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The importance of these Epistles and the difficulty of studying them

Of all the New Testament sacred writers, the holy Apostle Paul labored the most in the written explanation of Christian teaching, writing as many as fourteen epistles. In terms of the importance of their content, they are rightly called by some the "second Gospel" and have always attracted the attention of both the Holy Fathers of the Church and the enemies of Christianity. The Apostles themselves, as we have seen from the conciliar epistle of the holy Apostle Peter, did not ignore these edifying works of their "beloved" brother, younger in the time of his conversion to Christ, but equal to them in the spirit of teaching and grace-filled gifts 2 Peter. 3:15-16 [1]). Many Fathers and Teachers of the Church were engaged in the interpretation of the Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul. Constituting a necessary and important supplement to the teaching of the Gospel, the Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul should be the subject of the most attentive and diligent study of every Christian theologian. Blessed Jerome and Blessed Augustine. These epistles reflect the extensive scholarship and acquaintance of the holy Apostle Paul with the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, as well as the depth in the revelation of the New Testament teaching of Christ, the fruit of which was a whole series of new words and sayings of a dogmatic nature or moral character, belonging exclusively to the holy Apostle Paul, such as, for example, "to be resurrected" (Col. 2:12 [2]), "to be crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:19 [3]), "to put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27 [4]), "to put off the old man" (Col. 3:9 [5]), "be saved by the bath of regeneration" (Titus 3:5 [6]), "the law of the Spirit of life" (Rom. 8:2 [7]), "in my members... each epistle contains the truths of Christian doctrine and moral teaching, since Christianity itself is not only a well-known belief – the recognition of certain truths by the mind, but certainly the very life according to faith, in accordance with this faith. according to the wisdom given to him, he wrote to you, as he says in all the epistles, in which there is something incomprehensible, which the ignorant and unconfirmed, like the rest of the Scriptures, turn to their own destruction. ^having been buried with Him in baptism, in Him you have also been resurrected by faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. ^By the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I was crucified with Christ. ^all of you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ^ Do not tell lies to one another, having put off the old man with his works. ^He has saved us, not by works of righteousness that we would have done, but by His mercy, by the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. ^because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. ^but in my members I see another law, which is opposed to the law of my mind, and which makes me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ^

The Connection of the Teaching of the Holy Apostle Paul with His Life

The Epistles of the holy Apostle Paul are the fruits of his Apostolic zeal; His teaching, set forth in them, is a complete reflection of his life. Therefore, in order to better understand his messages, one must study his life well and understand the inner character of his personality. To do this, there is no need to enter into an analysis of all the details of his life known to us from the Book of Acts, but it is only necessary to dwell on the inner side of his life and to understand those facts which, according to the Apostle himself, served as a source for him to solve many questions of Christian dogmatics and the teaching of Christian morality.

The Life and Personality of the Holy Apostle Paul

"I am the least of the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace was not in vain in me" (1 Cor. 15:9-10) – this is how the great "Apostle of the Gentiles" (the nickname under which the Holy Apostle Paul entered the history of the Christian Church) characterizes himself. Endowed by nature with rich intellectual abilities, he was brought up and trained in strict Pharisaic rules and, in his own words, succeeded in Judaism more than many of his contemporaries, for he was an immoderate zealot for the traditions of his fathers (Galatians 1:14 [1]). When the Lord, Who had chosen him from his mother's womb, called him to the apostolic ministry, he devoted all his energy, all the strength of his great spirit to the preaching of the name of Christ among the pagans of the entire civilized world of that time, after he had endured many sorrows from his relatives who were blind and hardened against Christ. truly, one cannot but be amazed at the extraordinary indestructible energy of this great "Apostle of the Gentiles." It is difficult to imagine how a man who did not possess a powerful body and strong physical strength (Gal. 4:13-14 [2]) could endure so many incredible difficulties and dangers as the holy Apostle Paul had to endure for the glory of the name of Christ. And what is especially remarkable: as these difficulties and dangers multiplied, his fiery zeal and energy not only did not diminish, but burned and tempered even more, like steel. Compelled to recall his exploits for the edification of the Corinthians, he writes about them as follows: "I was much more in labors, immeasurably in wounds, more in prisons, and many times near death. From the Jews five times I was given forty stripes without one; three times I was beaten with sticks, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent night and day in the depths of the sea; many times he was on journeys, in dangers on the rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from fellow countrymen, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brethren, in labor and in weariness, often in vigil, in hunger and thirst, often in fasting, in cold and nakedness" (2 Corinthians 11:23-27). St. Paul, nevertheless, could justly declare: "But I have labored more than all of them: not I, however, but the grace of God, which is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). As courageous, straightforward, and unshakable in his convictions Paul showed himself before kings and rulers, so decisive and sincere was he in his relations with his brethren, the Apostles: so once he did not hesitate even to denounce the Apostle Peter himself, when this great Apostle gave rise to reproach in Antioch, the capital of paganism in Asia Minor (Gal. 2:11-14 [3]). This fact is important, among other things, because it clearly speaks against the false teaching of the Roman Catholics that the holy Apostle Peter was appointed by the Lord, "prince over the rest of the Apostles" and as it were the deputy of the Lord Himself (from which the Popes of Rome allegedly bear the title of "vicars of the Son of God"). Would the holy Apostle Paul, a former persecutor of the Church of Christ and later than others who came to the Apostolic ministry, dare to denounce the Very Deputy of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Apostolic countenance? This is absolutely incredible. St. Paul denounced Saint Peter as an equal, as a brother of a brother.The holy Apostle Paul, who originally bore the Hebrew name Saul, belonged to the tribe of Benjamin and was born in the Cilician city of Tarsus, which was then famous for its Greek academy and the education of its inhabitants. As a native of this city, or as descended from Jews who had come out of slavery to Roman citizens, Paul had the rights of a Roman citizen. In Tarsus Paul received his first education and, perhaps, became acquainted with pagan learning, for in his speeches and epistles there are clear traces of acquaintance with pagan writers (Acts 17:28 [4]; 1 Cor. 15:33 [5]; Titus 1:12 [6]). He received his main and final education in Jerusalem at the then famous rabbinical academy at the feet of the famous teacher Gamaliel (Acts 22:3 [7]), who was considered the glory of the law and, despite belonging to the party of the Pharisees, was a free-thinking man (Acts 5:34 [8]), and a lover of Greek wisdom. Here, according to Jewish custom, the young Saul learned the art of making tents, which later helped him to earn a living by his own labor (Acts 18:3 [9]; 2 Cor. 11:8 [10]; 2 Thess. 3:8 [11]). perhaps by appointment of the Sanhedrin, he witnessed the death of the first martyr Stephen (Acts 7:58 [12]; 8:1 [13]), and then received the authority to officially persecute Christians even outside Palestine in Damascus (9:1-2 [14]). The Lord, seeing in him a vessel chosen by Himself, on the way to Damascus miraculously called him to the apostolic ministry. Being baptized by Ananias, he became a zealous preacher of the teaching he had previously persecuted. For a time he went to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus again to preach about Christ. The fury of the Jews, indignant at his conversion to Christ, forced him to flee to Jerusalem (Acts 9:23 [15] – in 38 A.D.), where he joined the community of believers. As a result of the attempt of the Hellenists to kill him (9:29 [16]), he went to his native city of Tarsus. From here, about the year 43, he was summoned by Barnabas to Antioch to preach, traveling with him to Jerusalem with alms for the starving (Acts 11:30 [17]). Soon after returning from Jerusalem, by the command of the Holy Spirit, Saul set off with Barnabas on his first apostolic journey, which lasted from 45 to 51 A.D. The apostles traveled all over the island of Cyprus, from which time Saul, after his conversion to the faith of the proconsul Sergius Paul, was already called Paul, and then founded Christian communities in the Asia Minor cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. In 51 A.D., St. Paul took part in the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem, where he vehemently rebelled against the need for Gentile Christians to observe the ceremonial law of Moses. Returning to Antioch, Saint Paul, accompanied by Silas, undertook a second apostolic journey. At first, he visited the churches he had already founded in Asia Minor, and then moved to Macedonia, where he founded communities in Philippi, Thessalonica and Beria. At Lystra Saint Paul acquired his beloved disciple Timothy, and from Troas he continued his journey with Luke, the writer who had joined them. From Macedonia Saint Paul went over to Greece, where he preached in Athens and Corinth, lingering in the latter 1? Year. From here he sent two epistles to the Thessalonians. The second voyage lasted from 51 to 54. In the year 55 Saint Paul set off for Jerusalem, visiting Ephesus and Caesarea on the way, and from Jerusalem he arrived in Antioch (Acts 17 and 18).After a short sojourn in Antioch, Saint Paul undertook the third Apostolic journey (56-58), first of all, according to his custom, visiting the churches of Asia Minor, and then established his sojourn in Ephesus, where for two years he preached daily in the school of a certain Tyrannus. From here he wrote his epistle to the Galatians, concerning the strengthening of the Judaizer party there, and his first epistle to the Corinthians, concerning the disorders that had arisen there, and in reply to the Corinthians' letter to him. A popular uprising stirred up against Paul by the silversmith Demetrius forced the Apostle to leave Ephesus, and he went to Macedonia (Acts 1:9). On the way he received from Titus news of the state of the Corinthian church and of the favorable effect of his epistle, in consequence of which he sent with Titus from Macedonia a second epistle to the Corinthians. Soon he himself arrived in Corinth, from where he wrote an epistle to the Romans, intending to visit Jerusalem and go to Rome and further to the West. After bidding farewell to the Ephesian presbyters at Melita, he arrived at Jerusalem, where, as a result of a popular revolt against him, he was taken into custody by the Roman authorities and found himself in chains, first under the proconsul Felix, and then under the proconsul Festus, who replaced him. This happened in 59, and in 61 A.D., Paul, as a Roman citizen, was sent to Rome at his own request to be judged by Caesar. Having suffered shipwreck off the island of Malta, the holy Apostle reached Rome only in the summer of 62, where he enjoyed great condescension from the Roman authorities and preached without hindrance. Thus ends the narrative of his life, which is found in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles (chapters 27 and 28). From Rome Saint Paul wrote his epistles to the Philippians (with gratitude for the monetary allowance sent to him with Epaphroditus), to the Colossians, to the Ephesians, and to Philemon, a resident of Colossae, concerning the slave Onesimus who had fled from him. All these three epistles were written in 63 and sent with Tychicus. From Rome in 64 A.D. was written the Epistle to the Jews of Palestine.The further fate of the holy Apostle Paul is not known exactly. Some believe that he remained in Rome and was martyred by order of Nero in 64 A.D., but there is reason to believe that after two years of imprisonment Paul was given freedom, and he undertook the fourth apostolic journey, which is indicated by his so-called "pastoral epistles" to Timothy and Titus. After defending his cause before the senate and the emperor, Saint Paul was freed from his bonds and again traveled to the East: having spent a long time on the island of Crete and leaving there his disciple Titus to be ordained in all the cities of the presbyters (Titus 1:5 [18]), which testifies to his consecration of Titus as bishop of the Church of Crete, Saint Paul passed through Asia Minor, whence he wrote an epistle to Titus, instructing him how to perform the duties of a bishop. From the epistle it is clear that he intended to spend that winter of 64 in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12 [19]) near Tarsus. In the spring of 65 he visited the rest of the churches of Asia Minor and left the sick Trophimus in Miletus, because of whom there was a rebellion against the Apostle in Jerusalem, which led to his first imprisonment (2 Tim. 4:20 [20]). Whether St. Paul passed through Ephesus is unknown, since he said that the elders of Ephesus would no longer see his face (Acts 20:25 [21]), but he apparently at this time ordained Timothy bishop for Ephesus. Then the Apostle passed through Troas, where he left his phelonion and books with a certain Carpus (2 Tim. 4:13 [22]), and then went to Macedonia.There he heard about the intensification of false teachings in Ephesus and wrote his first Epistle to Timothy. After spending some time in Corinth (2 Tim. 4:20) and meeting the Apostle Peter on the way, Paul continued with him through Dalmatia (2 Tim. 4:10 [23]) and Italy, reached Rome, where he left the Apostle Peter, and in 66 he himself went further west to Spain, as he had long assumed (Rom. 15:24 [24]) and as tradition asserts. There, or on his return to Rome, he was again imprisoned in chains ("second bonds"), in which he remained until his death. There is a legend that upon his return to Rome he preached even at the court of the emperor Nero and converted his favorite concubine to faith in Christ. For this he was put on trial, and although by the mercy of God he was delivered, in his own words, from the lion's jaws, that is, from being devoured by beasts in the circus (2 Tim. 4:16-17 [25]), he was nevertheless imprisoned. From this second bond he wrote a second epistle to Timothy in Ephesus, inviting him to Rome, in anticipation of his imminent death, for his last meeting. Tradition does not say whether Timothy managed to find his teacher alive, but it tells us that the Apostle himself did not wait long for his martyr's crown. After nine months' imprisonment, he was beheaded with the sword, as a Roman citizen, not far from Rome. This was in the year 67 A.D., in the 12th year of the reign of Nero.A general look at the life of the holy Apostle Paul shows that it is sharply divided into two halves. Before his conversion to Christ, St. Paul, then Saul, was a strict Pharisee, an executor of the law of Moses and the traditions of the fathers, who thought to be justified by the works of the law and zeal for the faith of the fathers, which amounted to fanaticism. After his conversion he became an Apostle of Christ, wholly devoted to the cause of evangelism, happy in his calling, but aware of his own powerlessness in the fulfillment of this lofty ministry, and ascribeing all his deeds and merits to the grace of God. The very act of his conversion to Christ is presented by St. Paul as an exclusively act of God's grace. The entire life of the Apostle before his conversion, according to his deep conviction, was an error, a sin, and led him not to justification, but to condemnation, and only the grace of God extracted him from this destructive error. From that time on, St. Paul strove only to be worthy of this grace of God and not to deviate from his calling. There is no question and there can be no question of any merit, therefore, the whole work of God. Being a complete reflection of the life of the Apostle, the entire teaching of St. Paul, revealed in his epistles, carries out precisely this basic idea: "A man is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law" (Rom. 3:28). But from this it is impossible to draw the conclusion that the holy Apostle Paul denies any significance in the matter of salvation of man's personal efforts – good works (see, e.g., Galatians 6:4 [26] or Ephesians 2:10 [27] or 1 Tim. 2:10 [28] and many others). By "works of the law" in his epistles do not mean "good works" in general, but the ceremonial works of the law of Moses.It is necessary to know and remember that the Apostle Paul, during his preaching activity, had to endure a stubborn struggle with the opposition of the Jews and Judaizers Christians. Many of the Jews, even after accepting Christianity, held the view that it was necessary for Christians to carefully observe all the ceremonial prescriptions of the Mosaic Law. They deceived themselves with the proud thought that Christ came to earth for the salvation of the Jews only, and therefore the pagans who wanted to be saved must first become Jews, that is, accept circumcision and become accustomed to the fulfillment of the entire Mosaic law. This error so greatly hindered the spread of Christianity among the pagans that the Apostles had to convene a council in Jerusalem in 51 AD, which abolished the obligation of the ceremonial decrees of the law of Moses for Christians. But even after this council, many Judaizers continued to stubbornly adhere to their former view and subsequently completely separated from the Church, forming their own heretical society. These heretics, personally opposing the holy Apostle Paul, brought confusion into church life, taking advantage of the absence of the holy Apostle Paul in this or that church. For this reason St. Paul in his epistles was constantly compelled to emphasize that Christ is the Savior of all mankind, both Jews and pagans, and that man is saved not by the fulfillment of the ceremonial works of the law, but only by faith in Christ. Unfortunately, this thought of the Holy Apostle Paul was distorted by Luther and his Protestant followers in the sense that the Holy Apostle Paul denies the importance of all good works for salvation in general. If this were so, then St. Paul would not have said in the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians in the thirteenth chapter, that if "I have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains, and have not love, then I am nothing," for love manifests itself in good works. being an immoderate zealot of my fatherly traditions. ^you know that, although in the weakness of the flesh I preached the gospel to you for the first time, yet you did not despise my temptation in my flesh, nor did you abhor it, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. ^When Peter came to Antioch, I personally opposed him, because he was reproached. For before the arrival of some from Jacob, he ate with the Gentiles; and when they came, he hid himself and withdrew himself, fearing the circumcised. The other Jews were hypocrites with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they did not walk upright in the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of everyone, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, then why do you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews? ^for in Him we live, and move, and have our being, as some of your poets have said, "We are His offspring." ^Do not be deceived: bad associations corrupt good morals. ^Of these, one poet said: "The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slothful wombs." ^I am a Judean, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, brought up in that city at the feet of Gamaliel, carefully instructed in the law of my fathers, zealous for God, like all of you now. ^And standing up in the Sanhedrin, a certain Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, commanded the Apostles to be brought out for a short time. ^and, due to the sameness of trade, he remained with them and worked; for their trade was to make tents. ^To the other churches I have caused expenses, obtaining from them an allowance for the service of you; and when he was with you, though he suffered a deficiency, he did not trouble anyone. ^ We did not eat bread from anyone for nothing, but engaged in labor and labor night and day, so as not to burden any of you. ^and, having led him out of the city, they began to stone him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of the young man, whose name was Saul. ^Saul approved of killing him. In those days there was a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem; and all, except the Apostles, were scattered to various places in Judea and Samaria. ^Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, came to the high priest and begged of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, so that whomsoever he found who followed this teaching, both men and women, he might bind and bring to Jerusalem. ^And when enough time had elapsed, the Jews consented to kill him. ^He also spoke and contended with the Hellenists; and they tried to kill him. ^which they did, sending what they had collected to the elders through Barnabas and Saul. ^For this reason I have left thee in Crete, that thou mayest complete what is unfinished, and that thou mayest appoint presbyters in all the cities, as I commanded thee. ^When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, hasten to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have determined to spend the winter there. ^Erastus remained in Corinth; I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ^And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I have walked, preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. ^When you go, bring the phelonion that I left at Troas with Carpus, and books, especially leather ones. ^For Demas left me, loving this present world, and went to Thessalonica, Crescentius to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia; Luke alone is with me. ^as soon as I make my way to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope that as I pass I shall see you, and that you will accompany me thither, as soon as I shall enjoy my association with you, at least partially. ^At my first answer no one was with me, but everyone left me. Let it not be imputed to them! And the Lord appeared to me, and strengthened me, that through me the gospel might be established, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I got rid of the lion's jaws. ^Let each one try his own work, and then he will have praise only in himself, and not in another. ^For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has ordained for us to do. ^but by good works, as befits women who devote themselves to godliness. ^

Number of Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul