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The discovery of Origen's commentaries on Psalms in 2012 was an event for patristic studies. These commentaries are prepared in the form of homilies. It is said that Origen published them at the end of his life. In preparing his homilies, he applied the allegorical method as he used to do in many of his works. The implied author of Psalm 15(16) speaks in the first person. For Origen, it was evident that the persona speaking in Psalm 15(16) was Christ. Indeed, this Psalm belongs to the messianic Psalms. The article draws attention to three points: 1) Christ as the persona which has seen no corruption after the death in body; 2) Christ speaking about the Church; 3) Christ's double inheritance corresponding to His double nature: Divine and human. The Son of God (eternal Logos) is connected ontologically to the Father. He is also connected to the people, especially to Christians. The Son of God acts for Christians in the Church. When the Son prays for protection, He prays for Himself and for the faithful. In his commentary on Psalm 15(16), Origen wanted to expose the unity of the Old Testament with the New Testament: God's Son, Logos, Messiah and Christ is the center of both Testaments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mark the Ascetic is considered as one of the most prominent theoreticians of ascetic life in the ancient Church. In his ascetic writings, he undertook a variety of topics, including freedom and grace. Mark's teaching is not a systematic doctrine. His tuitions are more a collection of short statements scattered in many places in his works. The author uses the Greek word ἐλευθερία for freedom and χάρις for grace. Christ brings freedom to man. In the sacrament of baptism, man is freed from the original sin. In turn, the grace is always depicted as a gift, which man can only receive from God. Therefore, the Kingdom of God is always a gift, and neither a prize, nor a reward for work. The entire salvation is the greatest grace, which has been given to us by Christ. The attitude of gratitude to God should overfilled the entire human life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first part of the article presents the allegorical interpretation of several passages connected with the sins of the members of the Church according to the Commentary of St. Jerome to the prophet Zephaniah: a. The vain glory and false dignity of priests and bishops (Zeph 1:4); b. The abandonment of Christ's garments (Zeph 1:8); c. Disrespect for baptism and penance (Zeph 1:10); d. Oppression due to false doctrines (Zeph 1:11, 2:8); e. Sins committed by the representatives of the Church (Zeph 2:9); f. False Christians inside the Church (Zeph 2:14); g. Oppressive superiors (Zeph 3:3); h. Church doctors disregarding the Holy Spirit and the goodness of God. In the second part, the author explores the passages allegorically interpreted in relation to the care of Christ for his beloved Church: a. The light of the word and wisdom (Zeph 1:12); b. Destruction of perverse structures (Zeph 1:13); c. An invitation to communion in love and peace (Zeph 2:1); d. The "Rest" of those who know the Word of God (Zeph 2:9); e. Commitment to mercy (Zeph 3:10-13); f. The end of the punishment and the gift of joy (Zeph 3:14- 18); g. The promise of eternal glory (Zeph 3:19-20). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author shows how Paul creates the image of the righteous Apostle referring to arguments and witnesses in order to authenticate the self-portrait found in Rom 9,1-5 as well as the credibility of the arguments submitted; this is so also in section Rom 9,6-11,36. Paul carefully planned the rhetorical strategy and strengthened the arguments competently, as well as the authority and credibility of the witnesses cited. In the adopted rhetoric and theological strategy, he refers three times to the biblical legal tradition of the need to appoint two or three witnesses. He thus built the triple sequence of the next three testimonies: 1. "I say the truth in Christ"; 2. "I'm not lying; 3. "My conscience in the Holy Spirit testifies to my conscience." Then he presented three witnesses with the highest authority and credibility: 1. God in Christ; 2. The conscience of the Apostle; 3. The Holy Spirit. Throughout the section, the quoted texts are cited from three great biblical traditions: 1. legal; 2. prophetic; 3. sapiential. Therefore, the Apostle consistently presented the maximum number of witnesses (three), additionally multiplied by three autonomous circles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]