Fathers

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What the Fathers say

1 Corinthians 14:11

Eastern Fathers

Theophylact of Ohrid

If I do not understand the meaning of the words, then the speaker will seem to me a foreigner, that is, one speaking unintelligibly; and I will seem the same to him, not because of the poorness of the words, but because of our lack of understanding.

Commentary on 1 Corinthians ↗

Western Saints

Thomas Aquinas

Here he shows their uselessness. And this is what he says: "If I have spoken in all tongues," but did not know the meaning of the words, I will be a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker a foreigner to me. Note that barbarians according to some are those whose idiom completely disagrees with Latin. But others say that any foreigner is a barbarian to every other foreigner, namely, when he is not understood by him. …

Commentary on 1 Corinthians ↗