The book “Acts of the Apostles” was written in the 1st century AD. It contains historical facts describing the development of the Christian Church after the Resurrection. It is generally accepted that the authorship of the book belongs to the Holy Apostle Luke, one of the 70 disciples of the Savior.
A few words about the book
“Acts” is a direct continuation of the gospel. The stylistic features of the letter directly testify to the indisputable authorship of the Apostle Luke, which is also confirmed by many holy fathers of the church, such as Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, etc.
The Acts of the Apostles is the only book in which a chronology of historical events is observed. Many of the characters described in the book are real historical characters. The main characters here are the holy apostles Peter and Paul, Matthew and Luke. The book describes their preaching work in order to spread the teachings of Christ throughout the world.
Among other actors, there are many political figures of those times: the Jewish kings Herod Agrippa I and his son Agrippa II, a member of the Sanhedrin Gamaleil, the Roman senator Junior Annius Gallion, the Roman procurators Felix and Porcius Festus, as well as many other historical characters. Therefore, the book “Acts of the Apostles” is of great interest not only as one of the parts of the Holy Scripture, but also as a reliable historical source.
The book contains 28 chapters, which are conventionally divided into two parts. The first part (chapters 1-12) describes the creation of the Christian Church and its distribution on Palestinian territory, and the second part (chapters 13–28) describes the journey of the Apostle Paul through the Mediterranean, Greece and East Asia with missionary sermons. According to the traditional version, the time of writing the book dates back to 60 years of the 1st century, which is confirmed by many facts.
Interpretation of the Acts of the Holy Apostles
From the first centuries, this book was considered canonical - its texts are still used in worship for the edification of Christians. In addition to reading in the temple, all believers are also encouraged to independently study the book “Acts of the Apostles”. The interpretation and explanation of many events described in this literary work are given by the following authors:
- St. John Chrysostom.
- Blessed Theophylact Bulgarian.
- Rev. Isidore Pelusiot.
- Rev. Maximus the Confessor.
- The Holy Leo the Great and other holy fathers of the Orthodox Church.
Why reading the interpretation of scripture books
According to the teachings of the Holy Orthodox Church, a misunderstanding of the Holy Scriptures can lead to the emergence of various heretical currents and directions, as confirmed by church history itself. Many believers, by virtue of their illiteracy, are not able to independently explain all the events described in the book “Acts”. Therefore, clergymen advise studying the patristic interpretation of these books, designed to instruct pious Christians on the right path.
Often, reading the scriptures can motivate people to reconsider their lives and repent of their sins. Therefore, such a reading is simply necessary for all believers. The knowledge and understanding of the Holy Scriptures is extremely useful for the formation of a correct Christian worldview.
God gave all people, without exception, the ability to understand and understand what is happening around the event. But due to the fall, human nature was deeply damaged, which affected the ability to correctly understand and perceive the events surrounding it. The word of God is infallible - it brings light and peace to human life, but it is sinful for sin to distort many facts and truths. Therefore, without exception, all people need certain guidelines by which to compare their understanding with the Divine will. Exactly these landmarks are the interpretation of the holy fathers.
Conclusion
Some interpreters of the book “Acts of the Holy Apostles” believed that the apostle Luke, when writing the book, aimed to prove to the Roman authorities the safety of a new Christian religious movement. Nevertheless, the most important and main purpose of writing this book is the gospel of Christ, which is reflected in the contents of the book. The Apostle Luke had the intention not only to tell about the events that had happened during the first 30 years of the church’s existence, but also to collect facts illustrating his main idea: spreading from Jerusalem to Rome, the church turns into a universal, open East and West.