Interpretation of the Epistle to the Romans by St. Paul the Apostle

Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria gained experience in explaining the Holy Scriptures when, as a rhetorician of the Great Church, he instructed the people. Most of his written interpretations arose at the request of the Greek Empress Maria, whom he calls his pious patron. These works became an outstanding synthesis and transposition of the established patristic traditions, primarily the heritage of the Antiochian theological school and St. John Chrysostom. As a rule, the author presents abbreviated versions of extensive interpretations of the ancient Church Fathers, borrowing only what is necessary for understanding the text. The commentary also includes his own explanations, which often concern disputes with heretics, especially later ones, and issues of dialogue with the Latins. Thanks to his clear, concise presentation and clear semantic emphasis, his commentaries were accessible to a wide range of readers, became widespread and had a significant influence on both Byzantine and Western European theology. In his “Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans of the Holy Apostle Paul” (16 chapters), Blessed Theophylact raises questions of the order and sequence of the epistles, considering the reasons why this epistle is considered the first in the collection of works of the Apostle Paul. The author explains in detail the key points of the book of Romans: the nature of justification by faith, the relationship with the Law of Moses, and the meaning of Christian freedom. Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Constant reading of the Divine Scriptures leads to knowledge of them, for He who said: seek and you will find is not a lie; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7). Therefore, we will also learn the secrets of the letters of the Holy Apostle Paul if we read these letters constantly and carefully. This apostle surpassed everyone in the word of teaching. And rightly so, for he worked harder than anyone else and acquired the most abundant grace of the Spirit: which is evident not only from his epistles, but also from the Acts of the Apostles, where it is said that for his perfection in speech the unbelievers revered him as Hermes (Acts 14:12). The Epistle to the Romans is offered to us first, but not because it was written before the other epistles. Thus, before the Epistle to the Romans, both Epistles to the Corinthians were written, and before the Epistles to the Corinthians, the Epistle to the Thessalonians was written, in which the Apostle Paul hints with praise to them about the alms sent to Jerusalem (1 Thess. 4:9-10; cf. 2 Cor. 9:2). In addition, before the Epistle to the Romans, the Epistle to the Galatians was written. Despite this, I say that the Epistle to the Romans is the first of the other epistles. Why did it get first place? Because in Holy Scripture chronological order is not necessary. Likewise, the twelve prophets, if we take them in the order in which they are in the series of sacred books, do not follow one another in time, but are separated by a large interval. And Paul writes to the Romans, on the one hand, because he had the duty to perform the sacred service of Christ, and on the other, because the Romans were, as it were, the leaders of the universe, for whoever benefits the head benefits the rest of the body. You might be interested in: