The acceptance of baptism by the Samaritans was all the more significant because it was the first people to become Christian without the mediation of complete and pure Judaism, and to be converted to Christ by a Hellenistic preacher. The Apostles considered this so important that they immediately sent Peter and John to them to lay hands on them and bring down the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is important to note here that the Apostles Peter and John are sent by other Apostles, that is, it is clear that they do not consider themselves superior to the whole host of Apostles, but consider themselves obliged to fulfill the commission entrusted to them by the entire Apostolic Face, as one collective person, whose individual members have equal rights. The laying on of hands in this case is the second sacrament, which later began to be performed through chrismation, and which Philip could not perform, being only a deacon.

"And when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the hands of the apostles, he brought them money" – apparently, the reception of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by some visible signs, which Simon noticed. From this it is evident that Simon himself, although already baptized, was not vouchsafed to receive the Holy Spirit, for then such an act of his would have been impossible. Obviously, his turn had not yet come, and he, seeing what the Holy Spirit's effect was on others, hastened to ask the Apostles not only to grant him the gift of the Holy Spirit, but also to have the power to bring Him down on others. In this request the true character of the sorcerer was treacherously expressed: apparently he looked at the Apostles only as bearers of the highest magical power and wanted to acquire this unknown power himself in order to elevate his magical craft. By offering money, he betrayed himself as a man who was ready to be guided in his activities by selfish and impure motives. "How was he baptized?" asks Chrysostom and answers: "Just as Christ chose Judas."

"But Peter said unto him, Let thy money perish with thee" — this expression must be understood in the sense of pointing to the ruinous moral state of Simon and calling him to repentance. This sin, however, is so great and grave that St. Peter does not even promise forgiveness for it, but only presumably says: "Perhaps the thought of your heart will descend to you." Why is this? Because such a sin requires a special depth and sincerity of repentance, of which Peter did not see Simon capable, since he says to him: "For I see you full of bitter gall and in the bonds of iniquity": Simon is poisoned with bitter gall, by which in ancient times was meant the venom of serpents. Terrified by Peter's words, Simon asked the Apostles to pray for him, but also hardly sincerely.

Church tradition later presents him as one of the worst enemies of Christianity and the ancestor of all philosophical Gnostic heresies. Later he appeared in Rome, there he appeared as a bitter enemy of the Holy Apostle Peter and, through the prayer of the latter, was thrown into the Tiber River, when he wanted to cross this river, rising in the air. His sin received in the history of the Church the name of simony – the sale of the grace of God, or the priestly dignity for money.

The Apostles Peter and John strengthened the conversion of the Samaritans to Christ by their preaching and then returned to Jerusalem, preaching along the way.

The Baptism of a Eunuch

(8:26–40)

Following the conversion of the Samaritans, another important event occurred — the conversion to Christ of an Ethiopian nobleman, who is believed to have been a proselyte of the gate, that is, a pagan who had accepted Judaism, but had not yet been circumcised.

The angel of the Lord commanded Philip to go at noon, that is, to the south, to the road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. Gaza is one of the oldest major five cities of the Philistines, located southwest of Jerusalem, near the Mediterranean Sea. Having fulfilled the command of the Angel, Philip met on the road a man riding in a chariot, whom the writer of Acts identifies by three traits: he was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, and a nobleman of the queen. The fact that he read the book of the prophet Isaiah does not give the right to assume his Jewish origin, since he could have read this book in the Greek translation of 70 interpreters, which is also confirmed by the peculiarities of the text given in verses 32-33. The word "eunuch" means the eunuch proper. Such were the caretakers of the royal harems in the East; Eunuchs were often taken to the highest state posts, which is why noble nobles and non-eunuchs were often also called eunuchs. According to the law of Moses, a eunuch from the Gentiles could not be received into the society of Jehovah, but he could be a proselyte of the second degree, a proselyte of the gate. Such, probably, was this nobleman, who held a high position under the queen, as the guardian of all her treasures, and therefore, according to Eastern customs, was undoubtedly an eunuch. Ethiopia at that time was the name of the country lying south of Egypt, where Abyssinia and Nubia are now located. This country was ruled by women, and just as in neighboring Egypt all kings were called pharaohs, so in Ethiopia all queens were called Candaces. The population of this country belonged to the Semitic race and spoke a language close to ancient Arabic, but it was pagan. These were the Kushites often mentioned in the Old Testament.

Under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, Philip approached the eunuch's chariot and, hearing that he was reading aloud the book of the prophet Isaiah, asked if he understood what he was reading. With humility and childlike simplicity, the nobleman confessed that he did not understand what he was reading and asked Philip for an explanation. Taking advantage of the fact that the eunuch had read the passage about the sufferings of the Messiah from the 53rd chapter of the prophet Isaiah, Philip began to preach the gospel to him about Christ, and so successfully that when they arrived at the spring, as it is believed to be between Eleutheropolis and Gaza, the eunuch wished to be baptized. The evangelist demands only one thing from him – faith with all his heart, and when he confessed Jesus Christ as the Son of God, he baptized him.

It pleased the Lord to testify both to the baptized man that he had indeed received the salvation of God, and to the baptizer that what he had done in accordance with the will of God was accomplished by two miraculous events: the Holy Spirit descended without any intermediary upon the eunuch, as afterwards on the pagan Cornelius, and the angel of the Lord raptured Philip, so that the eunuch no longer saw him, but continued his journey alone, rejoicing, while Philip found himself in Azotus, a city lying 50 versts north of Gaza, where he preached the gospel, going north, until he came to Caesarea.

Caesarea was apparently his permanent residence: it was a large city near the Mediterranean Sea, 100 versts northwest of Jerusalem, which was the seat of the Roman procurators of Judea. Until the time of Herod the Great, there was a castle of the Stratons. Herod built a city here, naming it Caesarea in honor of Caesar Octavius Augustus. This Caesarea was called Straton, in contrast to Caesarea Philippi, built by Philip at the foot of Mount Lebanon on the site of the city formerly called Panea. Caesarea Straton is often spoken of in the Writer.

Church tradition has preserved for us information about the further fate of the eunuch. His name was Indikh; upon his return to his own country, he was there the first preacher of the Gospel, and converted many to Christ, including his mistress the queen, by baptizing her.

Chapter Nine