The Content and Structure

The main subject is the only way of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, for both Gentile and Jew. The exposition of this occupies most of the Epistle. Eleven chapters. To this are then added general instructions about the Christian life. But, as in all the Epistles, there precedes all of this a preface, which consists of the heading and greeting with an appropriate beginning,—and at the end there follows a corresponding postscript with well-known greetings and so forth.

Thus the Epistle is arranged as follows:

1) after the preface (Rom. 1:1–17), consisting of: a) the heading, greeting (Rom. 1:1–7) and b) the appropriate beginning of the Epistle (Rom. 1:8–17), there follows—

2) the doctrinal part—on salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:18–11:36). Then—

3) the moral part (Rom. 12:1–15:13). And—

4) finally, the postscript (Rom. 15:14–16:24).

A more detailed structure will be presupposed in the Commentary itself.

We do not raise the question of the authenticity of the Epistle, finding it definitively settled by the very fact that the Church gives it to us as the Epistle of the holy Paul. This solution is more powerful and consoling than any other. We hear the voice of our mother and do not disturb ourselves with any doubts.

The ancient commentators served exclusively as guides in the Commentary: the holy John Chrysostom, the blessed Theodoret, Augustine, Ambrosiaster (Augustine in “Contra duas epistolas pelagianorum” [lib. 4, cap. 4, 7] cites one passage from this commentary under the name of the holy Hilary), the holy Damascene, Oecumenius, Theophylact.