The Epistle to the Philippians: main themes, history and the first Christian community in Europe

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

From the pages of the New Testament it is clear that the message of the holy Apostle Paul to the Philippians was the result of his missionary work in Europe, where he went with his companions, the same as he was, preachers of the new faith - Timothy, Silas and Luke. The first major European center to receive from them the news of the Savior's coming into the world was the Macedonian city of Philippi, whose inhabitants were called Philippians in those days. It was to them that the apostolic message was addressed.

Europe's first Christian community

The New Testament book "Acts of the Apostles" says that the Apostle Paul happened to visit Philippi three times. After his first visit, he went there two years later on the road to Corinth and some time later, delivering alms (money collection) to members of the Jerusalem community.

Many residents of the city, who were formerly pagans (there were very few Jews there), responded vividly to the apostolic sermons, and in a short time the firstthere is a Christian community in Europe, which brought unspeakable joy to its founder. From the letter of the Apostle Paul to the Philippians, it can be seen that in the subsequent period he did not lose contact with them and guided their spiritual life through his messengers or other persons with whom he sent current correspondence.

Date and place of the message

About where and when the Apostolic Epistle to the Philippians was written, researchers have a very definite opinion. An analysis of the document shows that, in all likelihood, he compiled it while in a Roman prison, where he was thrown on the orders of Emperor Nero in 61.

This, in particular, is evidenced by the author's mention of the soldiers of the Praetorian regiment serving in the protection of prisoners. Their unit, as is known, was part of the imperial forces stationed in Rome. The text also shows that the author is sure of his imminent release, which followed two years later. Thus, the accepted date for Paul's letter to the Philippians is 63, or a date very close to it. In the scientific world, there are other points of view on this issue, the supporters of which are few in number and do not have sufficiently convincing arguments in favor of their theories.

Apostolic Messenger

During the stay of the Apostle Paul in a Roman dungeon, he was visited by a resident of the city of Philippi named Epaphroditus. Being an active member of the newly formed Christian community of his city, he treated the prisoner as his spiritual father and did his best toalleviate his plight. He also looked after him during his illness.

Wishing to send a message to the Philippians, Paul was looking for a convenient opportunity for this, and when Epaphroditus informed him of his intention to return home, he sent a letter with him, in which he sincerely thanked the townspeople for the allowance collected for him and, in addition, gave necessary religious instruction at the time. Knowing that the members of the Philippian community were extremely troubled by the news of his illness, the apostle consoled them with the message of his successful recovery.

A truly fatherly message

The very nature of the epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Philippians is very remarkable. Reading it, you involuntarily feel that the author is addressing people with whom he is connected by bonds of true brotherly love. Many years have passed since their first meeting, during which the members of the Christian community founded by him were persecuted by the pagans around them and for the most part showed firmness of spirit. This devotion to the true faith, of which he was the bearer, bound Paul to the Philippians more strongly than blood ties. That is why, addressing them, the apostle speaks like a loving father, confident that his beloved children will not shame his name.

Structural features of the piece

The Apostle Paul's epistle has a casualness more characteristic of personal letters than official documents. In many respects, this impression is created due to the fact that the author did not seek to create it strictlythe established plan, but was more guided by the thoughts and feelings that visited him at one time or another of writing.

The Apostle Paul divided his epistle to his brothers in faith into four chapters, which make up two parts of the document. The first of them begins with the usual greeting in such cases, accompanied by a short story about the circumstances of his life at that time. Further, in chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Philippians, the author, citing Jesus Christ as an example, calls on his readers to fight for the faith, as well as unanimity, humility and God's obedience. The chapter ends with private messages concerning the people who surrounded Paul at that period of his life. This is the general content of the first part of the message.

The next part covers chapters 3 and 4. In it, the apostle, addressing both individuals and all members of the community founded by him, warns them against the harmful influence of adherents of the Jewish faith. In addition, he speaks of the need to develop in oneself the ability for spiritual self-improvement, without which it is impossible to fully follow Christ's Commandments. The Apostolic Epistle to the Philippians ends with words of gratitude and greetings. Like the text of the entire document, they are filled with cordiality, testifying to the inseparable closeness of Paul with his spiritual children.

Explanations compiled by clerics

In the patristic literature one can find a number of interpretations of the "Epistle to the Philippians of the Holy Apostle Paul." This is due to the fact that, behind the external simplicity of itsthe presentation has a deep meaning, which is extremely difficult for an uninitiated person to comprehend. The author of the most famous work of this kind is St. John Chrysostom, the Archbishop of Constantinople, who covered the second half of the 4th century with his activities and became, along with Gregory the Theologian and Basil the Great, one of the three Ecumenical saints.

The work of Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus, who became the leading representative of the school of theology founded in the 3rd century by the inhabitants of the Syrian city of Antioch, enjoys no less respect. Among domestic authors, the Most Reverend Theophan (Govorov) the Recluse achieved the greatest success, who wrote his work in the second half of the 19th century and after his death was glorified in the guise of saints.

Secular interpreters of the apostolic epistle

There are also known interpretations compiled not by clerics, but by representatives of secular science who have devoted their in-depth studies to this issue. So, in 1989, the printing house of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra published the capital work of the Moscow historian Ivan Nazarevsky. His work evoked a lively response among a wide range of readers and was highly appreciated by representatives of the Russian clergy. Another example is the work of the German biblical scholar Friedrich Meyer, written by him in 1897 and reprinted several times under the editorship of Paul Ewald and Mark Haupt.

Opinion of skeptics

It should be noted that, contrary to the general belief in the authenticity of thedocument, there were often researchers who disputed this fact. For example, the German philosopher Bruno Bauer argued at the beginning of the 19th century that, despite the stylistic similarity with other texts created by the apostle Paul, the epistle to the Philippians attributed to him is a later forgery.

His compatriot Karl Holsten spoke in the same vein. Having published his comments on the Epistle to the Philippians of the Apostle Paul in the mid-70s of the XIX century, he did not fail to repeat exactly the words of his predecessor Bauer, while adding a number of evidence from himself, which theologians of the whole world recognized as extremely unconvincing, and partly deliberately falsified.

Thus, no matter what the skeptics try to assert, the message of the holy Apostle Paul to the members of the Christian community he founded in the Macedonian city of Philippi can rightly be attributed to the highest examples of religious thought and to say that his text rightfully occupies place among other books of the New Testament.