The church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you. And so doth my son, Mark.
ασπαζεται υμας η εν βαβυλωνι συνεκλεκτη και μαρκος ο υιος μου
9 Church Fathers comment on this verse
He calls Rome Babylon because of its renown, which Babylon also enjoyed for a long time. By the chosen one he means the Church of God gathered in Rome. By Mark he means the Evangelist, calling him his son according to the Spirit, not according to the flesh. It was to him that he gave the command to write the Gospel.
Here Peter calls Rome Babylon because of the widespread great gift of languages, just as representatives of all nations were once in Babylon.
By Babylon he figuratively means Rome. By the chosen one he means the Church of Christ gathered in that Rome. And by Mark he names the Evangelist, whom he also calls his son in Christ. To him he commanded the writing of the Gospel.
Peter symbolically calls Rome Babylon, plainly because of the disorderly and varied idolatry amid which the holy Church shone forth, though still young and small.
She did so according to the example of the Israelite people, who were once few in number and in captivity. Sitting by the rivers of Babylon, they mourned the distant holy land and could not sing the Lord's song in a strange land.
Rightly, then, when blessed Peter calls his hearers to endure present afflictions, he also recalls the Church established with him in Babylon, that is, in the abyss of sorrows. Yet he affirms that she is chosen, as they are.
By this he shows that the holy city of God in this life cannot remain without a share in the turmoil and sorrow of the city of the devil, which is signified by Babylon.
“She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you,” συνεκλεκτή. The Sinaitic text and the Vulgate add Ecclesia, meaning assembly, translated in Russian as Church. Some groundlessly consider this co-elect one to be Peter’s wife, without explaining the reason for such a designation. Mark is called his son in the sense that he was converted by Peter.
Chosen: more precisely, chosen together with you, chosen as you are and like you. In Babylon: [...]. Mark, my son: not a son according to the flesh, for there is no testimony that Peter had such a son. Rather, he is a son according to the spirit, according to faith. This means the holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark.
Saint Apostle Peter concludes his epistle with good wishes and greetings, both from himself personally and on behalf of the church chosen in Babylon and Mark, his son. The Apostle prays benevolently for his disciples: may the Lord perfect them, establish them, strengthen them, and ground them, that is, make them unshakable.
After the conclusion of the epistle, the apostle added a postscript, in which he indicates that he is sending the epistle with the apostle Silvanus. Silvanus had previously accompanied the apostle Paul; see 2 Cor 1:19. He was therefore known to them and deserving of their trust.
Later Silvanus was bishop of Thessalonica; his memory is blessed on July 30. Then, defining the purpose for which he wrote the epistle, the apostle says that he wished to testify for their consolation that their condition is truly gracious and best.
This remains so even though the severe trials of their faith, through malicious slander and sufferings, darken it for a time. Finally, he conveys greetings from the Church in Babylon and from Mark the evangelist.
Mark had formerly accompanied Paul, and then Peter. Under Peter's guidance Mark also wrote the Gospel, which for this reason was called by some Peter's Gospel.
Several cities were known by the name Babylon. They bore this name in memory of the ancient and famous city of Babylon, the capital of the kings of Babylon. It had been destroyed by Cyrus and, in the time of the apostles, was a desolate heap of ruins with a very insignificant population.
One Roman military station in Egypt, near the present city of Cairo, was called Babylon. More populous was the city of Babylon built by Seleucus Nicator at the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris. According to Josephus, this city was more often called Seleucia.
Many Jews lived there. From them, of course, a small Christian Church was first formed there. But it is more correct to understand Babylon in an allegorical sense as the city of Rome.
Rome is so named because of its likeness to corrupt, idolatrous, power-loving, and proud Babylon. The great capital of the universal pagan empire, the city of Rome, was often called Babylon in Jewish writings and in the Apocalypse; see Rev 14:8; Rev 16:19; Rev 17:5, 8; Rev 18:2.
Many ancient interpreters understood Rome under the name Babylon, for example Clement of Alexandria, blessed Jerome, Oecumenius, Theophylact, and others.
The presence of the apostle Mark in Babylon also indicates that Rome should be understood by this Babylon. He was staying there around this time, as is clear from the epistles of the apostle Paul; see Col 4:10; Phlm 1:24. Tradition also confirms this.
The greeting of the Roman Church could be especially consoling and edifying for the Christians of Asia Minor. That Church flourished despite its dwelling at the center of all the abominations of the pagan world, and despite every hostility and oppression from the pagan world.
All the more could it console them because in this greeting one can see the expression of unity of mind with them and a bond of love.
Peter mentions Mark in the First Epistle, which, they say, he composed in Rome itself. He metaphorically calls that city Babylon.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 11 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS