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1 Corinthians 11:1. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Do not take the words “as I am to Christ” as an expression of pride; they are said in order to more strongly encourage imitation. For if, he says, I imitated Christ, who did not spare his own life so that you could come to life, how much more can you imitate me? For I am not so much better than you as He is better than me: He is incomparably superior to everyone. 1 Corinthians 11:2. I praise you, brothers, that you remember everything I have. Having finished speaking about eating something sacrificed to idols, a serious sin, he now corrects a somewhat milder sin. For it is his custom to insert less important ones between grave sins. What was it? The fact that women both prayed and prophesied (then women also prophesied) with their heads uncovered, and men, even during prophecy, covered their heads, as if they were practicing philosophy (φιλοσοφία). This was a Hellenic custom. The Apostle had already noticed this, perhaps during his stay with them; but some of them obeyed, and others did not listen. About the submissive he says: I praise you that you remember what is mine. Although what was meant was that men should not cover their heads; however, he says: “remember everything that is mine.” For he always has the custom of prudently praising those whom praise could encourage to greater excellence. 1 Corinthians 11:2. And keep the traditions as I have given you. It is therefore obvious that Paul and the other apostles taught a lot without writing. 1 Corinthians 11:3. I also want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. Judging by the course of his speech, he apparently continues the conversation with those whom he praises for keeping what he taught; but in fact he corrects the disobedient. Hearing that Christ is the head of every husband, understand: faithful. For we believers are His body, and not the pagans, why is Christ not their head. 1 Corinthians 11:3. The head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. The husband is the head of his wife because he rules over her. God is the head of Christ, because He is the cause, as the Father of the Son. What was said about the head should not be understood in the same sense about Christ. Christ is our head both because He is our Creator and because we are His body, and the Father is the head of Christ, as His cause. If you understand the title of the Father as the head of Christ in terms of humanity, in the same sense in which Christ Himself is called the head of us, there will be nothing ungodly here. For the Father is also called the God of Christ according to humanity (John 20:17). Since He wanted to become like us, and called himself both our brother and head, then there is nothing new if He accepts humiliated names, and has His Father, according to Divinity, as the head of humanity, as His King and His God. 1 Corinthians 11:4. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. It is not always forbidden for a husband to have his head covered, but only during prayer and prophecy. He also did not simply say: with a covered head, but: having on the head (κατά κεφαλής έχων), in order to destroy the covering of the head not only with clothes, but also with hair. For even the one who grows hair has exactly this hair on his head, why does he dishonor his head? Because he was appointed as a boss and ruler, and yet he makes himself subject. For covering the head signifies the imposition of power on the head, the covering on the head takes the place of the ruler, and serves as a sign of submission. Or this: he shames his head, Christ, humiliating himself and losing freedom. For just as a small body disgraces the head, so he who is created by God free and sovereign, but humiliates himself as a subject, disgraces Christ, who is his head, as a body. It is worthy of inquiry why the apostle exposes this as a sin. Husband and wife, one a sign of power, and the other of submission, are given many other things, among other things, that one should have his head uncovered, and the other covered. How is it not a sin to transgress the limits of nature, and for a husband to adorn himself with hair, but for a wife not to cover herself? It eradicates this phenomenon as a sign of self-will, which is very destructive in church affairs. For heresies come from this, from the fact that everyone goes beyond the limits of what is legal. 1 Corinthians 11:5. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same as if she were shaved. There were, as I said, women with the gift of prophecy, for example, the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9) and many others. How does he put his head to shame? By declaring the head some kind of exile, having abandoned the power entrusted to it by God. Know also that it is forbidden for a husband to be covered, as it is said, during prayer and prophecy, and forbids a wife to be covered not only at this time, but at all times. For this is what he desires when he says: “For it is the same as if she were shaved.” Just as it is always a shame for her to be shaved, so it is always a shame to be uncovered. Hair replaces a veil. Therefore, one who takes off her veil is like one who has taken off her hair. 1 Corinthians 11:6. For if the wife does not want to cover herself, then let her cut her hair; and if a wife is ashamed to be shorn or shaved, let her cover herself. Continues to prove that being uncovered is similar to being shorn; and as the latter is shameful, so is the former. All this expresses that a woman is always ashamed to be uncovered. 1 Corinthians 11:7. So, the husband should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. The first reason he put forward was that the husband has Christ as his head, and therefore should not be covered. Now he presents another reason, that he is the “glory of God,” that is, the vicegerent of God and His image. Therefore, the representative of the authority of the King of all must appear before Him with the signs of this authority, that is, with his head uncovered. For it serves as a sign that the husband is not subject to anyone on earth, but he himself rules over everything, as the image of God. 1 Corinthians 11:7. And the wife is the glory of her husband. That is, subordinate to her husband. Therefore, he must appear to her with a sign of submission, and this sign is to have his head covered. 1 Corinthians 11:8–9. For man is not from wife, but woman is from man; and man was not created for wife, but woman for man. He sets forth the reasons why the husband is superior to the wife, namely: the wife was created from his rib, and he was not created for her, but she for him. For it is said: “Let us make him a helper” (Gen. 2:18). How can a husband cover himself when he is so honored by God? In this case, he will steal women's clothing for himself, and will do the same as if, having received a diadem, he threw it off his head and put on the clothing of a slave. 1 Corinthians 11:10. Therefore, a wife should have on her head a sign of power over her, for the Angels. According to this, he says, a wife should have a sign of her submission, that is, if nothing else, then a veil on her head, out of reverence for the angels, so as not to appear shameless before them. For just as by covering her head and lowering her eyes, a wife proves her respect and fidelity to her position as a subordinate, so by uncovering her head she reveals shamelessness, which even the angels inherent in believers abhor. Clement, the author of the book “Stromata,” quite subtly understood the righteous of the Church by angels. The wife, he says, must cover herself so as not to tempt them into fornication. 1 Corinthians 11:11. However, neither is a husband without a wife, nor a wife without a husband, in the Lord. He says this because he gave more advantage to the husband, proving that the wife is from him, and for him, and under his authority. In order not to elevate husbands beyond what is proper, and not to humiliate wives, he says that at the initial creation the wife was indeed created from the husband, but now the husband is not born without a wife. However, “in the Lord,” that is, God creates everything, and revives the seed and strengthens the womb. 1 Corinthians 11:12. For as the wife is from the husband (εκ του ανδρός), so is the husband through the wife (δια γυναικός). The wife says it’s from her husband. For to this day the husband still retains the property that the wife is from him. And “husband through wife,” that is, the wife serves the birth of a person, and the greater action is in the seed. Therefore, it cannot be said in all rigor about a husband that he is “from” his wife, but “from” his father “through” his wife, as having served in the birth. But Paul did not say this about the Lord, but: “born of (εκ) a woman” (Gal. 4:4). He was afraid to use the preposition δια, so as not to give the heretics a reason to say that the Lord passed through the Virgin as through a canal, or because the husband did not participate in His birth, but He was the fruit of Her womb alone. 1 Corinthians 11:12. Still - from God. This is not the perfection of a husband, but of God. If everything is accomplished by the power of God, and He Himself established the order of relations between husbands and wives, then do not argue, but obey. 1 Corinthians 11:13. Judge for yourself. Again he appoints them as judges in order to fully confirm what he wants. 1 Corinthians 11:13. Is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Here it hints at something terrible, that dishonor ascends to God. 1 Corinthians 11:14–15. Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a husband grows hair, then it is a dishonor for him, but if a wife grows hair, it is an honor for her, since hair was given to her instead of a veil? How is it not dishonorable for a husband to grow his hair, when through this he takes on the appearance of a woman and, appointed for dominance, accepts a sign of submission? But for a woman, letting her hair grow is an honor, because in this case she maintains her own rank, and maintaining her rank is an honor for everyone. Why do you need to put on another cover if your hair serves as a robe? In order to express one’s subordination not only by nature, but also by free will. 1 Corinthians 11:16. And if anyone wanted to argue, then we do not have such a custom, nor the Church of God. To truly contradict in such matters is a matter of curiosity, not reflection and understanding. Since, perhaps, the Corinthians, wanting to philosophize, indulged in reasoning in order to prove their indifference in this matter, the apostle says that we do not have such a custom, that is, either to argue, or for the husband to let his hair grow, and for the wife not to cover herself; "nor" other "churches". Therefore, you oppose not only us, but the entire Church. This should show the listeners not to do anything beyond the apostolic custom. 1 Corinthians 11:17. But in offering this, I am not praising you. Just as the first believers, having everything in common, ate at a common table, so out of imitation of them, although imperfect, on certain established days, perhaps holidays, in Corinth after communion of the Mysteries, a common meal was offered: the rich brought food, the poor were invited and treated by them. Through division, this wonderful, friendly and wise custom was perverted, and was not observed by everyone. To correct this, Paul writes; and since, when convicted of the vice previously mentioned, he had many submissive ones, he said: “I praise you” (1 Cor. 11:2); but since in the present case the situation was different, he says: “In offering this, I do not praise you,” that is, I do not praise you because I again bequeath to you and convince you of what I intend to talk about. You, according to your own understanding, should neither have sinned completely nor been forced to exhort. 1 Corinthians 11:17. That you are planning not for the best, but for the worst. You should have succeeded for the better and made your meetings more generous, but you have reduced the already prevailing custom, and although you gather in one church, you do not come together to eat together. This is what is very bad, that is, that you have changed for the worse. 1 Corinthians 11:18. For, first of all, I hear that when you gather for church, there are divisions among you. He does not immediately begin to talk about meals, but first he condemns them for the fact that there are divisions between them. For indeed, that is why each ate separately, because there were divisions between them. 1 Corinthians 11:18. Which I partly believe. So that they would not say that those who slander us are lying, I did not say: I believe, so as not to make them more shameless, nor: I do not believe, so as not to be a vain accuser, but: I partially believe. And it is likely that not everyone violated this custom, but “some”, some. 1 Corinthians 11:19. For there must also be differences of opinion among you. He does not speak about differences of opinion in dogmas, but about such divisions as, for example, regarding tables. What does “should” mean? The fact that, since you are people, it is possible and inevitable that not everyone walks right. That's why I believe. Likewise, the Lord said: “temptations must come” (Matthew 18:7), that is, since there are evil ones in the world, temptations will and will come. 1 Corinthians 11:19. So that (ϊνα) the skilful ones may be revealed among you. The word "so that" here signifies not the cause, but the effect of the matter, as is evident in many places. For when the proud are not accepted at their table, then the “skilled” appear, that is, the poor, because they suffer contempt, and before this their patience was not visible. Or he calls “skilled” those who still keep the custom regarding the table; for not everyone violated it. So, when the violators turn out to be unskillful, the keepers turn out to be skillful. 1 Corinthians 11:20. Next, you gather in a way that does not mean eating the Lord's supper. The meeting serves as a sign of love and fellowship: however, in reality this does not happen. The Lord's Supper refers to the common table as an imitation of that Last Supper, which the Lord ate with His disciples. That's why he called dinner suppers. So, notice, he says, what are you missing out on? you are deprived of imitating the table of your Master. 1 Corinthians 11:21. For everyone hastens to eat his food before others. You have made this Lord's Supper your private one. For as long as it was common, it was called the Lord's Supper; for the benefits of the Master are common to all slaves. Since everyone hastens to eat his supper, without waiting for the poor, but eats on his own, then you have dishonored your supper by making it private instead of the Lord’s. 1 Corinthians 11:21. So some people are hungry, and others get drunk. The poor starve, and the rich get drunk. So, two vices, one - you despise the poor, the other - you yourself get drunk, consuming what you should have offered to the poor. He said emphatically: “revels.” 1 Corinthians 11:22. Have you no houses to eat and drink? If you don't intend to eat everything together, then why don't you eat at home? 1 Corinthians 11:22. Or do you despise the church of God? For when you make the Lord's Supper private, eating by yourself; then you show disdain for both the church and the place. 1 Corinthians 11:22. And you humiliate the poor? The poor are troubled not so much by the fact that you do not feed them, but by the fact that you shame them by exposing their poverty, while you yourself sit majestically and revel. 1 Corinthians 11:22. What should I tell you? Should I praise you for this? I won't praise you. Having exposed a mistake, he softens his speech. He might say it was worthy of a thousand deaths; and what does he say? Should I praise you? I won't praise you for this. He does this in order to make them more lenient towards the poor. For if he had extended his strong reproof to the end, they would have become bitter against the poor, since the apostle reviles them because of them. 1 Corinthians 11:23. For I received from the Lord Himself what I also passed on to you. Why does he mention the mysteries and this evening? Very useful, in order to convince that your Lord has honored everyone with the same meal, and you reject and despise those who are similar to you. How does he say that he received from the Lord when he was not with the Lord at that time, but was a persecutor? So that you know that even now at the mystical meal it is the Lord Himself who teaches mysteries, just as then. 1 Corinthians 11:23–24. That the Lord Jesus, on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread and, having given thanks, broke it and said: Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you. Remember, he says, that He taught you this sacrament last, moreover, on the night on which he was handed over to the slaughter, and did not excommunicate his traitor from the meal, and you despise your brother. You were taught to give thanks, for He also gave thanks in order to give us an example, but you commit something unworthy of gratitude, for you humiliate the Church, and, while others are hungry, you get drunk. He generally said to everyone: “Take, eat,” and, moreover, His Body, which He broke equally for everyone, delivering it to death, and you are in a hurry to eat, you do not offer common bread to distribute to many, but you leave it to yourself. 