CONTENTS OF THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS[1]

Corinth, now the first city of Greece, was famous in antiquity for many comforts of life, and especially for wealth; therefore one of the external (pagan) writers called it a rich place[2]. It lies on the Peloponnesian Isthmus and was very important in terms of trade; it was also filled with a multitude of rhetoricians and philosophers; And one of the seven so-called wise men came from this city. We have said this not out of vanity or with the aim of showing learning, – what is really the important thing to know this? – but because it is related to the subject of the epistle. Paul suffered much in this city; here Christ appeared to him and said: "But speak, and be not silent, for I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:9-10); here he remained for two years. Here was expelled the evil spirit, from which the Jewish exorcists suffered much; here the scattered (inhabitants), having collected magic books, burned them, at the rate of fifty thousand drachmas. Here, in the presence of the proconsul Gallio, Paul was beaten before the judgment seat[4]. The devil, seeing that the great and populous city, famous for wealth and wisdom, and the chief city in Greece, had accepted the truth, and that the affairs of the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, whose dominion had long since fallen, were in a miserable state, seeing that its inhabitants received the word of God with great zeal, what did he do? He separates them, because he knew that even the strongest kingdom, divided against itself, cannot stand. To carry out his intrigues, he took advantage of the wealth and wisdom of the inhabitants. And so separate parties were formed among them: some spontaneously declared themselves the leaders of the people, who pestered one or the other, some as rich, others as wise and capable of teaching something more; And these, having drawn him to themselves, boasted that they taught a better doctrine than the Apostle, to which he alluded, saying: "I could not speak to you as to spiritual men" (1 Corinthians 3:1). It is obvious that it was not from his own powerlessness, but from their infirmities, that they did not hear much. He points to the same thing when he says: "You have become rich without us" (1 Corinthians 4:8). Such a division of the church was not unimportant, but the most pernicious. At the same time, another sin was committed there: a man who lived with his stepmother not only met with no reproach, but also ruled the people and gave his accomplices a reason for arrogance; wherefore (Paul) says: "And ye were proud, instead of weeping" (1 Corinthians 5:2). Moreover, some, who were considered to be the most perfect, eating of things sacrificed to idols out of gluttony, and participating in reclining in the temples, indulged in all kinds of impurity. Still others, having lawsuits and disputes over property, turned their affairs to external courts. Also, many of them walked with their hair loose; He commands them to cut their hair. There was another sin of no small importance, namely that one. that they ate food separately from each other in the churches and did not give it to the needy. Then he also sinned in that they exalted themselves with (spiritual) gifts and competed in them with each other, which most of all divided their church. And the doctrines of the resurrection were not firmly held; Some of them did not really believe in the resurrection of the body, still suffering from the disease of pagan error. And all this arose from the senselessness of external philosophy; she was the mother of evil; For this reason they were divided, having learned this also from the philosophers, who rebelled against each other, constantly contradicting the doctrine of one another out of covetousness and vanity, and trying to add something new to the past. They suffered from such an illness because they relied on their own reasoning in everything. The Corinthians sent an epistle to Paul through Fortunatus, Stephen and Achaicus, with whom he also sends his epistle, as he says at the end of the epistle: "However, (they wrote) not about everything, but only about marriage and virginity; wherefore he said: "And what have ye written to me about" (1 Corinthians 7:1). He writes about what they wrote about and what they did not write about, having thoroughly investigated all their errors. He also sends Timothy to them with the epistle, knowing that although the epistle will be of great power, the presence of this disciple will also be of no small benefit to them. Since those who were the cause of the division of the church, being ashamed to appear to do it out of ambition, covered up their passion by saying that they taught the most perfect doctrine and that they themselves were wiser than others, Paul first of all rebelled against this disease, wishing to tear out the root of the evil and put an end to the division that had arisen from it, but he rose up with great strength. For they, above all, were his disciples, as he himself says: "If I am not an Apostle to others, I am not to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship" (9:2). Moreover, they were weaker than the others, as he says: "I did not speak to you as to spiritual ones, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able" (3:1-2). And he speaks in such a way that they do not think that he is speaking of the past tense, and therefore he adds: "and even now he is not able." However, probably not all were given over to vices, but there were some among them who were very pious. This he points out in the middle of the epistle, when he says: "It matters very little to me how you judge me" (4:3), and adds: "I added this to myself and to Apollos" (v. 6). Thus, since all evil came from pride, and from the fact that (some) thought themselves more knowledgeable than others, he destroys it first of all and begins thus:

CONVERSATION 1

"Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ called by the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother, of the church of God which is in Corinth, sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, in every place, with them and with us: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:1-3).

1. Do you see how Paul at the very beginning cast down pride and overthrew all the arrogance of false teachers by calling himself called? It was not I, he says, who invented what I had learned, nor did I comprehend it by my own wisdom, but when I was called when I persecuted and devastated the Church. Here, one might say, everything belongs to the One who called, and nothing belongs to the one who is called, except obedience. "Jesus Christ". Christ is your teacher; And you consider people to be the leaders of the teaching. "By the will of God," because God willed that you should be saved in this way. We ourselves have done nothing, but by the will of God we have found salvation: we are called because it pleased Him, and not because we were worthy of it.

And Sosthenes is a brother. Again he expresses humility, placing along with him someone who was much smaller than him; and the distance between Paul and Sosthenes is great. If, in spite of such a distance, he has placed the inferior along with him, then what can those who despise the equal say? "The Church of God." Not one or the other, but God's. "Which is in Corinth." You see how he destroys their arrogance with every expression. raising their minds to heaven in every possible way? The Church is called God's, expressing that there must be unity in her, because if she is God's, then she is united and one, not only in Corinth, but in the entire universe. The name of the Church is not the name of division, but of unity and concord. "Sanctified in Christ Jesus." Again, he cites the name of Jesus, not men. What is sanctification? Ablution, purification. He reminds them of the impurity from which He has delivered them, and teaches them humility, since they are sanctified not for their own good works, but because of God's love for mankind. "Called saints." And the very fact that you are saved by faith is not of you, he says; you were not the first to come, but you were called, so that even this little thing does not fully belong to you. Although you approached being burdened with a multitude of evils, you owe this not to yourselves, but to God.

That is why in the Epistle to the Ephesians he says: "By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not of you" (Ephesians 2:8). Faith does not fully belong to you: you did not believe yourselves, having preceded God, but obeyed when you were called. "With all them that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." The name is not of this or that, but of the Lord. "In every place, with them and with us." Although the Epistle is written only to the Corinthians, it mentions all believers throughout the world, showing that the Church must be one everywhere, although it is located in different places, and even more so in Corinth. The place divides, but the Lord unites them as common to all; therefore, in order to inspire them with unity, he added: "with us and with them." The latter is more important than the former. Just as those who are in one place, when they have many masters who disagree with each other, are divided, and the place does not in the least help them to be united, because the masters give them different commands and each demands his own – "you cannot," it is said, "serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24), – so those who are in different places, when they do not have different masters, but only one, they do not lose harmony from places, because only the Lord unites them. And so, he says, you Corinthians must be in agreement not only with the Corinthians, but also with all throughout the whole world, as having a common Lord; therefore he added for the second time: "with us." Lest any foolish man think that he admits a division, when he says, The name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he again adds, Our Lord and those. And in order that this may be clearer, I will read it as the meaning of the speech requires: Paul and Sosthenes to the church of God which is at Corinth, and to all who call upon the name of our Lord and them, in every place, whether in Rome, or wherever they may be, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Or it is possible to do so, and it seems to me to be even more accurate: Paul and Sosthenes to those who are in Corinth sanctified, called saints, with all those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, both theirs and ours, that is, grace to you who are in Corinth sanctified, and who are made called, not only to you, but together with all who call on the name of Jesus Christ in every place, Our Lord and them. But if the world is of grace, why are you arrogant, that you are haughty, that you are saved by grace? If you are at peace with God, then why do you cling to others? After all, this means to make a division. Why, if you are at peace with one or the other, do you also have grace? And I desire that both things should be from God, from Him and for Him. Both will not be firm unless they come from a wave from above; and if he does not treat Him, he will not profit you in any way. It is of no use to us if, being at peace, even with all, we are in enmity with God; and again there is no harm to us if, being in disagreement even with everyone, we are at peace with God. In the same way, it is of no use if we deserve the approval of everyone, and offend the Lord; and there is no danger if everyone abhors and hates us, but God accepts and loves us. True grace, true multiplicity is from God. Whoever has grace with God fears no one, even though he endures many evils, not only man, but the devil himself. And whoever has offended God fears everyone, although he is apparently in safety. The human race is fickle: not only friends and brothers, but also fathers, often changing their disposition for an unimportant reason, persecuted worse than any enemy the one whom they had begotten, whom they had brought up, and the children persecuted their fathers. Look.

