Chrysostom frequently spoke about poverty and wealth, themes
which were set for him by life in the large, noisy city. For him, these and all
other social themes had primarily a moral significance, and he dealt with them
in relation to the rules of Christian behavior. He judged the life around him on
the basis of its morality. Everywhere he saw injustice, cruelty, suffering, and
misery, and he understood that this was caused by the spirit of greed and by
social inequality. He warned against idle luxury and also against wealth as a
source of temptation, since money threatens to corrupt the man who possesses it.
Wealth by itself has no value but is only a theatrical mask which covers the
true image of man. However, the wealthy man comes to value his riches. He begins
to deceive himself and he becomes attached to something which is good in
appearance only. In Chrysostom's opinion there is danger not only in wealth
which has been acquired by dishonest means but in all forms of personal
property. These are not harmful in themselves but they may stimulate the will to
desire things which are perishable and transient. "The love for wealth is an
unnatural passion," Chrysostom writes. "The desire for wealth is neither natural
nor necessary. It is superfluous." This movement of the will is dangerous and
riches are a dangerous burden. "Wealth is harmful for you not because it arms
thieves against you, nor because it completely darkens your mind but because it
makes you the captives of soulless possessions and distracts you from the
service of God."
The possession of wealth involves an unavoidable contradiction.
By the spirit of greed men are attached to material things, but God teaches us
to despise things and to renounce them. "There is harm not only in trying to
gain wealth but also in excessive concern with even the most necessary things,"
Chrysostom writes. "Christ has demonstrated what kind of harm can come from the
passion for money but His commandment goes even beyond this. Not only does He
order us to scorn wealth, but he forbids us to be concerned that the food we eat
is the best we can possibly get: 'Do not worry your soul about what you eat'."
This does not exhaust the subject. "It is not enough to despise wealth,"
Chrysostom writes, "but you must also feed the poor and, more importantly, you
must follow Christ." Thus another contradiction is revealed: the worldly drive
of greed and the desire for the accumulation and preservation of material goods
is opposed to the command of the Gospels to "give all you have to the poor."
Against this background we see with greater clarity the injustice of the social
inequality in the world. In the face of poverty and misery, all wealth is an
unjust and dead thing. It testifies to hard-heartedness and the absence of
love.
It is from this point of view that Chrysostom disapproves of
the magnificent decoration of churches. "A church is not a place in which to
melt gold or forge silver," he writes. "It is a triumphant assembly of the
angels. Therefore it is souls which we demand as an offering because it is for
the sake of souls that God accepts our other offerings. It was not at a silver
table and it was not from a golden vessel that Christ offered His blood to His
disciples to drink but nevertheless everything there was precious and called
forth reverence, for it was filled with the Spirit. Do you want to honor the
body of Christ? Do not scorn to see Christ naked. What good does it do you if
here you honor His silken coverlings while outside the Church you continue to
tolerate the coldness and nakedness of others? What good does it do you if the
altar of Christ is covered with golden vessels, while Christ Himself suffers
hunger? You make a golden goblet but you offer no cooling water to go with ft.
Christ as a homeless pilgrim wanders and asks for shelter, but you, instead of
accepting Him, adorn your floors, your walls, and the tops of your pillars, and
you put silver harnesses on your horses. But Christ remains bound in the dungeon
and you do not even want to look at Him."
It seemed to Chrysostom that each thing that one man puts aside
is taken away from someone else who needs it, for there cannot be a man who is
rich without another man being poor because of it. "The source and root of
wealth must definitely be hidden in some act of injustice," he writes.
Chrysostom did not consider that poverty as such was a virtue. Poverty attracted
his attention as a form of need and suffering, and he considered that Christ is
present among the poor, since He comes to us in the image of a beggar and not in
the guise of a wealthy man. Furthermore, when poverty is voluntarily chosen for
the sake of God and accepted with joy, it can be a path to virtue. This is
primarily because a man without possessions is freer than a wealthy man and has
fewer attachments and worries. It is easier for him to live and to strive to
perfect himself.
Chrysostom knew also that poverty could be a heavy burden not
only in terms of external and material things, but internally, as a source of
envy, spite, and despair. For this reason he tried to fight against poverty, but
his attention was always occupied with its moral implications. In this respect
he functioned as a spiritual pastor, not as a social reformer. Although it is
true that he did have an ideal vision of society, this ideal was primarily
moral. It was the ideal of equality because inequality makes true love
impossible.
The basic premise of Chrysostom's thought is that strictly
speaking there can be no such thing as "personal property" because everything
belongs to God and to Him only. All things are given by Him as a gift in the
form of a loan. Everything is God's, and all that man can claim as truly his own
are his good works. Everything God gives is intended for common ownership. "If
the good things we enjoy belong to the Master of all of us, then they all belong
equally to our fellow slaves. That which belongs to the Master belongs to
everyone in common. Do we not see a similar arrangement in great houses?"
"The possessions of the Emperor, the city, the squares, and the
streets, belong to all men, and we all use them in an equal degree. Look at the
economy that God has arranged. He has created some things that are for everyone,
including the air, sun, water, earth, heaven, sea, light, and stars, and He has
divided them equally among all men, as if they were brothers. This, if nothing
else, should shame the human race. The Emperor has made other things common to
all, including the baths, cities, squares, and streets. There is not the
slightest disagreement over this common property but everything is accomplished
peacefully. If someone tries to take something and claim it as his own personal
possession, then quarrels arise. It is as if the very forces of natures were
complaining, and as if at that time when God was gathering them from everywhere
they were trying with all their might to separate among themselves, to isolate
them selves from each other, and to distinguish their own individual property by
coldly saying that 'this is yours but that is mine'. If this were true, quarrels
and bitterness would arise, but where there is nothing of this sort neither
quarrels nor disagreements occur. In this way we see that for us as well a
common and not an individual ownership of things has been ordained, and that
this is according to nature itself. Is not the reason that no one ever goes to
court about the ownership of a public square the fact that this square belongs
to all?"
It seems to Chrysostom that in this respect even the animals
are better than men. "They hold everything in common, the earth, and springs,
and pastures, and mountains, and forests, and not one of them has more than the
others. But you, O man, the most gentle of animals, have become more fierce than
the beasts. In a single one of your houses you store up enough to feed thousands
and even many thousands of the poor. How can this be, when we have one common
nature, and much else in common besides this? We share a common heaven, sun,
moon, choir of stars, air, sea, fire, water, earth, life, death, youth, old age,
sickness, health, and the need for food and clothing. Our spiritual goods are
also common to all: our holy altar, the body of our Lord, His sacred blood, the
promised Kingdom, the bath of renewal, the purification of sins, truth,
sanctity, redemption, and ineffable bliss. Is it therefore not madness for those
who share so much in common, their nature, grace, covenant, and laws, to have
such a passion for wealth that it causes them to forget their equality and to
exceed the savageness of beasts? This is all the worse since they must of
necessity soon leave these things behind them."
Chrysostom sees the source of inequality in man's free will and
desire for personal property. Free will determines how an individual will manage
the gifts he had been given, and Chrysostom considers that this is the heart of
the problem. He does not recommend poverty for all men and, although he
denounces superfluous luxury, it is primarily inequality to which he is opposed.
Chrysostom demands equality and justice. Material goods are given by God and for
this reason there can be no cause to abominate them. However, they must not be
used to the personal advantage of one man in such a way that another man suffers
for lack of them. Chrysostom believes that the problem can be solved by love
because "love seeks nothing for itself." It seems to him that this solution was
realized by the earliest members of the Church in the manner described in the
Acts of the Apostles. "They renounced property and rejoiced greatly because in
this way they gained blessings that were even greater. The cold words 'mine and
yours' did not exist, and there was joy at the altar . . . The expression 'mine
and yours', which is so harsh and has caused so many wars in the world, was
driven out of that holy Church, and men on earth lived like angels in heaven.
The poor did not envy the rich, for there were no rich, and the rich did not
despise the poor, for there were no poor. At that time things were not the way
they are now. Now those who have property give to the poor, but at that time it
was not so . . . All of them were equal and all wealth was shared among them."
This example has been frequently cited by the supporters of communal monasticism
who absolutely reject the right to personal property.
Chrysostom wanted to realize the example provided by monastic
communities in the world, having in mind a comparatively small society in
Antioch or Constantinople. In his homilies he tried to demonstrate how the
voluntary renunciation of property and its equal distribution could provide for
the needs of all. This is the way in which the property of the Church was
organized at that time. It was held in common and was distributed by the bishop.
Part of it was devoted to upkeep of churches and to the support of the clergy,
but most of it was the "property of the poor." Chrysostom emphasized that such a
socialization of property could be truly effective only if it was voluntary and
if it was the expression of true self-renunciation and love.
All of this would presuppose a high degree of moral development
and perfection. It would be the ultimate and ideal expression of Christian
charity. However, Chrysostom was content to limit his demands to generous
almsgiving and works of charity. His conception of charity was very broad,
extending from material contributions to consolation and comfort. "Is it not
also an act of great charity when a soul, which is overwhelmed by grief,
threatened by extreme danger, and held in thrall by the flames (of passion), is
freed by someone from this affliction?"
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