1. Предисловие

a) Inscription and greeting (Phil.1, 1–3) Phil.1:1–2. Paul is the prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy is the brother, Philemon our beloved and companion, and Apphia our beloved sister, and Archippus our comrade in arms, and your home church. "Yuznik" Writing his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul called himself an Apostle, but here, instead of any title, he calls himself a prisoner. This is because there it was necessary to act with apostolic authority, but here it is necessary to ask, and the strength of the petition is given most of all by suffering and deprivation for a cause that is dear to the one to whom the petition is addressed. But compassion for the prisoner itself interceded for the petition. “He says this not to exalt himself, but to do something useful and convince, not for himself, but in order to quickly ask for mercy for another. He seems to be saying this: for your sake I am surrounded by these bonds, just as he says in other places, “I am a prisoner... the nations speak of you” (Eph. 3:1) - for the gospel “I will suffer until the bonds” (2 Tim. 2:9). For him there is no higher praise than to be called a sufferer of Christ: “for,” he said, “I bear the wounds of the Lord Jesus on my body” (Gal. 6:17). “Jesus Christ’s prisoner” because he was bound for Him. Hearing about the bonds of Christ, who would not be ashamed, who would not bow down, who would not give his very soul, and not just one slave? (St. Chrysostom). “The apostle called himself a “prisoner,” giving the greatest strength to his request through bonds. For you, he says, I am in chains. If I had loved peace, had not walked around the universe and offered the Gospel to all people, I would not have experienced this” (Theodoret). “By this he greatly induces the petition, showing that it is right to give pleasure to those held in bonds for Christ” (Theophylact). "And Timothy is brother". “The Apostle (as if considering himself insufficient to ask Theophlactus) adds another intercessor, so that Philemon, hearing the request from many, would rather bow down and show mercy” (St. Chrysostom). "To Philemon, our beloved and companion." These words grab Philemon right by the heart and, even before presenting his petition, already persuade him to do so. Love compels one to do what is pleasing to the lover for the sake of the community, and cooperation compels the well-being of the common cause. “If “beloved,” then relying on him is not impudence or recklessness, but a sign of great friendship; if he is an “assistant,” then he must not only accept such requests, but also give thanks for them, for through this he does good to himself, arranging the same thing with others. Thus, even without asking, says the Apostle, you have another incentive to show mercy: if it is useful for the Gospel, and you show zeal for the Gospel, then you should not expect a request, but ask yourself” (St. Chrysostom). Philemon is an associate of the cause of the Gospel, although it is not clear that he was adorned with any degree of priesthood. “Although he did not belong to the clergy, but because out of love for Christ he helped the Church of believers in every possible way, the Apostle calls him a partner in his labors. And there are many who, being worthy, refuse the priesthood, considering themselves not strong enough to carry out this service as they should. But for this very reason they are most worthy of it” (Ambrosiast). "And Apphia's beloved sister." “She, it seems to me, was the wife of Philemon” (Saint Chrysostom). “He praises Philemon, calling him a companion; adds his spouse to him as an accomplice in the faith; it is likely that, without being mentioned, she would begin to oppose what was written in the message. Blessed Paul called her “beloved,” as adorned with faith, and let no one be surprised at this, although some are now offended by this greeting; because, using the deed itself for evil, they made the name reproachful; but in ancient times this word was honest and praiseworthy” (Theodoret). "And Arkhippus, his father." The Owner is a warrior of the same militia as the Apostle. The apostles fought against ignorance and wickedness, and with the heavenly weapons of their warfare they subjugated everyone under the yoke of the faith of Christ. Archippus also fought in the same spirit and direction, in a small circle among the Colossians. This is why Saint Paul called him his father. He was entrusted with the teaching and administration of the Colossian Church, presumably after Philemon abandoned this. But what was he to Philemon? – Son, brother, uncle, friend? “It’s obvious that he belonged to the same family.” But whoever he was, it is enough to know that he was a person worthy of being entrusted with the care of the entire Church. Saint Chrysostom says about him: “This is the same Archippus about whom in the Epistle to the Colossians Paul says: “And cry to Archippus: observe the service that you have received in the Lord, that you may do it” (Col. 4:17). It seems to me that he was one of the clergy (“the teaching was entrusted to him” - Theodoret), therefore the Apostle makes a request to him and calls him “the owner”, in order to achieve his goal with his assistance. For if you are a “proprietor”, then you must take part here too (as if: if you fight together in the cause of the Gospel, fight here too). Look at Paul’s humility: he joins Timothy in his request, and asks not just a husband, but also a wife, and another, probably a friend. He does not want to achieve what he wants by order and does not show indignation if Philemon does not immediately obey his command, but acts as if an unknown person, disposing them to do the same and reinforce his request, for not only a request from many, but also a request addressed to many, contributes to receiving what is asked. “And your home church.” “The Apostle calls the Church all the believers in the house, including slaves” (Theophylact). He does not lose sight of the slaves either, for he knew that often the speeches of slaves can convince the master, especially when the request concerns a slave; Moreover, perhaps they especially aroused the master’s grief against Onesimus. The Apostle, having honored them with a greeting along with the masters, does not allow them to fall into envy of the beloved (“but he also disposes them to become his accomplices in conviction, having been awarded the apostolic honor” (Theodoret). However, he did not give the master any reason to be offended. If he had called the slaves by name, then perhaps the master would have been offended; and if he had not mentioned them at all, then perhaps he would have stayed Therefore, look how wisely Paul, in mentioning the slaves, honored them with his remembrance, and did not irritate him, for the name “church” (the whole house) does not allow the masters to be offended when they are supplied with slaves. Truly the Church does not know the difference between master and slave; she distinguishes both by virtue and vice. So, if (your house) is a church, then do not be offended that a slave is supplied with you; for “in Christ Jesus... there is neither bond nor freedom” (Gal.3:28) - (St. Chrysostom). Phil.1:3. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. “Grace and peace” are the usual greetings of St. Paul. Grace is for salvation, and all good comes from it. Peace is the result of all the benefits of the grace-filled economy of salvation, namely, the pacification of the flow of inner life, which is usually swept up like dust by the action of the passions that rule there, - reconciliation with the flow of external life, in all relationships, pleasant and unpleasant, and, moreover, peace with God in Christ Jesus, rejoicing with the indestructible hope of eternal bliss. In any message, depending on its goals, these good wishes can have their own special shades, more or less impressive. For the present message, here is what, in addition to the general meaning, Saint Chrysostom sees in “grace and peace”: “Having reminded “of grace,” the Apostle brings to mind Philemon’s own sins. Think, he says, how many sins the Lord has forgiven you, how you have been saved by grace, and imitate the Lord. He asks him for “peace” - and rightly so; for peace occurs when we imitate the Lord, when grace abides with us. So that servant, who turned out to be unmerciful to a slave similar to himself, until he demanded a hundred denarii from him, until then enjoyed the mercy of his master, and when he began to demand it, then he was deprived of it and handed over to the tormentors (Matthew 18:34).” b) Beginning of the message (Phil. 1, 4–7) “Not suddenly and not at the very beginning of the letter, the Apostle asks for mercy, but first he expressed surprise at this man and praised him for his virtues, also presented important proof of his love for him in that he always remembers him in his prayers, and said that many find peace with him and that he shows meekness and faith to everyone; then, finally, he begins to talk about mercy, and thus convinces him with special force. For if others receive from him what they ask, how much more does Paul; if, having come before others, he would be worthy to receive what he asked, then much more after others, and moreover, asking not for himself, but for others” (St. Chrysostom). Phil.1:4. I thank my God, always remembering you in my prayers. Every time, he says, I pray, I remember you in my prayer and, remembering you, I thank my God for you. Saying that he thanks God for Philemon, he makes it clear to him that he is pleased with him, that he recognizes him as perfect in Christianity and thereby cheers him up and inspires him to greater good: which is not alien to the purpose of the message. But, offering such thanksgiving along with himself before the face of God and the spirit of Philemon, he teaches him to see in God the source of his perfections and rather to humble himself in the consciousness of them than to think highly of himself, trying in every possible way, like the Apostle, to appear grateful before God: which is also not far from the purpose of the message; for one must give thanks not only in words, but more than in deeds pleasing to God, one of which the Apostle will immediately offer. Phil.1:5. Hearing your love and faith, you immediately turned to the Lord Jesus and to all the saints. What perfections of Philemon, with which God adorned him, aroused in the Apostle feelings of gratitude to God? - Faith and love. I hear him say that you are an exemplary Christian, and your faith is right and firm, and you are rich in deeds of love, and I thank God “for your kindness” (Theophylact); for I confess, as you yourself certainly realize, that the grace of God has made you such. He said: “love and faith,” and then: “to the Lord and to the saints.” And one can and should show both love and faith towards the saints, as well as towards the Lord, but, according to the generally established way of thinking, faith brings to mind the Lord, as it is naturally manifested towards Him, and love – to the holy brethren, as it is most exercised in relations with them. And love for God becomes visible in love for the holy brothers. Therefore, when someone, reading this passage, will in his mind distribute in this way what is contained in it: faith in the Lord and love for the saints, then this cannot be considered inconsistent with the words of the Apostle. Our interpreters paraphrase this passage in precisely this sense. Blessed Theodoret writes: “I glorify the God of all, for I hear what faith you have in the Lord who saved you and how great your love is, and what services you bestow on those who respect the divine.” The same is true of Ambrosiastes: “The Apostle says that he rejoices and gives thanks to God in his prayers because Philemon was firm in the faith and devoted to good deeds.” “Hearing” – hearing incessantly, as if someone were repeating it in his ears. With these words, Philemon could think of Epaphras as a praiser; but Onesimus could also have come to his mind; Perhaps the Apostle understood him precisely when he said this - and he understood him because this was the case in reality. Onesimus praised his master before Saint Paul, exposing his good qualities in order to induce the Apostle to write to him. Epaphras confirmed this; and the message is written in full confidence in its success, to which “hearing” should have contributed a lot. But even without that, the reminder of Philemon’s kindness to all the faithful seemed to oblige him in advance to show the same kindness to Onesimus, who had now become faithful. Blessed Theophylact expounds the Apostle’s supposed thought in this way: “Since you love all the saints, that is, the faithful, you must love Onesimus, for he too is already faithful, so that through this he can reveal himself and the Lord to those who love. Do you see what compulsory thoughts he gathers in his mind to satisfy the request? Phil.1:6. So that the communication of your faith will be effective, in the mind of every good thing that is in you, in Christ Jesus. These words can be applied to the prayer of St. Paul like this: I pray, “for yes,” and so on, and to the good deeds of Philemon, like this: you have faith and love, prompted to this by “for yes,” and so on. All our interpreters see here a continuation of the prayer of St. Paul. I thank God, hearing about your love and faith, and I pray that the deeds of your love will multiply more and more and your faith will be effective. Saint Chrysostom says: “I pray,” he says, “that the communication of your faith will be effective.” (In what and how?) “In the mind of every good,” - that is, so that you achieve every virtue, so that you have no lack. Faith is effective when it is accompanied by deeds. For “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). He did not say: your faith, but: “the fellowship of your faith” (your common faith with us), uniting him with yourself and instilling in him that they are one body, and thereby convincing him with special power. If you, he says, are my accomplice in faith, then you must be an accomplice in everything else.” Blessed Theodoret expresses this same thought in a generally brief word: “And I ask and pray to the common Benefactor to grant you the perfect possession of goods.” And Ecumenius introduces word by word into the interpretation: “as if there is communion of faith.” Connecting him with himself, (the Apostle) seemed to be saying: common (our faith with you) and universally created faith. But (who will ask) why do you thank God so much (or why do you pray so much)? - “For,” he says, “let the communication of your faith be effective.” How will it be effective? - Through knowledge, he says, of you and the doing of every good. “About Christ Jesus, (in Christ, or for Christ Jesus). For whoever does good to someone does it to Christ, especially when he makes Him holy.” Blessed Theophylact collected all the stated thoughts and offers them in this form: “Thank you,” says the Apostle, “ God for your love, praying that your faith, which you have in common with us, will be “effective” - active and living in your knowledge of every good deed, that is, in your loving it and putting it into practice. For faith is alive when we are diligent in every good deed, just as it is dead when there are no good deeds. The Apostle also added: “even in you” to show that Philemon now already has every good deed in himself, as if saying so: in the knowledge of every good deed, and now in you, that is, in you, already existing. Having said: “communion of faith,” Saint Paul unites Philemon with himself and creates one. There is a common faith and it is the same, so you must also think with me (look at things and faces in the same way with me). Or he calls almsgiving, which comes from great faith, communion of faith. So, the Apostle says: I create memory of you by praying, so that your sociable and gracious disposition never ceases, but more and more, may you pour out on those in need every good thing “that is within you,” that is, that you have. - “In Christ Jesus.” To Christ Jesus, he says, comes every good thing that you do to those in need, especially to the saints. So now, if you accept Onesimus and please me, then you will do the same to Christ Himself.” If we relate these words to Philemon, the flow of thoughts will be as follows: I thank God in my prayers for you, hearing your love and faith - towards the Lord and the saints - which you have, prompted to this by not allowing your faith to remain idle and ineffective, but always keeping it active. “Communion... of faith” will then mean that you have abandoned paganism and entered into communion with the Lord and with those who believe in Him, that you have joined the Christian faith. Having embraced the one true faith, you were and are jealous that it should not be idle and ineffective in you, but that it would be effective. You are not content with just being a Christian in name, but you are also jealous of the very deed of being one, of truly being what this faith requires. What motivates and inspires him to live and act like this? – Consciousness of the great benefits received from faith. The word "in the mind" - in recognition, in consciousness. Having understood and realized how many benefits he has received by believing in the Lord, he himself is zealous for every good thing, zealous to make his faith effective, that it is not in vain that he is worthy of the communion of faith, but shows himself to be fruitful. He says: in the consciousness of “every good.” Not just one benefit was received, but every kind: remission of sins, knowledge of the complete truth, the grace of the Holy Spirit, creating good dispositions in the heart, peace and joy in the Spirit, and most of all, the true promise of the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven, with the sure beginnings of it still here. Realizing all this, you are jealous to appear grateful to the Benefactor, doing every good thing. “Even in you” – you don’t see such blessings in others as if you were far away. But they are before your eyes, in each of you and in yourself. Instead of “in you,” they now began to read: “in us,” meaning Christians in general. Spiritual benefits from the faith of Christ were everywhere and everyone experienced them. In response to why you switched to Christians, you could safely answer: do you see how many benefits it gives? - How can one not prefer it to all other faiths? - At the same time, regarding the word: “in the mind of every good,” the following thought is also possible: so that other non-believers can still understand how many good things are in our faith, and thereby incite them to recognize it as the one true faith and move on and cleave to it. – “In Christ Jesus,” can be understood in two ways. Then this word will be in connection with the immediate previous words: in the consciousness of every good received in Christ Jesus, according to the economy of salvation, perfected and established by Him. Or leave “in” in its meaning - as an indicator of the goal and direction of affairs. Then it will be necessary to refer it to - “it will be effective” - so that the communication of your faith will be effective for Christ Jesus, to please Him, to the glory of His name and to promote the work of salvation for all, perfected and accomplished by Christ Jesus. Phil.1:7. For the Imam has much joy and consolation about your love, as I have purified the wombs of the saints with you, brother. The Apostle shows what prompts him to thank God for Philemon and to pray that he becomes kinder and kinder, saying, as it were: your active love pleases and comforts me, not only because it is a mirror of your Christian perfection, but even more because you give peace to all the brethren. Saint Paul was in such a living union with all believers that he accepted everything that happened to them as if it had happened to himself: he rejoiced when everything went well for them, grieved when someone was oppressed by grief and need, and was comforted when someone eased the lot of the mourning and needy. So here too, he rejoiced over the kindness of Philemon and in his sorrowful bonds he had the consolation of having cleansed the wombs of the saints with them, as if his own womb had been laid to rest. “We not only rejoice (for you), but we are also comforted (because of those deceased), because they are our members” (St. Chrysostom). But why did St. Paul write about this? - Because it really suited the purpose of the message. Such words inspired Philemon that if the Apostle, so beloved and honored, is comforted when I do something for others, how much more comfort will there be for him if I do something for him. If Saint Paul addressed Philemon as a son, and he loved and honored the Apostle as a father; then such an impressive thought should naturally have been born in Philemon and, before asking, would have already disposed him to his satisfaction. Saint Chrysostom says: “If there should be such an agreement between us that those who are in sorrow, even if they themselves have not received anything, should rejoice when they see the calm of others, since one body has been blessed, then all the more (we will rejoice) if you calm us too.” “Imam”, we have. It can be assumed that Saint Paul had in mind Saint Timothy, whom he accepted as an accomplice of the Scriptures, or others who were with him. But it is more likely that he is speaking here about himself alone, because the Slavic translation correctly expresses the power of the Apostle’s thought, although it does not follow the letter. “Cleaning the wombs of the saints” does not indicate the repose of only strangers and the poor by delivering what they need, although this seems to be mainly what is meant; but in general for every good deed, both spiritual and material, and to everyone - both our own and strangers, and those oppressed by need, and those who have a small need. Blessed Theodoret writes, speaking as if on behalf of the Apostle: “I am filled with every joy that you provide all kinds of services to the saints.” But isn’t it better to see in this expression not the space of beneficence, but the strength and warmth of disposition with which all good was done. So Saint Chrysostom: “He did not say: you are meek, you are compliant; but he says stronger and more expressively: “As I cleansed the wombs of the saints with you.” Blessed Theophylact completes this thought: “He didn’t just say: you give to the saints, but “you give rest to the wombs of the saints,” that is, that they wholeheartedly accept your love for mankind as generously and with comforting cordiality offered to them.” You might be interested in: