Preface

Constant reading of the Divine Scriptures leads to the knowledge of them, for He is not lying Who said, "Seek and ye shall find"; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). Therefore, we will also learn the mysteries of the Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul, if we read these Epistles constantly and carefully. This Apostle surpassed all in the word of teaching. And rightly so, for he labored more 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 the word the unbelievers considered him 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 to them with praise about the alms sent to Jerusalem (1 Thess. 4:9-10; cf. 2 Corinthians 9:2). In addition, before the Epistle to the Romans, the Epistle to the Galatians was written. In spite of this, I say that the Epistle to the Romans is the first of the other Epistles. Why did it get the first place? Because in the Holy Scriptures chronological order is not necessary. In the same way, 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 a duty to perform the sacred service of Christ, and on the other hand, because the Romans were, as it were, the leaders of the universe, for whoever benefits the head benefits the rest of the body.

CHAPTER ONE

Paul.

Neither Moses, nor many after him, even the Evangelists, put their names before their writings, but the Apostle Paul puts his name before each of his epistles: this is because they wrote for those who lived with them, and he sent the writings from afar, and according to custom fulfilled the rule of the distinguishing nature of the epistles. Only in Hebrews he doesn't do that; for they hated him: therefore, lest they immediately hear his name, they should not cease to hear him, he hides his name in the beginning. And why was he renamed from Saul by Paul? In order that in this he should not be less than the chief of the apostles, called Cephas, which means stone (Peter) (John 1:42), or the sons of Zebedee, called Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder (Mark 3:17).

Slave.

Slavery has many types. There is slavery by creation, of which it is said: (Psalm 118:91). There is also slavery through faith, of which it is said: "They have become obedient to the form of doctrine to which they have given themselves" (Romans 6:17). Finally, there is slavery in the way of life: in this respect Moses is called a servant of God (Joshua 1:2). Paul is a "slave" in all these forms.

Jesus Christ.

He offers the names of the Lord from the Incarnation, ascending from the bottom up: for the names Jesus and Christ, that is, the Anointed One, are the names after the Incarnation. He was anointed not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit, which, of course, is more priceless than oil. And that there is anointing without oil, listen: Do not touch My anointed (Psalm 104:15), which saying should be applied to those who were before the law, when there was not even the name of anointing by means of oil.

Conscript.

This word means humility; for the Apostle shows them that he himself did not seek and find, but was called.

Apostle.

This word was used by the Apostle in contrast to the others who were called. For all the faithful are called; but they are called only to believe, and I, he says, have also been entrusted with the apostleship, which was entrusted also to Christ when He was sent by the Father.