1 Corinthians 11:24. Do this in My remembrance. What are you saying? If you were creating remembrance of the Son or the Father, then your conscience would torment you, if you did not fulfill what was lawful and did not call the poor, and while creating remembrance of the Lord, you simply do not share the meal. 1 Corinthians 11:25. He also took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My Blood.” And in the Old Testament there were cups into which, after a sacrifice, the blood of the dumb was poured (Ex. 24:6–8), and it was received in a glass and a cup. So, instead of the blood of the dumb, which sealed the Old Testament, I now lay down My Blood, sealing the New Testament with it. So, don't be embarrassed when you hear about blood. For if in the Old Testament you accepted the blood of the dumb, how much more must you now accept the Divine Blood? 1 Corinthians 11:25. Do this whenever you drink, in remembrance of Me. And through the cup, he says, you create a remembrance of the death of the Lord. How can you alone drink and get drunk when this terrible cup is given equally to everyone? 1 Corinthians 11:26. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. You, he says, should be in such a mood as if you were accepting a sacrifice from Christ Himself, that very evening and reclining in that very place. For this supper is the same, and we “proclaim”, that is, we remember, that same “death”, until the second coming. 1 Corinthians 11:27. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. It hints that they themselves receive communion unworthily because they despise the poor. What is the fault of one who receives communion unworthily? Because he, too, shed blood. For just as those who were gored at that time were gored not in order to drink, but in order to shed them, so the one who drinks unworthily, and therefore does not receive any benefit from it, shed blood in vain. The Jews tore the King's robe, and whoever receives communion unworthily threw it into the mud, that is, into his soul. Isn't it equal dishonor? Therefore, he is equally guilty. 1 Corinthians 11:28. Let man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. When Paul necessarily includes another in a sentence, he usually examines the latter as well. So it is now. It was preceded by a talk about meals. But since he started talking about the Mysteries, he deals with it as the most necessary, and points out the highest good in approaching with a clear conscience, and says: I do not make another judge over you, but yourself. So, justify yourself before your conscience, and thus proceed, not when there are holidays, but when you find yourself pure and worthy. 1 Corinthians 11:29. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself. Not because of the essence of the Mysteries (for they are life-giving), but because of the unworthiness of the one who approaches, just as looking at the sun is harmful for damaged eyes. 1 Corinthians 11:29. Without discussing the Body of the Lord. That is, without examining or thinking about the greatness of what is presented. For if we were aware of what was to come at a certain time, we would not need another awakening: this alone would awaken us to be vigilant. 1 Corinthians 11:30. That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying. Take the proof of what has been said from what happens between you. For the reason for the cases of untimely death and prolonged illness is that many receive communion unworthily. And those who do not experience illness until very old age no longer sin? They are sinning. But those who act unworthily will face not only here punishments, but even more severe ones in another life. We would not be punished here either if we had not sinned, as he continues. 1 Corinthians 11:31. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. He did not say: if we punished ourselves, but only: if we judged and condemned ourselves, then here too we would not be judged by God, and would avoid punishment both here and there. 1 Corinthians 11:32. Being judged, we are punished by the Lord, so as not to be condemned with the world. Since, he says, we do not do such an easy and convenient thing, that is, self-condemnation, then God does not treat us so mercilessly, but punishes us here in order to have mercy there. “We are punished” (παιδευόμεθα), he says here: we are not subjected to executions, but we receive fatherly suggestions, so as not to be condemned “with the world,” that is, with unbelievers. For believers, being under the protection of God, here receive retribution for their sins. 1 Corinthians 11:33. Therefore, my brethren, when you gather together for supper, wait for one another. Again he returned to the word about the poor, after mentioning punishment and death. And he did not say: give to each other, but: wait, in order to show that what is brought there is common, and should await a general meeting. 1 Corinthians 11:34. And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. The word is shaming. For he speaks to them as to children who are irritable when hungry, and condemns their gluttony. Therefore, taking them out of the church, he sends them to the house, and there he shames them a lot. 1 Corinthians 11:34. So that you do not gather for condemnation. That is, to the detriment of oneself and condemnation. Gatherings are determined so that those who gather for love will be mutually useful, and if not so, then it is better to be at home. He says this not so that they stay at home, but in order to more strongly attract them to the meetings in the proper way. 1 Corinthians 11:34. I'll arrange the rest when I come. He speaks either about some other errors that occurred between them and require correction, or about the very fact that, probably, some will defend themselves against what was said. But for now, what I said must be observed. If anyone has anything else to say, then let him await my arrival. He frightens them with his arrival so that they humble themselves and correct themselves if they have anything wrong. You might be interested in: