Explanatory Bible lopukhina new testament. Lopukhin - the sensible bible of lopukhin. Old Testament. Being. Bibliography of foreign works on the Four Gospels

Vladimir Nosov: Bright Week passed, but not everyone had it as well as the time of Great Lent. Many relaxed, and some lost everything that they achieved during fasting and were, as it were, thrown back. How to avoid this condition? Now many people are puzzled by this question, because now we are in joy, but at the same time we feel that, as it were, the prayer has disappeared, and we read a little the word of God. Father, what do you recommend?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: Of course, Easter is the main holiday in the Eastern Christian Orthodox tradition. What is the reason for this? When our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, as I often explain, His enemies, His friends began to wait if God the Father would accept this sacrifice. And when God the Father raised His Son in the Holy Spirit, and the Son of God himself rose from the tomb by the power of a hypostatic Deity - this was a testimony that the sacrifice for our sins and crimes was accepted by God. Christ is risen, that is, He is the one, as the apostle Paul writes: “Who is betrayed for our sins and is risen to justify ours.” This is a letter to the Romans (Rom. 4: 25). In what sense did He rise to justify ours? St. John Chrysostom in his “Romans Epistle Homilies” wrote: “Having spoken about our faith, the apostle also speaks of God's ineffable love of man, to whom he always refers, carrying the cross to the middle. Notice how, by indicating the cause of death, he turns it into evidence of the resurrection. “Why is Christ crucified?” You ask. Not for his own sin, as can be seen from His resurrection. If He were sinful, how would he be resurrected? And if he is resurrected, it is clear that He was not a sinner. If he was not sinful, how was he crucified? For the sake of others. And if for others, then, without a doubt, he was resurrected. So that you don’t object: how can we justify ourselves by being guilty of so many sins, the apostle pointed to the One who blotted out all sins in order to confirm His doctrine of justification both by the faith of Abraham, by which He was justified, and by the faith in saving suffering, by which we freed from sins. Speaking of the death of Christ, he also speaks of resurrection. Christ did not die to punish and condemn us, but to do good. After all, He died and rose again just to make us righteous. ” And Ambrosiast, a famous ancient Christian exegete, also wrote in his commentary on the epistle to the Romans: “Those baptized before the suffering of Christ received only the remission of their sins. After the resurrection, all those baptized before and after were justified by the establishment of faith in the Trinity, having received the Holy Spirit, which is a sign to believers that they are sons of God. The suffering of the Savior conquered death, which previously prevailed because of sin, but it no longer dares to rule over those who are justified. ” Indeed, friends, during the last post many of us, brothers and sisters, worked very well. For the first time in their lives, some fasted. But there is a serious danger. When talking, some are so relaxed that during the Bright Week they lose everything that they achieved during Great Lent. Cyril of Alexandria wrote in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew: “And this is very fair. For if one day, having freed himself from vices, does not come to his senses, then he will fall into something that is grave than the former. For he had to reason for two reasons: because before he suffered and was delivered from it. There is also a third important reason - the threat of falling into the worst. However, none of the three reasons led to any of them being corrected. A crafty spirit dwelt in them even when they were day laborers in Egypt and, living according to Egyptian customs and laws, were full of all impurity. And when they were delivered by Moses, and received as a schoolmaster a law calling for the light of true knowledge of God, the nasty and unclean spirit withdrew from them. But since they did not believe in Christ, the demon attacked them again, for they found their heart empty and not occupied with any piety, as if swept out, and settled in them. After all, just as the Holy Spirit, when it sees that a person’s heart is not occupied with any impurity, settles in, dwells and rests in it, so the unclean spirit loves to dwell in the souls of the wicked. ” In fasting, someone really began to visit the temple more intensively. Someone studied the Holy Scripture throughout the fast, did not miss the reading of morning and evening prayers, read the psalms of King David, and read the lines of the holy gospel. A festive state is not always a state that can deter us from frivolous acts. The Lord himself said through the prophet Isaiah: “Do not carry any more vain gifts: smoking is disgusting to Me; I can’t endure the New Month and Saturdays, holiday gatherings: lawlessness - and celebration! My soul hates your new months and your holidays: they are a burden for Me; It’s hard for me to carry them. ” This is the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 1, 13-14). John Chrysostom in his “Homilies on the Book of Genesis” wrote: “As there the virtue of the righteous made smoke and stench fragrance, so here the perversity of those who brought made the fragrant incense disgusting to smell. So, please, we will try to show a clean location in everything. It is the cause of all blessings. The good Lord usually draws attention not so much to our sacrifices as to the inner disposition with which we make them, and judging by it, he either accepts or rejects our sacrifices. So, whether we pray, fast, give alms (because these are our spiritual sacrifices), or do some other spiritual work, we will do all this from a pure location in order to receive a worthy crown for our labors. ” That is, brothers and sisters, if the holiday turns out to be something hateful and even a burden for the Lord - why is it? This is the case if we do not experience spiritual growth during the celebration, but on the contrary, relax and lose everything that we have achieved, and find ourselves even in worse condition than before the start of the fast or holiday. While there is a time of joyful days of the Bright Week, but they are already passing. But we will celebrate the celebration before the Ascension, we will not relax much. Let us sober up, as the Scripture says: "Sober up, watch, because your adversary the devil walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." But look what Vasily the Great wrote, this is a sermon on the rejection of the world: “That the devil wanders around the earth and roams like a mad dog, looking for someone to devour, we will learn from written about Job” (Job 1, 6 -7). It tells about how the devil goes around the whole earth and peers at every person. Therefore, brothers and sisters, our task is to concentrate all efforts so that before the holidays, on holidays, after the holidays, they remain faithful to Christ and His commandments. Those. one must have the feeling that we live in the presence of God. This feeling should not leave us during the holidays. In the letter to the Corinthians it is written (2 Corinthians 6, 2): “For it is said: during auspicious times I heard you and on the day of salvation I helped you. Now, now is a favorable time, now is the day of salvation ”, ie a holiday is an opportune time for correction, but not for relaxation. So it turns out: the time of fasting is the time of correction, the time of church holidays is the time of spiritual exaltation, not fall, and the time after the holiday, after fasting, is the time of preparation for the next fast. For fasting is a true spring for the human soul, i.e. a state where we live with the full feeling that we live in the presence of God. And this feeling should not leave us on holidays, as well as on fasting days. Then our holidays will be pleasing to God, and our petitions and prayers in any situation.

Vladimir Nosov: And I would like to add that we will continue to greet with the words: Christ is Risen!

O. Oleg Stenyaev: Truly Risen!

Phone call: Christ is Risen. God's servant Tatyana from Moscow. I have a question on the first conciliar epistle of the Apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5, 13): “A church chosen in your liking, like you, in Babylon and Mark, my son, greets you.” Question, my son - what does it mean? Mark was his son? Can you explain?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: It is about the fact that Mark was a spiritual child of the Apostle Peter. Let us recall the epistle of Paul. We know for sure about Paul that Paul was childless. And he wrote a letter to Timothy, and in these letters Paul greets Timothy with the words: “My beloved son Timothy.” It means that Paul in relation to Timothy was a spiritual father, and Timothy was a spiritual son of Paul. Mark was not just a spiritual child of the Apostle Peter, he was his secretary, assistant. In the Gospel of Mark there are recorded sermons of the Apostle Peter. Because Mark was not a witness to the events described in this gospel. There he writes a little about himself. In general, church historiography establishes that the Gospel of Mark is the recorded sermons of the Apostle Peter. And we, by the way, on the radio "Radonezh" began the study of the Gospel of Mark. But because of the holidays, we have suspended for now, but if we live, the Lord will allow - next Sunday from 7 to 8 pm, when we have a Bible lecture, we will continue to study this gospel.

Phone call: Fathers, Christ is Risen. Happy holiday to you. I want to ask you. Please tell me, at home, from which day can you start reading the Psalter for the dead?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: From Radonitsa. In Radonitsa, we have a service on Monday evening. Because any church day begins with the sunset.

Vladimir Nosov: Father Oleg, some holy fathers spoke of the need for man's attention to himself. What it is?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: Indeed, the Holy Scripture says: “Go into yourself and the doctrine, i.e. in scripture and tradition. Do this constantly: for by doing this you will save yourself and those who listen to you ”(1 Tim. 4.16). Very important words were written by Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov: “The soul of all exercises about the Lord is attention. Without attention, all these exercises are barren, dead. A person who wants to be saved must arrange himself in such a way that he can maintain attention to himself, not only in solitude, but also in the very absent-mindedness, in which he is sometimes drawn into circumstances against his will. “Let the fear of God overcome all other sensations on the scales of the heart, then it will be convenient to keep attention to ourselves both in the silence of the cell, and among the noise surrounding from all sides.” By the way, Father Pavel Florensky wrote that "the main place of church devastation is inattention, not reflection on a cult." And the cult is associated with the religious personality of each of us. This means inattention to one's own religiosity. Indeed, brothers and sisters, we can be considerate of other people. For example, when we communicate with superiors, with respected, significant people, we listen with all attention to everything that they tell us. We can be attentive to our relatives, relatives, to those people who turned to us, for example, for help. But, alas, a person does not pay close attention to himself. First of all, it is necessary to concentrate our attention on those feelings that fill our heart. The Holy Fathers teach us that we plunge our minds into our own hearts and, when considering, control the movements of the senses. As you know, as a result of the fall, the human sensory apparatus suffered in the most terrible way. And Christ said that “evil thoughts, murders, adultery, adultery, theft, perjury, blasphemy come from the heart” (Matthew 15, 19). Blessed Jerome of Stridon wrote: “ From the heart, he said, i.e. Christ, evil thoughts come. The soul or the beginning of an act is not in the brain, as in Plato, but, according to Christ, in the heart. It is necessary to reject people who believe that the devil inspires thoughts and that they do not come from our own will. "The devil can promote and warm up evil thoughts, but he cannot give birth to them." And, unfortunately, the world of feelings sometimes begins to dominate an attentive attitude towards ourselves, and then we become hostages of our own feelings: there is a mood - we pray, there is no mood - we do not pray or we reduce the prayer rule so that there is no prayer. In such a situation, we must be diligent. The apostle Paul saw the complexity of such conflicting attention to himself, or rather, inattention, especially in the life of prayer. In 1 Corinthians, he denotes a problem with the words: “What is to be done?” And he answers this question: “I will begin to pray in spirit, that is, heart, feelings. I will begin to pray with the mind. I will sing in spirit, i.e. heart, feelings. I will sing with my mind ”(1 Cor. 14-15). So that the world of feelings does not make us hostages of bursts of our soul. The sensory apparatus of man, as I have already said, is most damaged as a result of the fall. The Scripture, for example, says (Genesis 6-5): "And the Lord God saw that the corruption of man on earth was great, and that all the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil at all times." All thoughts and thoughts in the heart. Rev. Ephraim the Syrian wrote: "The thoughts of their hearts were evil at all times, because they did not sin only, but constantly and in every part, and did not cease to fulfill their evil thoughts day or night." And everyone, brothers and sisters, must always control the world of their own feelings. This helps us when we delve into ourselves and the Scriptures, i.e. we align the inner state of our soul with the words of Divine Revelation. By the way, Ignatius Brianchaninov also wrote about this: “If there are free minutes during the day, use them to read with the attention of some selected prayers or some selected places from the Scriptures and again reinforce spiritual strength, exhausted by activities in the midst of the vain world. If these golden minutes do not fall out, then you should regret them as a loss of treasure. What is lost today should not be lost the next day, because our heart conveniently indulges in negligence and forgetfulness, from which gloomy ignorance is born, so disastrous in the work of God, in the work of human salvation. " It also happens that brothers and sisters, when a person prays, reads certain prayers, for example, the morning, evening rule, from inattention to himself, he suddenly loses the sense of the meaning of these prayer readings and sometimes asks himself: “To whom do I pray? Is it a prayer to Jesus Christ or the Mother of God? ” And a person begins to watch it in a book. In prayer, heart attention, i.e. the combination of mind and feeling should dominate. I already said something: our ancestors, when they prayed in handwritten psalters, the canons had a text in front of them, where there was no division into words. And do not think that it was saving paper or parchment. The point is completely different. When a text is cut into words in a prayer book, a person can really read them and think about anything. And if we have before us a text written in accordance with an ancient tradition — as was customary among the ancient Greeks, Jews and Slavs — then a person cannot read the text and think about anything. If the text is continuous, there is no division into words, only thought has gone aside, attention has weakened - as the reading process stops immediately. And by the way, I myself use the modern edition of the Kiev Psalter, which was written in 1397. It is very convenient for me, using the wisdom of the ancients, to control my attentive attitude to the text and to myself, how attentive I am to this text. And when I read the Gospel at home, I also use a similar text. Now these facsimiles are available, anyone can order such a book for themselves or download it on the Internet. This practice of presenting the material, its preservation testifies to the more than attentive attitude of our ancestors to our own prayer life, about attention to ourselves. So that the mind does not relax or dissipate (Proverbs 15, 31): “An ear that is attentive to the teaching of life abides between the wise.” And also what we must remember. We must be attentive to our actions at home and away from home. Sometimes, by the way, we behave better outside the house than at home. Unfortunately, it very often happens that we remember that we are Christians only when we are in the church, at worship, when we all sing together in chorus, for example, the article of faith at the Liturgy or the prayer “Our Father”. But you cannot be a Christian choir. Everyone must make their own decision. The believer is called upon to remain a believer both in the temple and outside the temple, at home and at work, so that everywhere we live with the feeling that we live in the presence of God. About the ancient righteous, such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, it is said that they walked with God or before God. What does it mean to walk with God or before God? It is to live with the full realization that you live in the presence of the Creator. It is living with the thought, as it was said in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ, that above you is the Eye that sees, the Ear that hears, and there is a book in which all your deeds are recorded. Therefore, we must be careful, first of all, to ourselves. And if we do not acquire such spiritual work in our lives, if we take ourselves lightly, this will be a bail for others. And on the contrary, if a person is religiously attentive to himself, then the fathers said: "Save yourself, and thousands will be saved around you."

Phone call: Truly Risen. I have a question. I read the book of Ephraim the Philotheus “My life, Joseph Hesychast.” She really impressed me, I wanted to follow some advice. But in one I stumbled. He recommends the use of laity "Frank stories of a wanderer ...". And Alexey Ilyich Osipov and Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, to whom he refers - they both categorically reject this book and are very against these practices.

O. Oleg Stenyaev: I would not recommend you read this book. And where did you find the link to "The Wanderer's Tales"? The fact is that the laity should read the books of the Holy Fathers, which were written for people living in the world. Because it makes no sense for a person living in the world to read the instruction for monasticism. Wild kinks and distortions can occur here. I came across such a situation. In my opinion, he told me more than once how one parishioner called me — I served in the church “Joy of All Who Sorrow”, and on Bolshaya Ordynka –– she says: “My husband read“ Ambition ”, and especially the chapters on silence. Closed up, silent and does not talk to anyone. Not only with his wife, he stopped talking with children. ” I grabbed a volume of Chrysostom with me. This author is always close to me. I come to him and show where it is written in black and white that the husband has a wife in order to interview his wife. He once! - to me a volume of "Kindness of Love", pokes its nose into the whole section of the sacred-silent. I tell him: but this is complete nonsense. You, a family man, suddenly take upon yourself the practices of people who have retired from the world, they had no families other than a monastic hostel. Therefore, in such things we must be careful. Lay people are not recommended to read such books. I remember when I was already a seminarist, I turned to my late confessor, Father Dimitry Dudko, to bless me to read "Ambition." He says, in no case do not read the "Philosophy". I say: why? You will become a Pharisee. Later, only after the advent of many years, I began to read "Philosophy of Love." Over the years, of course, this does not become so dangerous for humans. But especially at the beginning, when they are fond of reading such monastic literature - this is wrong.

Vladimir Nosov: Those. this book should not be the first book.

O. Oleg Stenyaev: We must read the writings of the fathers who preached to people living in the world. This is almost all of John Chrysostom, Theophylact Bulgarian. This is part of the writings of Basil the Great, but not all. These are letters for the laity of St. Theophan the Recluse, they are called: “For the laity”. Here the layman will find more creative food for himself than he will read “The Offering to Monasticism” in the works of Feofan the Recluses and Ignatius Brianchaninov. Therefore, it is very important when we do not just take some food, but food that corresponds to our growth. Indeed, many of us are babies in Christ. We don’t feed the baby meat, we don’t give bloody steaks. The baby eats milk. So a person who begins to walk outside the tradition should gradually enter this world. And study those materials that correspond to his status. Or is it a lonely person, or family. There is a fundamental difference.

Vladimir Nosov: And I know the case when, as family people, the brothers went to the monastery on a pilgrimage. There, in earnest, only by temptation of some kind, they thought about the monastic life. It seems to me that the best answer to these thoughts is, as they say: “I went to the monastery - do not think about the family. He created a family - do not think about the monastery. "

O. Oleg Stenyaev: Of course, these are incompatible things. In Russia, it was customary when family people during fasting went to repentance in a monastery. We know that the Russian tsars and Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Silent walked from Moscow to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra to repent and spent some time there. There is nothing wrong if the Orthodox family went to Solovki and spent a week there - two in obedience. In fact, the monastic way of life for Russian people is always a certain standard to which they strive. But you can not strive for this standard to the detriment of family relations. It will be an excess. Because even Christ said of celibacy: “those who are able to contain, yes they will”; not all of them contain, and not everyone needs to strive for monasticism. In general, in such cases, one should ask for a blessing, first of all, for parents, if they are religious people. And, of course, the blessing of experienced spiritual fathers who know a person.

Vladimir Nosov: Father Oleg, Fomino passed Sunday. We recalled how Christ entered the apostles into the Zion’s chamber with the doors shut in his body. How is this even possible?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: The point is that the resurrected body of Christ is a glorified body (Phil. 3.21). The apostle Paul wrote: “He, our humiliated body, will transform in such a way that it will be consistent with His glorious body” i.e. Christ by resurrection from the dead dwelt in a glorified body. In a body that escaped the effects of the physiological world. And He did this for us and for us, so that later we could transform our humiliated body, so that it would be consistent with His glorious body. “It is sown in humiliation, it rises in glory” (1 Cor. 15). This is the secret to gaining fame. If we go through humiliation, we will rise in glory. By pride we will not partake of grace. As said: " Bog opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. ” And we know how Christ prayed: "My soul is now indignant." And at the same time He prayed: “Father! glorify your name ”(John 12), i.e. in my. These words are like a request for the glory of Sunday. As Christ said: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his glory. The rest will follow. ” St. Augustine wrote: “God created the soul of man”, i.e. each person. First of all, we mean a person’s state before the fall: “God created the soul of man with such a strong nature that through the abundance of bliss in it, it is able to inform the body of the abundance of vitality and the effectiveness of incorruption”, i.e. in our very nature lies the power to overcome corruption. And Gregory Dvoeslov, pope wrote that the body of Christ upon resurrection was manifested in the same nature, i.e. it is like our body, but in a different glory. Augustine also wrote: “After the resurrection, the Savior, although already in the spiritual, but in the true flesh, took food with his disciples, because such bodies are not taken away from the opportunity, but the need for food.” Recall that Christ spoke of people who will live in paradise: "In the kingdom of God they do not marry and do not marry, but remain like angels." And the holy fathers say: “This is not in the sense that they will become angels, they will be like angels,” but they will not marry anymore, not to marry because they cannot, but they will not have this need. Because the hierarchy of values \u200b\u200bfor people in that world will be completely different.

Vladimir Nosov: Father, still the question remains. In the glorified, transformed body, nevertheless, we see that there are ulcers, wounds of the crucifixion. Why is it, what is it for? How to explain this?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: We will analyze the reading of the gospel in more detail. “Put your finger here and see My hands; give your hand and put it in my ribs and do not be an unbeliever, but a believer ”(John 20.27) .. In this verse we see that He has ulcers on his hands and feet. And indeed, this is an urgent issue. It was up to the body of Christ to resurrect with all wounds and sores. A very interesting commentary was prepared by Bad Venerable, commenting on what was said in the Gospel of Luke, Luke says: “That He, Christ preserved his ulcers not because he could not heal them, but in order to invariably bear them as a testament to his victory” (Lk. 24.40 ) Augustine says: “Perhaps in the future kingdom we will see on the bodies of blessed martyrs traces of those wounds that they took for the name of Christ, and these wounds will not be ugliness in them, but a dignity, some beauty shining in the body, but beauty not of the body and virtues. " Bada the Venerable writes of Christ: “So that He, revealing the traces of his death, could testify by the redeemed by His blood, how merciful this redemption was.” Bada explains why He left these wounds - in order to testify of His love. And he also writes “So that on the day of judgment he might rebuke them for their judicial condemnation”, i.e. for them it is a reminder of God's mercy, and for others there will be a reproach. Christ died for you, and crucified for you, but you yourself rejected Him and went to hell. Augustine also wrote: "Christ specially preserved His bodily wounds." After all, He showed them to Thomas, who only believed when he saw them and put fingers in them, in the same way He will show his wounds to his enemies, so that the truth would accuse them, saying: “Behold, the man whom you crucified, behold, the ulcers that you caused, recognize the ribs pierced by you, for they were opened by you and for you, but you will not become partakers. " Augustine also says: "I believe that the body of the Lord abides in heaven as it was ascended into heaven." Indeed, we read in the Bible that there is one intercessor, one mediator between God and humans - the person Christ Jesus. Why does Paul emphasize the human aspect of Christ in these words? Because it is about His wounds. For after Christ ascended and sat down at the right hand of God the Father. God the Father looks at every person through the wounds of His Son. And he sees us not just forgiven or pardoned, but justified. Gregory Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome says: “If something, contrary to the truth preached by Paul, could change in the body of Christ after his resurrection, then the Lord would return to death again on Sunday. What kind of fool would say that? Unless one who generally denies the true resurrection of the flesh. " The idea of \u200b\u200bGregory Dvoeslov was that if they had not seen these wounds, someone might have doubts: is this the Christ whom we saw crucified, who was struck under the rib with a Roman spear? And some fantasies about Christ might appear. Because we know: when in this form, with wounds, He appeared to people - some could not put it into their hearts to the end.

Phone call: Hello, dear father Oleg and dear presenter. Happy holiday to you. Father Oleg, your opinion. Should I read Ferrara's book, The Life of Jesus Christ? This is the first question. Second question. Jesus Christ our was a Jew. Why is this nation so disliked for so long? Explain, please.

O. Oleg Stenyaev: Speaking of Christians, Christians have a dual attitude to Jews. The apostle Paul writes in a letter to the Romans that they, i.e. Jews, Jews, of course, first of all, enemies in relation to the gospel. But for the sake of the fathers - Abraham, Isaac Jacob, the beloved of God. So wrote the apostle Paul. And we must adhere to this duality. If someone says that they are enemies of the gospel - you didn’t say everything, add that for the sake of Abraham, Isaac Jacob they are beloved of God. And if they say that they are beloved of God for the sake of the fathers - add, enemies of the gospel of the holy gospel. And this duality among Christians persists. Therefore, we never build an attitude towards the Jewish nation, towards the Jews only from the position of hostility. Because our ambivalence will interfere with love for them, for the sake of the fathers, as the apostle Paul writes, i.e. for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. If we talk about the book of Ferrara, she went through church censorship. It was printed completely openly. Of course, there were questions to this Anglican, as far as I remember, author. But in general, the historical background of this book is quite interesting. And there were several editions of this book before the revolution and in the post-revolutionary period, i.e. close to us. She is a reference book for many. But when we read non-Orthodox authors, we should pay more attention not to their exegetics, because there may be questions, but to how they present historical realities to us. For example, there is such an author, William Barkley. He is a Baptist by faith, but he is a prominent Christian historian. And many authors who describe Christ's earthly life allude to Barkley as a modern Christian historian. Which, taking into account both Qumran finds and archaeological discoveries that have been made over the past decades, reveals the historical context of the Gospel events. And there’s nothing wrong with that, that we turn to these authors. It is enough to recall that in the ancient Church among the Orthodox the writings of Jewish authors enjoyed great authority. First of all, this is Josephus Flavius; it has been preserved in ancient Slavic census manuscripts. And in ancient Greek manuscripts that corresponded in the monasteries on Mount Athos. And another Jewish author who has always been recognized by Christians for some authority - Philo of Alexandria. For example, Blessed Jerome of Stridon, the famous Christian exegete, very often quotes Philo of Alexandria. And we can find something similar in other authors, Christian ones already, the Church Fathers, who refer to both Josephus and Philo of Alexandria. It is enough to recall that in the New Testament the apostle Paul refers to pagan poets and even quotes lines from their poems. And if we recall the dialogues of Christ, when He led a polemic with the scribes and Pharisees. He often quotes the statements of the Shamai school, and sometimes the Galel school. And these quotes are heard by all experts. One can clearly understand why Christ used such phrases, and why they later fell silent, because they were ready to argue with Him, but were not ready to argue with their authorities, which for them were, of course, authorities. Therefore, a person of the Christian Orthodox tradition can read authors who are not included in this tradition, but who in their writings, through the use of the fathers, through their quotes became part of this tradition.

Phone call: Vasily, Moscow. Thank God that we have such preachers as you, father, Dimitry Smirnov, Andrey Tkachev. God grant you all the best. Father, please tell me how you feel about Lopukhin's “Explanatory Bible”? Should I read it or not?

O. Oleg Stenyaev: I think it's worth it. Because this is the official interpretation, the sensible Orthodox Bible. Before the revolution, there was strict censorship of all such writings. And all this was read out repeatedly, then approval was given or not given. The Orthodox Sensible Bible was published even in the "Orthodox Review". It was the official press organ, so the status is quite high. In the Lopukhin Bible we find references to a variety of authors, including Catholic, Protestant. There are references to the texts of the Talmud, but as historical texts, from a historical point of view, from a civilizational one. There are links to Midrash. But all this, first of all, is built on the basis of patristic exegesis. Therefore, it is very important to study this, especially the phenological analysis of various biblical words. In the interpretation of the successors of Lopukhin, this is carried out very seriously. But for the beginners, Ambrose Optinsky recommended reading comments on the gospel of Blessed Theophylact. I have already spoken about this several times on Radio Radonezh. Why did Ambrose Optinsky bless start with Theophylact? Because Feofilakt does not go into historical issues. He does not delve into the philological analysis of words. He very briefly gives the exegesis of the holy fathers preceding him, and in abbreviated form. Basically, he reproduces the point of view of St. John Chrysostom. But if Zlatoust allows himself during the conversation to go away from the main topic, to present entire pages on the topic of the day, then Feofilakt is very short and clear. Therefore, who wants to begin to study the word of God, begin with Blessed Theophylact. His interpretation of the Gospel, above all, and on the book "Apostle". And if you want to make a more serious analysis - historical, philological - of course, this is the official publication “Explanatory Orthodox Bible” in 12 volumes. She went out before the revolution. Now it is available in several different editions.

Vladimir Nosov: Father, perhaps, in conclusion, we return to the question from which we started? Because there is a certain cooling off after the holiday, dissatisfaction with oneself during fasting, a feeling of missed opportunities during fasting. You know, there is such an understanding that Lent is a miniature of all life.

O. Oleg Stenyaev: I must say bluntly that those who fast, they have a good fast, as a rule. But on the Bright Week, some fall into such moral, moral zigzags! Now, let's all stop over-celebrating. The holidays of God then remain of God when they promote spiritual growth. And when we perceive any religious holiday as an indulgence for sin - this is wrong. We have time from Easter to Ascension. Therefore, we will be in sobriety, in sanity, we will not relax much. And we will use this time for spiritual development and joy. God does not accept the fulfillment of the commandments unless they are combined with the joy of joy. It is said in the book of Deuteronomy.

"(Interpretation of the Bible), published under the editorship of prof. (1852-1904). The first twelve-volume edition was published in St. Petersburg, from 1904 to 1913, in the form of a free supplement to the Wanderer magazine. One volume was published annually, and two volumes in 1912 and 1913.

The publication of The Explanatory Bible was announced in the October issue of The Wanderer in 1903. In the annotation of the upcoming publication, in particular, it was said that, proceeding to this edition, the editors believe that it is meeting the most persistent and urgent needs of our clergy and the whole society. Every year the Bible is spreading more and more both in society and in the clergy, and the time is not far when it will become a reference book in every pious house. To give the pastors of the Church, as well as all lovers of reading the Word of God in general, an allowance for the proper understanding of the Bible, justification and protection of truth from distortion by false teachers, as well as a guide to understanding many obscure places in it - this is the purpose of this publication. ”

Thus, the “Explanatory Bible” is by no means a strictly scientific publication, because the authors’s desire for spiritual edification of readers and the desire to reinforce the Bible’s reliability by reference to the data of positive science come to the fore. The ratio of the scientific and spiritual-educational approach, as well as the level of comments vary from book to book, because a large number of authors different in their scientific level and vision of the problem participated in their writing.

Work on the Explanatory Bible began under the editorship of Professor of Theology Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin. But, unfortunately, Alexander Pavlovich died at the dawn of his creative powers in August 1904, and his successors continued to work on this unique publication. The last volume managed to be published less than a year before the First World War.

The death of the scientist, fortunately, did not lead to the cessation of his main publishing projects. Continued by the successors of A.P. Lopukhina edition of the "Explanatory Bible" was completed in 1913. Over the course of ten years, twelve volumes have been published, successively offering the reader commentary and interpretation of biblical texts on all books of the Old and New Testaments.

Alexander Pavlovich Lopukhin himself managed to prepare only a commentary on the Pentateuch of Moiseevo, which compiled the first volume of the Explanatory Bible. Beginning with historical books of the Old Testament of the Bible (books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, books of Kings), prominent Russian biblical scholars, professor of the Kiev Theological Academy priest Alexander Alexandrovich Glagolev, professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Fedor Gerasimovich Eleonsky, professor of the Kazan Theological Academy Vasily Ivanovich Protopopov, Professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy Ivan Gavrilovich Troitsky, Professor Archimandrite (later Bishop) Joseph, Master of Theology Priest Alexan Dr. Vasilievich Petrovsky, professor of the Kiev Theological Academy, professor Vasily Nikanorovich Myshtsyn, professor of the Moscow Academy Alexander Ivanovich Pokrovsky, professor of the Kiev Theological Academy Mikhail Nikolaevich Skaballanovich, teacher of the Moscow Theological Seminary Nikolay Petrovich Rozanov, teacher of the St. Petersburg Seminary Pavel Dmitriy Rozhdestven Rozhdestven, N. Abolensky, priest Michael of Thebes, K.N. Faminskiy, Archpriest Nikolai Orlov.

The ABC of Faith expresses appreciation to the Dar Publishing House for providing the text of the interpretation of the New Testament. Starting in 2005 to reprint this classic work of Lopukhin's Explanatory Bible, the publishing house sought to offer it to the reader in a new, more convenient and corrected form. For this purpose, comments on one or another place of the Holy Scripture immediately follow the biblical text (in the original they are placed at the bottom of the page in small, unreadable type). In an effort to preserve the original text in all its originality, the editors eliminated only the obvious flaws and typos that were found in large numbers in the original edition and reproduced in the Stockholm edition of 1988. The Greek and Latin words and expressions, which were found in the text of the comments, were completely revised, since in them, unfortunately, the number of errors initially exceeded any acceptable measure. At the same time, in the new edition, it was decided to abandon the Hebrew words in their original spelling and use Cyrillic transcription, which, if possible, accurately conveys the sound of the words of the Hebrew language.

Moreover, an attempt was made to verify the numerous (about 50,000) references to various scriptures encountered during the commentary and to correct the inaccuracies of the first edition of the Lopukhin Explanatory Bible (the number of which turned out to be very significant).

Thus, the interpretation of the Lopukhin Bible in the new edition is one of the best at the moment.

Explanatory Bible Lopukhin. OLD TESTAMENT. GENESIS

Explanatory Bible
or commentary on all books of scripture
Old and New Testaments.
Being.

Revised and supplemented edition, 2003

The concept of the Bible.

FROMabout the word “Bible”, we combine the idea of \u200b\u200bone big book that contains all the Holy Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments. But, in essence, this is not one book, but a whole collection of sacred books strictly defined by the Church, written at different times, in different places and for different purposes and belonging either to God-inspired (canonical books) or only to enlightened men (non-canonical books).

This composition and origin of the Bible is already revealed from the history of the term itself - “the Bible.” It is taken from the Greek language from the word βίβλος, which means “book,” and is used in the plural form τά βιβλία from unities, the diminutive is τό βιβλίον, meaning “small book,” “little book.” Therefore, τά βιβλία literally means a whole series or collection of such small books. In view of this St. John Chrysostom interprets this word as one collective concept: “The Bible,” he says, “are many books that form one single one.”

This collective designation of Holy Scripture by one collective name undoubtedly existed already in the Old Testament period. So, in its true Greek form, τά βιβλία is found in the first Maccabees book (1 Mac. 12: 9), and the corresponding Hebrew translation is given by the prophet Daniel (Dan. 9: 2), where the scriptures are indicated by the term “Gasefarim” ( םירפםה), which means “books,” more precisely, known certain books, as they are accompanied by a specific member - “ha”.

In the period of New Testament history, at least in its early days, we still do not find the word “Bible,” but we encounter a number of its synonyms, of which the following are most commonly used: “Scripture” (ή γραφή Luke 4:21; John 20 : 9; Acts 13:32; Gal. 3:22), “The Scriptures” (αί γραφαί - Matt. 21:41; Luke 24:32; John 5:39; 2 Pet. 3:16), “ Holy Scriptures ”(γραφαί άγίαι - Rom. 1: 2),“ Holy Scriptures ”(τά ίερά γράμματα - 2 Tim. 3:15).

But already with the husbands of the apostles, along with the scriptures just listed, the term τά βιβλία begins to appear. However, it is in general use only since the time of the famous collector and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures - Origen (III century) and especially St. John Chrysostom (IV century).

From Greek authors, such a collective designation of Scripture passed on to Latin writers, and the plural form of the middle gender τ рода βιβλία finally got here the meaning of the singular feminine bіblіa. This last name, in its Latin form, also came to us in Russia, probably due to the fact that our first collectors of the Slavic Bible stood, among other things, under the influence of the Latin Vulgate.

The main feature that distinguishes the scriptures of the “Bible” from other literary works, giving them the highest power and unquestioned authority, is their inspiration. By it is meant that supernatural, divine illumination, which, without destroying and not suppressing the natural forces of man, led them to the highest perfection, protected from errors, reported revelations, in a word - led the entire course of their work, so the latter was not a simple product of man, but as if a work of God himself. According to the testimony of St. Peter the Apostle, “ prophecy was never uttered according to the will of man, but God's holy men spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit”(2 Pet. 1:21). The very word “inspired” is also found by the Apostle Paul, and it is precisely in the appendix to the Holy Scriptures when he says that “all Scripture is inspired” (ΰεόπνευστος: 2 Tim. 3:16). All this is perfectly revealed among the Church Fathers. So, St. John Chrysostom says that “all the Scriptures are not written by slaves, but by the Lord of all - by God;” and according to St. Gregory the Great, “the Lord speaks to us in the language of the holy prophets and apostles.”

But this “inspiration” of the scriptures and their authors did not extend to the destruction of their personal, natural features: this is why we observe significant differences between the individual scriptures in the content of the holy books, especially in their presentation, style, language, character of images and expressions. , depending on the individual, psychological and peculiar literature features of their authors.

Another very important attribute of the holy books of the Bible, which determines a different degree of their authority, is canonical the nature of some books and noncanonical other . To find out the origin of this difference, you need to touch on the history of the formation of the Bible. We already had occasion to notice that the Bible included sacred books written in various eras and by various authors. To this we must now add that along with genuine, inspired books appeared in different eras and not genuine, or not inspired books, to which, however, their authors tried to give the appearance of genuine and inspired ones. Especially a lot of such writings appeared in the first centuries of Christianity, on the basis of Evionism and Gnosticism, such as “the first gospel of Jacob,” “the gospel of Thomas,” “the apocalypse of the Apostle Peter,” “the apocalypse of Paul” and others. Therefore, an authoritative voice was needed, which is clearly I would determine which of these books are truly true and inspired, which are only edifying and useful (without being inspired at the same time), and which are directly harmful and false. Such guidance was given to all believers by the Church of Christ itself - this pillar and the affirmation of truth - in her ability to call the so-called canon.

The Greek word “κανών,” like the Semitic “cane” (הכק), originally means “reed stick,” or any “straight stick,” in general, and hence, figuratively, everything that serves to straighten, correct other things, for example ., “Carpentry plumb,” or the so-called “rule.” In a more abstract sense, the word κανών received the meaning of “rule, norm, pattern,” with which meaning it occurs, among other things, in the Apostle Paul: “ those who act according to this rule (κανών), peace be upon them and mercy and to the Israel of God”(Gal. 6:16). Based on this, the term κανών and the adjective κανονικός formed from it began to be applied rather early to those sacred books in which, according to a consensus tradition, the Church saw an expression of the true rule of faith, an example of it. Already Irenaeus of Lyons says that we have “the canon of truth - the words of God.” And St. Athanasius of Alexandria defines “canonical” books as those “which serve as a source of salvation, in which alone the doctrine of piety is predicted.”

Thus, the interpretation of the Lopukhin Bible in the new edition is one of the best at the moment.

(ratings: 3 , average: 3,67 out of 5)

Title: Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament

About the book “Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament »Alexander Lopukhin

“Explanatory Bible. The Old Testament and the New Testament ”is a twelve-volume work of a Russian Orthodox writer, biblical scholar, theologian, translator, researcher, as well as an interpreter of the Holy Scripture Alexander Lopukhin. Easily and easily written, this book explains the miracles described in the Bible and ties them to historical events. To date, the work has been reprinted more than 20 times.

The author of the book was born in the family of a priest. After graduating from the seminary, Alexander Lopukhin became a student in the Theological Academy of St. Petersburg. For two years he was a psalmist at the church of the Russian Embassy in New York. Then he returned to his homeland, defended his thesis and took up teaching and literary activities.

Critics point out that every writer's work is of both literary and scientific value. So, in the book “Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament ”is an incredibly deep understanding of biblical history. The writer proves that the stories about the creation of man, the fall, the flood, the confusion of languages \u200b\u200bhave a real historical basis. This book provides many explanations of life, realities, traditions of the time when the Bible was created. They help to understand the depth and meaning of Bible Scripture.

In addition, the creator of the work sought to explain certain events of biblical history from a scientific point of view, that is, with an eye to the data of modern biology, physics, geology, archeology, history and other sciences for the author (i.e., pre-revolutionary). However, it is worth remembering that, first of all, this book acts as a kind of spiritual edification to the reader, and references to the sciences serve only as confirmation of the authenticity of the stories presented in the Bible.

The author himself noted that this book is intended for a wide range of readers. After all, he believed that biblical history would become the best “teacher” for every sane person. The work was created in order to clarify particularly incomprehensible places in the Bible, as well as to avoid "misinterpretation."

Please note that in Alexander Lopukhin’s book, The Explanatory Bible. Old Testament and New Testament ”you will find wonderful engravings by Gustave Dore, an unsurpassed master of his craft, whose work adorns many ancient works on history and religion.

On our site about books lifeinbooks.net you can download for free without registration or read the online book “The Explicit Bible. Old Testament and New Testament »Alexander Lopukhin in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and true reading pleasure. You can buy the full version from our partner. Also, here you will find the latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers, there is a separate section with useful tips and tricks, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary mastery.