Введение

1) Information about the country of Galatia and its inhabitants. Galatia, to the Churches of which St. Paul wrote an Epistle, is an Asia Minor region surrounded by Paphlagonia, Pontus, Cappadocia, Phrygia and Bithynia. It was inhabited by Greeks; but in the 3rd century BC the Gauls settled among them and mixed with them, and then Jews in large numbers. They say about the Gauls that they rose from the banks of the Rhine, under the leadership of Brienne. There were three tribes of them: the Trocms, the Tolistobians and the Tectosagi - all Celts. First they attacked various areas of Macedonia and Greece, and then in Thrace they gave themselves some settled life, founding something similar to a voivodeship under the name Thiele. Meanwhile, they did not cease to satisfy their warlike inclinations - and this gave rise to Nicomedes I (280 - 255 BC), king of Bithynia, to invite them to his aid in his fight with his brother Kivel. For this purpose, they moved to Asia Minor in 280 BC under the leadership of Leonor and Lothar; but they remained there, having received from Nicomedes, for assisting him, lands in Bithynia. They did not stop expanding these lands at the expense of neighboring regions until the Pergamon king Attalus repulsed them, having won a victory over them, which made such an impression on them that they considered it best to change the very place of their settlement and moved to the Halys River, which flows in the middle of Galatia from the southwest to the northeast. This was in 240 BC. Here they finally settled and never changed their place of residence. Soon after this, in 189 BC, the consul Manlius subjugated them to the Romans, leaving, however, their own administration under their own rulers, who later received the title of kings. From then on, they turned to peaceful pursuits and arts and began to cultivate their fertile and flourishing country. The natural consequence of this was that through civil and everyday relations they mixed with the local Greeks, adopting their customs and language, although, according to the remark of Blessed Jerome (at the beginning of the 2nd book of Commentaries), even in his time some there spoke the same language as the Trevirs. From this, all the inhabitants of that region received the name Gallogreks, and the region itself - Gallogrecia. But then these names were replaced by others, and they began to be called Galatians, and their country Galatia - perhaps from their tribal name - Celts, from which, through Kalts and Kalats, the name Galatians and Galatia could be formed. Pausanias (ancient Greek writer, author of the “Description of Hellas”) (in the preface to the Interpretation of the Epistle to the Galatians by St. Philaret of Chernigov) writes: “they recently began to call them Galatians; From ancient times they called themselves and others Celts.” Blessed Jerome, at the beginning of the 2nd book of his Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, cites the opinion of Lactantius that, because of the whiteness of their bodies, the Gauls were called Galatians, that is, milky, from the Greek: τολκοvανιε-να-ποσλανιε-κ-γαλαταμα , - milk, - then the country where the Gauls mixed with the Greeks, for this reason received the name Galatia. The rich Galatian country began to attract Jews, perhaps soon after, since the time of Alexander the Great, they were either forced to move to different regions, or were carried away by their own industrial desires and enterprises. Their number should have especially increased in this country after Augustus declared his patronage to the Jews moving there and ordered a decree to be nailed to the church of Ancyra, as Josephus wrote. 2) Founding of Churches in Galatia. Saint Paul writes his epistle to the Galatian Churches, not to which ones. It is impossible to draw any guidance about this from the book of the Acts of the Apostles. But, based on the custom of St. Paul the Apostle to preach mainly in crowded and influential places, it is probable that these were Churches founded in Ancyra, Pessina, Tavia and Gordia - the most significant cities there. That all the churches there were founded by the Apostle Paul himself is stated directly and with special force in the Epistle itself: (Gal. 1:6-9, 4:13ff.). When this could have been accomplished, the history of the preaching travels of the Apostle, placed in the Acts, gives us a certain accuracy. Here we learn that on his first Apostolic journey, Saint Paul with Barnabas reached only Pisidian Antioch and higher to the north, where Galatia lay through Phrygia, did not extend, but, having founded Churches, besides this city, also in Iconium, Lystra and Derbe with their environs and having visited the newly founded Churches, returned to Antioch (Acts 13-14). Saint Paul rose higher already on his second journey, which he undertook with Silas, Luke and Timothy, after the