What Abp. Averky says about Simon Magus

. . . ask God if PERHAPS your evil thought may be forgiven . . .

Holy Bible  Acts  Chapter 8

  5  Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ to them.
  6  And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Phiip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
  7  For unlcean spirits, crying with loud voices came out of many that were posessed with them; and many taken with palsies, and that were lame were healed.
  8  And there was great joy in that city,
  9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one.
 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is a great power of God.
 11  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.
 12  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized both men and women.
 13  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 
 14  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and  John:
 15  Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
 16  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
 17. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 
 18  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
 19  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
 20  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
 22  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
 23  For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
 24  Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

Abp. Averky Commentary on Acts Chapter 8

  
5–13 The Planting of the Church in Samaria by Deacon Philip and the Baptism of Simon Magus

The author of Acts [St. Luke] reports the conversion of Samaritans as a result of deacon Philip's preaching.  This Philip was one of the deacons, and not the Apostle Philip of the Twelve, which is made obvious by the fact that the Samaritans needed the Apostles Peter and John to lay hands on them and call down the Spirit.  Deacon Philip apparently had a home and family in Caesaria.  After the beginning of the persecution he decided to travel back to Caesaria.  On the way, he stopped in the city of Samaria which was renamed by Herod the Great as Sebaste.  Seeing the miracles performed by Philip, the people joyfully listened to his preaching.  Among those converted and baptized was a certain Simon Magus who until that time was famous in the city for his works of sorcery,

St. Justin Martyr wrote at length about Simon Magus, calling him a Samaritan from the village of Gitta.  But he was not a magus or a sage in a positive sense, like the Magi from Persia who came to worship the Christ Child.  He was a black magician, a sorcerer.  During this time, according to various Roman and Greek sources, many such magi, having some knowledge of the powers of nature (still not very well understood at the time) presented themselves as superhuman.  By healing certain illnesses , by using charms, by soothsaying or even by simple mountebanks' tricks, they had such an effect on the ignorant masses that the people believed that they communed with "higher powers."  Thus, it was said of Simon Magus that "this man is the great power of God."

 This expression reminds us of Gnosticism, a later heresy that mixed Christian teachings with pagan notions.  Central to Gnosticism was the teaching of the so-called aeons, the emanations of the pleroma (fullness) of divinity.  Apparently, Simon identified himself with such an aeon, and the people, fascinated by this, believed him.  But the power of Philip's preaching was so great, and the miracles he performed were so astounding, that the people believed in Christ.  They abandoned their fascination with Simon and were baptized.  Simon himself was also baptized, but judging by his later history, his conversion was not genuine.  Impressed by the miracles of Philip, he apparently hoped to acquire the power to perform to perform similar miracles, thereby earning even greater glory and influence over the people.

14–25 The Apostles Peter and John in Samaria and Simon Magus

The baptism of the Samaritan was such a momentous event, because these were the first people who became Christians without the mediation of Judaism.  Moreover, they were converted by a Hellenist preacher.  The apostles considered this event to be so significant that they immediately sent Peter and John to lay hands on the converts and call down the grace of the Holy Spirit upon them.  Here it is important to note that the Apostles Peter and John were sent by the other apostles.  In other words, it is clear that they did not consider themselves to be more powerful than the whole assembly of apostles, but rather were themselves responsible to fulfill the commission entrusted to them by the whole apostolic college.  In other words, the assembly of the apostles functioned as a single body in which the individual members had equal status.

The laying on of hands in this case was the second of the mysteries, which later began to be performed by chrismation.  Philip could not perform this sacrament, because he was only a deacon.  "and when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles.hands the Holy Spirit was given he offered them money,"  Evidently the calling down of the Spirit was accompanied by some visible signs that Simon noticed.  This makes it obvious that Simon himself, even though already baptized, was not found worthy of receiving the Holy spirit, for if he had, such an action on his part would not have been possible.  Probably, his turn for the laying on of hands had not yet come, and he, not waiting for his time, rushed to ask the apostle directly not only for the gift of the Spirit, but for the authority to call down the Spirit himself.

In this request, the true deceitful character of the mage was revealed.  Evidently, he saw the apostles only as bearers of higher magical power, and he wanted to own this unknown power himself to improve his skill as a magician.  By offering money, he showed himself to be a man governed by avarice and other impure motives.  "How is it that he was baptized?"  asked St. John Chrysostom.  "Just as Christ chose Judas."

"Peter said to him, 'Your money perish with you.'"  This expression is not a curse, but rather an indication that Simon's moral state will lead to his perdition.  It is a call to repentance.  This sin, however, is so great, that St. Peter did not even promise forgiveness, but only said, "Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you."  Why is this?  Because such a sin requires an especially deep and sincere repentance, and Peter did not see Simon capable of such repentance, as he said to him, "For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity."

Frightened by Peter's words, Simon asked the apostles to pray for him, but even this was hardly sincere.  Tradition tells us that Simon Magus was one of the most virulent enemies of Christianity, the father of all gnostic heresies.  There is a tradition that later he appeared in Rome as a hardened enemy of the Apostle Peter, and by the prayers of the latter, was cast into the Tiber when he wanted to cross the river by the prayers of he latter, was cast into the Tiber when he wanted to cross the river by levitating over it.  His sin received his own name in the tradition of the Church: that of simony, which is the sale of God's grace or of ecclesiastical office for money.

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Acts of the Apostles Commentary
Archbishop Averky
Jordanville 2017

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