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1. Information about the city of Soluni and its inhabitants Thessalonica, formerly Fermat - now among the Greeks - Thessaloniki, for us Thessaloniki - lies like an amphitheater on the mountainside in the north-western corner of the Gulf of Fermanagh. During the period of the apostolic preaching, this city was the main city of the second district of the Macedonian region and the residence of the Roman praetor and quaestor. The geographical position: on the sea side - on the shores of the bay, and on the land side - on the trade road known as via ignatiana - made Thessalonica a flourishing city, widely traded, rich and populated. But from here luxury naturally developed, the consequence of which everywhere is a decline in morality. Its indigenous population were Greeks; after the conquest by the Romans, the Roman settlers were almost equal to them in number; they were then joined by a strong party of Jews, who, for the sake of efficiency in trade, which they had taken into their hands on a large scale, enjoyed some importance here and had not a simple house of prayer (προσευχη), as, for example, in Philippi (Acts 16:13) and other places, but a synagogue (Acts 17:1). Probably, proselytizing figures who were in charge of that entire area also lived here. 2. Founding of Thessaloniki Church At the age of 20 after the Ascension of the Lord, Thessaloniki must have heard about Christianity more than once, and perhaps had Christians within its walls. But the Church of Christ was founded here and fully established by the holy Apostle Paul, on his second preaching journey, when, accompanied by Silas and Timothy, he entered the European continent for the first time. By the vision of a certain man (Acts 16:9), called from above to Macedonia and having already announced the Gospel preaching at Philippi, Saint Paul arrived in Thessaloniki through Amphipolis and Apollonia, apparently with only Silas, without Timothy, who was probably left in Philippi to establish the Christians there and united with them already in Beria. According to his custom, the Apostle began his sermon in the synagogue - the only place where it was possible to calmly talk to the people about many things and, moreover, about objects of faith. His speech followed the principles of the Old Testament, but was directed towards the establishment of the New Testament. Based on prophetic legends, he painted before those listening the face of the predicted Messiah, not from the invisible glory of His spiritual Kingdom, but from the external humiliation that He Himself had to experience, saying, “as it was fitting for Christ to suffer and rise from the dead.” Then he suggested that everything that was predicted was exactly fulfilled in Jesus, whom he preaches, and that therefore “this Jesus”, whom he preached, “is the Christ” (Acts 17: 3). For an open-minded person, not only a Jew, but also a non-Jew, the obvious fulfillment of prophecies in the person of the Savior is the most convincing proof that He is from God. The word about this leads to obedience and seeds faith. Therefore, the preaching of the Apostle Paul, although it was not without “competitions,” nevertheless brought abundant fruit. “Some” of the Jews, of the “honorable” (God-honoring) Greeks, or proselytes, “many and many,” and “not a few” noble women believed (Acts 17:4). For three Saturdays the Apostle competed with the Jews in the synagogue. But one cannot think that his preaching was limited to one synagogue. This would be inconsistent with the way the Apostle himself portrays his sermon, when he says that he preached the gospel of God day and night, and like a father to a child, he begged and persuaded each one (1 Thess. 2:9-12). Moreover, in the synagogue it was impossible to speak otherwise than according to Jewish principles, which could not but constrain speech and reduce the power of its influence on the pagans, before whom it was possible to speak with force and without touching on Judaism. It is known that the Apostle Paul knew which side to take the pagans from. If among the converts there were more than these latter, then one cannot but agree that the Apostle spoke to them outside the synagogue. Probably, those who believed among the proselytes opened the way for him to other pagans who were concerned about the matter of faith, and arranged for the latter the opportunity to listen to him in private meetings in their homes. Probably, in addition to meetings, the Apostle visited homes, where he more fully revealed what was briefly said, repeated what was not heard, and returned strength to what was wavering with perplexity. And of course, the number of those converted and confirmed in the faith in this way greatly increased the total number of believers. Preaching, the holy Apostle, along with the disclosure of the Gospel truths - the subject of faith, truly did not hide the dangers that are always ready to meet Christians for the Gospel on the path of Christ (1 Thessalonians 3:4), and in order for them not to waver in faith, he raised the hopes of believers beyond the limits of this earthly life - and especially to the time in which the Lord will come again to complete His victorious work in humanity kingdom, and which He Himself commanded to wait for every hour. This point of the teaching, which, due to circumstances, received its fullest disclosure here, subsequently served as a reason for embarrassing bewilderments, as we will see. But in itself it is not a cause of fear, but a desired and much-comforting object of the deepest aspirations that animate Christians in a difficult life. The Lord did not determine the day and hour of this final event and rejected the opportunity to do this to anyone. But he commanded everyone to be ready for him. This readiness consists in a completely godly life, regarding which the commands given by the Apostle on behalf of the Lord, as it seems, are the most detailed (1 Thessalonians 4:2). “How one ought to walk and please God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1), the depiction of this took, perhaps, most of the Apostle’s time and labor. For the main thing in this is not only to proclaim, but also to establish the order of a new life in the spirit of a new faith. The Apostle taught, of course, that it is not enough to say: I believe in the Lord Jesus, but I must testify to this with my whole life; demanded a complete change in behavior and morals, complete alienation and cleansing of oneself from all the vices that reigned in the pagan or Jewish world (1 Thessalonians 4:5-6). The observance of the new rules should have begun immediately and, having begun, put a division between those who believed and those who did not believe. Saint Luke signified this division with the words: “added to Paul and Silas” (Acts 17:4). Those who separated were to be organized religiously. This is done. They were given superiors to work for them and teach them (1 Thessalonians 5:12); for which, of course, certain commands were given that determined the manner of this work, the time, and the place. So, over the course of three weeks, or perhaps a little more, the Church of Christ was built from Thessaloniki, which was facilitated by the preparation of the minds of the inhabitants, who, having themselves been in different places and seeing people from different countries, probably had long known about the teachings of Christ and looked favorably on it; All that was missing was an authoritative person who would give order to these ready-made materials. It can be assumed that in a city that was populous, full of care and so poorly maintained in moral terms, the best minds, hearts and consciences languished and longed for an escape to freedom; and so, when the breath of the Divine, pure, and much comforting breath came from the Apostle’s lips, they all hastily gather around him and form a new multi-component society of those who are at peace in the Lord and “always glad to be welcomed” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). All this, however, if we also add here both the tirelessness of the Apostle’s work and the special image of his everyday order, which is in his favor, cannot in any way explain the quick conversion of the Thessalonians, who soon established a populous Church among them on the site of a lasting one. This was accomplished by the extraordinary action of Divine grace revealed among them; and the holy Apostle sees in this the special election of God, to which he testified in the epistle (1 Thessalonians 1:4), saying that his speech was in an unusual way, and the listening of those who heard was extraordinary (1 Thessalonians 1:5-6, 2:13). Why was the Macedonian husband who invited the Apostle in a vision to come and help him, was not the named Angel of the Church of Thessalonica? Having made sure of this, we will not have the need to solve the bewilderment of how a populous Church could be formed in such a short time and in complete perfection. Where there is extraordinary power of God, there happens in one day what, in the ordinary course of things, should have happened in a thousand. With all this, the Apostle did not think of limiting himself to the first success, but, seeing the harvest in abundance, he decided to stay here longer, as can be seen from the fact that he collected work for himself and worked (1 Thessalonians 2:9). Of course, this would have been the case if the restless Jews had not interfered. Not many of the Jews venerated Paul and Silas, but many, if not all, of the proselytes. This could not help but irritate those interested in this, one might assume, the leaders of Jewish proselytism, both due to the existing damage, and because the possibility of success was already cut off for them in the future. Why do they arouse confusion among the people, apparently pagan, hiding behind it and hiding their personal motives for this? Through evil seditious people they gathered a people, perhaps idle; and “rumors of hail”, as if sounding the alarm. Having attacked the house of Jason, they looked for the Apostles in order to inform them and betray them to the people, but they did not find them. Why, having taken Jason and some of those who believed, they dragged them to the city governors, shouting: those who corrupt the entire universe - the Roman Empire, came here, and Jason accepted them, despite the fact that they go directly against the orders of Caesar, preaching that someone else should be recognized as king - Jesus. The Apostle’s preaching about the Kingdom of Christ and the ever-present expectation of the coming of Christ the King could have given rise to such a slander. Or maybe it was a memorized speech of the Jews, in case the preachers of the Gospel were handed over to the civil authorities, according to the model of the one held by the high priests and the people before Pilate. The similarity with this latter was so striking that the holy Apostle recalled it in a letter to console the victims (1 Thessalonians 2:15). Be that as it may, the troublemakers managed to confuse the people and the mayors, although not to the same extent. The unreasoning people could see the threat of power over them due to the fact that among them there were opponents of Caesar - and they acted wholeheartedly, either out of a feeling of devotion to Caesar, or, rather, out of a desire to lay aside before the authorities the guilt of complicity in such a dangerous matter. The mayors, although they were impressed the first time, looked at those brought in and listened to their explanation of what was going on, making sure that there was no danger here; however, they did not fail to take advantage of this opportunity, as should have been according to their concepts and customs. Why, “having received enough from Jason and from the others, they let them go” (Acts 17:9). Despite, however, such a favorable outcome of the matter, the brethren decided to transport Paul and Silas to Beria. Perhaps this was required by the personal safety of the Apostles, or perhaps the rulers took word from Jason and others that those who caused such alarm would no longer be in the city. 3. Reason for writing the Message So Saint Paul had to leave the young Church, although warm in the faith, but under the threat of persecution, which, after the Apostles, should have turned on her: for those who believed could no longer be seen either in the synagogue or in the temples. And this, at other times a random matter, not worthy of attention, now could not help but arouse in observers thoughts that irritate religious fanaticism, and not motivate them to take revenge for the honor of their faith. Why did the Apostle, leaving the believers in person, could not leave them in heart, he could not help but ache for them, not only out of the feeling of love that he shared with them, but also out of the duty of the apostleship entrusted to him by God. Why did he immediately decide to return to them again as soon as the opportunity opened up? And in fact, once and twice I tried to come to them - the first time, perhaps, from Beria, and the second time from Athens; but “rebuke,” he says, “Satan” (1 Thessalonians 2:17–18), through the same tools. The exiles soon arrived in Beria and were received here with more favor than in Thessalonica. Living not in noisy cities does not greatly irritate egoism and passions; a peaceful soul is more accessible to truth. A calm study, on the basis of Scripture, “if this” - the sermon of St. Paul about the fulfillment of the prophecies in Jesus, proving that He is the Christ - “this is the essence”, confirmed that the word of the Apostle was true, and disposed to accept it with all zeal. Many of the Jews believed, and of the Hellenic wives of good-looking and husbands - quite a few. Here is the Church! God's blessing of the sermon comforted, of course, the Apostle, therefore Moreover, being peacefully here, he could act from here on the Thessalonica Church and personally visit it. But his enemies were not peaceful. As soon as the news reached Thessalonica about the acceptance of the Gospel by the Beria, those who rebelled against him hurried there, raised up the people here too and forced the Apostle to leave Beria, where, however, Silas and Timothy, who had probably arrived here from Philippi, had the opportunity to stay to complete the work. 10–13 ). The Apostle Paul, out of fear for his life from the seditionists, was not allowed in by the faithful alone. Selected ones accompanied him all the way to Athens. The Holy Apostle has now become even further from Thessalonians; but this did not diminish, but rather irritated his concern for them. Why, sending his guides back to Beria, he ordered both, or at least one of his employees, to hurry to him in Athens. He wanted to receive in this way definite news about the state of affairs in the Thessalonica Church, so that he could act accordingly. Timofey arrived to him; The force remained there, held back by the needs of the Christians. But Saint Timothy, it is true, did not bring any reassuring and definite news, except perhaps that they are being patient. It was necessary to reinforce those who were suffering. And here, perhaps, is the second moment when Saint Paul himself decided to go to Thessaloniki; but again he was restrained by uncertainty, so that something good could come out of this, due to the irresistibility of the traitors. Why is Timothy sent, not seen by the Thessalonians and who could conveniently hide from the hateful vigilance of the enemies of the Gospel, to “confirm the faith” of believers, and to “comfort” those who mourn, “so that he has not tempted” anyone, and, having realized what they have, to announce this to the holy Apostle (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). While Timothy was fulfilling The difficult task entrusted to him, the Apostle Paul, after an unsuccessful sermon in Athens, which acquired for the Church of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Damarus and many others (Acts 17:34), moved to Corinth and settled with Aquila and Priscilla - his fellow artists, who had previously left Rome at the command of Claudius. While still in the hosts of the Jews, he fought on Saturdays and. convinced the Jews and Greeks, it was only the beginning of his one and a half year stay in Corinth, when Timothy, who had been specially sent there, and Silas, who had remained there, returned from Macedonia to him (Acts 18:1-5). The news brought by Timothy was very comforting. The Church of Thessalonica, despite attacks and oppression, remained unshakably firm in the faith (1 Thessalonians 2:14, 3:6–8), so that it could be set as a model for Christians throughout Macedonia and Achaia, and the fame of its heroism spread everywhere (1 Thessalonians 1:7–8). At the same time, she was distinguished by her brotherly active love (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10), and in general by her faithful fulfillment of the moral rules taught to them on behalf of the Lord by the Apostle (1 Thessalonians 4:1), which was always remembered with love (1 Thessalonians 3:6). With all this, however, Saint Timothy had something to say about their imperfections and bewilderments. Not all of them have yet completely renounced the vices of pagans and Jews; but some were carried away by sensuality, others succumbed to the lures of self-interest, others were careless about the affairs of their calling and indulged in laziness. Nevertheless, those who believed were in great concern about the fate of their dead relatives, already Christians, believing that only those who would be alive at His appearance would be honored with the benefits of the (second) coming of Christ, and not those who had already died. Do not the news brought by Saint Timothy about the shortcomings of the Thessalonians and the instructions that the Apostle gives them at the end of the letter 1 Thessalonians 5:12–22 hint at? Was there any disobedience towards the superiors of the Church (1 Thessalonians 5:12)? Were not others carried away by revenge (1 Thessalonians 5:15)? Didn't they consider everything indiscriminately indifferent (1 Thess. 5:21)? Was there any sinful action regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit and especially the gift of prophecy (1 Thess. 5:20)? It is also not surprising that both the broad description of the conversion of Thessalonians and the way in which the Apostle Paul acted towards them (1 Thessalonians 1–2:13) are directed against the speeches heard by Saint Timothy, which were unfavorable for the Apostle and the Gospel. Has anyone spread rumors that this faith has nothing Divine (the answer to this is 1 Thess. 1:4-10); that preachers see only their own benefits (answer - 1 Thessalonians 2ff.); that if there were truth here, the Jews would rather believe in it, but they persecute (1 Thess. 2:14-16); that the Apostle only appeared, led you into trouble, and disappeared himself (answer - 1 Thessalonians 2-3:13 - I suffered for you - no less than you)? This situation of the Church of Thessalonica forced the Apostle to write a letter for the first time since the beginning of his apostolic activity. For he, like all the Apostles, was not sent to write, but to preach the gospel - let’s say he wrote the same thing, but on the charter of the heart he wrote the blessed word. Where there were no insurmountable obstacles, the holy Apostle personally decided and arranged everything. He had to extend his educational activities to the Thessalonians - from afar. Saint Timothy, of course, clarified, corrected, and clarified many things. But even if everything necessary was done, what was done required approval by the apostolic authority. Thus, the holy Apostle writes a letter in which he covers everything that happened to the Thessalonians from the first minute of his arrival to them until Timothy, who was sent to them, returned, and puts his apostolic view on everything, in the form of strengthening them in the faith, consoling them in sorrow, pacifying them from perplexity and protecting them with comprehensive rules of behavior and the moral mood of the heart. The Apostle talks to them with heartfelt tenderness, without any distrust of them and lack of hope for them in the troubles that beset them, wisely combining encouraging consolation with the severity of corrective lessons. The Apostle’s goal in writing this epistle was threefold: 1) in the joy of how well they had behaved themselves hitherto, to confirm them in fidelity to the holy Gospel, despite external troubles because of that, through a reminder of the goodness of God revealed in their conversion - about his preaching to them and his concern for them, with the removal of those unfavorable opinions about the holy Gospel and about it that could be spread maliciousness; 2) to command them to give up those shortcomings that they still had from their previous life and which were in them due to their inability to adhere to the order of the new life and 3) to reassure them regarding the fate of the dead with an accurate statement of the teaching about the second coming of Christ. The last two goals are completed in the last two chapters, 4th and 5th, the first - in the first 3. The whole message therefore apparently falls into two parts, of which the first can be called historical, the second - moral-dogmatic. They are accompanied by an inscription with a greeting at the beginning, and final well wishes at the end. – A more detailed division will come in the interpretation itself. The Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians are distinguished by the sublimity of their contemplation of life in Christ, the Epistles to the Corinthians order the paths of earthly life according to the principles of Christian life, the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians indicate the basis of faith according to sound reasoning about what was and is in those living within the law and outside the law. The Epistle to Thessalonica presents nothing of the sort. It vividly depicts the heartfelt union of the preacher of the gospel of Christ with those who believe, and in this respect it is very close to the letter to the Philippians - the same as the Macedonians. The Macedonian Christians did not show the highest talents. With the simplicity of faith and the warmth of love, they extracted from the Apostle a speech full of fatherly compassion and solicitude. What is the fullness of the apostolic spirit in St. Paul, when in such a variety of ways he was able to be everything to everyone - whatever was required for anyone! 6. Time and place of writing The Epistle to the Thessalonians cannot be removed from the beginning of the conversion of the Thessalonians. In it, apparently, the Apostle stands under the living impression made on him by the conversion of Thessaloniki and his stay in them; Apparently, other events have not yet arisen that could weaken the strength of this impression; The Apostle is all in thought and feeling in what happened in Thessaloniki; one writes about all this in the same way one can only write about events that took place in the recent past. This is further indicated by the fact that the desire to see the Thessalonians, which was born to Saint Paul immediately after his separation from them (1 Thessalonians 2:17), was still alive in him at the time he wrote this message, as well as among the Thessalonians - to see him (1 Thessalonians 3:6): therefore, having been separated after the first communication, they had not yet seen each other. Finally, the entire moral and dogmatic part shows that the Church of Thessalonica, despite all its fame and glory, still consists of converts, who are taught the original rules of life and improvement. According to all these features, so obvious in the message, the origin of the message cannot in any way be removed from the founding of the Church in Thessaloniki. The first followed the last after a very short period of time. Consequently, the determination of the time of its origin and the place of writing must agree with the history of the founding of the Church in Thessaloniki, depicted in the Acts. The Holy Apostle in his letter makes it clear that he writes it immediately after the return of Saint Timothy to him from Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 3:6). In the Acts it appears that Saint Timothy, returning from Macedonia with Silas, found the Apostle Paul already in Corinth. Consequently, the epistle must be recognized as written from Corinth. The time of writing it can be determined by the following consideration. Having come from Athens to Corinth, the Apostle Paul lived with Aquila and Priscilla, Jewish Christians expelled from Rome by Claudius. The decree on their expulsion, commemorated by Suetonius and Tacitus, will fall in the year 52. Aquila had already settled down in Corinth when Saint Paul arrived and stayed with him. Why should this circumstance be attributed to the year 53, while the writing of the message should be attributed to the end of this year or the beginning of 54? But other perplexities arise, namely: if the message was written so soon after the conversion of Thessalonians, then how in such a short time could their faith become glorified throughout Macedonia and Achaia (1 Thessalonians 1:7) and their charity managed to expand throughout Macedonia (1 Thessalonians 4:10)? – This makes me take my writing time further away. Both could happen naturally even over the course of several weeks, and not just over the course of several months. Thessaloniki was a seaside city and stood on the land trade route. People from all countries entered or left it every day in large numbers, and every significant incident that took place there was spread, one might say, throughout the world. Since the conversion of the Thessalonians to faith in the Lord was extraordinary, as the holy Apostle testified, of those for whom this was dear, some could not help but talk about it, others could not help but hear about it with eagerness and enthusiasm. And so the fame of their faith spread throughout Macedonia and Achaia. Charity always follows in the footsteps of sincere faith. Believers always have one soul. The Solunians could not help but immediately enter into relations with the Berians and Philippians and help those in need among them because of their greater wealth. And this is already a large district. For others, bewilderment arises from the fact that the Thessalonians are worried about the fate of those who died already in Christianity. Less than a year passed from the beginning of the founding of the Church in Thessaloniki to the writing of the message. Were there any dead then, and, if so, could there have been such a number in that short time that this could have given rise to general concern? “But in order for such anxiety to arise, it does not require that there be many dead, it does not even require that there be dead at all.” It is enough to think that, just as all good things are expected from the second coming of Christ, the time of this coming is uncertain; then what will happen if one of our people dies and we ourselves die, and He has not yet come before that time? What will happen to the dead? If there was at least one person who died at that time, then this question could flare up even more vividly; but even without this, since persecution was imminent, death was constantly hovering before the eyes of everyone. Regarding the place of writing, bewilderment is aroused not by the message itself and the circumstances of the Church of Thessalonica, but by ancient inscriptions, which indicate that the message was written from Athens. It is true that such a note came from confusing the place from which Timothy was sent to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 3:2) with the place where the epistle was written, or even from the confidence that Timothy, sent from Athens, carried the epistle itself. But the first cannot be confused, as the course of events shows, and one should not be sure of the second when the epistle clearly distinguishes Timothy’s embassy from the epistle. You might be interested in: