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A portrait of history’s first complex Christian society as seen through the lens of Christian philanthropy and gift giving As the Roman Empire broke down in western Europe, its prosperity moved decisively eastward, to what is now known as the Byzantine Empire. Here was born history’s first truly affluent, multifaceted Christian society. One of the ideals used to unite the diverse millions of people living in this vast realm was the Christianized ideal of philanthrōpia. In this sweeping cultural and social history, Daniel Caner shows how philanthropy required living up to Jesus’s injunction to “Give to all who ask of you,” by offering mercy and/or material aid to every human being, regardless of their origin or status. Caner shows how Christian philanthropy became articulated through distinct religious ideals of giving that helped define proper social relations among the rich, the poor, and “the pure” (Christian holy people), resulting in new and enduring social expectations. In tracking the evolution of Christian giving over three centuries, he brings to the fore the concerns of the peoples of Early Byzantium, from the countryside to the lower levels of urban society to the imperial elites, as well as the hierarchical relationships that arose among them. The Rich and the Pure offers nothing less than a portrait of the whole of early Byzantine society.
Daniel Caner is Associate Professor at Indiana University, Bloomington. His previous books include Wandering Begging Monks: Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity and History and Hagiography from the Late Antique Sinai.
AcknowledgmentsPrologue: What Is a Christian Gift?MapTimelineIntroduction Surviving Sources and Historical DiscoursesPhilanthropy and Asceticism as Complementary Virtues1. The Present-Giving World of Early ByzantiumChristian Gifts in the Late Roman Holy LandSecular Gifts and the Late Roman Imperial OrderProvidential Order and the Rise of a Religious AristocracyThe Christian Ideal of Stewardship2. "Give to All Who Ask of You": The Challenge of Early Byzantine PhilanthropyThe Classical Roots of Christian PhilanthrōpiaChristian Philanthropy before ConstantineConstantine and the Extension of Christian PhilanthropyPreaching Philanthropy in Christian Cappadocia"To Each According to Need": Philanthropic Priorities in Church Institutions "To Each According to Rank": Philanthropic Priorities in Sixth-Century Monasteries3. “Bend Your Heart to Mercy”: Almsgiving and the Christian Advocacy of Social CompassionPreaching Direct Almsgiving in Christian AntiochThe Monastic Middle Way of Communal MinistrationsMonastic Mediation between the Rich, the Clergy, and the Poor4. "Give It with Your Whole Soul": From Alms to Charity in Early Byzantine MonasticismDefining Charity in Egyptian Desert TraditionGifts of Charity in the Seridos MonasterySins of Excess and Redemptive AlmsgivingAlmsgiving as Purification in Eastern Hagiography"Give as Your Alms from the Things Within": Alms, Charity, and Christian Altruism5. “What God Has Put in Your Heart to Give”: Divine Patronage, Sacred Wealth, and Material BlessingsThe Pauline Concept of a Christian BlessingThe Institutional and Lay Provision of Material BlessingsHuman Avarice and Divine PatronageConverting Lay Offerings into BlessingsAscetic Stewardship and the Multiplication of Monastic BlessingsGifts of a Sacred OrderSacred Wealth and Monastic Culture6. "You Are the Firstfruits of the World": Monasticism, Fruitbearings, and Prosperity in the CountrysideAgrarian and Monastic Expansion on the Rural MarginsA Syrian Village Perspective: The Letter of Cosmas of PanîrAgriculture and Religious Science in the Roman Near EastThe Intercessory Powers of Symeon Stylites the ElderAscetic Penance and Lay Prosperity in the Lives of Barsauma and TheodoreFruitbearings, Gratitude, and Sacred Vessels7. "Imperishable Remembrance in Heaven and Earth": Liturgical Offerings and the Rise of Patronal MonasteriesLay Offerings and Church CommemorationsChurch Apologetics for Commemorative RitesJacob of Serug's On the Loaf for the Departed Patronal Praise and the Proliferation of Private MonasteriesMonks, Freedmen, and the Perennial Quest for Perpetual Commemoration Memory, Salvation, and the Economics of Monastic PatronageEpilogue: When Holy Men Walked the EarthNotesBibliographyIndex
"Caner furthers our understanding of how religious and laypeople negotiated relationships with one another and how they defined themselves in relation to their wealth. His book is an outstanding contribution not only to gift-giving practices in early Byzantine Christianity, but also to the establishment of monastic self-identity in this period."
