Acts 13:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

See again by whom they are ordained: by Lucius of Cyrene and Manaen, and especially by the Spirit. The humbler the persons, the more clearly the grace of God is revealed. Thus Paul is ordained to the apostleship, so that he may preach with authority. How then does he himself say, "not from men nor through man" (Gal 1:1)? By the words "not from men" he shows that no man called or brought him. By the words "nor through man" he shows that he was sent not by someone else, but by the Spirit.

They were not ordained in the same way as deacons. Rather, "they laid their hands on them" after prior fasting and prayer. From this one may conclude that Barnabas and Paul, through such ordination, received a higher hierarchical degree than the diaconate.

"Go to Damascus, and there you will be told" (Acts 22:10), "for you are My chosen vessel," said the Lord, appearing from heaven to Paul, since He appointed him herald of the Gospel to the whole world. When he came to Damascus, Ananias said, "Brother Saul, receive your sight!... The God of our fathers has chosen you" (Acts 22:13-14). But lest this be thought to have been said of Christ, he added: "that you should know His will and see the Righteous One" (Acts 22:14), Jesus. The apostle himself, making his calling and election firm, writes: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." Then he adds to his calling, "set apart for the Gospel of God" (Rom 1:1). The Acts of the Apostles teaches that the Spirit also set him apart.

Since the Church of Antioch had no lack of teachers, and since the conversion of the Gentiles had already begun, the time had now come for the promise of Jesus Christ to Paul to be fulfilled. He was to send him far away to the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit revealed this appointment of Paul, and with him of Barnabas, to the pastors of the Church of Antioch. Barnabas had brought with him from Jerusalem his nephew Mark. This Mark's mother had her own house in Jerusalem. In it the believers gathered for prayer (Acts 12:12, 25). But Mark left both house and mother for the work of God. When Barnabas took his nephew Mark from Jerusalem to Antioch, perhaps he already intended to use him as a fellow worker in this field. The revelation of the Holy Spirit now decided their appointment.

After the Church had been pacified, having been disturbed for a time by the persecution raised in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa, a new period opened in the history of Christianity after Herod's death. The Gospel begins to spread chiefly among the Gentiles. Thus the light of Christ's truth passed into Gentile lands as the malice of Judaism against Christ and His Church increased. The Jews themselves drove this light away from themselves and made themselves more and more unworthy of it. Apostolic activity therefore had to be transferred of itself to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). In place of Jerusalem, Antioch now becomes the chief, central, and starting point of apostolic activity. The chief worker in the spread of the Gospel is now the holy apostle Paul.

When service to the Lord is spoken of here, public divine worship is meant, such as is performed in the temple, in the house of God (2 Chr 31:4), according to the appointed order (Lk 1:8-23). The Greek word used here, λειτουργούντων, gives sufficient basis to affirm that even then divine worship consisted chiefly in the celebration of the Holy Liturgy. The separation or consecration of Barnabas and Saul for the work to which the Lord had called them was accomplished through prayer and the laying on of hands (v. 3).

Meanwhile the Church in Antioch had grown so strong and firm that a desire arose in her to enter the field of missionary activity, for the conversion of the Gentiles in surrounding lands and cities. At the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the representatives of the Church chose Barnabas and Saul for this purpose. They sent them forth to the great ministry with prayerful wishes. The field before them was exceedingly difficult. The pagan world was then in the worst condition. Greece, which had once shone with intellectual enlightenment and was renowned for scholars and philosophers, now appeared as a pitiful slave. She grovelled humbly before Rome, trying to seduce it with her faded charms and indulging the vilest license.

"Having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them." The laying on of hands was a consecration to a new and special holy ministry. See the note on Acts 6:6. This consecration was preceded by a new fast and prayer on the part of the community. It was distinct from the service and fasting mentioned in verse 2, as a matter of special importance that required special sending forth. It is self-evident that the laying on of hands was performed not by the whole community, but by its presiding ministers. Thus the future great apostle of the Gentiles received a second ordination, for the work of the higher apostolic ministry. Compare Acts 9:16. "What does 'Set apart for Me for the work' mean? For the apostleship.

The laying on of hands upon Barnabas and Saul before sending them to preach is highly significant, especially since this action was preceded by the fasting and prayer of all the faithful. It is evident that this was a consecration to the apostleship. "Observe again," said Saint John Chrysostom, "by whom they are ordained: by Lucius the Cyrenian and Manaen, and especially by the Spirit. For the humbler the persons, the more clearly the grace of God is revealed. Thus Paul is ordained to the apostleship, so that he may preach with authority. How then does he himself say, 'not from men nor through man' (Gal 1:1)? By the words 'not from men' he shows that no man called him. By the words 'nor through man' he shows that he was sent not by anyone else, but by the Spirit.

On the importance and necessity of episcopal ordination (13:3). The holy apostle Paul, in a wondrous revelation, saw the Lord Jesus Christ. From Him he directly received the calling to faith in Christ and to apostolic ministry. Yet when the time came for him actually to begin the ordering of Churches and of the priesthood within them, he and Barnabas received ordination for this from Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen. Then, says the Book of Acts, "having fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away" (Acts 13:3). So necessary and so important is the sacred and mystical laying on of hands. Later, when he instructed those whom he had ordained in the duties of their ministry, he said to them: "The Holy Spirit has made you bishops" (Acts 20:28). So exalted is the origin of the sacred and mystical laying on of hands.