6. Проповедь диакона Филиппа

One of the seven deacons, Philip, preached in Samaria. Hearing Philip's word and seeing his miracles, many of the Samaritans believed and were baptized. But since Philip could teach the believers only the sacrament of baptism, the apostles Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem to Samaria. They laid hands on the newly baptized and gave them the gifts of the Holy Spirit (that is, they performed the second sacrament over them, which is now performed through anointing with holy chrism 7). After the conversion of the Samaritans, Philip, according to the instructions of the angel, went to the road going from Jerusalem to Gaza (i.e., in the direction from Jerusalem, opposite Samaria). A noble Ethiopian nobleman was returning from Jerusalem along this road 8 . Sitting in his chariot, he read the book of the prophet Isaiah, and precisely the place in it where the suffering of the Lord Savior was predicted (Is. 53:7-8). Philip, prompted by the Holy Spirit, approached the chariot and asked the nobleman: “Do you understand what you are reading?” He answered: “How can I understand unless someone instructs me,” and asked Philip to get into the chariot and sit with him. Philip preached to him about the Lord Jesus Christ, and he himself asked for baptism. Philip went down into the water with him and baptized him. As soon as the nobleman came out of the water, he was awarded the gifts of the Holy Spirit (not through the laying on of apostolic hands, but in a special, extraordinary way). At the same time, the angel delighted Philip, so that he instantly became invisible to the nobleman and ended up in Azoth. The nobleman continued his journey with great joy and, no doubt, later tried to spread the holy faith in his distant country. Deacon Philip preached in Azotus and other cities encountered on the way to Caesarea. – Among those baptized by Philip was a certain Simon, who had previously practiced magic and amazed the Samaritans by posing as someone great. Seeing that through the laying on of apostolic hands the gifts of the Holy Spirit were given, Simon brought money to the apostles and asked them to sell him the power to send down the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter told him: “Let silver also perish with you, because you thought to receive the gift of God with money,” and urged him to repent of his sin. Simon was afraid and asked the apostle for prayers; but his repentance was not sincere. Subsequently, he became a heretic, an enemy of the Church, and was one of the perpetrators of the martyrdom of the Apostle Peter. After the name of Simon, the sin of spiritual sacrilege is called simony. - Therefore, they conclude that he was one of the Jewish proselytes. You might be interested in: