Глава XVI

Recommendations of Deaconess Thebes (1–2). Greetings (3–16). A Warning Against Church Agitators (17–20). Greetings from the companions of Ap. Paul (21–24). Rom.16:1. I present to you Phoebe, our sister, deaconess of the Church of Cenchrea. Rom.16:2. Accept her for the Lord, as is fitting for saints, and help her whatever she needs from you, for she has been a helper to many and to myself. Deaconess Thebes was apparently the transmitter of the letter to the Romans. The office of the deaconess (ή διάκονος) consisted of serving the poor, sick and strangers. Cenchrea is the eastern harbor of Corinth on the Gulf of Sharon. She was a helper (προστάτις) for many Christians 41 and for Paul and probably had significant financial resources. Perhaps she hosted strangers in her home. The Apostle asks the readers to accept her for the Lord, that is, in a completely Christian way, with complete cordiality, as their spiritual sister (cf. Phil 2:20). Rom.16:3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus Here 24 persons are named by name, to whom the Apostle addresses greetings, and then the Apostle greets the entire church in general. Rom.16:4. [who laid down their lives for my soul, whom I thank not only, but also all the churches of the pagans], and their home church. About Aquila and Priscilla - see Acts. 18:2, 18–19, 26 (cf. 1 Cor 16:19). Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, is placed in first place, probably due to her special merits for the Church (cf. 2 Tim. 4:19). – They laid down their “head” (more precisely: their neck) for my soul (more precisely: to save me). When this was is unknown. Some see the explanation for this in the events that happened during Ap’s stay. Paul from Ephesus (Acts 19:23 et seq.), others attribute this intercession of Aquila and Priscilla to the stay of St. Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:6 et seq.). - House churches are worship gatherings of a famous family and persons friendly to this family in a house belonging to this family. Rom.16:5. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ. “Firstfruits” – that is, the first to convert to Christianity in Ephesus. – Based on the Synopsis of Dorotheus, Epenet, like some of the other persons mentioned here, is listed in the lives of Ap. Demetrius of Rostov to the age of 70. Rom.16:6. Shout out to Mariam, who has worked hard for us. Rom.16:7. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and prisoners with me, who were glorified among the Apostles and who believed in Christ before me. "Junius". It is more correct to see a man’s name here (Ιουνι – Iunian), since the remark that she “glorified among the apostles” does not apply to a woman. “My relatives” - that is, my relatives. The word συγγενείς - relatives cannot be understood in the sense of “fellow tribesmen,” because other Jews (Aquila, Priscilla, Mariam) are not named here. - “Between the Apostles”. Here we do not mean the 12 apostles, among whom Andronicus and Junia could not be placed, but in general preachers of Christ, among whom the aforementioned Christians occupied a prominent position. Rom.16:8. Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Rom.16:9. Greet Urban, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachy, my beloved. Rom.16:10. Greet Apelles, tried in Christ. Greet the faithful from the house of Aristobulov. "From the House of Aristovoulov". The Apostle does not mention Aristobulus himself, probably because he was also a Christian. Perhaps it was a prince from the house of Herod, who lived for some time in Rome, and then left for Jerusalem, leaving his home in Rome in the care of his slaves. Rom.16:11. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Rom.16:12. Greet Tryphena and Tryphos, who labor for the Lord. Greet beloved Persis, who has labored much for the Lord. Rom.16:13. Salute Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine. “Chosen in the Lord,” that is, outstanding in his Christian virtues. Rom.16:14. Greet Asinkritus, Phlegontus, Hermas, Patrov, Hermias and their other brothers. Rom.16:15. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nireus and his sister, and Olympanos, and all the saints with them. Rom.16:16. Greet each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. After reading the epistle, readers should greet each other with a sacred kiss, which served in ancient times in the East as an expression of greeting upon meeting and parting (1 Peter 5:14; Apostolic post. XI, 57, 12; VIII, 5, 5). It is called holy as expressing the spirit of Christian unity. - “All churches”. It is very possible that indeed all the Eastern Churches, who knew that the Apostle was writing a letter to Rome and was going there himself, asked him to convey their greetings to the Church of Rome, the capital of the empire. Rom.16:17. I beseech you, brethren, beware of those who cause divisions and temptations, contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them; Warning his readers against agitators who want to found separate church societies, the Apostle characterizes these agitators as self-interested people who want to exploit gullible Christians for their own purposes. The Apostle advises Christians to remain obedient to the faith that they have long accepted. Rom.16:18. for such people serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and with flattery and eloquence they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded. The features in which the Apostle portrays these agitators are so general that it is difficult to determine the character and origin of these agitators. Probably, these false teachers had not yet performed in Rome, but only, according to rumors that reached Paul, were going there. Rom.16:19. Your submission to faith is known to everyone; Therefore, I rejoice for you, but I wish that you would be wise in good and simple in evil. The Apostle’s thought is as follows: “These agitators, however, can only deceive simple-minded people, and you are not like that.” - “Wise for good,” that is, so that you can discern where truth and good are. - “Simply to evil,” that is, they did not succumb to evil, they remained unsullied by evil (cf. Phil 2:15; Matthew 10:16). Rom.16:20. The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet soon. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with you! Amen. God is called here “the God of peace” in view of the appearance of those agitators who want to introduce divisions in the Church (v. 17). These people are for Paul the servants of Satan: if they do not serve Christ, then they serve the enemy of Christ - Satan. This is where the figurative expression came from: “he will crush Satan under your feet,” reminiscent of the judgment of the serpent the devil (Gen. 3:15). Rom.16:21. Timothy, my colleague, and Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives, greet you. Here the Apostle adds several more greetings from those around him while sending his message to Rome. "Timothy" in other letters (2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col. 1:1, etc.) is mentioned along with Ap. Paul at the very beginning of his epistles; here the greeting from him is placed at the end, probably due to the fact that he stood far from the Roman Church. – The others mentioned here are unknown persons from history. Rom.16:22. I, Tertius, who wrote this message, also greet you in the Lord. "Tertius" was Ap.'s scribe. Paul while Paul was writing Romans. He himself inserts a greeting to the Roman Christians. Rom.16:23. Gaius, my host and the whole church, greets you. Erast, the city treasurer, and brother Quart greet you. "Gai" is probably the resident of Corinth whom the Apostle mentions in 1 Cor. 1:14. - “Brother Quart” - that’s how Quart was called according to the custom of that time: The Apostle probably did not find any other suitable epithet for this collaborator of his and simply designated him as a brother, that is, a Christian. Rom.16:24. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Note: Beginning in the 80s of the 19th century, some interpreters of the Epistle to the Romans began to express the opinion that the XVIth chapter of the last. to the Romans there is a separate letter of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians, accidentally attached to our letter. Some places in this chapter seem to support this opinion, namely: a) Art. 5th, where Epenetus is named the first Christian from the pagans of Asia - and Ephesus was the main city of the province of Asia; b) Art. 3–4, where Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned, who lived specifically in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:19 and 2 Tim. 4:19). The main thing is Ap. Paul, they say, could not have known so many people from the Roman community so well and given favorable reviews about them, because he had not yet been to Rome. – We believe that these considerations are not at all such that on their basis we can build a hypothesis about a separate letter to the Ephesians, accidentally attached to the letter to the Romans. The most important contraindication in this regard is the following. In those days, Christians, for various reasons (to preach the Gospel, to avoid persecution, and, finally, for trade matters) constantly changed their places of residence and, together with St. Paul could say about himself: “having no permanent city here” (Heb. 13:14). As a result, many Christians known to the Apostle Paul from their activities in the East could easily find themselves in Rome. As for Aquila and Priscilla, in particular, it is known that they first lived in Rome, and then left there as a result of the persecution raised against the Jews. When the persecution subsided, they could calmly return to Rome to prepare the ground for the activities of Ap. Pavel. Moreover, what a message it would be, which would consist almost entirely of greetings! The term προστάτης in Greek legal language meant an Athenian citizen who spoke before judges and superiors for people who did not have the rights of an Athenian citizen. You might be interested in: