Excerps from The Holy Gospel
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Fr. Christopher Stade
St. John Chrysostom
Russian Orthodox Church
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Content :
Chapter Five .
For nine hundred years one of the most beloved and widely read Scriptural commentaries among the Orthodox people of Byzantium, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Greece has been Bl. Theophylact�s Explanation of the Holy Gospel and Epistles. The comprehensiveness, the patristic authority, and, at the same time, the simplicity of this great work makes it of value to any Christian seeking to understand the meaning of the Gospel preaching.
Here is what Bishop Ignaty Brianchaninov, a renowned spiritual writer and monastic guide of nineteenth century Russia, has to say about this work:
"While reading the evangelists, the novice should also read The Herald, that is, the explanation of the Gospel by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria. The reading of The Herald is indispensable. It is an aid to the right understanding of the Gospel and consequently to the most exact practice of it. Moreover, the rules of the Church require that Scripture should be understood as the holy Fathers explain it, and not at all arbitrarily. By being guided in our understanding of the Gospel by the explanation of the holy Fathers, we keep the tradition of the Holy Church."
Bl. Theophylact�s Explanation of the New Testament has not been previously translated into any western European language, although he has been known to western scholars of Byzantium since the time of Erasmus. More attention has been given by historians in recent years to his Letters which provide an insight into life in the Byzantine empire at the time of the First Crusade. In fact, Bl. Theophylact lived and wrote at a turning point of the history of both the Empire and the whole Christian Church.
He was himself a true son of Byzantium, a product of the highly developed cultural and religious civilization emanating from the "queen of cities," Constantinople. Born on the Greek island of Euboia some time between 1050 and 1060, Theophylact went to Constantinople to study under the finest teachers of literature and rhetoric of his time. He was ordained and served as a hierodeacon assisting the patriarch at Agia Sophia, and soon gained renown as a preacher of the Gospel and a master of rhetoric. The Emperor Alexius I Comnenus made him the tutor of his future son-in-law and heir presumptive.
About the year 1090 Theophylact was sent to the Macedonian city of Ochrid to be enthroned as Archbishop of Bulgaria. Ochrid was the capital city of the Bulgarian kingdom that had been conquered by the Byzantines some sixty years earlier. In this demanding position in a conquered territory on the outskirts of the Empire, Bl. Theophylact conscientiously and energetically carried out his archpastoral duties over the course of the next twenty years or so. Although a Byzantine by upbringing and outlook, he was a true father and archpastor of the Bulgarian Church, defending its interests and protecting its independence and prerogatives. He acted vigorously to protect his flock from the propaganda of the heretical Paulicians and Bogomils by ordaining dedicated and educated priests. He endured many slanderous accusations that were made against him both within the diocese and in Constantinople, but he won the respect and love of the faithful who saw his tireless labors on their behalf. The exact year of his repose is not known, but the latest date that can be ascertained from his letters is 1108. The Serbian Orthodox Church, whose jurisdiction in later years came to include Ochrid and Macedonia, commemorates Bl. Theophylact on December 31.
It is during this period of his life as Archbishop of Bulgaria that he wrote his Explanation of the New Testament, at the request of the princess Maria, who was the mother of the imperial boy he had earlier tutored, and who had now become the abbess of a convent. His Letters also date to this time, as well as two other writings for which he is well known: The Life of St. Clement of Ochrid and a treatise entitled The Errors of the Latin's in Ecclesiastical Matters. These works highlight two developments of enormous consequence for the history of the Church. The first is the spread of Orthodoxy Christianity into the Slavic lands; for St. Clement of Ochrid was a disciple of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, and he brought to fruition in Bulgaria the labors begun by his mentors in carrying the Orthodox faith to the Slavs in their own languages. The second is the tragic schism which occurred between the eastern and western halves of the Church. Bl. Theophylact wrote his treatise, The Errors of the Latin's, only some fifty years after the exchange of anathema's between Rome and Constantinople. While firmly defending the Orthodox doctrinal position rejecting the Filioque, Bl. Theophylact writes with a tone of moderation rare for his time, urging from both sides a spirit of conciliation concerning matters of local custom.
The contents of Bl. Theophylact�s Explanation are based entirely on the works of the great Fathers of the early Church, and above all, St. John Chrysostom. Bl. Theophylact employs to perfection the commentary form introduced by St. Photius the Great and known as "links" or "series" (in Greek, seirai; in Latin, catenae). The inspiration behind this form of commentary is the Orthodox desire, and indeed, commandment, to guard and transmit to future generations the living apostolic tradition of the early Church. Therefore, later commentators and Fathers such as St. Photius and Bl. Theophylact, for each passage of Scripture under consideration, would gather together the explanations and interpretations of the early Fathers. The result is not simply the interpretation of one person, but an expression of the consensus of the mind of the Church, in short, what the Church has believed and taught "at all times and in all places."
But Bl. Theophylact�s Explanation does not at all read like a list of quotations. What is truly remarkable is that, although the work is wholly derivative from the tradition of the fathers, in it the reader hears but a single voice speaking clearly as a teacher to a disciple.
Mindful of the need for the wealth of Orthodox Scriptural commentary to be accessible in English, we offer this translation of Bl. Theophylact�s Explanation of the Holy Gospel According to St. Matthew. It is the first volume in a series of what will be, with God�s help, a translation of the complete commentaries of Bl. Theophylact on the New Testament, except for the Book of Revelation which he did not include in his own work.
The translation has been made from the original Greek text of Migne, vol. 123 in the series Patrologia Graeca, with comparisons made to Slavonic, Russian, and modern Greek translations. The English text of the Gospel itself is for the most part that of the King James Version. Revisions to the King James text have been made according to three criteria. First, a few changes were required in order to agree with the text of the Gospel used by Theophylact himself as printed by Migne, where that differs from the Greek text followed by the translators of the KJV. Second, for the purposes of greater clarity, a few archaic Elizabethan usages have been rendered into more modern English. Third, a few words have been retranslated to reflect Orthodox interpretation and usage. For example, in Chapter 26 of St. Matthew, the New Testament Greek word Pascha has been rendered as "Pascha," and not "Passover."
Quotations from the Old Testament used by Bl. Theophylact in his Explanation are taken from Sir Lancelot Brenton�s translation of the Septuagint. But quotations from the Psalms are taken from the Psalter translated by Holy Transfiguration Monastery. For the sake of easier recognition, we have elected to use the form of Hebrew names most familiar to English readers rather than the Greek and Slavonic forms, e.g. Isaiah instead of Esaias, Jeremiah instead of Ieremias, Elijah instead of Elias. In references to the Old Testament we have followed the Septuagint arrangement and numbering of books and chapters. An Old Testament reference within parentheses indicates the arrangements of books as in the King James Version.
Because we intended this work primarily for pious and thoughtful reading of the Holy Scriptures, and only secondarily for academic use, we have kept to an absolute minimum the number of Greek words employed, and indeed footnotes. The Greek words appear in English transcription rather than in Greek script so as to be more recognizable to the general reader, and they are in a form of transcription we deemed most useful to our readers, i.e. no rough breathings, but a primarily alphabetic, rather than phonetic, transcription. Except for a few "scholia" (comments added to the original manuscript by medieval copyists) identified as such, the footnotes are all the product of the translator and editors of this work. In a few places we have omitted a line or two of Bl. Theophylact�s explanation where he defines the meaning of a New Testament Greek word (already clearly translated here into English) in terms of eleventh century Greek. Square brackets within the text of the Explanation indicate a clarifying word or phrase added by the translator; text within parentheses is always Bl. Theophylact himself.
Many people have contributed in vital ways to this translation project. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Hilarion, Deputy Secretary of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, first gave guidance and a blessing to choose the work of Bl. Theophylact as a subject for translation. Hieromonk Kallistos, pastor of St. John Chyrysostom Church in House Springs, Missouri, has done more than can be expressed in words to open doors for this project, and to give his continuing support. Hieromonk Ioanniky of the Prophet Elias Skete on the Holy Mountain of Athos went over the entire manuscript in great detail, providing extensive comments and revisions on all aspects from theology to punctuation. We pray that God will continue to strengthen and protect him in his monastic struggle. The typesetting of the text was undertaken by Galina and Matthew Hanover as a labor of love. Last, but by no means least, is the "brotherhood" of the Chrysostom Press itself, which has given constant and unflagging aid in bringing this work to completion. Editing, proofing, printing, encouragement and support was always near at hand, thanks most of all to Dr. John Johnstone, Dismas Kriegel, James Smith, and Michael Orlando.
If, despite the efforts of these many individuals, there remain errors and flaws in this translation, there is only myself to blame. Having dared to engage in the task of rendering the Holy Gospel and its Orthodox interpretation from one language and culture into another, I beg God�s forgiveness for sin, ignorance, and negligence on my part, and I beg of you, the reader, your prayers and forbearance. Comments, corrections, and inquiries will be gratefully received at: