Lover of the Poor: The Creation of a Public Virtue
From 'Lover of the City' to 'Lover of the Poor'
Revolution in the social imagination within the Church during the late antique period (300-600 C.E.).
Rise of the Christian bishop as a prominent leader, attributed to his role as the guardian of the poor.
The bishop was considered the "lover of the poor".
Being a "lover of the poor" became a public virtue expected of Christian emperors and upper-class individuals.
Emperors like Valentinian III and Marcian included concern for the poor in their humane rule.
Gravestones of the well-to-do praised qualities like philoptochos (lover of the poor), amator pauperum, elemosinarius (devoted to almsgiving), and philentolos (lover of God's commandments to care for the poor).
History, Rhetoric, and Proof
Judaism was a mentor to Christian churches in caring for the poor, remaining a worthy rival in late antiquity.
Emperor Julian the Apostate compared pagan giving habits unfavorably to those of Jews and Christians.
In 362, Julian provided 30,000 modii (approximately 200,000 kilos or 220 tons) of grain and 60,000 pints (34,000 liters or 7,500 gallons) of wine annually to pagan priests and temples in Galatia for poor relief.
Julian modeled a system of pagan poor relief on Jewish and Christian activities.
Julian acknowledges that no Jew ever begs, and the Christians support not only their own poor but also the pagan poor.
The growth of a Christian system of care for the poor signaled a change in the self-understanding of late classical society.
Care for the poor in the later Roman Empire is often taken for granted as a natural consequence of Christianization.
Adolf von Harnack saw the "Gospel of Love and Charity" (Evangelium der Liebe und Hilfleistung) as a principal factor in the rise of the Church.
Jews and Christians were not simply doing what pagans had been doing on a larger scale; the "love of the poor" was a relatively novel virtue.
Organized "care of the poor" cut across established traditions of public giving, which typically excluded direct charity to the poor.
Public Giving in Greece and Rome
For almost a millennium, public giving in Greece and Rome communicated a specific self-image of the community.
Great givers gave to specific groups, excluding the "poor" as such.
Cities depended on the wealthy for economic and political success.
Spontaneous generosity by the wealthy was integral to the life of each city and its institutions.
Greeks and Romans admired and depended on "cheerful givers" (hilaron dotén).
Euergesia (doing good by public benefactions), euergetés (doer of good, public benefactor), and philotimos (standing out for public generosity) were prized actions.
Motives of euergetai were not always altruistic; some sought profit and glory.
Emperors gave to the populus romanus to express love for citizens, not to assert power.
Personal agency of the wealthy in sacrificing private wealth for the public good was emphasized.
Roman cities' monuments reflect a civic community built by acts of public generosity.
Civic Community vs. the Poor
Public benefactors primarily addressed and defined the "civic" community, not the poor.
Gifts were directed to the "city" or the démos/populus (civic community).
Rich men were praised for being a philopatris (lover of his home-city), not a philoptochos (lover of the poor).
Euergetés showed "love of his city" by enhancing its urban fabric and the comfort of its citizens.
Gifts targeted citizens descended from citizens and long-term residents, not the true urban "poor."
The true urban "poor" often consisted of impoverished immigrants/noncitizens living on the margins.
Emperors' free food and support to the plebs of Rome were given to citizens, not specifically to the poor.
Citizens received bread because they possessed a tessera (token) proving their citizenship.
"Love of the poor" emerged as a public virtue when the ancient "civic" sense of community weakened.
Shift to Christian and Jewish Charity
Christian and Jewish charity in late antiquity was a new departure that challenged the classical, pagan image of a "civic" community.
It broadened the horizons of society, making the poor visible.
Society was viewed as an all-embracing whole divided between the rich and the poor, with the rich having a duty to support the poor.
The silent presence of the poor challenged the rich to give to them.
The relationship between the rich and the poor acted as a symbolic clamp holding society together.
Acting as a "lover of the poor" acknowledged the cohesion of the entire human community.
Public giving reached out to the outermost margins of society, touching the poor.
Scholarly Perspectives on the Shift
Hendrik Bolkestein highlighted the profound difference between Greco-Roman public benefactions and the care of the poor, associating the latter with the ancient Near East and the rise of Christianity.
Paul Veyne emphasized the particularity of public giving in Hellenistic and Roman times, which did not anticipate the Christian notion of "love of the poor."
Evelyne Patlagean described how a late Roman society transitioned from a "civic" model to an "economic" model that juxtaposed the rich and the poor.
These works reveal a significant mutation in the self-image of ancient society during the late antique period.
The role of Christian charity was somewhat dwarfed in these analyses, presented as a symptom of the collapse of the ancient city.
Cities were unable to absorb the novel forms of poverty created by population growth, burdening society with unprecedented numbers of poor persons.
Poverty was stripped of its "civic veil" and seen in its full economic nakedness.
The Role of Christian Leaders
Christian preaching on love of the poor provided new words to describe a less differentiated, post-classical society.
Christian endeavors registered the new situation but did not solely cause the collapse of the ancient city.
Christian leaders, particularly bishops, actively engaged in forms of power that helped bring about the transition.
Bishops invented the poor by bringing them into sharper focus and presenting their actions as a response to their needs.
These actions significantly contributed to the societal change described by Veyne and Patlagean.
Cautions and Nuances
It's crucial to avoid being overly fascinated by societal models themselves, recognizing that change is a messy process.
Models of society influence people, defining the boundaries of their thinking.
Classical benefactors saw cities and citizens, while Jews and Christians saw rich and poor.
Models simplify the confusion of real life; elites had firm notions of their community, screening out less manageable alternatives.
Demographics and Mobility
Recent demographic studies suggest that classical démos (citizen body) was a fragile and permeable grouping, not as stable as believed.
Populations were mobile, like shifting dunes, even before the dramatic changes of the late Roman Empire.
Mobility and uncontrolled immigration were significant in the late antique period, driving the replacement of classical by medieval notions of society.
However, such phenomena were normal in earlier centuries as well.
The Christian church gave new meaning to an ancient situation by designating marginal groups as "the poor," entitled to protection and integration.
Greco-Roman Culture and Beneficence
The drama of public giving linking the euergetés to the démos was primarily associated with the Greek world and urban elites in the Latin West.
Not every well-to-do Roman was open-handed or lived up to civic generosity ideals.
Acts of civic beneficence were associated with "virtuosi of euergetism," while others were less ostentatious.
In regions outside the Mediterranean heartlands, the city was less prominent, and the shift to a Christian model may have been less disruptive.
The downward shift in public giving, with the "poor" as the object, was new even in areas where the classical model was less vibrant.
The Image of the Poor in Christian Texts
Christian texts of the late Roman period depict a society filled with images of human misery.
Porticoes of churches and public spaces were filled with the poor.
These images are specific and created by a specific literature in a specific period.
Compared to medieval and early modern images, they are peculiarly disembodied, presenting humans trembling on the edge of extinction.
The poor are seen as passive recipients of gifts and objects of protection, not as a source of danger.
Estimating the Numbers of the Poor
John Chrysostom estimated that Antioch consisted of 10% rich, 10% poor, and 80% middling sort.
This proportion indicates a level of poverty similar to late medieval European cities.
However, such a proportion is misleading because many of the "middling sort" lived under a permanent threat of impoverishment.
Late Roman society resembled early modern France, where many were liable to become poor.
The category of "the poor" blurred due to the wide range of levels of poverty to which people were exposed.
Ancient Mediterranean Context
The focus was less on statistical estimates and more on the vulnerability to impoverishment.
Late antique period shows much the same poverty as had always been there.
Christians had sharper eyes for poverty, viewing it as a moral challenge and a spur to action.
Christian leaders (bishops) saw the poor as an opportunity to highlight their role in a new society.
From Paul to Constantine: Evolution of the Church
By Constantine's conversion in 312 C.E., Christianity was an established religion, almost as old as the Roman Empire itself.
Between 5% and 10% of the Roman Empire's inhabitants were Christians.
Christian churches surged in membership during the third century, especially in Asia Minor and Syria.
Christians claimed to possess a firm canon of sacred Scriptures with conflicting messages on "love of the poor."
