Now, when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.
ακουσαντες δε οι εν ιεροσολυμοις αποστολοι οτι δεδεκται η σαμαρεια τον λογον του θεου απεστειλαν προς αυτους τον πετρον και ιωαννην
6 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Look again: the disciples do not come to Samaria first, but only because of persecution, as also happened with Christ. Only afterward are the Apostles sent to those Samaritans who believed. “The Apostles who were in Jerusalem,” the writer says, “heard that the Samaritans had received the word of God, and sent Peter and John to them.” Why were they sent? To deliver them from sorcery, and to remind them of the teaching they had heard from Christ when they first believed.
Arator beautifully explains this: “Peter often chooses John as his companion, for virginity is pleasing to the Church.”
Yet it must be noted that Philip, who preached in Samaria, was one of the seven. If he had been an apostle, he could himself have laid on his hand so that people might receive the Holy Spirit.
This was proper only for bishops to do. For presbyters, when they baptize either without a bishop or in a bishop’s presence, may anoint those being baptized.
But they may not anoint the forehead with that oil which has been consecrated by a bishop.
This must be done only by bishops, when they give the baptized the Spirit, the Comforter.
How great the event of the Samaritans’ conversion to Christ was is shown by this. It immediately became the subject of a special report to the apostles.
The writer of Acts had already noted earlier (Acts 8:1) that they remained in Jerusalem even after persecution had broken out in that city.
At the same time, the apostles were informed that the Samaritans who believed in Christ had only been baptized by Philip in the name of the Lord Jesus.
They had not yet received the Holy Spirit.
Therefore the apostles gave orders that the preeminent apostles Peter and John should go to the believing Samaritans. By their apostolic authority and power, they were to complete Saint Philip’s work in Samaria.
Peter and John came to the city where the first conversion of Samaritans to faith in Christ had taken place.
They prayed for the newly baptized and, by laying their hands on them, brought down the Holy Spirit upon them.
Here the baptism of the Samaritans by the deacon Philip is narrated (6:5). Yet he did not impart the Holy Spirit to them. Therefore the apostles Peter and John were sent to Samaria to impart the Spirit to them. And when they had come, they prayed for them, that is, for the Samaritans, laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
In the same chapter, verses 36-39 tell of the baptism of the Ethiopian man. The baptism was performed by the same Philip. It followed the preaching of Christ (v. 35), which produced in the hearer a sincere faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (v. 37). After this Philip and the Ethiopian both went down into the water, and Philip baptized the Ethiopian.
From this it is seen that in the Church of apostolic times both baptism in water and the imparting of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands were performed (8:17,18). These mysteries are still performed in the holy Orthodox Church. Only the imparting of the gift of the Holy Spirit is performed not through the laying on of hands, but through chrismation.
The apostles who were in Jerusalem were those who remained there despite the persecution that had been raised (Acts 8:1).
“Hearing,” and so forth. The report that reached them seemed so important that it required immediate action on their part.
The report was that the Samaritans had turned to Christ and been baptized, but had not received the Holy Spirit at baptism.
“The Samaritans received.” More precisely, Samaria received, that is, the chief Samaritan city believed in Christ.
Or else the fact is generalized, and on the occasion of faith in Christ in one Samaritan city, it is said that the Samaritan region in general received the evangelical word.
This was an important event in the primitive Church. It was the first land to receive Christianity without the mediation of full and pure Judaism.
Among the Jews it was considered a sectarian or heretical region, and it received Christianity from a Hellenist preacher, in all probability.
Moreover, the believers who had been baptized had not received the Holy Spirit. This prompted the apostles to send Peter and John there, two chief apostles.
It is noteworthy that these most famous apostles are not considered, and do not consider themselves, above the whole assembly of the apostles.
That assembly is presented as acting like one collective person, whose individual members have equal rights.
The visit of the apostles Peter and John to the Samaritans shows that Philip could not accomplish all that spiritual action which the other apostles, numbered among the Twelve, could accomplish.
At the same time, it is clearly shown here that from the very beginning deacons were given the right to baptize.
They were not given the performance of the other mysteries, beginning with the imparting of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which strengthen one in Christian life.
At that time this was expressed in signs that visibly showed the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The fact that the holy Apostle Philip did not have this right, despite having the power to work miracles, shows that these latter gifts were, so to speak, special and extraordinary.
In the Twelve Apostles, besides these extraordinary powers, there were gifts of grace for the universal bestowals of the Holy Spirit.
These are necessary for all Christians, both in general and individually.
When Peter and John came to Samaria as representatives of the Twelve Apostles, they could have acted with special confidence.
Yet they too first prayed that the Holy Spirit might descend upon those being baptized.
By this they showed that the action of the Spirit is not given to those indifferent to it, but to those who ask and implore.
This is so even when those acting in the mystery are such vessels of grace as the pillars, the apostles of the Church.
Undoubtedly, together with the praying apostles, all the believing Samaritans also prayed.
What a moving sight this was, in which the word of Christ spoken to the Samaritan woman was fulfilled.
True worshipers would worship not on Mount Gerizim and not in Jerusalem, but in every place. Therefore the writer of Acts now does not even mention the place.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 20 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS