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Inscription and greeting (1–2). Praise be to God for the greatness of the work of redemption and rebirth of mankind (3–5). The grace of rebirth is a source of consolation in sorrows and adversities, which can strengthen faith and love for the Lord Jesus Christ (6–9). The greatness of the grace of Christ and the salvation of people in Christ is revealed from the fact that this salvation is the mystery of God, which is unknown to the Angels and which was the subject of research and study of the Old Testament prophets (10-12). An exhortation to steadfastness of hope, to holiness of life and to mutual love (13–25). 1 Peter 1:1. Peter, Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, chosen ones, 1 Peter 1:2. according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, with sanctification from the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you. Already in the opening verses of the epistle, in its inscription and in the Apostle’s greeting to the readers, the general character and spirit of the worldview and theology of the Holy Apostle Peter is expressed, namely: the close connection of his teaching with the Old Testament. Calling himself from the very beginning an Apostle of Jesus Christ, St. Peter does this, of course, with the aim of giving authority to his word in the eyes of all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. With the name “απόστολος,” the readers of the letter should have remembered that the persons called apostles (cf. Matt. 10:1–2) speak and act not on their own and on their own, but by authority and in the name of Jesus Christ; that by virtue of a special calling they are witnesses of Christ as the Redeemer and Savior of the world (cf. Acts 4:9, 10:39), and have the duty and authority to establish societies or churches in the name of Christ, to preach and teach about the cross of Christ and the whole work of salvation throughout the entire universe, to teach edification and exhortation, reproof and prohibition to all people - Jews and Gentiles, after they have accepted the word gospel (cf. Rom. 1:13, etc. pl.), and in order to achieve the lofty goals of their worldwide ministry, the apostles received special gifts of the Holy Spirit and extraordinary miraculous powers (Acts 2:4, 5:5, 11; Wed Mark 16:17, 18). In the thought of the Apostle Peter himself, the idea of ​​the apostolic ministry is inseparably connected with the similar ministry of the Old Testament prophets. Blessed Theophylact perfectly notes this feature in the views of St. Peter on the work of the apostleship, saying: “in words, according to the foreknowledge of God, the Apostle wants to show that, with the exception of time, he is in no way inferior to the prophets, who themselves were sent, and that the prophets were sent, Isaiah says about this: “He sent me to preach good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1). But if it is lower in time, then it is not lower in the foreknowledge of God. In this respect he declares himself equal to Jeremiah, who, before he was formed in the womb, was known and sanctified and appointed a prophet to the nations (Jer 1:5). And just as the prophets, along with other things, foretold the coming of Christ (for for this purpose they were sent), the ministry of the apostleship explains that the work of its apostleship is to separate. For this is what the word “sanctification” means, for example in the words: “You will be a privileged people to Me, sanctified” (Deut. 14:2), that is, separated from other nations. So, the work of his apostleship is, through spiritual gifts, to separate nations submissive to the cross and sufferings of Jesus Christ, sprinkled not with the ashes of the youth, when it is necessary to cleanse the defilement of communication with the pagans, but with the blood from the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” The Apostle calls the readers of the epistle (v. 1) “the chosen and the strangers of the dispersion” (έκλεκτοίς παρεπιδημοις διασπορας): chosen - in the sense of being called to the Church of Christ (by analogy with the election of the Jewish people in Old Testament), “sojourners from the dispersion” - not only in the narrow, literal sense - meaning Jewish Christians living outside their homeland - Palestine, but also in a more extensive, spiritual or figurative sense - Christians in general who do not have an abiding city on earth (Heb. 11:13, 13:14), since human life on earth is generally called pilgrimage and sojourning, and man, according to biblical view - no matter where one lives, there is a stranger and a stranger on earth; the earth is his temporary residence, and his own fatherland is another world - spiritual, heavenly (cf. Gen. 47:9; Lev.25:23; Ps. 39:13). That is why, although the word “dispersion” has a technical meaning in the New Testament, designating Jews who lived outside Palestine among the pagans (James 1:1; John 7:35), likewise the word “stranger” (Heb. ger, toshab) in the Old Testament meant a person who lived outside the borders of his homeland, in a foreign land (Exodus 12:45; Lev. 22:10, 25:47), but in the Apostle Peter, in the already indicated improper, spiritual sense, Christians in general, not excluding linguistic Christians (1 Peter 2:10, 4:3, 4), are called strangers and strangers (1 Peter 2:11), and the time of their life in the world is the time of wandering (1 Peter 1:17). Thus, the Apostle Peter, putting a higher, New Testament meaning into the Old Testament figurative expressions, with the words of greeting in question means all Christians in general living in the areas listed by the Apostle - due to the fact that they, as Christians, constitute a special people, alien to the world and the pagans and having a spiritual, true homeland in heaven. The areas of residence of Christians listed by the Apostle are all located in Asia Minor. Namely: Pontus is the northeastern province of Asia Minor, which received its name due to its proximity to Pontus, the Euxine or Black Sea; Aquila, a colleague of the Apostle Paul in the work of the gospel, came from Pontus (Acts 18:2). Galatia lay to the west of Pontus; it received its name from the Gauls who moved here from Western Europe; Christianity was planted here by Ap. Pavel. Cappadocia was located south of Pontus; Christians from this province, like those from Pontus, were still at the first Christian Pentecost in Jerusalem (Acts 2:9). The name of Asia denotes the so-called Proconsular Asia, which consisted of the provinces of Mysia, Lydia and Caria and embraced the entire western coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula (Acts II). Finally, Bithynia occupied the northwestern part of this peninsula (Acts 16:7). After naming the readers of the epistle, the Apostle directly dwells (v. 2) with his reverent thought on the greatness of the Christian calling. Here he first of all draws the attention of readers to the fact that their election to salvation was accomplished “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,” κατα πρόγνωσιν Θεοΰ Πατρός. The concept of “foreknowledge” of God, as already mentioned, occupies a prominent place in the theology of the Apostle Peter due to the closeness of his worldview to the Old Testament, or due to his special recognition of the organic connection of both testaments. At the same time, as the evangelist of the New Testament, the Apostle in the work of arranging the salvation of Christians indicates the participation of all three persons of the Most Holy Trinity: if he assimilates the “foreknowledge” of salvation to God the Father, then to the Holy Spirit: “sanctify”, ῾εν άγιασμ Πνεύματος, i.e. all the varied actions of the Holy Spirit according to the blessing of the spirit and the whole nature of a Christian, and for Christ the Savior - the very accomplishment of the work of salvation, which has the highest goal: “in obedience and sprinkling of blood” (εις υπακοήν και ραντισμον αίματος) Jesus Christ's. There are two concepts here: “obedience” and “sprinkling of the blood” of Jesus Christ, and both of them, in the Apostle’s view, are associated with the Old Testament prototype of the New Testament - the covenant of the blood of Christ (Matthew 26:28; Heb 12:24). The Old Testament event, which prefigured the New Testament sprinkling of all people entering the Church of Christ, was the image or method of using sacrificial blood during the conclusion of the covenant of God with the Jewish people at Sinai, when the people were sprinkled with blood: “Moses took the blood (sacrificial) and sprinkled it on the people, saying: “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you” (Exodus 24:8; cf. Heb. 9:18–20). Thus, just as God’s covenant with the Jewish people was concluded with blood, so the priceless blood of the incarnate Son of God, shed by Him on the cross, laid the foundation for the New Covenant of God with humanity; and just as through the sprinkling of Jews with sacrificial blood, the Jewish people entered into a covenant and became the holy people of the covenant, so, of course, to an incomparably higher degree, sprinkling with the blood of Christ is a gracious power for people to enter into a new covenant with God or into the Church of Christ. The aforementioned narrative of the book of Exodus 24 explains the meaning of another expression of the Apostle: “in obedience. The fact is that Moses sprinkled with sacrificial blood as a sign of his entering into a covenant with God only after, after reading the “books and the Testament” aloud to the people, the latter made a solemn promise: “we will do everything that the Lord has said and be obedient” (Ex. 24 and Ex. 24:7), i.e. The Old Testament was concluded by sprinkling with sacrificial blood only on the condition of the people’s obedience to the will of Jehovah, expressed in the Book of the Testament. In a similar way, the acceptance and entry of people into the bosom of the Church of Christ occurs only under the condition of “obedience,” that is, people’s unconditional readiness to accept all Christian teaching with an irrevocable determination to fulfill it in life itself. Having depicted the essence and basis of the salvation of people in Christ, the Apostle sends the readers a prayerful wish: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you.” “Grace” - because we are saved freely, without bringing anything from ourselves; “peace” - because, having offended the Lord, we were among His enemies” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1 Peter 1:4. to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:5. being kept by the power of God through faith unto the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. After greeting the readers with an image of the source of Christian salvation, the Apostle is filled with a feeling of deep heartfelt gratitude to God for the redemption of the world and the calling of Christian readers into the Church of Christ, and pours out his believing feeling in a solemn doxology or doxology, closely reminiscent of a similar doxology of the other supreme Apostle Paul at the beginning of the Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph. 1:3 seq.). In his praise to God, Apostle. Peter calls God the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as Christ Himself called God not only Father, but also His God (John 20:17), and so did Apostle. Paul often called, usually in hymns, God the Father and the God of Jesus Christ (Rom 15:6; 2 Cor 1:3, 11:31; Eph 1:3, 17; Col 1:3). It is possible that the form of doxology was borrowed from its liturgical use in apostolic times (cf. James 3:9). The Apostle in his doxology characterizes salvation itself in Christ in Art. 3 from three sides: a) according to its source, it is a work of “great mercy” (το πολύελεος) of God, since the salvation of the sinful world and humanity is exclusively the work of God’s love that has mercy on man (John 3:16); b) by its essential property it is “regeneration” (αναγεννήσας), the grace-filled rebirth of people into a new, spiritual and eternal life (cf. John 3:3; Titus 3:5; Col 3:1; Eph 1:19, 20, 2:10); finally, c) by its ultimate goal, salvation in Christ “leads to hope alive (εις ελπίδ Ζώσαν) raised by Jesus Christ from the dead": a spiritually dead person in falling away from God through faith in Christ and in union with Christ is reborn into a new life and receives firm hope for eternal blessed life, the guarantee and foundation of this hope is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 15:14, 17) “What hope does God give? But not that which was through Moses, which was death, but where does this hope come from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead? For He, just as He Himself rose, gives also the power to rise to those who come to Him through faith in Him” (Blessed Theophilus). In Art. 4 the very object of Christian hope is outlined in detail. This subject is “inheritance”, inheritance (εις κληρονομίαν), i.e., in similarity with the Promised Land of the Old Testament (Gen. 15:18), - the spiritual benefits of the Kingdom of Christ, inherited by Christians (Matt. 5:5; Gal. 4:7), especially eternal bliss in heaven (Heb 9:15), called here by Ap. Peter is “incorruptible” (άφθαρτον), “undefiled” (άμίαρτον), “unfading” (άμάραντον), i.e., the heavenly inheritance desired by Christians is not subject to any corruption or destruction (Matthew 6:19–20), pure, holy and completely, eternally blooming and always equal to itself, “not deposited on earth, as, for example, to the fathers, but in heaven, from which it has the property of eternity, which is superior to the earthly inheritance” (Blessed Theophilus). This heritage, according to the Apostle, is “preserved” (τετηρημένη) in heaven for Christians: the image is taken from earthly treasures kept by parents in a safe place for their children. But not only treasures for believers are preserved in heaven, but they themselves, in fulfillment of the request of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in His High Sacred Prayer, are preserved and protected by the power of God (cf. Phil 4:7) “through faith to salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” And from the person himself, constant vigil for his salvation is required (Matthew 24:42, 25:13), but, due to human weakness, it is the omnipotent power of God that is needed to protect the Christian from many and various enemies and dangers of his salvation. This salvation is ready to be revealed in its entirety “in the last time.” ἐν καιρῶ ἐσχάτω, i.e. according to the New Testament use of this expression (cf. Matthew 13:39, 40, 24:3, 28:20; 2 Tim 3:1; Jude 1:18), with the end of the kingdom of grace and the opening of the kingdom of glory, at the second coming Christ. The expression “ready” gives the idea of the proximity of this last time. “This closeness is understood here, without a doubt, in the same sense as the other apostles, i.e., that with the first appearance of Christ into the world, the last era of the economy of human salvation began, during which we must constantly be prepared for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to judgment (see James 5: 7–9)” (Reverend Bishop Michael). 1 Peter 1:6. In this you rejoice, having now grieved a little, if necessary, from various temptations, 1 Peter 1:7. that the tested faith of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 1:8. Whom, having not seen, you love, and Whom, not having seen before, but believing in Him, you rejoice with unspeakable and glorious joy, 1 Peter 1:9. finally achieving through your faith the salvation of souls. 1 Peter 1:10. To this salvation belonged the investigations and investigations of the prophets, who foretold of the grace appointed for you, The high joy about the blessings of the Christian heritage, filling the hearts of all true Christians, should shed grace-filled consolation into their souls during the sorrows and misfortunes that befall them. The lofty teaching on the beneficial significance of sorrows in the moral life of Christians. Peter expounds similarly to Apostle. James (James 1:2 f.), but together with some features corresponding to the personal properties of the spiritual experience of the Apostle Peter. Namely, he first of all especially separates the insignificance - both in duration and in character - of temporary sorrows and trials with the eternal bliss prepared for the Christian in heaven, and then more than Ap. James strives to revive in the souls of readers personal communication with the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in Him and love for Him, as a means or path to that bliss. “Just as the teacher in His promise declares not only joy, but also sorrow, saying: “in the world you will have sorrow” (John 16:33), so the Apostle added “little” to the word joy. But as sad as this is, the latter adds “now...” Or the word “now” should be related to joy, since it will be replaced by future joy, not short-term, but long-lasting and endless. Or the word “little” should be understood in relation to sorrow, in this exact form, if now it is necessary to grieve a little from various temptations... He adds “if it is bad,” teaching that not every faithful person, nor every sinner, is tested by sorrows, and neither one nor the other is left in them forever. The righteous who mourn suffer to receive crowns, and sinners to suffer punishment for their sins. Not all righteous people experience sorrow, lest you consider malice praiseworthy and hate virtue. And not all sinners experience sorrow so that the truth of the resurrection would not be doubted, if everyone here still received their due” (Blessed Theophilus). In Art. 8 The Apostle, as a new incentive to endure trials complacently, points to the faith and love of the readers for the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Apostle expresses this praise in the form of a paraphrase of the words of Christ. Thomas, that blessed are those who, without seeing Christ, believe in Him (John 20:29). Readers of the message, who have precisely such faith and love for Christ, should draw strength and support from this for their hope of final salvation. “If, he says, without seeing Him with your bodily eyes, you love Him by hearing alone, then what kind of love will you feel when you see Him appearing in glory? If His sufferings have so tied you to Him, then what kind of attachment should His appearance in unbearable splendor produce in you, when the salvation of souls is given to you as a reward? If you are about to appear before Him and be worthy of such glory, then now show the patience corresponding to it and you will fully achieve your intended goal” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 1:11. examining to which and at what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them pointed, when He foretold the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow them. 1 Peter 1:12. It was revealed to them that it was not they themselves, but us, who served that which has now been preached to you by those who preached the gospel by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, into which the angels desire to penetrate. The greatness and glory of Christian salvation are obvious from the fact that it constitutes the great mystery of God, which long before its implementation was the subject of careful research and study of the prophets and the reverent penetration into it of the Angels themselves. The prophets investigated (cf. Acts 3:24) not only when (τίνα καιρόν), after how many centuries and years the Messiah would come, but also what (ποίον καιρόν) character and spirit, what were the circumstances and relationships of that time. The independent activity of the prophets in this study consisted in the understanding and detailed distribution of revelation data. But the only source of the latter for the prophets was the Spirit of Christ (τό πνευΧρίστου), sent from God the Father into the world by God the Son: “in these words the Apostle Peter reveals the mystery of the Trinity” (Blessed Theophilus). The subject of prophetic contemplation and research was the suffering (παθήματα) of Christ the Savior, with which He at one time accomplished the work of saving people, and the subsequent glory (δόξας - plural), in which all believers in Christ are participants. “With the word about the foreknowledge of the prophets, the Apostle inspires his readers to accept with faith what was foretold to them by the prophets, because even prudent children do not neglect the labors of their fathers. If they (the prophets), who had nothing to use, searched and examined, and, having found it, put it in books and passed on to us, as it were, some inheritance, then we would be unfair if we began to treat their works with contempt. Therefore, when we proclaim this to you, do not despise it, and do not leave our gospel in vain. This is a lesson from the foresight of the prophets” (Blessed Theophilus). The highest degree of assessment of the work of saving people is represented by the final remark of the Apostle in Art. 12 that the Angels themselves desire and strive to penetrate into the mystery of the salvation of people and the whole world in Christ with all zeal and reverence (cf. Luke 2:14; Eph 3:10). 1 Peter 1:13. Therefore, [beloved], having girded up the loins of your mind, being watchful, have complete confidence in the grace given to you at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:14. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts that were in your ignorance, 1 Peter 1:15. but, following the example of the Holy One who called you, be holy in all your actions. 1 Peter 1:16. For it is written: Be holy, for I am holy. Contemplation of the heavenly heights of the Christian vocation must, first of all, generate in the hearts of believers a firm and perfect hope for the grace of Christ contributing to their salvation, and then must completely regenerate their entire life according to the highest prototype of God the Father: spiritual vigor (cf. Lk 12:35, 21:34, 36; Eph 6:14), perfect obedience to the Gospel, complete abandonment sinful habits of pre-Christian life and, conversely, the desire to imitate the holiness of God in accordance with the Old Testament command of God (Lev. 11:44, 19:2). “Some crazy people say that you have to adapt to the circumstances. But how to give themselves up to the will of circumstances frivolously, the Apostle commands that they, whether in knowledge or ignorance, adhere to this hitherto, but from now on conform to Him who called them, Who is truly holy, and themselves become saints” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 1:17. And if you call Him Father, who impartially judges everyone according to their deeds, then spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear, 1 Peter 1:18. Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from the vain life handed down to you from your fathers, 1 Peter 1:19. but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, 1 Peter 1:20. destined before the creation of the world, but which appeared in the last times for you, 1 Peter 1:21. who through Him believed in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that you may have faith and trust in God. As new and strongest incentives to a holy life, the Apostle now points to the filial relationship of readers and all Christians to God (v. 17), and then to their redemption by the priceless, pure Blood of Jesus Christ. Filial relationship to God (cf. Matt. 5:48), however, requires from Christians a particularly reverent fear of God (cf. Phil. 2:12). “Scripture distinguishes two types of fear, one is initial, the other is perfect. Initial fear, which is also the main one, is when someone turns to an honest life out of fear of responsibility for their deeds, and perfect fear is when someone, in order to perfect love for a friend, loved to the point of jealousy, is afraid so as not to remain in debt to him for anything that is required by strong love... For this perfect fear of living, the Apostle Peter convinces those who listen to him, and says: by the ineffable mercy of the Creator God, you are accepted among the children Him; therefore, let this fear always be with you, since you became such out of the love of your Creator, and not because of your deeds” (Blessed Theophilus). The Apostle strengthens the feeling of the fear of God in the readers by reminding them that their earthly life is a time of wandering (τής παροιχίας), which fully corresponds earlier (v. 1) and later (1 Pet. 2:11) to the name used by the readers as strangers and strangers. Another high motivation for holiness of life is offered by the Apostle further (vv. 18–19), pointing to the redemption of people from sin, guilt and vanity by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as the spotless and most pure Lamb (cf. John 1:29, 19:36; 1 Cor 5:7; see: Exodus 12:5; Isaiah 53), intended as a sacrifice for the world and people in pre-worldly eternity (v. 20, see: Heb 9:5–7) and only by the very act of fulfilling this purpose in the last, that is, New Testament times. In Art. 21 The Apostle, “having spoken about the death of Christ, added to this the word about the resurrection. For he fears that the converts will not again bow down to unbelief due to the fact that the sufferings of Christ are humiliating. He also adds that the sacrament of Christ is not new, but from the beginning, before the creation of the world, it was hidden until its proper time... Do not be embarrassed by the fact that here the Apostle Peter and (repeatedly) the Apostle Paul say that the Father raised the Lord (Acts 13:37; 27:31). This is what he says, using the usual way of teaching” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 1:22. By obedience to the truth through the Spirit, having purified your souls to unfeigned brotherly love, constantly love one another with a pure heart, 1 Peter 1:23. as being regenerated, not from corruptible seed, but from incorruptible, from the word of God, which lives and abides forever. 1 Peter 1:24. For all flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of the grass: the grass withered, and its flower fell away; 1 Peter 1:25. but the word of the Lord endures forever, 1 and this is the word that was preached to you. From the teaching about the rebirth of Christians by the grace of the Holy Spirit (v. 23, see John 1:12–13, 3:3, 5–6), the Apostle concludes that the virtue of brotherly love is necessary for everyone, which in its pure form is the fulfillment of the basic commandment of Christ the Savior about love, as a distinctive feature of Christians (Matt 22:40; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:28; John 13:34, 35). This impulse receives special strength in the thought of Art. 24–25 about the extreme contrast between the carnal, unregenerate man with his deeds and the man regenerated by the incorruptible seed of the word of God (v. 23; cf. James 1:18), abiding forever (cf. Isa. 40:6, 8). The mutual love of Christians for each other should remain equally eternal (1 Cor 13:8). 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