Scriptural Messages
Old Testament: Stressed solidarity with distressed fellow Israelites and denounced exploitation by the rich.
Gospels: Presented Jesus of Nazareth, who associated with the rich but called his disciples to poverty:
"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Luke 6:20)
"If you would be perfect, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and follow Me." (Matt. 19:21)
"It is easier for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle." (Matt. 21:24)
Letters of Saint Paul: Showed him preoccupied with the problems and opportunities raised by wealth among believers.
He was an indefatigable builder of religious communities.
Advocated for a steady circulation of goods among brethren to prevent divisiveness.
Organized collections to support needy communities, especially "the poor among the saints" in Jerusalem.
Expressed the classic Christian notion of the "cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7).
Advocated for isotés (a leveling out, an equalizing, of resources) through collections (2 Cor. 8:14-15).
Conflicting Messages and Modern Scholarship
By 312, three separate messages - solidarity, renunciation, and circulation of wealth - existed in discomforting proximity for Christians.
Modern scholars offer context to alleviate tensions generated by these demands, but they were not available to early Christians.
No one distinguished the "poor" whose cry was for justice and the cessation of violence from the late antique utterly destitute needing alms.
Professor Gerd Theissen's distinction of Jesus' world versus Paul's world was not yet available.
Early Christian Responsibilities
Early Christians were responsible for the care of the poor of their own community.
Fellow Christians must be helped, Christian widows and orphans must be protected, and Christians must not lapse from faith due to economic hardship.
"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" (1 John 3:17)
Support for Clergy
By the third century C.E., bishops and clergy expected support from fellow believers.
This brought to an extreme conclusion the implications of a silent revolution accompanying religious life.
This unprecedented "democratization" of religious expertise affected many cults.
Persons of the lower and "middling" classes entered religious life and had to be supported by others.
Historical Context
Traditional religious establishments were de haut en bas, with religious speculation the preserve of wealthy philosophers and scribes.
Jewish Wisdom of Ben Sira: "The wisdom of a learned man cometh by opportunity of leisure: and he that hath little business shall become wise… How can he get wisdom that holdeth the plough… that driveth oxen, and is occupied in their labours?" (38:24-25).
Public religious establishments were typically in the hands of aristocratic oligarchies with sufficient wealth and leisure.
Shift in Religious Leadership
Early Christianity/Judaism drew on the dedication of persons who were not independently wealthy.
Pharisees (neither leisured nor destitute) were a novel group in the Temple period of Jerusalem.
First Palestinian Christians were even less privileged.
Emperor Domitian's interview with Jesus' relatives showed them as small farmers who supported themselves by toil.
Incompatibility of Toil and Thought
Those caught up in the world of ponos (unremitting labor) were not free to pursue religious truth.
Urban artisans were in the same position.
Lucian's dream: Artisans were unsuitable for serious thought.
Rise of the 'Hard-Handed Men'
In the religious sphere, the future lay with "hard-handed men" or those closer to them than the elites. Whether as "apostles" or clergy, Christianity and Judaism drew on their dedication. These individuals had to renounce their livelihoods to live off the gifts of others or balance modest employment with dedication to God.
Wealth and 'Grapes'
Those devoted to religion needed support from fellow believers, leading to texts dwelling anxiously on the relation between wealthier members and a "new" class of "poor."
These "poor" were persons with little time to support themselves due to their religious commitment.
Jewish and Christian sources referred to them as succulent "grapes" whose prayer and study gave flavor to the community, borne by the "wood and trellis-work" of less-expert believers.
Challenges and Abuses
Paul wrote with sensitivity toward wealth use because he faced negative stereotypes of religious entrepreneurs who exploited followers.
Paul forwent his entitlement as an apostle, working "with toil and labor… night and day" to prove his integrity.
He showed his hands to the elders of Ephesus, hands bearing proof through labor (Acts 20:33-35).
This demonstrated an appeal to the direct words of Jesus; the verses not found in any Gospel.
Suspicions
Middle of the second century, Lucian gives an outsider's glimpse into a Christian community, showing Peregrinus living in luxury by duping simple folks.
Mid-fourth century, Basil assumed a rogue priest might create a new cult for financial gain.
Scorn for those profiting from religion was characteristic of those who didn't need to make money.
Religious begging and cult creation were common among the middling/lower classes.
Christian Communities and the Poor
For a century before Constantine, Christian communities were sharply "bifurcated" in their duties to the poor.
Double Group Support
Impoverished believers: Orphans, widows, the sick, prisoners, refugees, the destitute.
Christian almsgiving was inward-looking, strengthening community boundaries with no Christian resorting to unbeliever help.
New, notional "poor": Persons with all-absorbing religious commitments.
To use an image current in Jewish and Christian sources, such persons were the succulent "grapes" whose prayer and study gave savor and safety to the community. Their weight was to be borne by the ordinary wood and trellis-work of wealth provided by the less-expert rank and file of believers.
Wealth Centralization and the Bishop
The bishop and clergy received support from offerings, to redistribute the wealth to the poor.
The bishop was the oikonomos (steward) of church wealth, using it for the poor.
Some discouraged private giving, wanting all gifts to pass through the clergy.
Cyprian of Carthage
Letters display impressive use of wealth and care to reinforce the Catholic church.
Only those standing firm and remaining loyal to the bishop received care.
He saved Christians from the shame of accepting alms.
Christian boundaries protected + convert actors maintained through poor fund.
Bridging loads given to Christian traders.
Ransoms through generous donations.
Graeme Clarke: Cyprian's letters show the Church was " . . . a society within a society, a regular tertium genus."
Extent of Responsibilities
Cornelius of Rome (251 CE) to the bishop of Antioch; church has only one bishop, the office holds 46 priests, 7 deacons, 7 subdeacons, 42 acolytes and 52 exorcists, readers and doorkeepers [154 in all: a group as large as most voluntary associations in Rome] and more than 1500 widows and distressed persons.
State of the Church
Raid in 303 shows store rooms with shirts, veils, dresses.
Church also possessed store rooms with oil and wine.
Pre-Constantine Church
When Constantine patronized the Christian Church in 312 he found a body committed to serving clergy + also to give to the poor. Lay members of the faith alerted that their money needed to be spent to good effect.
Link from wealth of church to care for poor was heavily established pre-conversion.
After Constantine: Privilege and Poor Relief
Constantine gave the Christian churches a previously unimaginable level of resources.
Gigantic Christian basilicas were placed in major cities, exceeding any publicity or building initiatives in antiquity.
Effects: The pious lay donors of pre-years was dwarfed by imperial largesse.
The gift made to distribution for the poor was never seen, the bishop distributed amongst themselves.
Constantine gave 3,000 coins, travel allowances, to supporters and opponents.
Continued 'civic' Public Benefaction
The civic idea of public benefit survived.
Christian church did not face a tabula rasa; and remained exemplar of old - fashioned euergertism.
The Emperors retained their euergetai - concerned with the Annona system.
The poor lacked place
Scope of annona system remained awe-inspiring.
150,000 citizens still received it.
Required pigs and 5 million pounds of pork.
Main transport came from Africa.
Emperors acted to love cities.
But public benefit by individuals diminished.
Impact on Elite Gifting
Upperclassman still gifts + want gifting to have sense of drama akin to serving as civic benefit i.e.: the "halo" of euergetes
The lady of Silverhood displays coins + gestures alike Roman consuls during the games at Rome/ Constaintinople.
As new class had arrived + Christian notable would + should love their city as a public figure.
Emperors' Thoughts
Privileges affected every church in the empire - brought clergy,as a body, to the extensive but demanding patronage of Roman state.
State and not congregation ensured the benefits offered made with such generosity were used for good purposes.
More later states were studied, more formidable they appeared via range privs + exceptions based on the state's taxation + compulsory service.
Exempts: The power to tax led to the right to avid which created the right to prosper.
Important: Property was substantially exempted from land tax. Bishops and clergy exempt from tax, compul. service which ate the time and money of the town's council and humble artisan guilds.
Risks
Open ended nature of Constantine exempted, and question of how/who. Did it apply to bishops and clergy or all down the line i.e.: humble grave diggers?
All over Africa; as result the Donatist schism, cities had two bishop of claimed to be catholic's. In Eastern empire the Arian brought about a situation where each party victimized other via imperial officials; whose task was reviewing and denying privileges.
Laws of the reign of Constatious II displays the uncertain application and it generated leading to a more clear view of what clergy can claim to receive
Role of the Christian Church + Official Expectations
Notion priests should be "free" - deeply rooted.
Clergy claimed prayer sustained the State.
The state ( emperors), consistently monotheistic + gave the personnel the same benefits of to heads of synagogues.
Officials tended to ask worldly questiosn: WHAT DID THE CHURHC do for the community - their answer of the church for looking after the poor = why they have their offerings.
Emperor Control
In 326, a law of Contantine ruled that rich townsmen might not join clergy as town council members should serve secular requirements +poor maintained by church. Constaine encouraged church was given food and clothing for poor registered + those who formed plebs in minature to which gift has been delivered. - Annonae for the power.
Amounts involved in annonae for the poor small compared to the civic plebes of Rome and Costanipple.
331, Constantine gave 36,000 for com + Antioch
Bishops,Athanasius of Alexandria especially, were called to account by State + sold goods Constanitne gifted; used this as challenge + reflected challenge = privileges.
Christian Lay Persons and Philanthropy
Frequent challenges led to the need for clarity for giving and spending. Lay people's expectations put pressure: The voice of Christian lay persons who were now also civil servants, with notions of giving and philanthropy rooted somewhere between the classical and Chrsitan.
Julian and the Xenodocheion
Christians made their purpose + reason within cities = through XENODOCHEiON in 362.
Julian states XENODOCHEIA was established but size and purpose is unknown + would not resemble grand institutions of Rome.
Hostels such as those of Ma,ale Adummim had space for about 60-70 persons placed close together in crammed two stories.
Building held wandering and travelling people pilgrims on their way to Holylands seeking for food +work, functioned as hospitals + leper treatment = known as PTOCHOTROPHEIA.
Xenodocheia
The Xenodocheia was a novel concept due to its independence of any connection to healing/god shrines.
ONLY those who lacked a family had hospitals.
*The Shelter for those of low birth and for those in between/in settlement = novel way + offerd new form and class who would = invisible.Important: Xen. was not there pre-Constatinia + only became apparent the 350's (eastern provinces).
To founded would be an an old day's virtue.
Building = the demos of Necoplais declared as Eueregerses.
Life Span
Set in Late antiquity + up to modern - an Orphanage found in 6th cent was organized by Napoleon. (Museum of Marrta Numaran in 510 CE.
Building: It shown ROMULUS + REMUS SUCKLED by WOLF a touch towards lost Christian + Emblems
Emerged: building Relief of civic munfice - to serve reinforce Bishop claims, tax exempt and those used for good.
Basil's Cappodcia in Time of Famine
Occurred somewhere between 368-370 + due to preaching from energy displayed by Caeserea basil -> Basil, relief = Known to much + Aspect that been Clear.
Basil was a man acting quickly at a time when maximum publicity was beneficial.
Basil's Inspiration
Due 1st to his inspiration through Christian Chruch + Exceptionally + Radiac = concerns = the state of the Poor. Basil wanted Monks had to use this New Monastic fervor to Harness to aim helpful Social- Monks did Retreat -> But they would -> Take care of the poor
They were no longer confined to fringes of society rather in: in both cities + villages. Basil tamed more ascetic + turbulence leader; on radical critiques of wealth and care for those poor.
Eustathius
But by mid 343 in Northern Cent - Council condemened the partyzans because of radical views + preaching the wealth who DONATE, no God in time. encouraged slaves to quit through Monica.
Not proven from: movement, pontus minor. ( family there), not theat outside, or even Bishop Gangra, that he was a Bishop at the time.
That all his thoughts might have given exciting time + move meant by the rich that the emancipation to cross d dresssing.
Finally + after Eusta + Aenus, (broken issue wealth/ prover += Eusta. + church should not be wealthy distributed immediate and in hills- slopes.