Apostolic Council, which followed the end of his first journey (Acts 15). At this time, Saint Paul and his companions first visited the former Churches of Lycaon and Pisidia, confirming them in the right faith and transferring to them to keep the statutes “decreed by the Apostle and the Elder” (Acts 16:4). And then they went further to the north and passed through Phrygia and the Galatian country (Acts 16:6) - they passed, of course, preaching the Gospel, although this is not mentioned, but that goes without saying. And this visit of the holy Apostle Paul to Galatia must be considered the beginning of the conversion of the Galatians to the faith of Christ and the founding of churches there. That the foundations of the Churches were laid exactly at this time in the Galatian country is obligated to accept the book of Acts, which says that when Saint Paul, having been at that time in the Galatian country, then came, by heavenly direction, to Macedonia and Greece and, having founded churches there in Philippi, Thessaloniki, Beria, Athens and Corinth, and then, having been in Jerusalem and Antioch (see: Acts. 16–18), undertook his third Apostolic journey, then, passing through the country of Galatia, his “disciples” had already established themselves (Acts 18:23). They confirm in the faith those who have already been converted to the faith and taught it. And this the Apostle could only accomplish on his previous second journey. The book of Acts says nothing about the circumstances of the conversion of the Galatians; but in the Epistle Saint Paul makes it clear that during this first sermon with them he was weak in the flesh, and even, perhaps, by this weakness he was kept from them longer than he expected. This, however, served them well; for it gave the Apostle the opportunity to write Christ the Lord to them so vividly that they contemplated Him as if crucified before them. That is why they believed with extraordinary zeal and received the Apostle himself as an Angel of God, as Christ Himself, and loved him so much that they were ready to roll up their eyes and give him to him (Gal. 3:1, 4:13–15 et seq.). And the Apostle was rightly amazed how, after such vividness of feeling, they soon turned out to be unfaithful to the one who called them by the grace of Christ. 3) Reason for writing the Message. The reason for writing the Epistle to the Galatians was the seduction or just beginning inclination of the local Christians to Judaism, through the action of some false teachers who came to them, probably from Palestine, not unbelieving Jews, but who accepted faith in Christ, only convinced that circumcision and other rites of the ancient Jewish Church were necessary for salvation. By this time, the question of the meaning of the Old Testament church rites for Christians had definitely become clear to those who believed from the beginning. It is known that at first there was no question about how Christians should behave in relation to the Old Testament rites. He was born when the pagans began to convert, and it was Cornelius the centurion. But immediately a decision was given to him from above. The zealots of the law were alarmed at this incident; but when Saint Peter explained how everything happened, then they fell silent. There was nothing to say against it. Although it was mainly in this circumstance that the will of God was solemnly revealed to accept the pagans into the bosom of the Church; but it was immediately clear that the condition for this was not circumcision and submission to other church orders of the Jewish Church. The pagans received entry into the Church by faith and holy baptism alone and became partakers of all the gracious promises of Christ. Naturally, after this, a question would arise among the Jews who believed: the pagans were deemed worthy to receive grace and remain in it without circumcision and everything else that we hold on to; What is circumcision and everything connected with it for us? The prudent, under the guidance of the holy Apostles, could not but agree that all this was not at all necessary for salvation, and, having become convinced of this, although they adhered to some of their ancient rites, except for circumcision, which was replaced by holy baptism, but not as a condition of salvation, but out of habit and because they had not yet had time to establish new orders. But the foolish zealots of the law could not renounce it and held on to the conviction that it was necessary for salvation, that faith in Christ alone would not save, if, moreover, one did not accept circumcision and other things. It is likely that these zealots were not satisfied with the explanation that Saint Peter made in the assembly, and began to separate themselves from others in Jerusalem and Judea, although without visible and public separation. Meanwhile, first in Antioch, and then in other places, through the activity of Saints Paul and Barnabas, strong churches were formed from the pagans, in which not a trace was visible of anything that would resonate with Judaism. The holy apostles Paul and Barnabas, no less than Saint Peter, saw the signs of grace, indicating the complete uselessness of the old law for the new grace-filled life - and, convinced of this by such instructions from above, they themselves conveyed their conviction not only to the pagans, but also to the Jews who were converting to Christianity. It was all the easier for the Jews who lived outside Palestine to agree to this because they already could not fulfill much of their law among the pagans (circumcision was only necessary - holidays and other things) and were already accustomed to religious communication with the latter, when they accepted only faith in the God of Israel and His moral law. Hence, naturally, many Christians arose who not only held in their hearts the conviction that the old law was unnecessary for salvation, but in fact some did not begin to fulfill it, while others lagged behind it or gave themselves freedom: when to fulfill it and when not to fulfill it, considering it a matter of indifference. Everyone, however, lived in peace with each other until the strict zealots of the law began to violate it. They did not want to limit themselves to themselves, but were jealous of communicating their beliefs to others and reassuring those among whom other beliefs were already established and in effect. Hence the clash, disputes and opposition. The first time this was discovered was in Antioch. After Saints Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch from their preaching journey through Asia Minor and greatly delighted the Christians there with the story of the grace of God poured out on the pagans, some came from Judea and began to teach the Antiochian Christians that if they were not circumcised according to the custom of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). It was easy for Saints Paul and Barnabas to repel them, after what was given to them from above to experience among the pagans; however, it is true that there were those who wavered and demanded the strongest certificates. Why was it necessary to send these Apostles with other brothers to Jerusalem to the oldest Apostles for a final decision? Here it was already known from previous events how such a question should be resolved. However, they convened a Council for deliberation. The narrative of Saints Paul and Barnabas about what God did with them among the pagans renewed and strengthened the conviction that had already been formed after what was revealed to Saint Peter at the conversion of Cornelius. Some believers from the Pharisaic sect rebelled, “saying that it was fitting to circumcise them” (the pagans who believed), “and bequeathed to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). But those who were attentive to the instructions from above prevailed and decided not to place the yoke of the law on the necks of the disciples and not to “chill those who turn from tongue to God” (Acts 15, 10, 19). This gratifying decision was greeted everywhere with great joy. Saint Paul spread it among all the Churches that he had already founded, and, of course, did not hide it from the Christian societies he was newly establishing. It must be assumed that from that time on, the zealots of the law separated into a special sect in Jerusalem and Judea and decided to more decisively oppose the sound teaching of the faith by spreading their personal beliefs. The previous unsuccessful assassination attempt in Antioch did not stop, but rather irritated them. They rushed further. Since freedom from the law, as if out of duty imposed from above, was primarily preached by Saint Paul, it is not surprising that they deliberately followed in his footsteps. However, they had their first known success in the Galatian Churches. It was they who disturbed the initially bright state of these Churches. Although they are not named by St. Paul, it is not difficult to recognize them by the suggestions with which they managed to confuse the Galatians. They explained to them the same thing that those who came from Judea to Antioch explained and what the believing Pharisees said at the council - that if they are not circumcised and do not keep the Law of Moses, they will not receive salvation. That this was so is clear from the content of the Message. From this content it is clear that in order to give the most convenient way to their false teaching, they cast a shadow on the Apostolic dignity of Saint Paul, saying that he was not a real Apostle, that the real Apostles, the pillars of the Church, Peter, James, John, were in Jerusalem. They saw the Lord Himself, but he did not see and was already sent by them. It is not surprising that they added that Paul himself sometimes adheres, sometimes does not adhere to the law, sometimes rebels against circumcision, sometimes he circumcises himself (as, for example, Timothy). But we’d better listen to how Saint Chrysostom presents their cunning: “Some of the Jews who believed,” he writes, “but who held to Judaism, and at the same time arrogant with ambition, wanting to arrogate to themselves the dignity of teachers, came to the Galatians and taught that they should be circumcised, keep the Sabbath and the new moon, and not accept Paul, who rejects all this, which, on the contrary, they do not forbid, they said, Peter, James and John, the chief Apostles and were with Christ, which in fact they did not forbid. However, they did this not because they wanted to defend Jewish customs, but only out of condescension towards the weakness of the Jewish believers. But Paul, as a teacher of languages, did not find the need for such leniency. However, when he was in Judea, he also made concessions there. But the false teachers, without revealing the reasons why he and the other Apostles made this condescension, deceived the weak, saying that they should not listen to Paul, for he appeared only yesterday or even now, while Peter and those with him are the first Apostles, moreover, he is an Apostolic disciple, and those of Christ, he is one, and there are many of them, and also the pillars of the Church. They also accused Paul of hypocrisy, saying that he himself, who rejects circumcision, was sometimes seen performing Jewish rites and that he preaches differently to you and differently to others.” With such speeches, the false teachers managed to sow tares in the field cultivated by the labors of St. Paul and promising a bountiful harvest. They listened to them and began to lean towards their beliefs. How far they went in evasion is difficult to determine with accuracy; but, apparently, in such a way that this could not be ignored. From the tone of speech and the manner in which the subject was presented, one can conclude that Saint Paul feared a complete falling away, but at the same time he was confident that his word would find proper reception among them and there was hope of returning them to sanity. The authority of the Apostle was quite shaken; but the doctrine of salvation, perhaps, only still occupied me as a question, confused and disturbed me. In the words: “I am still ill, until Christ is imagined in you” (Gal. 4:19) - it is evident that the face of the Savior has become dim in their consciousness; but those who deviated have not yet allowed themselves to be circumcised, but only accepted some of the rules of Jewish religious life - only the beginning of Judaism was laid (Gal. 4:10). The words: “little kvass leaves the whole mixture” (Gal. 5:9) - make it clear that only a few things have been accepted from the suggestions of the corrupters. It is not clear how many evaded there were. It is impossible to think that everyone in all Churches has deviated; but Saint Paul speaks both defensively and accusatoryly to everyone, without casting a shadow on those who have retained their sanity, or on the majority of those who have gone astray, or on account of their weight and influence among others, or because not everyone has cast a stain on everyone, but by addressing them alone, he has warned and affirmed others. since the disease had come, he looked at their whole body as if it were sick. The Apostle soon learned about what happened there and hurries to catch the disease at first, in the hope of a quick cure. He sees them having just entered the wrong path and hopes for them that they will listen to his call and return to the right path. The Epistle gives the idea that the Apostle is speaking to those who have deviated for the first time. And in vain some assume that the Apostle already noticed the beginnings of damage on his last visit to these Churches, on the way to Ephesus. The words: “as I have foretold” (Gal. 1:9) - and: “I testify again” (Gal. 5:3) - on which they want to base this assumption do not necessarily lead to it. The Apostle could have spoken about what he is now writing about during his first visit to them, especially since he was soon after the Jerusalem Council. He could have said the same thing on the second visit as a warning, and not for the sake of what he noticed. What directly stands against this is that the Apostle, while with them, saw them as zealots in the good sense. That’s why he reproaches them: “It is good to always be jealous of good things, and not always come to you” (Gal. 4:18). Moreover, if this were so, there would be no need for the Apostle to be so amazed at their change. Their change is truly amazing after such fervor of faith. It can only be explained by the impressionability of the Galatians, with a strongly excited desire for salvation. This is where their first heat could come from; hence their rapid change, when the false brethren were able to present to them the danger of the path of salvation proposed to them by Saint Paul. Saint Paul, having learned about all this soon, was greatly amazed by this and, under a fresh impression, outlined to the Galatians the whole matter of salvation as it is, in opposition to the false suggestions that they had heard. He wrote with his own hand, so as not to encounter delays and interruptions on the part of the copyist - and the entire Epistle, for sure, is an inspired, continuously flowing speech, in which arguments convincing to the mind are mixed everywhere with suggestions that can touch the sensitive heart strings. Saint Chrysostom writes: “seeing that the whole people were inflamed, and a great fire was kindled in the Galatian Church, and that its very building was shaking and threatening to fall, - the Apostle, both justly angry and overwhelmed with grief, - for he declared this too, saying: “I would like to come to you and change my voice” (Gal. 4:20), - writes this Epistle, answering all accusations" The content of the Message corresponds to the supposed crooked interpretations of the corrupters. Just as they, convincing of the necessity of circumcision and the fulfillment of the Mosaic Law for salvation, gave strength to their convictions especially by the fact that they managed to instill suspicion in the soundness of the teaching of St. Paul and the origin of his Apostleship from the Lord: so the Apostle, ruining their cause, first defends his Apostolic dignity and shows that his teaching is not human, but Divine, and thereby lays a solid foundation for subsequent arguments and convictions (Gal. 1-2); and then refutes the position of the false teachers, proving that salvation does not come from circumcision and keeping the law, but from the grace of the Lord through faith (Gal. 3-4); at the end, he also adds moral lessons, which themselves flowed from the teaching he proposed about freedom from the yoke of the law of Moses - that this freedom is not an indulgence to the passions, but so that, abstracting from external justificatory rites, we should pay more attention to the purification of the heart (Gal. 5-6). What kind of believers did St. Paul have in mind when writing this Epistle, whether pagans and proselytes or Jews? Everyone who was part of the local Churches, and they had to be from all these classes. For if there were Jews there, then, according to his custom, Saint Paul was the first to preach to them and from among them he had the first believers. On the other hand, where there were Jews, there were also their proselytes. They were, of course, also among the Galatians. And if there were, then even more of them must be believed to be believers than of the Jews. The Epistle was written to the Churches in their entirety; therefore, it cannot be argued that it is intended exclusively for pagan believers. This is not required by the content of the Message. When, for example, Saint Paul more than once calls himself the Apostle of the Gentiles (Gal. 1:16, 2:9) and says about those to whom he writes that they previously worshiped “not by nature a god” (Gal. 4:8); it is obvious that he is addressing his speech to pagan Christians. But when he warns against circumcision of those who have not yet been circumcised, but who are being enticed to be circumcised, this may refer to believers not only from pagans and proselytes, but also from Jews, for they had children whom they could circumcise on the eighth day after birth, if they believed in the power of circumcision. The same thing that the Apostle, speaking to them, says: “we were under the law of the strict” (Gal. 3:23), “under the elements of the world we were enslaved” (cf. Gal. 4:3), and especially the reproach he makes that they again want to serve the weak and evil elements (Gal. 4:9) - leads us to believe that he is writing to the Jews. Moreover, the way in which St. Paul presents his subject makes us assume in his readers his great familiarity with the Old Testament; the fact that the Judaizing false teachers found an entrance to them and had such rapid success among them makes us think that they had some predisposition in favor of the Jewish religious order. Both can only go to Jews or proselytes. Thus, it must be assumed that the Epistle had in mind all Christians who began to incline towards the way of thinking of the Judaizing false teachers, and reveals the subject more in its essence than by applying it to the genus of persons to which Christians previously belonged, although some sayings make it possible to see them as one or the other. 5) Time and place of writing. In the course of the Apostolic works of Saint Paul, it is clear that the Epistle to the Galatians was written by him during his stay in Ephesus and falls on those years that, according to the reckoning, fall on this time. For, recognizing as true that the first sermon mentioned by Saint Paul (Gal. 4:13) certainly presupposes the second, we must assume that the Epistle was written after both. From the book of Acts it is known that the second visit to the Galatian Churches was during the third preaching journey of St. Paul, when he was heading to Ephesus. From this it follows that the Epistle could not have been written earlier than the time when Saint Paul, having spent the second time in the Galatian Churches, moved to Ephesus. That the writing of the Epistle should not be attributed to some time later than St. Paul’s stay in Ephesus is evident from the fact that St. Paul calls the change of the Galatians to have happened very soon. “I am astonished,” he says, “as if you were being quickly destroyed” (Gal. 1:6). This “soon” is not after the first visit to the Galatians, when they turned to faith, but after the second, when he confirmed them in the faith. It seems to say to them: how long have I been with you? you were fine; I saw you zealous for the good way (Gal. 4:18). And suddenly I hear that you have veered into crossroads. I marvel at this. – If, therefore, the Epistle is written soon after the last stay with the Galatians, then it cannot be assumed that it was written after the Apostle left Ephesus, where he stayed for three years (Acts 20:31). For it will not be soon, at least to believe, as others do, that it was soon after the departure of Saint Paul from Ephesus to Macedonia or Corinth, when he stayed there for three months (Acts 20:1-3). Now count the years. Saint Paul was in Corinth for the first time after the year 52; for he met there Aquilla and Priscilla, expelled from Rome, according to the decree given in that year. Yes, I stayed there for a year and a half; Yes, a year must be spent on the return journey from there, a visit to Jerusalem and Antioch, and then again, on the third journey, on the passage through the previously founded Churches in Lycaonia, Phrygia, Galatia. The arrival of St. Paul in Ephesus will thus fall in the year 55; and the writing of the Epistle - between 55 and 58 years. Let's put it a year after arriving there: it will be 56. We will come to the same year if we count according to the ascensions of St. Paul to Jerusalem indicated in the Epistle itself “by three years” (Gal. 1:18) and “by fourteen years” (Gal. 2:1), counting both from the time of the conversion of St. Paul. From the Ascension of the Lord to the conversion of Saint Paul, everything must be delayed for three or four years in order to accommodate the events that are mentioned in the Acts up to this time, and in order to give time for Saint Paul to learn from Gamaliel - which could not begin before the Ascension of the Lord; for if he had been in Jerusalem during the last events of the Lord’s earthly life, he could not have failed to know about them and, if he had known, he would not have been able to resist mentioning it somewhere in the Epistles. The conversion will be in 37 - 38 years. Add 14 years, it will be 51–52, the time of the Council of Jerusalem. After the Council - a second journey, through Asia Minor, to Macedonia and Greece; Corinth will fall in 53-54. It will take another year to return from there and make a third trip to Ephesus. Arrival in Ephesus and here will be in 55; and the writing of the Epistle in 56. On this occasion, Saint Paul writes an Epistle, intending to erase the impression made on the Galatians by false teachers. In opposition to their suggestions, he defends his Apostolic dignity and refutes their position that salvation requires the law, also applying moral lessons in relation to the stated subject of faith. Everything, according to custom, is preceded by a preface and a conclusion is attached at the end - both with characteristic differences in the content of the Epistle. So, in this Message: – after the preface, – containing the inscription, with a greeting, and the beginning of the Epistle (Gal. 1: 1 – 10), – first comes the defensive part, where Saint Paul restores his Apostolic authority (Gal. 1:11 – 2:21), - then the doctrinal part, where Saint Paul, refuting false teachers, proves that salvation does not come from the law, which, after the coming of Christ the Savior, lost its power and meaning (Gal. 3-4), - then the exhortation part, where instructions are attached where moral forces should be directed, having received freedom from the yoke of the law (Gal. 5; Gal. 6: 1 - 10). At the end a conclusion is added (Gal. 6:11 – 18). The Apostle’s speech throughout the Epistle, from beginning to end, is living, strong, breathing zeal for the saving faith and love for the Galatians. Blessed Augustine and Jerome approached the guidance of the former holy Fathers and teachers, Saint Chrysostom, Theodoret, Hilary (Ambrosiastes), Saint John of Damascus, Ecumenius and Theophylact. You might be interested in: