Overview
Wealth and poverty are issues of perennial importance in the life and thought of the church. This volume brings patristic thought to bear on these vital issues. The contributors offer explanations of poverty in the New Testament period, explore developments among Christians in Egypt and Asia Minor and in early Byzantium, and connect patristic theology with contemporary public policy and religious dialogue.
This volume inaugurates Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History, a partnership between Baker Academic and the Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. The series is a deliberate outreach by the Orthodox community to Protestant and Catholic seminarians, pastors, and theologians. In these multiauthor books, contributors from all traditions focus on the patristic (especially Greek patristic) heritage.
Series Editorial Board
Robert J. Daly, SJ, Boston College
Bruce N. Beck, The Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute
François Bovon, Harvard Divinity School
Demetrios S. Katos, Hellenic College
Susan R. Holman, PovertyStudies.org
Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University
James Skedros, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
This volume inaugurates Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History, a partnership between Baker Academic and the Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts. The series is a deliberate outreach by the Orthodox community to Protestant and Catholic seminarians, pastors, and theologians. In these multiauthor books, contributors from all traditions focus on the patristic (especially Greek patristic) heritage.
Series Editorial Board
Robert J. Daly, SJ, Boston College
Bruce N. Beck, The Stephen and Catherine Pappas Patristic Institute
François Bovon, Harvard Divinity School
Demetrios S. Katos, Hellenic College
Susan R. Holman, PovertyStudies.org
Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University
James Skedros, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
Table of Contents
Foreword, by either Archbishop Demetrios Trakatellis, or by Dean Thomas Fitzgerald
Preface, Susan R. Holman
Part One: The New Testament Period
1. Injustice or God's will? Early Christian Explanations of Poverty--Steven J. Friesen
2. "Be not one who stretches out hands to receive but shuts them when it comes to giving:" Envisioning Christian Charity When Both Donors and Recipients are Poor--Denise Kimber Buell
3. James 2:2-7 in Early Christian Thought--Görge Hasselhoff
4. Wealth, Poverty, and the Value of the Person: Some notes on the Hymn of the Pearl and its early Christian context--Edward Moore
Part Two: Egypt in Late Antiquity
5. Widening the Eye of the Needle: Wealth and Poverty in the Works of Clement of Alexandria--Annewies van den Hoek
6. Care for the Poor, Fear of Poverty, and Love of Money: Evagrius Ponticus on the Monk's Economic Vulnerability--David Brakke
7. Wine for Widows: Papyrological Evidence for Christian Charity in Late Antique Egypt--Adam Serfass
8. Rich and Poor: Rhetorical Pairing in Sophronius of Jerusalem's Miracles of Ss. Cyrus and John--Susan R. Holman
Part Three: John Chrysostom, The Cappadocians, and Friends
9. This Sweetest Passage: Matthew 25:31−46 and assistance to the poor in the homilies of John Chrysostom--Rudolf Brändle
10. Poverty and Generosity towards the Poor in the Time of John Chrysostom--Wendy Mayer
11. Poverty and Wealth as Theater: John Chrysostom's Homilies on Lazarus and the Rich Man--Francine Cardman
12. Wealthy and Impoverished Widows in the writings of St. John Chrysostom--Efthalia Makris Walsh
13. The Background and the Nature of Patristic Philanthropy in the Early Byzantine Era--Demetrios J. Constantelos
Part Four: Wealth, Trade, and Profit in Early Byzantium
14. Gilding the Lily: A Patristic Defense of Liturgical Splendor--A. Edward Siecienski
15. Wealth, Stewardship and Charitable "Blessings" in Early Byzantine Monasticism--Daniel Caner
16. Trade, Profit, and Salvation in the Late Patristic and the Byzantine Period--Angeliki E. Laiou
Part Five: Patristic Studies for Today
17. St. Basil's Philanthropic Program and Modern Micro-lending Strategies for Economic Self-Actualization--Timothy Patitsas
18. The Use of Patristic Socio-Ethical Texts in Catholic Social Thought--Brian Matz
Preface, Susan R. Holman
Part One: The New Testament Period
1. Injustice or God's will? Early Christian Explanations of Poverty--Steven J. Friesen
2. "Be not one who stretches out hands to receive but shuts them when it comes to giving:" Envisioning Christian Charity When Both Donors and Recipients are Poor--Denise Kimber Buell
3. James 2:2-7 in Early Christian Thought--Görge Hasselhoff
4. Wealth, Poverty, and the Value of the Person: Some notes on the Hymn of the Pearl and its early Christian context--Edward Moore
Part Two: Egypt in Late Antiquity
5. Widening the Eye of the Needle: Wealth and Poverty in the Works of Clement of Alexandria--Annewies van den Hoek
6. Care for the Poor, Fear of Poverty, and Love of Money: Evagrius Ponticus on the Monk's Economic Vulnerability--David Brakke
7. Wine for Widows: Papyrological Evidence for Christian Charity in Late Antique Egypt--Adam Serfass
8. Rich and Poor: Rhetorical Pairing in Sophronius of Jerusalem's Miracles of Ss. Cyrus and John--Susan R. Holman
Part Three: John Chrysostom, The Cappadocians, and Friends
9. This Sweetest Passage: Matthew 25:31−46 and assistance to the poor in the homilies of John Chrysostom--Rudolf Brändle
10. Poverty and Generosity towards the Poor in the Time of John Chrysostom--Wendy Mayer
11. Poverty and Wealth as Theater: John Chrysostom's Homilies on Lazarus and the Rich Man--Francine Cardman
12. Wealthy and Impoverished Widows in the writings of St. John Chrysostom--Efthalia Makris Walsh
13. The Background and the Nature of Patristic Philanthropy in the Early Byzantine Era--Demetrios J. Constantelos
Part Four: Wealth, Trade, and Profit in Early Byzantium
14. Gilding the Lily: A Patristic Defense of Liturgical Splendor--A. Edward Siecienski
15. Wealth, Stewardship and Charitable "Blessings" in Early Byzantine Monasticism--Daniel Caner
16. Trade, Profit, and Salvation in the Late Patristic and the Byzantine Period--Angeliki E. Laiou
Part Five: Patristic Studies for Today
17. St. Basil's Philanthropic Program and Modern Micro-lending Strategies for Economic Self-Actualization--Timothy Patitsas
18. The Use of Patristic Socio-Ethical Texts in Catholic Social Thought--Brian Matz
Author
Susan R. Holman
Susan R. Holman (PhD, Brown University) is the author of The Hungry Are Dying: Beggars and Bishops in Roman Cappadocia, a member of the board of the Pappas Patristic Institute of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, and the creator of PovertyStudies.org.