Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians

“Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians” (4 chapters) is one of the voluminous Commentaries on the 14 epistles of the Apostle Paul, written by Bl. Theodoret of Cyrus later than all his other comments. In the preface, Bl. Theodoret briefly reveals the purpose and content of the apostolic letter, which was a response to the false teaching that appeared in the Colossian community. The Apostle writes about the Divine greatness of Christ and His incomparable superiority over all created beings: “Some of the Jews who believed were deceived and forced to keep excesses in the law. Therefore, the divine Apostle wrote, teaching them that the Lord Christ has become the giver of salvation for us, points out the mystery of the Economy, which surpasses every human thought, says that we will be fellow members of the Kingdom of Christ and that legal observations are completely unnecessary.” One of the topics discussed is the doctrine of Christ. Blzh. Theodoret explains that Christ is not only the Savior, but also the Creator of all things. The Divine Apostle at the same time wrote to the Ephesians and Colossians, using the most wonderful Tychicus as the presenter of the Epistle. He wrote these Epistles from Rome, having already avoided the first danger. And this makes it possible to see the beginning of this epistle, because Paul made the blessed Timothy a partner in the epistle; and when under Nero he accomplished his first feat, no one close to him was with him. He himself makes this known in his Epistle to Timothy: “At the first answer no one was with me” (2 Tim. 4:16). And when he was approaching the end of his life, the divine Timothy was not in Rome, but, rather, in Asia; and this is made clearer by the Second Epistle written to him. For the Apostle, having said: “For I am already hungry, and the time of my departure has come” (2 Tim. 4:6), after a few words he says: “Be diligent to come to me quickly” (2 Tim. 4:9), then adds: “Phelon, whom I left in Troas with Carp, bring with you, and books, especially leather ones” (2 Tim. 4.13). Others say that the divine Apostle, having not yet seen the Colossians, wrote this message to them, and they try to confirm it with the following words: “I want to lead you, since the Imam has done a great deed for you and for those who are in Laodicea, and no one has seen my face in the flesh” (Col. 2:1); but we must delve into the meaning of these words, for the Apostle wants to say: “I have great concern not only for you, but also for those who have not yet seen me.” And if he cared only for those who had not seen him, it would mean that he had no concern for those who had already enjoyed his vision and teaching. For in this sense it would be necessary to understand what the Apostle said: “How great a feat did the Imam do for you and for those who are in Laodicea, and no one saw my face in the flesh.” Therefore, it is clear that he did not say this about the Colossians, but with the intention of confirming what he said, he expressed it this way: “I have great concern not only for you, but also for those who have not seen me.” Yes, and the blessed Luke in Acts informs us that the Apostle at the same time passed through Phrygia and the country of Galatia (Acts 18:23), and Colossae was in Phrygia, and the main city in Phrygia and neighboring the city of Colossae was Laodicea. Therefore, was it possible that, having come to Phrygia, the Apostle did not bring them the Divine Gospel? No one has the right to say that he acted this way while being restrained by God’s grace. For blessed Luke said about Asia and Bithynia that “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 16:6), but he did not say anything similar about Phrygia. However, let them understand this as they please, because to say one way or another will not constitute a difference in dogma. The content of the message is as follows: some of the believing Jews were deceived and forced to keep excesses in the law. Therefore, the divine Apostle wrote, teaching them that the Lord Christ has become the giver of salvation for us, points out the mystery of the Economy, which surpasses every human thought, says that we will be fellow members of the Kingdom of Christ and that legal observations are completely unnecessary. You might be interested in: