Different Visions

Ἑγένετο δὲ ἐπ' αὐτον ἔκστασις , καὶ θεωρεῖ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνεωγμένον... Οἱ γυναικῶν παραπαιουσῶν ἑλόμενοι εἶναι μαθηταὶ, οὗτοι δὲ εἰσιν οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Φρυγίας, φασὶ τοὺς προφήτας, κατεχομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, μὴ παρακολουθεῖν ἑαυτοῖς παραφερομένοις κατὰ τὸν τῆς προφητείας καιρόν. Δοκοῦσι δὲ ἀπόδειξιν ἔχειν ταύτης τῆς κακοδοξίας, καὶ ἐκ τῆς προκειμένης γραφῆς, λεγούσης ἐξεστακέναι τὸν Πέτρον. Ἀλλ᾽ ἴστωσαν οἱ ἡλίθιοι, οἱ ἀληθῶς παραπαίοντες, ὡς πολλὰ σημαίνει ἡ λέξις αὕτη. Δηλοῖ γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ θαυμασμῷ ἔκπληξιν, καὶ τὸ ἔξω τῶν αἰσθητῶν γενέσθαι , ποδηγούμενον ἐπὶ τὰ πνευματικά, καὶ τὸ παρακόπτειν, ὅπερ οὐ λεκτέον οὔτε ἐπὶ Πέτρου, οὔτε ἐπὶ προφητῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἄλλα ἐκ τῆς λέξεως σημαινόμενα. Ἀμέλει γοῦν ὁ ἐκστὰς Πέτρος παρηκολούθει, ὡς ἀπαγγέλλων, ἃ εἶδε καὶ ἤκουσε , καὶ τίνος σύμβολατὰ δειχθέντα ἦν. Ταῦτα καὶ περὶ τῶν προφητῶν πάντων ἐρεῖς παρακολουθούντων , οἷς ἔλεγον τὰ θεωρούμενα. Σοφοὶ γὰρ ἦσαν νοοῦντες ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου στόματος, ἃ προέφερον, τοῦ Κυρίου μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν φανερῶς ἐντειλαμένου μαθητεῦσαι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Ἢ πῶς οἱ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ἀκούσαντες τὰ κατὰ τὸν Κορνήλιον, διεκρίνοντο πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον; Πάνυ μὲν οὖν ἐδεῖτο τῆς περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν θείας ἀποκαλύψεως ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔξαρχος, Πέτρος, ὁ παν άγιος. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1677a-c

And an ecstasy came on Peter, and he saw the heavens opened... 1 Those who delight to be disciples of maddened women, who are of the Phrygian sect, 2 say their prophetesses are carried off by the Holy Spirit when they are struck by the prophetic impulse and they do not understand what the say at the time, and in this passage in Scripture they think to find a demonstration of their error, for it says that Peter was struck by an ecstasy of the mind. But let it be known by these fools, who are truly despicable, that these words do not mean that, for what they do signify is an awe arising from wonder, and from being lifted up from sensible things to spiritual things. It is not fitting to say of Peter or the prophets that this is some sort of delirium, but rather this passage signifies something quite different. Certainly Peter, caught up in ecstasy, followed everything and took in all that he saw and heard, and knew what was taught there, which things were given to him to see. And you might say the same of all the things of the prophets, that is, because of which they were able to tell others what they saw. For they were wise, knowing what they said with their mouths, which the Lord after His resurrection was able to teach correctly, so that all the nations would be imbued with His teaching. Besides how would the other Apostles who were in Jerusalem, hearing what had happened with Cornelius, have been able to question Peter? This was the type of revelation concerning the Gentiles Peter had, the leader of the Apostles, a most holy man. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 10.10-11 2 Montanists

Peter And Aeneas

Invenit autem ibi hominem quemdam, nomine Aeneam, ab annis octo jacentem in grabato... Aeneas iste genus significat humanum, infirmorum prius delectatione languescens, sed apostolorum opere et ore sanatum. Quia etenim mundus ipse quatuor plagis sublimatur, et cursus saeculi annuis quatuor temporibus variatur, quicunque praesentia labentiaque gaudia complecitur, quasi bis quaternario annorum numero, grabato sternitur enervis. Grabatum quippe est ipse segnities, ubi requiescit animus aeger et infirmus, id est, in voluptate corporis et omni delectatione saeculari. Aenea, sanet te Dominus Jesus Christi. Surge et sterne tibi... Quem de paralyspsi curaverat, mox surgere et sternere sibi praecepit, spiritaliter insinuans ut quisque fidei solidamentum in corde perceperit, non solum torporem, in quo fessus jacuerat, discutiat, sed etiam bona opera, in quibus requiescere valeat, paret. Sanctus Beda, Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 92.965a-b

And Peter found there a certain man by the name of Aeneas, who had been laying on a pallet for eight years... 1 This Aeneas signifies a type of person who has been languishing in the pleasures of laxity but who is then cured by the works and words of the Apostles. Because indeed the world is raised up by four corners, and the course of the secular year is varied by the four seasons, so it is with anyone caught up in present joys and delights, he lays stretched out in infirmity, and the number of years are reckoned as two fours. Certainly the pallet signifies sloth, where the sick and weak soul rests, that is, in the pleasures of the body and in worldly delights. Aeneas, the Lord Jesus Christ heals you. Rise up and make your bed... He cures him of paralysis and immediately exhorts him to rise up and make his bed, spiritually intimating that he who takes possession of the firmness of faith in his heart, not only casts off his torpor in which he has been thrown down in weariness, but he even prepares for good works, in which he shall be able to find rest. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chapter 9 1 Acts 9.33

Errors And Forgiveness

Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Et ille, Quis es, Domine? Hinc profecto datur intelligi quia vere circumfusa erat illi claritas, non infusa. Audiebat Paulus vocem Domini, sed faciem Domini non videbat; quoniam erudiebatur ad fidem: et ut ipse postea docuit, Fides ex auditu. Quis es, inquit? Ignotum enim persequebatur, et ideo consecutus est misericordiam, quia ignorans in incredulitate hoc fecit. Discite ex hoc, fratres, justum judicem Deum, non modo quid fiat, sed et quo animo fiat, considerare; et cavete deinceps, ne quis parva reputet, quamlibet parva scienter delinquere convincatur. Nemo dicat in corde suo: Levia sunt ista, non curo corrigere; non est magnum si in his maneam venialibus minimisque peccatis. Haec est enim, dilectissimi, impoenitentia, haec blasphemia in Spiritum sanctum, blasphemia irremissibilis. Paulus quidem blasphemus fuit, sed non in Spiritum sanctum, quia ignorans fecit in incredulitate. Non in Spiritum sanctum dixit blasphemiam; ideo consecutus est misericordiam. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Sanctis, Sermones de Sanctis, In Conversione Sancti Pauli, Sermo I, Quomodo ad exemplum ejus converti debemus. Source: Migne PL 183.362d-363b

Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? 1 And he says, 'Who are you, Lord?' Without question this is given to be understood that though he was surrounded by light he was not yet infused with it. Paul heard the voice of the Lord but he did not see the face of the Lord, because he was being educated for the faith, even as he later taught, 'Faith is from hearing.' 2 'Who are you?' he says, for he was ignorant of what he was persecuting and therefore mercy followed, because being ignorant he did this in disbelief. Learn from this, brothers, that God is a righteous judge, who considers not only what a man does, but the state of his soul, and then be wary lest someone reckon something to be trivial and erring in it he is overthrown. Let no one say in his heart, 'These are light things, I have no need to correct them. It is not important if I remain in these small and venial sins.' For this, most beloved, is impenitence, and this is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and it is unforgiveable blasphemy. 3 Certainly Paul blasphemed, but not against the Holy Spirit, because in ignorance he acted in disbelief. He did not speak blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and therefore mercy followed. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons on the Saints, On the Conversation of Saint Paul, from Sermon 1, that we should be converted by his example 1 Acts 9.4 2 Rom 10.7 3 Mt 12.31 Mk 3.28-29

Freedom Of Speech

Τοῦτο παῤῥησία ἀνδρὸς τὸν σταυρὸν ἔχοντος. Μιμώμεθα τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς ταύτην, εἰ καὶ πολέμου οὐκ ἔστι καιρὸς, ἀλλὰ παῤῥησίας ἀεὶ καιρός ἐστιν. Ἐλάλουν γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐν τοῖς μαρτυρίοις σου ἐναντίον βασιλέων, καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχυνόμην. Ἂν τοίνυν Ἕλλησι συμπλεκώμεθα, οὕτως αὐτοὺς ἐπιστομίζωμεν χωρὶς θυμοῦ, χωρὶς τραχύτητος. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ μετὰ θυμοῦ τοῦτο ποιῶμεν, οὐκ ἔτι παῤῥησία, ἀλλὰ πάθος εἶναι δοκεῖ· ἂν δὲ ἐπιεικῶς, ὄντως ἐστὶν αὕτη παῤῥησία. Οὐ γὰρ δυνατὸν ὁμοῦ κατὰ ταυτὸν καὶ κατόρθωμα εἶναι καὶ ἐλάττωμα. Ἡ παῤῥησία, κατόρθωμα· ὁ θυμὸς, ἐλάττωμα. Δεῖ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς, εἰ μέλλομεν παῤῥησίαν ἔχειν, καθαροὺς εἶναι τοῦ θυμοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκείνῳ τις λογίσηται τὰ ῥήματα. Κἂν δίκαια λέγῃς μετὰ θυμοῦ, τὸ πᾶν ἀπώλεσας, κἂν παῤῥησιάζῃ, κἂν νουθετῇς, κἂν ὁτιοῦν πράττῃς. Ὅρα τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον οὐ μετὰ θυμοῦ διαλεγόμενον· οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὕβρισεν, ἀλλὰ προφητικοῦ αὐτοὺς ἀνέμνησε λόγου. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐκ ἦν θυμοῦ, ἔδειξεν, ὅτε κακῶς ἔπασχε, τότε ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν εὐχόμενος καὶ λέγων· Μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Οὕτως οὐκ ὀργιζόμενος αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ ἀλγῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καὶ δακνόμενος, ταῦτα ἐφθέγγετο· ἐπεὶ καὶ περὶ τῆς ὄψεως διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν, ὅτι Εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου, ἵν' αὐτοὺς ἐφελκύσηται. Καθαροὶ τοίνυν θυμοῦ ὦμεν. Οὐ κατοικεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἔνθα θυμός· ἐπικατάρατος ὁ θυμώδης. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΖ' Source: Migne PG 60.137

Such is the freedom of speech of a man bearing the Cross. Let us then also imitate Stephen, for even if it is not a time of war, yet it is always the time for freedom of speech. 'For, I spoke your testimonies before kings,' says another, 'and I was not ashamed.' 1 If, then, we are among those who do not believe, let us close their mouths without anger, and without harshness, for if we do it with anger, it is no longer freedom of speech but it seems to be passion; if we do it with gentleness, there is freedom of speech. Success and failure cannot exist together in one and the same thing. Freedom of speech is success, anger is failure. Therefore if we are to be free in our speech, we must be cleansed of anger so that no one may attribute our words to that. Even though you speak righteously, when you speak with anger, you ruin it all, no matter how freely you speak, or how fairly you reprove. Look to Stephen, see how free from passion he is as he speaks to them, for he did not utter abuse, but he reminded them of the words of the Prophets. And to show it was not anger, when he was suffering evil, he prayed for them, saying, 'Do not hold this sin against them.' 2 Thus he was not angry with them, but he said these things in grief and sorrow, and this is why it speaks of his appearance, that they saw his face and it was like the face of an angel, so that they might be moved. Let us then be cleansed of anger. The Holy Spirit does not dwell where there is anger, but the angry man is cursed. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 17 1 Psalm 118.46 2 Acts 7.59

The Ruin Of The Impious

Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβής· τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψας εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Οὐ γὰρ ἠνέσχου, φησὶν, ἐπὶ πλεῖστον περιϊδεῖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πικροῦ τυράννου δουλουμένην κακῶς, ἀλλ' οἷόν τις δικαστὴς, ἐπὶ θρόνου τινὸς ὑψηλοῦ καὶ φοβεροῦ βήματος καθίσας, τοιαύτην αὐτῷ τιμωρίαν ἐπ ήνεγκας, ὥστε λήθῃ παντελεῖ τούτου παραδοθῆναι τὴν μνήμην. Τὸ δέ γε, Ἐπετίμησας ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπ ώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, ταύτην ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν· ∆ιὰ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τῶν μετ' ἐκείνους τῆς ἀλη θείας κηρύκων, προσήνεγκες τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὰ θεῖα δόγματα· ἐκείνων δὲ δεξαμένων, καὶ τῆς πλάνης ἀπαλλαγέντων, ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, τοὺς ἀπατωμέ νους καὶ προσκυνοῦντας οὐκ ἔχων. Οὕτω Βαρνά βας καὶ Παῦλος θῦσαι πειραθεῖσι Λυκάοσιν ἐπετί μησαν βοῶντες· Τί ποιεῖτε, ἄνδρες; καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁμοιοπαθεῖς ἐσμεν ὑμῖν ἄνθρωποι, ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ματαίων πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑμᾶς ἐπιστρέφοντες. Οὕτω Γαλάταις ὁ μακάριος ἐπετίμησε Παῦλος· Ὦ ἀνόητοι Γαλάται, τίς ὑμᾶς ἐβάσκανεν, οἷς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς προεγράφη ἐσταυρωμέ νος; Οὕτω Κορινθίοις· Ὅλως ἀκούεται ἐν ὑμῖν πορνεία, καὶ τοιαύτη πορνεία, οἵα οὐδ' ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀνομάζεται. Ἐπετίμησε τοίνυν ἔθνεσι, καὶ ἀπώλετο ὁ ἀσεβὴς, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐξήλειψεν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἐσβέσθησαν γὰρ παν τελῶς τῆς ἀσεβείας αἱ τελεταὶ, καὶ λήθῃ παντελεῖ παρεδόθησαν, ὡς μηδένα τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων εἰδέ ναι τὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας μυστήρια. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἑρμηνεία εἰς Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός Θ’ Source: Migne PG 80.924a-b

The nations cried out, and the wicked perished, their name you have destroyed forever, for all the ages. 1 For you do no tolerate for long that human nature should be despised and reduced by that bitter tyrant to slavery, but as a judge upon his high throne in a fearful tribunal you imposed such a punishment on him so that his memory would be lost in forgetfulness forever. But these words, 'The nations cried out and the wicked perished,' has this meaning, that through the holy Apostles, and the proclaimers of truth who came after them, you brought the Divine teachings to the nations, who when they received them were freed from error, and so wickedness perished, no longer having any persuasive adulators. So Paul and Barnabas cried out loudly to the Lycaones who were about to offer sacrifice to them, 'O men, what are you doing? We are but mortal, just like you men. Be done with these vain offerings to God.' 2 So even Paul cries out to the Galatians, 'O foolish Galatians, who has enthralled you, before the eyes of whom Jesus Christ was openly crucified? And to the Corinthians, 'What fornication is heard among you, that is not even named among the Gentiles.' 3 Therefore the nations cried out, and the wicked perished, and their name was destroyed forever, for all the ages. For all their impious rites came to an end and were sunk in oblivion, so that none among men now know the mysteries of their impieties. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 9 1 Ps 9.6 2 Acts 14.14 3 Galat 3.1, 1 Cor 5.1

The Ways Of Peter And Paul

Christus Saulum in Paulm, Cepham convertit in Petru: nam de ipsis quondoque propheta praedixerat: Et vocabit servos suos nomine alio. Tu es, inquit, Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Petra siquidem erat Christus, suumque nomen communicat Petro, ut Petrus petra sit: nam sicut petra sitienti populo aqua in deserto profluxit, ita et a Petro aliis in fide arescentibus salutiferae fidei confessio emanavit. Chrisit ascensurus in coelum Petro suas oves pascendas agnosque commisit; atque post parvae naviculae regimen, eidem gubernaculum magnae navis, id est, totius Ecclesiae magisterium mancipavit. Petro tanquam optimo dispensatori claves domus suae tradidit. Justitia Petri tantam judicandi judicium potestatem, ut de ejus arbitrio coeleste judicium pendeat; nec a Petri sententia etiam angelus appellare praesumat Interrogatus a Domino Petrus quem eum dicerent homines: brevi confessionis compendio divinae majestatis arcanum declarat in Christo. Non revelabit tibi hoc, Petre, caro et sanguis: care enim et sanguis non possidebunt regnum Dei, sed Spiritus Dei Patris, qui in coelis est. Mirabilis piscator, qui olim profunda aequoris scrutabatur, inscrutabile sacramentum deitatis in Christo fideleter confitetur. Interrogante Domino: Petre, amas me? Petrus trinam negationem negotionis confessione delevit. Cum Christus de sacramento suae carnis et sanguinis loqueretur, quidam abierunt retro: multi enim cum Christo ambulant, donec ad edendum carnem ejus et sanguinem veniatur. Quaerente Domino nunquid reliqui vellent abire, Petrus tanquam petra fidei, et publicae veritatis assertor respondens pro omnibus: Domine, inquit, ad quem ibimus? verba vitae aeternae habes. Ac si diceret: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo quod procedit ex ore Dei. Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua super mel ori meo. Quid mihi est in coelo, Domine, et a te volui super terram? Coelum et terrae, aer et mare obediunt Petro: Simonem enim Magum, ab aere praecipitat, Tabitham de terra suscitat, super aquas ambulat, Anaiam et Saphiram tanquam Dominus vitae et mortis viventes mortificat: coleum vero potestative claudit et reserat. Audivimus de Petro, vultis audire de Paulo. Audivimus de viro hoc quanta mala fecerit in Jerusalem,qui non solum per Jerosolymam, sed per totam Judeam insania ferebatur ,ut Christi membra laniert in terris. Verumtamen spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, a Domino in discipulum adoptatur, toto pectore virus exhalans, et blasphemando nomen Domini, de vase blasphemiae factus est vas electionis ut nomen Domini portaret coram regibus. Ubi ergo abundavit delictum, superabundavit et gratia: ideoque mutatus in alterum virum dicebat. Fidelis sermo, et omni acceptione dignus, quoniam venit Dominus Jesus salvos facere peccatores, quorum primus ego sum. Paulus dum adhuc conversaretur in trra, rptus in tetriu caelum, in schola sanctae Trinitatis didicit quod ei aliis communicae non licuit. Si ergo nobis aperuit quae mens humana non potest comprehendere, quanta sunt ea quae nobis prohibitus est aperire? Quia Paulum schola coelestis instuxerat, ei tanquam idoneo doctori Dominus magisterium ecclesiasticae instructionis injunxit. Quod Elymam percussit, quod Eutychum morti abstulit, quod fame, quod nuditatem, quod sitim, quod omnia fere humane conditionis pericula pro Christo sustinuit, et caetera quae in Actis apostolorum leguntur Paulo cedunt ad cumulum gloriae et honoris. Petrus Blenensis, Sermo XXVIII, De SS. Petro et Paulo Source: Migne PL 207.644b-645c

Christ changed Saul to Paul, and Cephas to Peter, as a prophet once foretold, 'And He shall call His servants by another name.' 1 'You are Peter,' He says, 'and on this rock I shall build my Church.' 2 Certainly, 'the stone was Christ,' 3 and His name He communicated to Peter, so that Peter might be a rock, for as water flowed for a thirsty people in a desert, so from Peter there shoots forth to others a salutary confession of faith. Christ, who was about to rise into heaven, committed the feeding of His sheep and lambs to Peter, 4 and after the steering of little boats, gave to him the piloting of a great ship, that is the headship of the whole Church. He gave the keys of His house to Peter as the best of stewards. The righteousness of Peter has such great power of discernment for judging that on his will the heavenly judgement depends, nor would an angel presume to appeal against the sentence of Peter. Asked by the Lord whom men said He was, Peter with a brief confession of the secret of the Divine majesty declared Him to be Christ. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, Peter, for flesh and blood shall not possess the kingdom of God, 5 but it was the Spirit of God the Father who is in heaven. Wondrous fisherman, who once scrutinised the depths of the sea, now faithfully confesses the inscrutable mystery of the Godhead in Christ. Asked by the Lord, 'Do you love me?' Peter wiped away the three denials with three confessions. When Christ spoke of the mystery of His flesh and blood, some turned back, for many had walked with Christ until it came to the eating of His flesh and blood, and when the Lord asked if the rest of them wished to go away, Peter as the rock of faith and the witness of open truth answered for everybody, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.' As if he said, 'Not on bread alone does a man live but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' 6 'How sweet in my throat your words, surpassing honey in my mouth.' 'What is there for me in heaven, O Lord, and what have I wished for from you on the earth?' 7 Heaven and earth, air and sea obeyed Peter, for he cast down Simon Magus from the air, and he lifted up Tabitha from the earth, and he walked on water, and he slew Ananias and Sapphira, as the lord of life and death, who has the power to close heaven and to open it. 8 We have heard of Peter, now hear of Paul. We have heard that this man did much evil in Jerusalem, and not only in Jerusalem, but that through all Judea he was borne about by a madness, so that he might wound the members of Christ on earth. However, breathing threats and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he was taken up as a disciple by the Lord. 9 Retching forth venom from his breast and blaspheming the name of the Lord, from a vessel of blasphemy he was made into a vase of election of the Lord, so that he might bear the name of the Lord before kings. 'Thus where wickedness abounded so grace abounded more,' 10 and changed into another man he said, 'The word is faithful and worthy of all reception, because the Lord Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am the first.' 11 Paul while yet living on earth was caught up to the third heaven 12 and in the school of the Holy Trinity learned what he was not permitted to speak of to others. If therefore he revealed to us what the human mind is not able to grasp, how greater are those things which were prohibited to be revealed to us? Because the Lord instructed Paul in the heavenly school, to him alone did He enjoin the teaching office of a capable doctor of the Church. He struck Elymas, he brought back Eutychus from the dead, hunger, nakedness, thirst, and everything that is perilous to the human condition he endured for Christ, 13 and the rest of the things which are told in the Acts of the Apostle which befell Paul for sake of the height of glory and honour. Peter of Blois, from Sermon 28, On The Feast of the Saints Peter and Paul 1 Isaiah 65.16 2 Mt 16.16 3 1 Cor 10.4 4 Jn 21.15-17 5 1 Cor 15.50 6 Jn 6.68, Mt 4.4 7 Ps 118.103, Ps 72.25 8 Acts 8.9-24, Acts 9.36-41, Acts 5.1-11 9 Acts 8.1-20 10 Rom 5.20 11 1 Tim 1.15 12 2 Cor 12.2-5| 13 Acts 13.6-12, Acts 20.9-11, 1 Cor 4.11

Better And Worse Places

Oὗτός ἐστιν ὁ γενόμενος ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μετὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου τοῦ λαλοῦντος αὐτῷ... Ἡ προκειμένη λέξις δηλοῖ, ὡς οὐ μόνον τοπικῶς εἶναι συμβαίνει κρείττοσι καὶ χείροσι χωρίοις, Ἔξω γὰρ τῆς Αἰγύπτου κατὰ τόπου ὄντες οἱ περὶ ὦν ὁ λόγος, τῇ διαθέσει ἐν αὐτῇ ὑπῆρχον, οὐκ ἀποστήσαντες τὴν γνώμην ἑαυτῶν τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν ἐθῶν. Τῆς αὐτῆς νοήσεώς ἐστι καὶ τὸ ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ, Ὅπου ὁ θησαυρὸς, ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ καρδία, οὐ πάντως, τοπικῶς ἐκεὶ ὄντος, ὅπου τις ἔχει τὴν γνώμην. Πολλοὶ γοῦν, ἔτι ἐπὶ γῆς ὄντες, θησαυρἰζοντες κατάλληλα τῷ οὐρανῷ, ἐκεῖ τὴν καρδίαν ἔχουσιν· ἀλλὰ κάκεῖ ἔτι τυγχάνοντες οἱ παραβάντες ἄγελλοι, τὴν διάθεσιν εἶχον ἐν τῇ γῇ· ὦ ἠκολούθησε τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ εἰς γῆν αὐτοὺς ἐῥῥίφθαι. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1665c

He was the one who in the congregation in the desert had an angel speaking to him... 1 This present passage reveals that it is not only spatially that there are better and worse places. For when they, concerning whom this speech is about, were in that region beyond Egypt, since their inclination was yet for it, their minds were not cut off from the ways of Egypt. In the same way is to be understood what is said in the Gospel 'Where your treasure is, there is your heart,' 2 that a man is not wholly there spatially where he has the heart. For many though in the world are heaping up profitable treasure in heaven, since they have their heart there, and yet there are the angels who fell, who had fixed their inclination on the world, because of which it followed that they were cast down from heaven to earth. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 7.38 2 Mt 6.21

The Acceptable

Ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην, δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστιν· δῆλον δὲ ὅτι δεκτὸς τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ οὐκ ἀπόβλητός ἐστιν ὁ τοιοῦτος, τῷ ἰδίῳ καιρῳ καταφεύγων ἐπὶ τὸ σέβας τῆς μακαριωτάτης θεογνωσίας· οὐ γὰρ μὴ καταλείπῃ τοῦτον ὁ Θεὸς συναποθανεῖν τῇ ἀγνωσίᾳ, ἀλλ' ὁδηγήσει αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ καταλάμψει τῷ φωτὶ τῆς γνώσεως, ὥσπερ τὸν Κορνήλιον, περὶ οὗ καὶ τὸν λόγον τὸν προῥῥηθέντα εἴρηκεν ὁ μακάριος Πέτρος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΗΔ’ Μαξιμιανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.145c

'In every nation, he who reveres God and works His righteousness is acceptable to Him.' 1 It is clear that such a man is acceptable to God and is not rejected by Him, who at the opportune time withdraws to the reverence of the blessed Divinity. For God shall not forsake him and leave him to perish in ignorance, but He shall lead him to the truth, illuminating him with the light of knowledge, as with Cornelius, concerning whom the words quoted were spoken by the blessed Peter. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 154 to Maximianus 1 Acts 10.35

Philosophy And Happiness

Quidam autem Epicurei et Stoici philosophi, disserebant cum eo... Epicurei praeceptoris sui tarditatem secuti, felicitatem hominis in sola corporis voluptate, Stoici vero in sola animi virtute posuerunt. Qui inter se quidem dissidentes, Apostolum tamen unanimiter impugnant, eo quod hominem sicut ex anima et corpore subsistere, ita in utroque doceret beatum esse debere; sed hoc nec tempore praesenti, nec virtute humana, sed gratia Dei per Jesum Christum in resurrectionis gloria perficiendum. Sanctus Beda,Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput XVII Source: Migne PL 92.979c

Certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers entered into discussion with him... 1 The Epicureans, following the dullness of their teacher, placed the happiness of man in the pleasures of the body alone, but the Stoics only in the virtue of the soul, and because of this they disagreed among themselves. However the Apostle fought against both, for since man is constituted of soul and body, so he taught he should be blessed in both, and not in the present time, nor by human virtue, but by being perfected by the grace of God through Jesus Christ in the glory of the resurrection. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chapter 17 1 Acts 17.18

Wealth And The Church

Quis, rogo, Ananiam et Saphiram rebus propriis abrenuntiare coegit? Sed quia partem percuniae uterque pro sustentanda quasi longa vita retinuit, repentinae mortis sententiam non evasit. Et quia nequaquam juxta abrenuntiatorum regulam contenti sunt vivere, juxta praevaricatorum animadversionem coacti sunt immaturo exitu infeliciter expirare. Et quidem illi, utpote rudes, et ad fidem denuo venientes, necdum fortasse ad plenum evangelica praecepta didicerant, necdum sacri novae doctinae codices ad publicum in commune processerant; attamen qui in ipso fidei tirocinio quodammdo simpliciter peccaverunt, districto quidem, sed pio judicio, sola, ut credimus, sunt corporum morte multati. Nos autem, qui cuncta sacri eloquii volumina novimus, qui innumerabilium sanctorum Patrum vitas atque praecepta post illud aureum apostolorum saeculum existentium, prae oculis assidua discussione versamus, ante tribunal Christi quid excusationis obtendere, quod tergiversationis argumentum poterimus invenire? Ecce longe nobiliores quaestus, et lucra quaeque terrena non modo reliquimus, sed et perpetuam eorum abrenuntiationem non homini, sed Deo potius professi sumus. Si ergo adhuc marsupio nostro nummus includitur, si ad interni spectatoris injuriam quantumlibet pecuniae reservatur, quid illi in reddenda ratione dicemus? qua nos defensionis arte purgabimus? Huc accedit quod illi, vacillante adhuc fide, in nulla videbantur ecclesiastica posse sustentatione confidere; nimirum dum in ipso Christianae religionis exordio ipsae quoque Ecclesiae necdum fuerunt per materiale aedificium fabricatae. Nos autem, qui ubique terrarum tam largissima ecclesiarum partimonia cernimus, ut quotidie, dum mundus imminuta possessione contrahitur, Ecclesia copiosissime dilatetur; si tanquam de futuris alimentis lucrum carnale reponimus, dum nobis in posterum providendo ditescimus, thesauro fidei nos vacuos esse monstramus. De quo Apostolus: Habemus, inquit, thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus. Et dum cautionem, quam cum Christo pepigimus, frangimus, violatae fidei potius tormenta metuere, quam praemia possumus de nostra conversione sperare. Sanctus Peter Damianus, De Contemptu Saeculi, Caput III Source: Migne PL 145.253c-254b

Who, I ask, forced Ananias and Sapphira to give up their property? But because both kept back part of their money for the maintenance of a long life, so they did not escape the sentence of sudden death. 1 And because it is in no way possible to live by a rule of renunciation along with the deceits of prevaricators, so they were forced to expire in the misfortune of an early death. And certainly they were simple and freshly come to the faith, and perhaps the precepts of Gospel had not been deeply taught, and the sacred books of the new teaching were not yet proclaimed in public, however in this youthful state of faith they sinned overtly, and with a strict but pious judgement, as we judge it, they were punished by the death of their bodies. And we, who know all the volumes of the sacred letters, and who may set in zealous admonition before our eyes those innumerable lives and teachings of the holy fathers after the golden age of the living Apostles, what excuse will we obtain before the tribunal of Christ, what argument for our treachery will we be able to find? Behold, long has gain been more noble, and we will in no way give up worldly wealth, even those who have professed perpetual renunciation, and that not to men, but rather to God. If, therefore, our wealth is shut up in our purse, if we keep back our wealth to the injury of the internal vision, what shall we say, with all reason, will be the return? That we purify ourselves by the art of security? Whence it happens that, with a yet vacillating faith, there seems to be nothing in which the Church is able to sustain confidence, though indeed in the beginning of our Christian religion the Church itself was not something made of any of the common materials of construction. We indeed observe the great patrimony of the Church across the whole world, while every day the world is contracted with diminished possessions, and the Church grows with abundance. If however for future support we lay up worldly wealth, while with foresight we enrich ourselves for coming days, we reveal that the treasury of our faith is empty. Concerning which the Apostle says: 'We have this treasure in earthern vessels.' 2 And when we shatter the pledge which we made with Christ, fearing pain rather faith's violation, what reward shall we be able to hope for regarding our behaviour? Saint Peter Damian, On Contempt For The World, from Chap 3 1 Acts 5.1-11 2 2 Cor 4.7

Common Goods

Cogitemus, fratres dilectissimi, quid sub Apostolis fecerit credentium populus, quando inter ipsa primordia majoribus virtutibus mens vigebat, quando credentium fides novo adhuc fidei calore fervebat. Domicilia tunc et praedia venundabant, et dispensandam pauperibus quantitatem libenter ac largiter Apostolis offerebant, terreno patrimonio vendito atque distracto, fundos illuc transferentes ubi fructus caperent possessionis aeternae, illic comparantes domos ubi inciperent semper habitare. Talis tunc fuit in operationibus cumulus, qualis in dilectione consensus, sicut legimus in Actis Apostolorum: Turba autem eorum qui crediderant anima ac mente una agebant: nec fuit inter illos discrimen ullum, nec quicquam suum judicabant ex bonis quae eis erant, sed fuerunt illis omnia communia. Hoc est nativitate spiritali vere Dei filios fieri, hoc est lege coelesti aequitatem Dei Patris imitari. Quodcumque enim Dei est, in nostra usurpatione commune est, nec quisquam a beneficiis ejus et muneribus arcetur, quominus omne humanum genus bonitate ac largitate divina aequaliter perfruatur. Sic aequaliter dies illuminat, sol radiat, imber rigat, ventus aspirat; et dormientibus somnus unus est, et stellarum splendor ac lunae communis est. Quo aequalitatis exemplo qui possessor in terris redditus ac fructus suos cum fraternitate partitur, dum largitionibus gratuitis communis ac justus est, Dei Patris imitator est. Sanctus Cyprianus, De Opere et Eleemosynis Source:Migne PL 4.620b-621a

Let us consider, most beloved brothers, what the people of the believers did under the Apostles, when for the first time the soul flourished with greater virtues, when the faith of believers blazed with the warmth of faith yet new. Then they sold houses and farms, and gladly and liberally presented to the Apostles the proceeds to be dispensed to the poor. Selling and separating themselves from their earthly estate, they transferred their property there where they might gain the fruits of an eternal possession, and there prepare homes where they might begin to dwell forever. Such, then, was the abundance of works, as was the agreement in love, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: 'And the multitude of them that believed acted with one heart and one soul; neither was there any distinction among them, nor did they esteem anything their own of the goods which belonged to them, but they had all things common.' 1 This is truly to become sons of God by spiritual birth; this is to imitate by the heavenly law the equity of God the Father. For whatever is of God is common in our use, nor is any one excluded from His benefits and His gifts, so that the whole human race might equally enjoy the Divine goodness and liberality. Thus the day equally enlightens, the sun gives forth its radiance, the rain moistens, the wind blows, and sleep is one to those who sleep, and the splendour of the stars and of the moon is common. By which example of equality, he who, as a possessor in the earth, shares his returns and fruits with brothers, while he does not discriminate and is just in his gratuitous bounties, is an imitator of God the Father. Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise On Works And Alms. 1 Acts 4.32

Raising Up

Et apprehensa manu ejus dextera allevavit eum. Quem vero erigit, hunc etiam dextera confortat. Quia sermo docentis in corde auditorum minus valet, si non etiam propriae actionis commendatur exemplis. Et exsiliens stetit, et ambulabat. Et intravit cum illis in templum. Ordo perfectionis egregius, primum illum surgere qui jacuerat, deinde arripere virtutem, et sic regni januam cum apostolis intrare. Sanctus Beda,Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput III Source: Migne PL 92.951d

And Peter, taking hold of him with his right hand, lifted him up. 1 The one whom he raised up, his right hand supported. Because the speech of the teacher in the heart of hearers does little good if it is not commended by the example of his own deeds. And getting up he stood, and he walked. And he entered the temple with them. The order of perfection is manifest, first to raise up the one who has fallen, then to take hold of virtue, and so to enter through the door of the kingdom with the Apostles. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 3 1 Acts 3.7

An End Of Speech

Ὑπάρχων δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀτενίσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Καὶ μὴν εἰ ἑψεύδετο, ὡς μαινόμενον ἔδει ἀφεῖναι. Ὁ δὲ οὕτως εἴπε, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐπαγαγέσθαι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ εἰπὼν περι τοῦ θανάτου μόνον, περὶ ἀναστάσεως οὐδὲν διελέχθη, καὶ τοῦτο λοιπὸν εὐκαίρως προστίθησι τὸ δόγμα. Οὕτω δὲ αὐτῷ λέγει φανῆναι, ὥς που διέξεισιν, ἵνα κἂν οὕτω δέξωνται τὸν λόγον, ὃς, ἐπεὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν καθῆσθαι φορτικὸν αὐτοῖς ἧν, τέως τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κινεῖ λόγον, καί φησιν αὐτὸν ἴστασθαι. Ἀπὸ τούτου στοχάζομαι καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ δεδοξάσθαι. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς φιλάνθρωπος ὤν, δῐ ὤν ἐπεβουλεύοντο ἐκεῖνοι, δι' αὐτῶν ἐβούλετο αὐτοὺς ἐκκαλέσασθαι, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν πλέον ἐγένετο, Καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. Πάλιν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὁ ὁ θάνατος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ ὁμολογία καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα διαγγελόμενον. Καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἀπέθεντο τὰ ἰμάτια αὐτῶν παρὰ πόδας νεανίου καλομένου Σαύλου, καὶ ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον ἐπικαλοὺμενον τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ λέγοντα· Κύριε Ἰησου Χριστὲ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμα μου. Δεικνύοντος ὁμοῦ τοῦτο καὶ διδασκοντος αὐτούς ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπόλλυται. Καὶ θεὶς τὰ γόνατα, ἔκραζε φωνῇ μεγάλῇ· Κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Ὥσπερ ἀπολογούμενος, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὰ πρότερα θυμοῦ ἧν, φησί· Κύριε, ἤ καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ταύτῃ ἐπισπάσασθαι. Τὸ γὰρ ἀφεῖναι μὲν τὸν θυμὸν καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν τῷ φόνῳ, καθαρὰν δεῖξαι δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ πάθους, εὐπαράδεκτον ἐποίει τὸν λόγον. Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Ὑπομηνμα εἰς τας Πραξεις των Ἀποστολων, Ὁμολια ΙΗ' Source: Migne PG 60.141

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.' Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed on him as one, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. 1 And yet, if he lied, as one who is mad, they should have let him go. But he spoke as one who wished to bring them to him. And since he had spoken of the death and had said nothing of the resurrection, he would appropiately add this teaching. And thus he says He appeared to him like this, that as He was shown, they might receive the word; for since His sitting was offensive to them, for the present he brings forward only what concerns the resurrection. Because of this his face was glorified. For God, loving men, amid their plotting wished to call them to Himself, and if nothing else were done: 'They cast him out of the city and stoned him.' Again, 'outside the city,' there was death, as with Christ and on account of Him, and in death the giving of confession and preaching. 2 'And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, who called upon God, saying, Lord Jesus Christ, receive my spirit.' This is meant to show and teach them that he is not perishing. 'And kneeling, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, charge them not with this sin.' To clear himself, that he show that his former words were not from passion, he says, 'Lord,' and then the rest, wishing to win them over by it. For to show that he forgave them their wrath and rage in murder, and that his own soul was free from passion, was to make his speech more acceptable. Saint John Chrysostom, On The Acts Of The Apostles, from Homily 18 1 Acts 7.55-58 2 Heb 13.11-15

Preaching And Revival

Eductus somne, cecidit de tertio coenaculo deorsum... Inter verba praedicationis occurrit occasio curationis, ut dulcedine miraculi et doctrinae sermo firmetur, et vigiliarum labor arceatur, et memoria magistri jam discessuri arctius mentibus infigatur. Tria vero coenacula in quorum supremo Paulus disputat, fides, spes, et charitas, sunt. Major autum his charitas. Quam si quis per ignaviam deseruerit, et inter Apostoli voces dormitare non timuerit, jam inter mortuos computabitur. Cum enim in uno offenderit, factus est omnium reus. Ad quem cum descendisset Paulus, incubuit super eum... Quod descendit, incumbit, complectitur, hoc est quod ipse dicit: Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec formetur Christus in vobis. Operosior enim est resuscitatio eorum qui per negligentiam, quam qui per infirmitatem peccant. Et haec per Eutychum, illa per Tabitham quam Petrus suscitavit, experimitur. Et ideo illa in diebus infirmata moritur, hic media nocte cadit et moritur. Illa post mortem lota in coenaculo ponitur, hic tertio coenaculo delapsus deorsum mortuus lugetur. Iste praesente et docente, illa absente magistro. Ad hunc Paulus descendit, ad illam Petrus suscitaturus ascendit. Illa mox viso Petro resedit, hic nocte media defunctus tandem mane resurgit, et justitiae sole afflante, redivivus adducitur. Sanctus Beda,Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput XX Source: Migne PL 92.985a-c

Having fallen asleep, he fell down from the third storey... 1 Here among the words of preaching there occurs an occasion for healing, that the sweetness of a miracle fortify the speech of teaching and watch over the labour of vigils, and the memory of the teacher soon to depart be more firmly fixed in the mind. The third storey at which height Paul disputed, are faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is charity. 2 Which if someone forsakes by negligence, and does not fear to slumber among the Apostolic voices, he is already to be reckoned among the dead. For when he offends in one thing, he is made guilty in all. 3 And when Paul had gone down to him, he bent over him... 4 He descends, he bends over, he embraces, and this is as he said: 'My children, whom again I carry in the womb until Christ is fashioned in you.' 5 For more laborious is the resuscitation of those who sin by negligence rather than by weakness. And the former is expressed by Eutychius, the latter by that Tabitha whom Peter revived. 6 Thus she died by weakness in the day, he fell and died in the middle of the night. She after death was washed and placed in the upper room, he fallen from the third storey was mourned as one who had died. He was present amid teaching, she had the teacher absent. Paul went down to revive him, Peter went up to her. She quickly sat up at the sight of Peter, he who perished in the middle of the night eventually rose in the morning, and with the sun of righteousness blazing, was led away alive. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 20 1 Acts 20.9 2 1 Cor 13.13 3 Jam 2.10 4 Acts 20.10 5 Galat 4.19 6 Acts 9.36-41

Teachers And Listeners

Et virtute magna reddebant apostoli testimonium resurrectionis Jesu Christi Domini nostri. Doctorum vigilanter auditorumque discernit ordinem. Nam multitudo credentium, rebus suis spretis, charitatis invicem copula juncta est. Apostoli vero virtutibus refulgentes Christi cunctis mysteria pandebant. Sanctus Beda, Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 92 954A

And with great power the Apostles gave testimony to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 He distinguishes carefully the order of teachers and listeners. For the multitude of the faithful, spurning their own things, are bound to one another with love. And the Apostles, blazing with virtues, reveal the mysteries of God to all. Saint Bede, from the Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 4 1 Acts 4.33

Peter's Shadow

Ut, veniente Petro, saltem umbra illius obumbraret quemquam illorum, et liberentur. Tunc Petrus umbra sui corporis visibiliter allevabat infirmos, qui etiam nunc invisibili suae intercessionis umbraculo fidelium infirma roborare non cessat. Et quia Petrus Ecclesiae typus est, pulchre ipse quidem rectus incedit, sed umbra comitante jacentes erigit, quia Ecclesia mente et amore coelestibus intendens, quasi umbractice transcurrit in terra, et hic sacramentis temporalibus figurisque coelestium renovat, quos illic perpetuis remunerat donis. Quidam huic loco nectunt hoc, quod Dominus in Evangelio ait: Qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio, et ipse faciet, et majora horum faciet. Sanctus Beda, Super acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput V Souce: Migne PL 92.955

That, with Peter coming, at least his shadow fall upon some of them and they be healed. 1 So Peter with the shadow of his visible body alleviated the infirm, he who even now with the invisible shadow of his intercession does not cease to fortify the weak among the faithful. And because Peter is a type of the Church, it is certainly right that he walks upright, and it is the attendant shadow that lifts up those cast down, because the Church, with mind and love intent on heavenly things, as a shadow passes over the earth, and it renews with temporal sacraments and signs of heaven those there who are enriched by perpetual gifts. Certainly connected with this passage is what the Lord said in the Gospel: 'He who believes in me, the works which I do, even he shall do, and greater things than these.' 2 Saint Bede, Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 5 1 Acts 5.15 2 Jn 14.12

Striking And Protecting

Καὶ πατάξεις πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν αὐτῆς ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας. Μάχαιρα δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος εἴη ἂν ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν δὲ τοῦ πνεύματος, ὃ ἐστι ῥῆμα Θεοῦ, ᾦτινι οἱ θεσπέσιοι μαθηταὶ ἀτέκτεινον ἂπαν ἀρσενικον τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως, ὡς Σίμωνα καὶ Ἐλύμαν τοὺς μάγους, καὶ τὰ ἰσχυρὰ δὲ αὐτῶν κατέλεον δόγματα· περιεποιοῦντο δὲ τὰς γυναῖκας, καὶ δυναμένας εἰπεῖν ψυχάς· Διὰ τὸν φόβον σου, Κύριε, ἐν γαστρὶ ἐλαβομεν ἕως ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ τὰ νήπια δὲ ὡσαύτως, οἴς καὶ Παῦλος γράφει· Τεκνία, μὴ ταῖς φρεσὶν νήπιοι γίνεσθε, ἀλλὰ τῂ κακίᾳ νηπιαζετε. Καὶ κτήνη δὲ, φησί, περιποιήσατε. Δίκαιος γὰρ οἰκτείρει ψυχὰς κτηνῶν αὐτοῦ· τοὺς ἀλογωτέρους διὰ τῶν κτηνῶν αἰνιττόμενος. Κτῆνος ἦν καὶ ὁ Κορνήλιος, κατὰ τὴν ὁπρασίαν τὴν περὶ τῶν τετραπόδων φανεῖσαν τῷ Πέτρῳ. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Δευτερονόμιον, Κεφ Κ', Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 17.29b-c

And you shall strike all the males in it to death with the sword. 1 The spiritual sword is the word of God, and with the spiritual sword, that is, the speech of God, we are able to discern, by which divine discipline we slay every opposing masculine power, like the magicians Simon and Elymas, 2 and with strength we dissolve their teachings. However, we spare the superstitious females, the souls who were yet able to say, 'On account of the fear of you, Lord, we have conceived in our wombs, even unto the earth,' 3 which infants Paul writes about, saying, 'Children, do not be little ones in your minds, but be childish in evil.' 4 And again it says: You shall protect the cattle.' 5 And even: 'The righteous man has mercy on the souls of his beasts.' 6 That is, they who have little reason are alluded to as beasts. And Cornelius was a beast in the vision of the quadrupeds which appeared to Peter. 7 Origen, On Deuteronomy, Fragment 1 Deut 20.13 2 Acts 13, Acts 8 3 Isaiah 26.18 4 1 Cor 14.20 5 Joshua 8.2 6 Prov 12.10 7 Acts 10.12

The Tentmakers

...et inveniens quemdam Judæum nomine Aquilam, Ponticum genere, qui nuper venerat ab Italia, et Priscillam uxorem ejus, eo quod præcepisset Claudius discedere omnes Judæos a Roma, accessit ad eos. Et quia ejusdem erat artis, manebat apud eos, et operabatur. Erant autem scenofactoriæ artis. Quasi exsules in terra et peregrini, tentoria sibi, quibus in via utantur, aedificant; σκῆναι Graece tabernacula dicuntur, etymologiam ab obumbrando ducentia, apid quous umbra σκία dicitur, σκῆναι  autem vel σκήνωματα, quasi umbracula sonant, quae sagis laneis vel ligneis aut cilicinis, sive ex arborum frondibus aut virgultis veteres componebant. Mystice autem, sicut Petrus piscando, nos a fluctibus saeculi per retia fidei extrabit, ita Paulus umbracula protectionis erigendo, ab imbre nos criminum, ab ardore tentationum, et a ventis insidiarum verbo factisque defendit. Sanctus Beda, Super Acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput XVIII Source:  Migne PL 92.981c

'...and Paul discovering a Jew named Aquila, who was born in Pontus, and who, with his wife Priscilla, had lately come from Italy, when Claudius decreed that all Jews should leave Rome, he paid them a visit, and since they practiced the same craft he stayed and worked with them. For they were tentmakers.' 1 As exiles and wanderers on the earth they constructed tents for themselves, which are useful on the way. Tents in Greek is 'skeenai', and etymologically the word is derived from 'giving shade', for shadow is 'skia 'in Greek, and 'skeenai' or 'skeenomata' means that which gives shade, things which in the past were made with strips of wool or wood or animal hides or from the leaves of trees and branches. Now mystically, as Peter was a fisherman who draws us up from the waves of the world with the net of faith, so Paul raises up a place of shade, that he may protect us from the rains of errors and the heat of trials and the winds of the deceitful, both in words and deeds. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chapter 18 1 Acts 18.2-3

Freedom And Repentance

Μετανόησον οὖν... Προαιρετικὴ τροπὴ, ἢ πίπτει εἰς μόνον τὸν δεκτικὸν ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας. Ὁ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς μύθους τῶν αἱρετικῶν φύσει κακὸς ὢν ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ ἔστι δεκτικὸς τῆς κατὰ βούλησιν μεταβολῆς. ὅθεν παρέκλει τὸ, Μετανόησον, λεγόμενον τῷ Σίμωνι, ἐκ κατασκευῆς ὄντι κακῷ, κατὰ τοὺς ἐκείνων μύθους. Ἀλλ' οὐ ματαίως εἴρηται τὸ, Μετανόησον οὖν. Αὐτεξούσιος ἄρα καὶ αὐτός. Τούτου δὲ μὴ ὅντος φύσει κακοῦ, ἢ ἐπιτεταλμένην κακίαν ἔχοντος, οὐδ' ἄλλος τις εὑρεθείη τοιοῦτος. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐις Τάς Πράξεις Τῶν Ἀποστόλων, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 39.1668d-69a

Repent then... 1 Here is scope for choice, which falls only to one who is capable of vice and virtue. Yet according to the fables of heretics, because they say man has a wicked nature, so he is not capable of changing freely. Thus it is superfluous when Peter says to Simon, 'Repent then,' for according to their tales, man is evil from creation. Yet it is not vainly said, 'Repent then,' for he does have free will and by nature he is not evil, nor bound to depravity, or in some other way found to be so. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Acts of the Apostles, Fragment 1 Acts 8.22

Love And Possessions

Et habebant omnia communia. Si charitas Dei diffunditur in cordibus nostris, mox profecto generat et proximi dilectionem. Unde propter geminum charitas ardorem, his Spiritus sanctus legitur apostolis datus. Magnum est fraterni amoris indicium, omnia communia possidere; nihil proprium habentes. Sanctus Beda, Super Acta Apostolorum Expositio, Caput II Source:  Migne PL 92 950d-51a

'And they had everything in common.' 1 If the love of God is diffused within our hearts, soon it gives birth to love of our neighbour. Whence on account of this double love, it is said that the Holy Spirit is given to the Apostles. It is a great sign of fraternal love to possess everything in common, claiming nothing as one's own. Saint Bede, Commentary on the Acts of The Apostles, Chap 2 1 Acts 4.32