2. David had grace before God; Absalom had grace before men; And what was the end of both, and who received the greatest praise? You know that. Abraham had grace before God, and Pharaoh before the people who, out of gratifying him, betrayed the wife of the righteous man: which of them turned out to be more glorious and blessed? Everyone knows that. And what can we say about the righteous? The Israelites had grace before God, and were hated by the people, the Egyptians, but they surpassed those who hated them, and overcame them, you know with what glory. Therefore, let us all be concerned about this: let the servant strive to find grace before God before his master; let the wife seek grace before the Savior God before before her husband; Let the soldier seek favor from above before from a king or a ruler: in this way you will earn favor from people. But how can we find grace before God? How could it be otherwise, if not by humility? "God," says (the Scriptures), "resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (Proverbs 3:34); and: "Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; Thou shalt not despise a humble heart, O God" (Psalm 50:19). If humility is pleasing to people, how much more so is it pleasing to God. Thus the pagans found grace; so also the Jews fell away from grace: "for they did not submit to the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). The humble one is pleasing and pleasing to all, lives in constant peace and has no reason for enmity. If you insult him, reproach him, or say anything to him, he will remain silent and bear it with meekness, and will have such peace with everyone as is impossible to express, and at the same time with God. And God's commandments are directed precisely to us to be at peace with people, and our whole life is good when we are at peace. with each other; But no one can harm God: by His nature He is not subject to the influence of evil and is above any passion. Nothing makes a Christian so worthy of wonder as humility. Listen to what Abraham says: "I am dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27); or God about Moses – that he was the meekest of all people (Numbers 12:3). No one was more humble than he: ruling over such a people, drowning both the king and the entire army of Egypt in the sea like flies, having done such deeds in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness, having been vouchsafed such a testimony, he behaved like an ordinary man. And the son-in-law was more humble than his father-in-law and accepted his advice; He was not offended, and did not say: "What is this? After such and such deeds, have you come to advise me?" But he is not so; on the contrary, he did everything with humility. For this reason he despised the royal palaces, because he was truly humble; humility makes our mind sound and elevated. In fact, is it not a sign of his high wisdom and great soul that he despised both the house and the king's table? The kings of the Egyptians were revered as gods, and enjoyed innumerable riches and treasures: but he forsook all this, rejected the very sceptre of Egypt, and withdrew to the captives and the oppressed, exhausted by "clay and bricks," despised by his very servants – "the Egyptians abhorred them," it is said, "the Egyptians" (Exodus 1:12); these people he preferred to the rulers. Thus the humble can be lofty and magnanimous! For pride is a sign of a low mind and an ignoble soul, while meekness is a sign of a high and great soul.

3. If you like, let us explain both with examples. Tell me, who was higher than Abraham? And he said: "I am dust and ashes" (Gen. 18:27); And again: "Let there be no strife between me and thee" (Gen. 13:8). He was so humble that he neglected the booty from the Persians and rejected the spoils over the nno-tribes; He did so according to the loftiness and greatness of his soul, because he is high who is truly humble, and not imaginary and feigned. One is greatness of soul, and the other is arrogance; This can be seen from the following. Let us suppose that one reveres dirt and dirt and despises it, while the other marvels at dirt as gold, and reveres it as something great: which of them is a tall man? Is it not the one who is not surprised by the dirt? And who is low and pitiful? Is it not the one who marvels at it and considers it something great? So it is here. Whoever calls himself earth and ashes is exalted, because he says this out of humility; but he who does not consider himself earth and ashes, but exalts himself and is highly wise, is lowly, because he considers small things great. Consequently, the forefather (Abraham) in the greatness of his soul said the words: "I, dust and ashes" – according to the greatness of his soul, and not because of arrogance. Just as in the body there is one thing full and portly, and another is swollenness, because although in both cases the body is fat, the one comes from disease, and the other from health, so here the other, arrogance, is the same as swelling, and the other, greatness, is fullness. Or suppose that one is tall, and the other, though small, becomes tall when he takes stilts: which of them, tell me, shall we call tall and large? Is it not the one who is exalted by nature? Of course, it's his, because the other doesn't have his own height, but he, standing on stilts, is made from low to high. Such are many of the people who exalt themselves in riches and glory, which do not constitute greatness. High is he who has no need of such things, despises all things (earthly) and has greatness in himself. Let us be humble, that we may become exalted: "He who humbles himself," says (the Lord), "the same shall be exalted" (Matt. 23:12). Not such is the haughty man; on the contrary, he is the most insignificant of all; and the bubble is inflated, but its fullness is empty; That is why we call such people puffed up. The humble-minded even in his greatness does not think much of himself, knowing his humility, but the insignificant even in his smallness imagines much about himself. Let us attain greatness through humility; let us remember the nature of (everything) human, so that we may be inflamed with a desire for the future. For there is no other way to become humble than by love for the divine and contempt for the present. Just as he who expects to receive a kingdom when he were offered some private honor instead of purple, would consider it as nothing, so we will laugh at everything present if we are inflamed with a desire for future honor. Look at the children when they are playing in formation – how they place soldiers and heralds and lictors before them, and in the middle one of them walks in the form of a leader: is this not child's play? Such are human differences, and even worse: today they exist, and tomorrow they are not! Let us be above them, and not only will we not desire, but we will also be ashamed when someone offers them to us. Having thus rejected love for them, we shall be inflamed with divine love and shall be worthy of immortal glory, which may we all be vouchsafed by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Настоящие беседы произнесены святителем в Антиохии около 390 года.

[2] αφνειον. Гомер в Илиаде, II, 570.

[3] Это происходило в Ефесе. Деян. 19:14-19.

[4] Т.е. Сосфен при Павле. Деян. 18:17.

[5] В синод.пер. "опасались"