Commentary on 2 Corinthians

“Commentary on 2 Corinthians” consists of 30 conversations that were delivered by St. John Chrysostom in 392-393. in Antioch. In conversations 6 and 7, the saint compares the Old and New Testaments on the path of knowledge of God. The Old Testament Law, given to Moses and the chosen people of Israel for the punishment of sinners, could only partially restore the knowledge of God lost by people, being an “image” and not the truth itself. The Law “was spiritual, but did not give the Spirit, because Moses did not bring the Spirit, but letters.” “Under the old law the sinner is punished; and... in a new way... resorts to baptism and becomes righteous..., comes to life, is freed from the death of sin.” St. John Chrysostom instructs how to act in sorrows (Conversations 1,2), how to treat your neighbors (Conversations 14,17). He calls for mercy (Conversation 16), almsgiving (Conversations 13,16,19,20) and prayer for enemies (Conversation 5). The saint speaks about the power of prayer (Conversation 2), the nature of sin and how to eradicate it (Conversations 2,4,7), the benefits of temptation (Conversation 9) and the harm of envy (Conversations 24,25,27), about civil and church authorities (Conversation 15), what true wealth consists of (Conversations 12,13). The conversations discuss such topics as the equality and consubstantiality of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity (Conversations 7:30), the resurrection of the dead and the Last Judgment (Conversations 9:10), the greatness of the atoning sacrifice (Conversation 11), the immutability of God's promises (Conversation 3), the errors of the Marcionites and Manichaeans (Conversations 8:21), etc. *The title of the work in Greek is ῾Υπόμνημα εἰς τὴν πρὸς Κορινθίους δευτέραν ἐπιστολήν. *The title of the work in Latin is In epistulam II ad Corinthios argumentum et homiliae 1-30. Conversation 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 The message was written by the Apostle Paul, addressed to the Christian community of the city of Corinth, located on the Corinthian isthmus between the Peloponnese peninsula and mainland Greece. The community of Corinth, in ancient times a large port city, was founded by the Apostle Paul himself around the year 50 during his second journey. The message was written in 57 in Macedonia (2 Cor. 7:5). According to information from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 20:1), Paul traveled through Macedonia in 57, then visited Achaia, including Corinth, and then celebrated Easter 58 in the Macedonian city of Philippi. The epistle was written shortly after the 1st epistle, but before the second visit to Corinth. The writing of the letter was preceded by Titus's trip to Corinth (2 Cor. 7:7), who informed Paul of his reaction to the 1st letter. You might be interested in: