Construct a Fortress Against the Devil: John Chrysostom’s Plea to Build Churches in the Countryside
Given Chrysostom’s famous concern for the poor, it is perhaps surprising that he made multiple appeals to rich, land-owning Christians to build churches in the countryside. In fact, Chrysostom preferred that the poor be helped by building churches for them rather than giving them gifts directly. How...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Tyndale House
2018
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| In: |
Tyndale bulletin
Year: 2018, Volume: 69, Issue: 1, Pages: 133-147 |
| Further subjects: | B
Poor
B Early Christianity B john chrysostom B Patristics B Church History |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | Given Chrysostom’s famous concern for the poor, it is perhaps surprising that he made multiple appeals to rich, land-owning Christians to build churches in the countryside. In fact, Chrysostom preferred that the poor be helped by building churches for them rather than giving them gifts directly. However, it is clear that he was less concerned with architecture and aesthetics and more with evangelisation. Chrysostom saw church buildings, with ‘full-time’ ministers, as a way not only to bless the poor of the countryside, but as a means for Christian instruction. Thus, he appealed to rich Christians by challenging them to build more churches. Rather than building baths, or taverns, or hosting markets, why not build churches to establish an eternal legacy, constructing ‘a fortress against the devil, for that is what the church is’? |
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| ISSN: | 0082-7118 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Tyndale bulletin
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.53751/001c.27672 |