Читать толкование: К Титу послание ап. Павла, Глава 1, стих 1. Толкователь — Иероним Стридонский блаженный

Когда Павел говорит: апостол же Иисуса Христа, - то это, мне представляется, подобно тому, как если бы он сказал: «префект преторских когорт Августа кесаря, полководец императора Тиберия». Ибо как судьи мира сего оказываются более знаменитыми сообразно царям, которыми поставляются, и имеют звание от положения, на которое поставлены, так и апостол для себя требует великого достоинства между христианами. Апостол себя Христовым титулом отметил, чтобы самого выбранного имени власть устрашала; утверждает же и то, что всем, кто во Христа уверует, надлежит самим быть подвластными Ему

1.1.      Paul, a slave of God, but an apostle of Jesus Christ. In the Epistle to the Romans he began this way: “Paul a slave of Jesus Christ, called apostle.” In this one, however, he calls himself “a slave of God, but an apostle of Jesus Christ.” For if the Father and the Son are one,and the one who believes in the Son will believe also in the Father, then the apostle Paul’s slavery too should be referred equally to the Father or to the Son. But this slavery is not that of which the apostle himself says, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery again unto fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption in whom we cry: Abba, Father.”

Truly it is a noble slavery of which even David says to God, “I am your slave, the son of your maidservant.” And blessed Mary says to the angel: “Behold the maidservant of the Lord; be it done to me ac­cording to your word.” Even Moses had this slavery, of whom the Lord says to Jesus, son of Nun, “Moses my servant is dead.” And in another passage, “Moses the servant of the Lord died in the land of Moab by the word of the Lord.” For far be it from us to believe that Moses and Mary had the spirit of slavery in fear and not in the love of God.

It is no wonder that men, no matter how holy, are nevertheless called slaves in a noble sense, seeing that the Father says to the Son through Isaiah the prophet, “For you it is a great thing that you are called my boy.” In Greek this says: |ieya ooi eon tou KlhQflnai oe paiSa |iou. Now since in Greek “boy,” that is, paic, can mean both servant and son, we have looked in the Hebrew and have found that it was not written, “my son,” but “my slave,” that is, abdi. This is why the prophet Obadiah, which translates as “slave of the Lord,” was named from servitude to God.

It may trouble someone that the Lord and Savior, who is creator of the universe, is called God’s slave. He will not be troubled if he listens to the same one who speaks to the apostles, “Whoever wants to be greatest among you, let him be slave of all,” and, “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” Lest he should seem to teach this in words only, he showed it by example. “For when he had taken a towel, he girded himself, filled a basin with water, and washed the dis­ciples’ feet.” And so, it is not impious to believe that he who had as­sumed the form of a slave had done those things that belong to slaves, in order that it would be said that he served the Father’s will, since he himself served his own slaves. But this slavery is that of love, through which we are commanded to serve one another mutually. And even the apostle himself, though he was free from all, made himself a slave of all. And in another passage he says, “Your slave for the sake of Christ.” He is a slave of God who is not a slave of sin. The apostle, then, who was not a slave of sin, is rightly called slave of God the Father and of Christ.

It seems to me that what he says further, “but an apostle of Jesus Christ,” is as if he had said, “commander of the praetorian guard of Augustus Caesar, master of the army of Emperor Tiberius.” For just as the judges of this world appear more noble in relation to the rulers whom they serve, and they are assigned titles from the office to which they are elevated, so also the apostle, by laying claim for himself among the Christians to the great dignity, he has first designated himself with the title of “apostle of Christ,” that he might strike awe into his readers by the very authority of the name, indicating that all who believe in Christ must be in submission to him. And besides, what we have re­corded a little bit earlier as written to the Romans, “slave of Jesus Christ,” is no different from his having said slave of wisdom, slave of justice, slave of sanctification, slave of redemption. “For Christ became for us from God the Father, wisdom, justice, sanctification, and re- demption.”