-sacrifice. After yourself, who else will remain? God and people; It is towards them that human activity is directed: he is jealous to please God and tries to be useful to people in everything. The Apostle says: do you want to achieve this successfully and perfectly? This is what you stock up on: truth, peace and joy - or create them in your heart in advance, and then you will be “pleasing to God and skilled by man” through the very fact that you have them in your heart. Do not rely too much on the external, although it is necessary; and most importantly, build your heart. “Skilled”, δόκιμος - tested, that he knows how to do this, and another, and a third. Our proverb expresses this word well: a jack of all trades, he does everything well. And in the community, a dear person is one whom you can reliably turn to and whom you can rely on in everything: he will not deceive, will not offend, will help, will give advice and, whatever you ask, will arrange everything. Such is always the case with those who have truth, peace and joy established in their hearts; Yes, he is the only one who has such a disposition of the heart. Rome. 14:19. In the same way, let us love the world, and even for the creation of each other. It directly points to illness, namely that by their unreasonable actions in the consumption of food and drink, they violated mutual peace and seduced each other - and, what is even more serious, noticing this, they did not want to change their behavior. This applied more to those who did not discriminate between foods and were more perfect in faith; They violated the peace by treating those who abstained from certain foods with contempt and reproach, and they tempted, instead of edifying, by enticing others, in defiance of their conscience, to eat things sacrificed to idols. But this also applied to those who abstained from certain foods: and they violated the peace by setting themselves apart from others, and even more so if they entered into a dispute that was generally unfavorable to the world, and responded to reproach with a reproach from those who reproached them, reproaching them as omnivores, intemperate and gluttonous; and they were seduced by the fact that some of those who did not discriminate between foods, but were not strong in heart, were persuaded to imitate themselves, hoping to appear so perfect, whereas this meant not perfection, but weakness. For us, from here we can borrow a rule - in our external behavior, and especially in relation to indifferent objects, we should mainly keep in mind not how we ourselves decided to act, but exclusively so as not to violate mutual peace and not to tempt anyone, but, on the contrary, to conduct affairs in such a way that mutual peace is strengthened more and more and everything serves for mutual edification. Rome. 14:20. Don’t ruin God’s work for the sake of waste. Everything is pure, but evil is a stumbling block for anyone who eats. The work of God is that He “wants all to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4). And you, by unreasonable use of freedom regarding food, ruin this matter, forcing or enticing him to eat something that his conscience does not approve of, and thereby ruining him; for an insult to conscience is a destructive evil. It is true that everything is pure, as you believe; but you, having tried everything to stumbling and offending your brother, do evil—evil to yourself, for: “Woe to the man to whom offense comes” (Matthew 18:7). Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle calls the salvation of a brother the work of God and increases fear by proving that he who seduces a brother does the opposite of what he cares about. You not only do not create, as you think, says the Apostle, but you destroy, and you destroy not human work, but God’s; and, moreover, you ruin not for something important, but for an unimportant thing - “for the sake of waste.” If you force him and he begins to eat, there will be no benefit in it (but harm: for he will eat with an insult to his conscience). It is not the food that makes it unclean, but the attitude with which it is eaten. Therefore, if you do not correct your disposition, then all your work is in vain and harmful. It is another thing to consider something unclean, and it is another thing to consider something unclean. In the latter case, you sin twice as much, by your argument you strengthen prejudice and force people to eat unclean things (that is, those that are considered unclean, contrary to conscience). Until you convince, don’t force.” The words: “a stumbling block to those who walk” can be taken in this sense: evil to a person who eats with a stumbling block, despite the fact that his conscience does not agree with this. The interpretation of St. Chrysostom is more aimed at this. Rome. 14:21. It is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor because of which your brother stumbles or is offended or faints. “Don’t eat good.” Throughout the entire chapter, talking about this, the Apostle clearly demanded this as a due thing, and gave a commandment for fulfillment. But he expressed himself in such a way that it seems as if he was saying: “better” - in the form of his opinion and advice; in order to give the commandment to the strong together with the weak, to inspire the latter that leniency is being made for him due to his weakness, and thereby encourage him to take care of his recovery. It does not prescribe not to eat meat and not to drink wine at all, but in case someone is tempted by this. The Apostle does not touch upon this here, that both should be done in the form of abstinence - he speaks about this in other places, for example: “Strive to abstain from all” (1 Cor. 9:25); here he speaks about this only in relation to those misunderstandings and differences of opinion that occurred among the Romans, to pacify them. Hence, for all of us, and for all cases, the law is: do nothing to seduce your brother. Saint Chrysostom says: “again the Apostle demands more, not only not to force, but also to show leniency. He himself often did the same: he circumcised, cut his hair, and made a Jewish sacrifice. He does not say: do; but he offers it in the form of his opinion, so as not to make the weakest even more careless. And what does he say? “It is good not to eat meat.” And what am I talking about meats? Also abstain from wine and everything that only serves as a temptation; because saving a brother cannot be compared with anything. This was demonstrated by His own example by Christ, Who came down from heaven and endured everything for us, no matter what He endured. Notice how the Apostle also admonishes another, saying: “he stumbles or is offended or faints” (for this means that he is not in a good position and has a need for correction). “Don’t tell me,” the Apostle continues, that this is reckless (that the weak are to blame, due to their own foolishness); on the contrary, remember that this can correct it. And for you it is a sufficient justification that you will help the weak, but will not harm yourself in the least. Your action is not hypocrisy; on the contrary, it serves to build and preserve his brother. If you force him, he will begin to resist you, condemn you and become even more firmly established in his rules - to abstain from food (out of prejudice). And if you show him leniency, he will love you, will listen to your teaching without any suspicion, and finally, insensitively, will give you the will to sow right dogmas in him. And if one day you instill self-hatred in him, then you will block the entrance to your words. So, do not force your brother, on the contrary, abstain for him yourself; abstain, not because you are unclean, but because he is tempted, and he will love you more.” The words: “stumbles, is tempted, faints” - all are directed towards one thing and mean one thing; but one can also see in them some shades of weakness. Blessed Theophylact says: “with the word: “he stumbles” - he showed that he (due to prejudice not touching other dishes) was blinded; for the blind stumble. But he is tempted, like a frivolous one, and faints, like one of little faith” (so does Ecumenius). One can also see here the gradual trampling of conscience by the weak: “weary” - he began to hesitate, “tempted” - he bowed down, “he stumbles” - he ate against his conscience. The suggestion goes in the reverse order: not only do not lead to stumbling, but even to the point of inclination or hesitation in thought. Rome. 14:22. Do you believe imashi? take care of yourself before the Gods. Blessed is he who condemneth not himself, for whom he is tempted. You have faith - you are convinced that in foods everything is good “and nothing is put to rest” (1 Tim. 4:4), and that food does not place us before God. This is a good belief; but due to the circumstances in which you find yourself now, you must be careful in discovering such a conviction in practice, so that by unreasonable use of freedom in this regard you do not seduce your brother and harm him. Have such faith in yourself before God; but when you see that you can tempt someone with your indifferent eating of everything, refrain from eating. This is required of you by the duty of love for your brothers and the commandment - to turn everything into the glory of God, whether you eat or drink. There will be no harm from this for you: for according to your faith, eating and not eating something is an indifferent matter. You can, with a calm conscience, abstain from certain foods. Conscience will not condemn you; on the contrary, he will approve of you making some kind of sacrifice for the benefit of your brother. In general, blessed is he who is not condemned by his conscience for what he decides on, what he chooses and does. “Tempted”, δοκιμάζει, - actually: chooses with the approval of conscience. Were there not those who loved to boast of their sense, detached from all prejudices, and showed it without any embarrassment, on display? And Saint Paul admonishes them with this word. Saint Chrysostom suspects this: “here, it seems to me, the Apostle secretly hints at the vanity of the most perfect in the faith. The meaning of his words is this: you want to prove to me that you are correct and perfect in everything; do not prove it (by its testimony), but be content with the testimony of your conscience. Faith here is taken not relatively to dogmas, but to the subject of reasoning. About one faith it is said: “confession is made with the mouth for salvation” (Rom. 10:10); also - “Whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him” (Matthew 10:33). One shames you if you do not confess it; and the other (this one regarding food) will disgrace you if you confess (discover by deed) at the wrong time. - “Blessed is he, do not condemn yourself, for he will be tempted.” Proves that the approval of his conscience is enough for him. Although the other does not see your bliss, be satisfied with yourself (that is, with the testimony of your conscience). since the Apostle said: “take care of yourself”; then, so that you do not consider this judgment seat of little importance, he asserts that it is better for you than the universe. If everyone accuses you, but you do not condemn yourself, and your conscience does not reproach you, you are blessed. But the Apostle did not give such feedback about everyone without exception. There are many people who do not condemn themselves and sin greatly; they are the most unhappy of all. But the Apostle deals with the real subject (he speaks, that is, regarding the distinction of foods).” Blessed Photius in Ekumenia resolves this objection. “Well, who will say, should I also avoid other foods because I am weak? Wouldn't that mean I'm sticking to his part? Will I become like him? The Apostle speaks against this: no way. For your faith remains pure and undamaged before God. But what am I saying - that this will not harm you and that your faith remains intact before God? You gain bliss for yourself if, for the benefit and salvation of your brother, you abstain from certain foods. “Blessed is he,” he says, “do not condemn yourself, for whom you are tempted,” - that is, he who has a conscience that testifies to him (that he did not do anything bad by doing this and that). Not only when someone abstains from other foods for the benefit of a brother, but in any matter in general, if someone, after due testing, finds that this or that is good and does that, he will have an approving and pleasing testimony of conscience. Blessed is he; and not only does not suffer harm from what he chooses and what he does according to his conscience.” Rome. 14:23. But the one who doubts, even if he eats, is condemned, not because of faith; everything that is not from faith is sin. You are blessed whether you eat or abstain, because you can do both with a calm conscience. But unhappy is the one who is not convinced that it is possible to eat both, but, on the contrary, thinks that it is hardly necessary to do so, and, despite the fact, “eats” not out of faith, without confirming to his conscience that this is possible. Conscience is restless, deprives him of peace, does not allow him to taste that bliss that is the lot of those whom conscience does not condemn for their actions. Therefore, you are doing him harm. “Again he exhorts to have mercy on the weak. What is the use of doubting and condemning yourself? I approve of the one who eats, and eats without any doubt. And whoever eats in doubt is condemned. The reason for this: “not from faith.” He is condemned not because it is unclean, but because he does not have faith, because he was not sure that it was clean, but thought that he was touching something unclean. And with this the Apostle admonishes how much harm they do when they force the unconvinced to touch what, in their opinion, is unclean, and at least wants to keep them from reproaching the weak in the faith” (St. Chrysostom). “Everything that is not from faith is sin.” This is a general position for all cases, on which all the instructions of St. Paul are based. It follows from this that everyone is obliged to have a clear conscience regarding what they are undertaking and doing, in order to do everything with a clear consciousness of the justice of the matter. Saint Chrysostom teaches: “real life is a race; at every step one must have many eyes, and one must not think that ignorance is enough for justification. You will, you will certainly be punished for ignorance, if it is not excusable. And the Jews were ignorant, but their ignorance was not an excuse for them. And the pagans were ignorant, yet they have no excuse. When you do not know what is impossible to know, you will not be guilty. And when you don’t know what is possible and convenient to know, you will suffer extreme punishment. Moreover, if we are not too careless, then we will use all possible measures; God will give us a hand in the unrecognizable. So Paul said to the Philippians: “If you think otherwise, God will reveal these things to you” (Phil. 3:15).” Rome. 14:24–26. Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, through the revelation of the mystery, the years that were silent for eternity, but now revealed in the prophetic scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, in the obedience of faith, known in all nations, to the only Wise God, by Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen. This doxology interrupts the flow of speech about the prudent use of freedom regarding foods and about sparing the weak in relation to this, which after this begins again: “We must bear the weaknesses of the weak” (Rom. 15:1). This break seemed so unnatural that for this reason these three texts began to be attributed to the end of the Epistle, placing them after the 24th verse of the 16th chapter. It is completely illegal: it is customary for St. Paul to interrupt his teaching with a prayerful appeal to God; real doxology is completely in accordance with the subject of speech, but in the end it is of no use; There are very few manuscripts justifying such a transfer. Our interpreters all have this doxology in this place. The doxology itself, in a few words, is this: “To him who is able to establish you, glory forever and ever, Amen!” (Saint Chrysostom). Everything else relates to the testimony, what to confirm and what delighted the Apostle for doxology. The Apostle’s favorite truth is the merging of Jews and Gentiles into one body of the Church in Christ Jesus. Hitherto they were separated on the part of the Jews by a mediastinum of spontaneous service, which isolated them from everyone, and on the part of the pagans by ignorance of the true God. The Lord appeared, the preaching of the Gospel began - he ravages the Jewish mediastinum, disperses the darkness of pagan ignorance, and from both of them forms one people, leading God and worshiping Him in spirit and truth. This matter was a mystery, hidden from time immemorial and from generation to generation, and only now being revealed in reality itself, although it was foreseen by the Prophets. The service of this work, as the Apostle realized, was entrusted primarily to him, and every success in it filled him with joy and thanksgiving. Before this he said: How blessed are the children of God who have come into freedom! Here I would add: glory to Him who gave such grace! But since he was occupied by the weak part of the believing Jews, whose complete freedom he still saw only ahead, his doxology naturally merged with this aspiration; and in the certainty that this would happen, he cried out: “To him who is able to establish you, glory be!” With this he wanted to inspire the weak, saying, as it were: we bear with your weakness, but we hope that you will soon strengthen yourself and get on your feet. Saint Chrysostom says: “This is the constant custom of the Pauls - to conclude exhortations with prayers and doxology. The Apostle knew that there was considerable power in this, and he was accustomed to doing this out of strong love and piety. It is common for a child-loving and God-loving teacher not only to teach with words, but also to ask God for help to students through prayers. This is what Paul does in the present case. Here again he has in mind the weak and addresses the word to them. When he offered reproof, he rebuked both. But now, when he prays, he brings prayer for the weak.” “According to my gospel” - confirm the subject of my gospel - in what I preach. The essence of the gospel is salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ; The essence of faith is the hope of salvation in Him alone, without any admixture of anything on which that hope would be based even a little and that would dare to share the honor of this hope with the Lord. From one who has accepted the gospel and entered the path of salvation, very strict activity is required - arduous; but the hope of salvation is firmly established in the Lord alone. And they thought that their salvation was more reliable if they did not eat one thing or drink another. “By this it is given to understand that they were not yet established, but, although they stood, they hesitated” (St. Chrysostom). "And the preaching of Christ". “My gospel, the Apostle inspires, and the preaching of Christ are one and the same, for this is not our teaching, but His laws” (Blessed Theophylact). I preach what Christ commanded, or my tongue, and Christ preaches through me. “By the revelation of the mystery, the years are eternally silent.” What secret? “[As] to be a heir and sharer of the tongue, and partaker of the promise of God in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:6). There are no barriers. Everyone has access to unity with God. Neither Judaism helps anything in this, nor paganism hinders anything here. Cling to the Lord by faith, and you will be saved. It is not the external that leads to God or takes away from Him. This is determined by the inner mood. Saint Paul was entrusted with this mystery to proclaim in tongues, as he sets out in detail in his Epistle to the Ephesians. Rome. 14:25. Having now appeared in the prophetic scriptures, according to the commandment of the eternal God, in the obedience of faith he was known in all languages. It is now becoming clear and is being brought into action by the Apostolic preaching, “I make haste for the Lord and confirm the word with signs that follow” (Mark 16:20). Prophetic stories served the Apostles to confirm the conviction that this is how it was determined from the ages, so as to call all languages ​​to faith in the Lord, without binding them with Jewish decrees and even freeing the Jews themselves from them. “Prophetic scriptures” will be the same as in accordance with the prophecies. This inspired the Jew: “What are you afraid of? In order not to deviate from the law? But the law wants it, it was predicted from ancient times” (St. Chrysostom). "By the commandment of the eternal God". It was not we ourselves, taking advantage of prophetic predictions, who set about this matter. We act according to the public command of the eternal God: “Go and teach all languages” (Matthew 28:19) - not to Judaize, but to believe in the Lord - the end of the law and the prophets. And everyone sees the finger of God in the work of our preaching. – You may ask: how did the secret appear just now? – There is no point in torturing when God so pleases and His will is clear in revealing it. “If you are inquiring why the mystery has now appeared; then you take on an unsafe task when you are curious about the mysteries of God and demand an account of them. You should not be curious about them, but accept them with love and find peace in your heart in them. Therefore, the Apostle, wanting to stop such a state of mind in you, added: “by the command of the eternal God.” When God commands, one must obey, and not be curious” (St. Chrysostom). “Eternal” is added because it speaks of a secret hidden from eternity: hidden in the eternal God, and it is revealed at the command of the eternal God, manifesting itself from eternity in time. Who could extract it from the depths of God except the eternal God Himself? “In the obedience of faith he was known in all nations.” This is why the hidden secret has been revealed! The mystery itself was that all nations were predestined to be participants in the work of salvation accomplished by the Lord. She was hidden; and now it is revealed - for what? Not so that they would learn only about it, but so that what it consisted of would be accomplished in action, that is, so that all nations would hear, believe and submit to the faith proclaimed to them, and become participants in the blessings of redemption and salvation. Not by force, not by external force, they are driven into the fence of faith, into the flock of Christ, but a good thing is proclaimed to them that never even occurred to them, so that, if they want, they hasten to assimilate it by faith and obedience. For the weak, Saint Chrysostom derives this suggestion from here: “It is not you alone, but the whole universe that believes so and was taught this not by man, but by God.” Rome. 14:26. To the One Wise God, Jesus Christ... glory... In other places, judging by the flow of his speech, the Apostle glorifies God blessed (1 Tim. 1:11), the only strong, immortal, living in the unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:15, 16). And here he glorifies Him as the only wise one. I could not be surprised and always marveled at the great wisdom of God: how He, in one and the same way, exposed the Jews from their beauty of legalism, and enlightened and purified the pagans, and from both of them He united one people, worshiping God in spirit and truth. This was hidden and suddenly appeared like a flower from a seed. Isn’t it amazing that a seed is thrown into the ground, and after a while a beautiful flower and fruit emerge from it? Thus the Apostle marvels that the seed of the word, hidden in Judaism, suddenly sprouted and gave birth to a tree covering the whole earth with its branches. Saint Chrysostom says: “This doxology expresses amazement at the incomprehensibility of these mysteries. For even now, when the mysteries are revealed, it is impossible to comprehend them mentally, but one must know them only by faith. The Apostle said beautifully: “To the only Wise God.” For when you think about how God brought the pagans into His Church and united them with the ancient righteous, how He saved the hopeless, how He elevated those unworthy of earth to heaven, those who had lost the right to real life, He brought into the higher, immortal and ineffable life, He made those trampled by demons equal to the Angels, He opened paradise, destroyed all ancient evil and accomplished all this in a short time, in a convenient and shortened way; then you will understand the wisdom of God, seeing that what neither the Angels nor the Archangels knew, the pagans were suddenly taught by Jesus Christ. So, you should be amazed at His wisdom and glorify Him; and you do little things (don’t eat this, don’t drink that), still becoming attached to the shadow (the law). This means that you glorify Christ little. For whoever does not have hope in Him and boldness in Him, whoever is not guided by faith, does not confess the greatness of His works. But Paul himself gives glory to God for them; and thus encourages them to the same zeal. - When you hear that the Apostle says: “To the only Wise God,” do not think that this was said to humiliate the Son. If everything in which the wisdom of God is revealed was accomplished through Christ, and nothing was accomplished without Him; then it is clear that He is equal to the Father in wisdom.” To this last let us add the explanation of Blessed Theodoret: “if the heretics say that God is called the only wise one (so that Christ Jesus is no longer wise by His wisdom); then let them know that the Lord Christ is called not only wise, but also by wisdom itself. And if they think to deprive the Son of this title of wise, then let them not call Him immortal. For this same Apostle says about God: “He alone has immortality” (1 Tim. 6:16).” “Jesus Christ”, διά, - through Jesus Christ, can be referred to: “to establish you”, - and to: “appearing”, - and: “knowing”, - that is, secrets. Blessed Theophylact writes: “the words: “Jesus Christ” can be combined like this: “to him who is able to establish you in Jesus Christ.” But we can understand them this way: the revealed secrets to all nations by Jesus Christ; for He Himself revealed the secret to the nations, Who sent disciples to teach all nations” (so did Saint Chrysostom, and Ecumenius, and Photius). – But you can read and interpret it this way: “Glory to Jesus Christ.” For Jesus Christ Himself says that the Father is glorified and is glorified in Him, the Son (John 13:31; 14:13). This is all the more conveniently acceptable because others consider “Hemuzhe”, ω, to be unnecessary (Ecumenius; and someone else from him). There are also manuscripts in which it is omitted, and this omission is not contrary to the flow of speech, but seems more consistent with it. But the majority retains this saying, and in this case it seems to stand instead of: αύτω, as is read in some manuscripts. To Him who is able to establish you—to the Wise God, to Him—to Him be glory.” - It was necessary to bring this (to Him) by the fact that between: “he who is able to establish” - and: “glory” - there were many words placed that distracted attention to something else. “Thus, having given praise, the Apostle again moves from prayer to exhortation” (St. Chrysostom), new ones, however, presenting incentives to fulfill what he inspires and demands. – Hitherto he exhorted not to break agreement over trifles, borrowing incentives to do so from the subject itself; now it leads to the same general obligation to please not oneself, as “Christ do not please himself” (Rom. 15:3; 15:1-6), - and by the fact that Christ, the Organizer of salvation, accepts everyone, both Jews and pagans, as predicted; whereby you should not divide because of Judaism and paganism (Rom. 15:7-13). Both are derived from the person of Jesus Christ. Rome. 15:1. We must bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not please ourselves. “Strong people” are those who have reached the strong conviction that pleasing God and salvation are based on an internal well-being flowing from faith; a: “weak” – those who also base their hope of salvation on something external. But perhaps the Apostle, moving from the particular to the general, by infirmities also means infirmities of character and of any kind in general, whatever they may be. “The word: “must” shows that this is a matter of duty, not mercy. – What should we do? “Bear the infirmities of the weak.” We must be stronger. Do you see how the Apostle encourages them to this with praise, not only calling them strong, but also placing them alongside himself? And it is not this alone that attracts them, but also the idea of ​​the benefit of their neighbor without any burden for themselves. You are strong, he says; and if you descend, you will not suffer harm. And if you do not bear with his infirmities, he is in extreme danger. And he does not say: bear with the “weak”, but: “the infirmities of the weak”; by which he calls and attracts them to mercy, as in another place he says: “You spiritually correct such a one” (Gal. 6:1). Have you become strong? Give thanks to God who made you strong. But you will pay tribute by healing the weakness of the weary. For we too were weak, but we have been made strong by grace. This should be done not only in this case, but also with the weak of another kind. Is anyone angry, or touchy, or has any other flaw? you transfer it. How is this possible? Listen to what the Apostle says next. Having said: “We must bear the infirmities of the weak,” he added: “And not to please ourselves” (St. Chrysostom). "Don't please yourself." Elsewhere: “Let no one seek his own” (1 Cor. 10:24). And the Savior says that the first step on the path of salvation is: “let him deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). Moving away from ourselves, who do we meet? God and brothers. God is pleased with the inner mood - faith, fear of God, devotion to God, heartfelt attachment to Him and hope. Almost all of our external activity takes place in contact with the brethren, and here the main thing is: “not to please yourself, not to seek your own people,” no matter what it concerns. It would seem that this would make you go broke or depressed; but in reality it happens that this is the only thing that firmly establishes the good of each and everyone. Where does the power for this come from? From love, which considers everything more and more brotherly as its own; for he loves them as himself. The opposite of it is self-indulgence, the source of all that is bad and all the discord among us, large and small. As soon as someone reaches out to someone he pleases, there is immediate damage to the other, trouble from him, and then discord. – The apostle mentioned the suppression of self-indulgence, because he was talking about abstaining from food, so as not to tempt his brother. If it’s a matter of indifference to you whether or not you eat certain foods, then it costs you nothing to abstain, and if you don’t abstain, it’s for no other reason than self-indulgence. But one should not be self-indulgent; for this means living according to the sin that lives in us, which must be put to death. Rome. 15:2. Let every one of you please your neighbor for the good of creation. There he generally said: we should not please ourselves; and here he makes an application to those who listen to his word: “Let everyone please your neighbor.” Having turned away from yourself, turn your gaze to your neighbor, as he said elsewhere: “Not your own and each other, but also your friends... look” (Phil. 2:4); or: “No man seeks his own, but every man his neighbor” (1 Cor. 10:24). The Apostle himself always acted this way, which is why he offered himself as an example: “Just as I please everyone in everything, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33). He himself pleased everyone, “so that they may be saved”; and he teaches others to please their neighbor “for the good”: “for one can please oneself to the detriment of both oneself and one’s neighbor” (Blessed Theodoret). “Everyone do what pleases his neighbor, and serve his brother, only for the good” (Blessed Theophylact). But why did the Apostle add: “to creation”? This was required by the way the strong Romans acted. They led to good, demanding not to adhere to the distinction of food, as a condition of salvation; but because they did it out of order, they did not create, but destroyed. It was necessary to convince them; and then the distinction between food would have been eliminated by itself, but they immediately wanted to change everything by force and, instead of benefiting, caused harm. Why, “so that no one of the perfect would say: behold, I am drawing my brother to good (by reproaching him and compelling him), the Apostle added: “to creation.” For although what you are doing now is good, but since it is untimely, your work turns into ruin; for untimely reproof does not edify” (Blessed Theophylact). And in many, many cases this limitation has a saving application: do good, but with reason. “So whether you are rich or in power, please not yourself, but the poor and the needy. Through this you will gain true glory and bring much benefit. Worldly glory soon flies away; and spiritual glory abides constantly if you do this for creation” (St. Chrysostom). Rome. 15:3. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: The reproaches of those who reproach You attack Me. “Because the Apostle gave a rule of particular importance, ordering the perfect to descend from the degree of his own perfection to heal the weakness of another; then he represents Christ as an example. This is what Paul always does. When he talks about almsgiving, he presented the same example: “The grace of the Lord is known... for because of your poverty, he was rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). When he exhorted us to love, he convinced us by the same example, saying: “Love us as Christ also” (Eph. 5:25). When he advised to endure shame and adversity, he resorted to the same example, saying: “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, being careless about the shame” (Heb. 12:2). So here he shows that Christ Himself acted in this way: “Do not please yourself” “(Saint Chrysostom). Christ the Savior did nothing for Himself, but everything for the arrangement of our salvation. Only once did He express before His Father what He would like for Himself, namely: “let this cup pass away”; but he immediately refused this: “not as I want, but as You want.” Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Master himself did not seek His own, but for our salvation He gave Himself up to death. For we hear that before suffering he prays and says: “Father... if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me: not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).” We read the same application in Ambrosiastes. The Lord drank this cup and drowned our sins in it. He bore our sins, and suffered for us, and thereby saved us. since this primarily expressed that He “does not please Himself”; then in relation to this we must understand the given prophetic words, namely: “the reproaches of those who reproach You” - God the Father, “attacked” - attacked, fell upon Me, the Son of God incarnate to take away the sins of the whole world and save it. The reproaches of those who reproach God will be the sins of the world; for every sin, since it happens before the face of the omnipresent God, offends the face of God and is done in reproach to Him. The Son of God, having become incarnate, confesses before the Father that all these reproaches have fallen upon Him, and He willingly lifts them up in order to remove the guilt of the reproach from those who created it and thereby save them. By this He especially showed that “do not please yourself,” but He removed the guilt from everyone else and bore it for them. The Prophet’s entire passage reads like this: “zeal for Your house has consumed Me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have attacked Me” (Ps. 68:10). In the first words: “zeal for Your house has eaten Me” - the Lord, through the mouth of the Prophet, confesses that zeal for the house of God the Father, that is, for the glory of this house, prompted Him to take up the reproaches of those who reproach, or the sins of sinners. The house of God is all creation, especially rational ones. This house has been darkened by sin. The Son of God was jealous to restore the light of his glory; For this reason he came to earth, became incarnate and, having taken up sin, took away that which had darkened the glory of the house of God. After sin was taken away, the Holy Spirit descended, who, renewing the believers, expands the light of the glory of the house of God until all those who need enter into it. Rome. 15:4. Elika was already ordained, in our punishment it was ordained: so through the patience and consolation of the Scriptures the hope of the imams. Regarding the quotation of the said passage from Scripture, Saint Paul expresses a general thought about the purpose and beneficial effect of the Divine Scriptures. He seems to be saying: I cited one passage from Scripture, but everything there is such that it can be turned into teaching for us: for this purpose they were written. “For our punishment” - for the teaching of us, Christians. All Christianity is pre-depicted there. Read or listen, delve and reflect - and learn. “Providing for our benefit, God communicated to us the faithful teaching in Scripture” (Blessed Theodoret). Every point of Christian teaching can be found there as a predestination - explicit or hidden. Perhaps, in saying this, the Apostle had the intention of leading the weak Jew to the idea that if, in the spirit of Christianity, there is no need to adhere to the distinction of foods as any condition of salvation, then this teaching is not any peculiarity from the previous Scriptures; it is contained there too: look and you will find. Just as the purpose of Scripture is expressed generally, so its beneficial effect is also indicated in general terms: “may the imams hope through patience and consolation of the Scriptures.” The main thing here is: “yes is the hope of the imam.” This hope is the hope of salvation - an unshakable confidence that by believing as we believe, living as we live, and being sanctified by the sacraments as we are sanctified, we undoubtedly achieve our salvation. The support of this hope is our Lord Jesus Christ. If the Son of God Himself and God came, became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, then what could be unreliable and fragile in our hope? With all this, however, thoughts may come that shake your hope. What to do then? Turn to Scripture, and there you will find consolation, you will draw from it evidence that will calm the confusion of thoughts rising within. If a troubling thought comes, whether we did well in trusting in Christ, look in the Scripture, and there you will find that He is the hope of the nations, that in Him, as it is said, “the nations put their trust” (Matt. 12:21), which we also see fulfilled - that He is the Father of the future (that is, now present) age, the Mighty God. If the thought comes, are we doing well in following His commandments? Look what Moses commanded: when he comes, listen to Him. If the thought comes, is it not new that we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments; read the Prophets, and you will find what was predicted long ago: “in those days I will pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:29). Likewise, every other thought, whatever may come, can be dispelled by the consolation drawn from the Scriptures, and leave our hope in peace and strength. From what has been said it is clear how the consolation of the Scriptures influences the firmness of our hope. But how does patience relate to these spiritual manifestations? In the text, it is on the same line with the consolation of Scripture: everything is written for our teaching, so that through patience and the consolation of the Scriptures we may have hope, that is, we will stand in it, be strong and not fall (St. Chrysostom). How the consolation of the Scriptures affects the firmness of hope is obvious: how does patience affect this? Let’s put it separately: everything is written into our teaching, “may the imams hope through patience.” Learning from what is written gives patience, and hope is preserved by patience. Patience does not always mean enduring adversity, but sometimes constancy in accepted rules. It can be accepted in this meaning in the present case. It will be: the teaching drawn from what is written gives rise to constancy in the rules of faith, life and grace-filled sanctification, and this constancy supports hope. Hope really weakens as soon as any omission or deviation is allowed in the faith, life or sanctification of the Church. Constant fidelity to all this imparts boldness and inspiration to hope. And how such constancy can be cultivated by those prescribed, this does not require explanation. But patience can also be taken here to mean enduring sorrows. Sorrows are inseparable from faith and life by faith. Scripture, preaching everywhere such inseparability, both by the word of teaching and by examples of patience, inspires patience, and patience revives hope and gives it firmness. The latter is evidenced by experiments everywhere. Saint Chrysostom says: “Many various feats are set before us, both internal and external (the inevitability of this is ordained), so that, drawing strength and consolation from the Scriptures, we may show patience and so that, living in patience, we may remain in hope. One thing leads to another, patience to hope, hope to patience; patience and hope are found in Scripture.” Rome. 15:5–6. May the God of patience and consolation give you also to philosophize with one another about Christ Jesus, so that with one accord and one mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, with prayer, he interrupts the flow of speech and directs it to eliminate the differences of opinion between the Romans, which, although it concerned an insignificant subject, nevertheless still violated mutual peace. God is therefore a God of patience and consolation, because both patience and consolation come from Him, and only in those to whom God communicates them do they appear in their true form and in their true power. The Apostle here defines God in such terms according to the flow of speech, because before this he spoke about patience and consolation; or, better, because of those to whom he is speaking, some had a need for patience, and others for consolation: the strong needed patience, and the weak needed consolation, to whom the very consciousness of weakness already caused grief, especially if something reproachful was noticed on the part of the strong. But the Apostle asks them from God not for patience and consolation (he only hints at this), but for the elimination of what forced some to endure and others to seek consolation, namely, the elimination of dissent and the establishment of unanimity. “Let him give - that is, to philosophize” - to have the same thoughts, to contain the same truths, concepts and ideas - to all of you about Jesus Christ, κατά, - according to Christ Jesus, that is, according to the spirit, teaching and requirement of Christ, or according to the subject of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The main thing here is the hope of salvation in Christ Jesus. This hope is all based on one Jesus Christ the Lord. To add anything to this foundation means to think and act not according to Christ Jesus. And this was noticed among the Romans: some hoped that they were closer to salvation by abstaining from certain foods, while others thought that they were closer to it, giving themselves complete freedom in this regard. Both of them muddied the clear waters of the hope of salvation. The Apostle prays that God will enlighten their minds and give them the same understanding of the work of salvation in Christ the Savior. Rome. 15:6. May you unanimously and with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He asks for like-mindedness and like-mindedness in order to say that, when you gather together to pray and glorify God, you glorify Him not only with your lips, singing the same songs of praise, but also with one soul, containing in your soul the same thoughts and convictions. That one should glorify God in this way is accepted as an undoubted proposition. One body is everything; there must be one soul. There is nothing to convince of this. The apostle prays only for the means to this end. You need to glorify God not only with your lips, but also with your soul alone. Since an urgent condition for this is unity of wisdom, I pray to God to give you unity of wisdom. Unity of convictions will give rise to unity of feelings and disposition, and there will become one soul, with which you will duly glorify God. “Do you see how the Apostle gave unity to the whole body of Christ and how he concluded his speech with a doxology? By this, most of all, he convinces them to be of the same mind and agree” (St. Chrysostom). “Let you glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The apostle called God our God, and the Father of the Lord Jesus; because the God of us all is His Father” (Blessed Theodoret). “Here the word: “God” must be separated, relating it to the previous one, and then read from a new beginning: and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, there will be no indecency if we read these words not separately, that is, meaning “God and the Father” in relation to the one and the same Christ; for God the Father is the God of Christ according to humanity, and the Father according to Divinity” (Blessed Theophylact). Rome. 15:7. Accept one another as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God. A new incentive for unanimity. Do not divide among yourselves because of your insignificant differences in external behavior, when Christ the Lord accepted both of you equally, which is the most essential thing. For the sake of this great mercy common to you, destroy the mediastinum that separates you; Holding in one embrace of God's love, embrace each other. Or, - this is how the Apostle speaks to those who are strongest in the faith, - this is the incentive he offers: what were you like when the Lord received you? Of the weak, the weak. And yet, the Lord did not alienate you because of your weaknesses, but mercifully accepted you into His love and into fellowship with Himself. So, as the Lord acted in relation to you, who were once weak, do the same in relation to your weak brothers, do not be alienated from them, but accept them into your love, into your arms and into all communication with yourself. So Blessed Theodoret: “And the Master Christ, not when we were righteous, loved us, but accepted and justified sinners. Therefore, you too must endure the weakness of the brethren and take all measures to save them.” So Ambrosiast: “we are accepted from Christ in such a way that He “accepted our illnesses and bore our illnesses” (Matthew 8:17). Therefore, prompted by this example, we must endure our mutual weaknesses with patience, so as not to destroy the glory of the name we have received; for by the grace of Christ we are called sons of God.” “For the glory of God” - can also be attributed to the acceptance of Christ: just as Christ received you into the glory of God, meaning by the glory of God or the great Divine glory, which those received were worthy of, as the prophet Isaiah predicted: “I will give a name, and a name forever,” says the Lord, “to those who enter into His covenant and are faithful to Him (Is. 56:5, 4). So Ambrosiast. Or - “for the glory of God”, - glory for the sake of the name of God, - that the Father may be glorified in the Son, as he is abundantly merciful. – This can also be attributed to mutual acceptance of each other. “Accept one another - for the glory of God.” So are our other interpreters. Theophylact writes: “The Apostle repeats the previous exhortation and cites Christ as an example, so that we accept each other, because this serves the glory of God. For our unity glorifies God most of all; on the contrary, disagreement brings dishonor to God. For the pagans, seeing that Christians disagree among themselves, accuse faith itself.” Saint Chrysostom concludes from this: “God is especially glorified if we protect ourselves from each other. So, if you, upset by disagreement with you, start a quarrel with your brother; think that by putting aside anger, you will glorify your Master, and make peace with your brother, if not for himself, then for the glory of God; or, better to say, for her, first of all, reconcile. Christ constantly repeated this, and, talking with the Father, He said: “Therefore everyone will know that You sent Me, if (My disciples) are one (John 17:21).” But from what follows it is clear that: “for the glory of God” - the Apostle put in conjunction with - “he will accept you”: for he says that the Jews were accepted so that the truth of God would be clear in the promises to their fathers, and the pagans were accepted by grace, so that God would be glorified. Rome. 15:8–9. I say, Christ Jesus, a servant of the circumcision according to the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers: and with the tongue of mercy, glorify God. When I say: “Christ has received you for the glory of God,” I mean that Christ Jesus is “the minister, - διάκονος, - messenger and saint, - άρχιερεύς, - of our confession” (Heb. 3:1), the finisher of God’s economy for us, the organizer of our salvation, - there is all this, - for those who are circumcised “in the truth of God”, for the sake of the truth of God, that God may be true in His words and in His promises given to their fathers, through their fulfillment in Christ Jesus; and for the pagans He is all this by mercy, because in relation to them God is not bound by any word of promise, and if He accepts them as a sharer of the good things in Christ Jesus, then for one reason He will reveal the riches of His goodness to them, so that all languages, being worthy of this, will glorify God, the much-merciful and man-loving Father. Both, of course, are relative: for there is mercy, because the very promises are of mercy, and here is truth, because the promises were spoken concerning them, although not to their fathers. But the Apostle needed to emphasize the latter especially, according to the purposes of his speech. If such mercy has been shown to you, be merciful to the weak. If this mercy has been shown to you, may God be glorified, glorify Him not in language, but in deed, imitating Him in compassion and condescension towards the brethren and thereby showing that you have Him as the merciful Father of all. God is glorified in nothing more than by the mutual union of brethren. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle, sticking to the previous subject of speech, again discusses how Christ took care of us, and shows how much He did for us and how He did not please Himself. And at the same time it also proves that the pagan believers are more favored to God. If they are more indebted, then it is their duty to tolerate the weak among the Jews. since the Apostle inflicted strong blows on the latter, so that the former would not become proud, he now tames their arrogance, proving that the Jews were given benefits according to the promise of their fathers, and those who were called from the pagans were given only through mercy and love of mankind. That’s why he says: “And with the tongue, through mercy, glorify God.” “The Jews had promises, but you do not have them, but you were saved by love of mankind alone.” The Apostle mentions the promises for this purpose, so that the pagans would humble themselves and not rebel against the weak. Of the pagans he says that they were saved only by grace; and therefore we are obliged to especially glorify God. And God is glorified when we live in union and unity, when we unanimously bless God, patiently endure those who are weaker than us, and do not despise the member that is rejected.” Rome. 15:9–12. As it is written: For this reason let us confess to You among the nations, O Lord, and I will sing to Your name. And again he says: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. And again: praise the Lord, all you nations, and praise Him, all you people. And again Isaiah says: the root of Jesse will be, and will arise to rule... the tongues: in Him the nations trust. That the pagans are called by grace, that they may glorify God, this is proved by the Apostle by the testimonies of the Prophets, who, foretelling the calling of the tongues, invite them to glorify God. The first prophecy is taken from the psalms (Ps. 17:50). The prophet, on behalf of Christ the Lord, says: “Let us confess to You among the nations, Lord.” The called tongues put on Christ and have Him living within them. When they glorify God for this, it is Christ the Lord, who lives in them, who moves them to this glorification. The Prophet represents the Lord from afar as seeing this and puts into His mouth the following song to God the Father: the tongues, having been turned to faith by My gospel, will receive Me, and through their lips I will confess to You and I will sing the praise of Your name, moving them to praise Your praise. Ambrosiastes writes: “The prophet writes that tongues will be admitted into the grace of God to receive salvation. This is the voice of Christ, saying that His gospel among the tongues will bear fruit in the confession of God; why the Son thanks the Father for the obedience of tongues. And in the Gospel He cries out: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, confess that you hid this from the wise and prudent and revealed it as a child: to her, Father, that there was such good will in your sight” (Matthew 11:25).” - And on the day of His solemn entry into Jerusalem, when certain Greeks who came to worship on the holiday were presented to Him by the Apostles, He cried out: “The hour has come, that the Son of Man may be glorified...”, and at the end: “Father, glorify Your name” (John 12:20, 23, 28). The second prophecy is taken from the final song of Moses in Deuteronomy (Deut. 32:43). – The Prophet invites all languages ​​to rejoice with the people of God, foreseeing their future calling to participate in the blessings that the people of God will inherit according to the promise of their fathers. Ambrosiastes writes: “The prophet shows that God, in His mercy, from ancient times determined to gather Jews and pagans together, so that the tongues, having become partakers of grace, would become friends with the Jews, who themselves, by the gift of God’s mercy, were called His people, - and so that all together, being rejoiced by the knowledge of the truth, they would glorify God, by joining the tongues to increase the number of their faithful people. When, regarding the murmuring of the Jews against the Apostle Peter for accepting Cornelius the centurion among those being saved, this Apostle explained to them how the matter was; Then they calmed down, saying: “For God also gave repentance to life with the tongue” (Acts 11:18).” The third prophecy is taken from the psalms (Ps. 116:1). The Prophet generally calls on all nations to praise and glorify the Lord, because “His mercy is established” (Ps. 116:2) on all of us. It established itself, firmly established itself, became unshakable and inalienable. When did this happen, if not at the coming of Christ the Lord to earth, by virtue of which everyone was enlightened by the true knowledge of God and sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit - and the Church of God was created and made the custodian of these blessings until the end of the age? Realizing this, the peoples praise and glorify the most merciful Lord. The fourth prophecy is taken from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11:10). “The words: “there will be a root of Jesse” are said instead: from the root of Jesse will grow the One who will rise to rule the nations, that is, Christ” (Blessed Theophylact). “The Apostle proves by many testimonies that this was the eternal decree of God, that all nations should be worthy of blessing in Christ Jesus. And this proves then in order to inspire the peoples that their hope is firm and beyond doubt” (Amvrosiast). The tongues believe and trust, and, since they have great hope, they cannot refrain from praising God, especially having received faithful guarantees that certify that they have received what they hope for. Saint Chrysostom concludes these testimonies with the following guidance: “The Apostle cites all this as proof that everyone should unite and glorify God, and at the same time he wants to humble the Jew, so that he does not exalt himself before the pagan, because all the Prophets call the pagans (to the praise of God) - and to inspire modesty in the pagan, showing that he is obliged to thank God more.” Rome. 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, and may your hope abound in you by the power of the Holy Spirit. The holy Apostle prays again. This is the final prayer for everything that he talked about so much, starting from the previous chapter. The words of the prayer are applied to the previous prophetic word. It said: In Him the nations will trust; and here it says: and the Lord, God, give you hope—to hope, and not only to hope, but to abound in hope. The hope here is the hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, which, as soon as someone has it, will no longer begin to invent new supports for him - unreliable and fragile ones, such as, for example: that is, but this should not be touched upon, or that’s all there is: from which the Apostle above urged him to give up. So this prayer, verbally attached to the words of the Prophet just quoted, its content corresponds to the entire previous section (chapters 14-15). The relationship between spiritual feelings and dispositions outlined here by the Apostle in a condensed word is remarkable. The subject of prayerful benevolence is an excess of hope; for it to happen, it is well desired that the heart be filled with joy and peace; the source of these is faith. Faith gives birth to joy and peace, joy and peace increases hope, but all this happens through the power of the Holy Spirit. Why is there a prayer to the God of hope? God is the God of hope, because one word: God moves is already hope: for He is goodness itself, infinitely well-wishing and beneficial to us, knowing better than we do what we need, always ready to satisfy and possessing all means to do so. Why does the prophet David confess that “our God is a God to save” (Ps. 67:21). “And blessed is the man whose name is the hope of the Lord” (Ps. 39:5). And therefore God is the God of hope, because He Himself instills it in the heart; for it is the source of all spiritual blessings. “May the God of hope,” he says, “fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” - “In faith”, εν τω πιστεύειν, - because you believe or insofar as you believe. In advance - faith. God gave you faith, and you believe. since you believe, there is no obstacle for God to fill you with all spiritual blessings, and indeed He will, as long as you believe. Faith is both a channel for the flow of God's mercies and a container for receiving them. Of all the spiritual blessings, the Apostle wishes the Romans only “joy and peace.” Apart from the condition of the Romans, joy and peace are indicated more than other blessings because they are inseparable companions of faith, allowing themselves to be more tangibly felt by the believer. A believer's sins are forgiven. Take this into your senses, you will feel as if a mountain has been lifted from your shoulders. How can you not be happy about this? The believer is accepted into the mercy of God, into sonship with God and is embraced by the warmth of God’s Fatherly love. Whoever has realized this, how can he not rejoice? So joy is inseparable from faith; and peace is inseparable from joy: it is impossible to be without peace and joy. Peace is established through the overshadowing of grace. Grace, having come, suppresses, for the sake of selflessness, all passions and does not give them movement and strength. And when passions are not in motion, then there is nothing to disturb the peaceful order, either inside or outside. Everything then remains in its natural order; and the natural order is a peaceful course and order. Moreover, there is peace because grace unites with God, Who is the God of peace, bringing peace with Himself everywhere. In relation to the condition of the Romans, the Apostle especially desires joy and peace because when they exist, those insignificant differences in beliefs about which he speaks will no longer have the unkind consequences that now arise from them - joy and peace will suppress any quarrel, division and alienation, and will no longer allow them to arise. Blessed Theophylact writes: “The Apostle prays that the Jewish believers be filled with joy, for they were saddened by reproaches, and the pagan believers be filled with peace, for they were not peaceful in relation to those who adhere to the law; better to say, he prays that both of them will be filled with joy and peace.” But the Apostle does not stop with his goodwill at joy and peace, but extends it further: “to have abundance is your hope.” - “To be abundant”, εις το περισσεύειν, - to be abundant. He wishes for the heart to be filled with joy and peace, so that one can overflow with hope. The hope that God, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, will best arrange our essential good, arises along with faith; and it grows and multiplies as one tastes the blessings of faith. The good received and tasted confirms that everything else will definitely work out, and thereby increases hope. Joy and peace are the blessings of faith. The apostle wishes well: grant you, Lord, to be filled with peace and joy, so that you may abound in hope. Hope, or excess of hope, is supplied by the highest good, the limit of good wishes. That's how it is. And one cannot live hopelessly in the everyday order, much less in the spiritual order. How, on the contrary, life blossoms in one and the other order, together with the multiplication, expansion and abundance of hope! But we must keep in mind that spiritual feelings and dispositions are so closely related to each other and influence each other so much that their sequence cannot be established in the form of a general and unchangeable law. We say: faith gives birth to joy and peace, and joy and peace increase faith. But it can also be like this: faith increases hope, and fulfills hope with joy and peace; or this way: hope fills with joy and peace and through this supports and revives faith. Spiritual life moves through the flow of spiritual feelings and dispositions from one to another; and only such overflows testify that spiritual life is alive. Yet this is accomplished “by the power of the Holy Spirit.” The power of the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life; it supports her and leads her to perfection; from it come all movements and changes in spiritual life. Just as without a soul there is no life in the body, so without the Spirit of God there is no spiritual life in the soul. The God of hope first of all sends the grace of the Spirit; and it already generates faith, and fulfills it with joy and peace, and multiplies hope, and arranges all sorts of mutual influences and transitions between them. That is why the Apostle completed his good wish with the good wish that everything would be with them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Where this strength is, everything is strong and reliable. You might be interested in: