Old people’s faults in John Chrysostom’s judgement

Piotr Szczur

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II , Poland


Abstract

From John Chrysostom’s writings – and especially his homilies – quite a picturesque portrait of old people emerges. Generally speaking, in this instance the golden-mouth preacher talks as a representative of early-Christian writers, who gave old people the privi­leged status. However, along with some praises for the elderly and old age we can also find his comments concerning faults of people of advanced age. Chrysostom talks about these faults especially while speaking about the great responsibility of the elderly for the upbring­ing of the young. Trying to stress their responsibility the Antiochene exaggerates their faults in order to motivate them to become models and to set an example to the young generation. In this context he judges old people’s disgraceful behaviour that involves surrendering to weaknesses typical of young age, frequenting hippodromes and theatres, giving bad exam­ple, lack of proper care about children’s upbringing, or even teaching the young some wrong ways. The consequence of such behaviour is that the old themselves contribute to the process of diminishing the value of ‘silver hair’ and lack of esteem the old demand from the young because of their advanced age.

Keywords:

John Chrysostom, old people

Browning R., The riot of A.D. 387 in Antioch. The role of the theatrical claques in the later Empire, JRS 42 (1952) 13-20
Cracco Ruggini L., Poteri in gara per la salvezza di città ribelli: il caso di Antiochia (387 d.C), w: Hestíasis. Studi di tarda anti¬chità offerti à Salvatore Calderone, Studi Tardoantichi 1, Messina 1988, 265-290
Drączkowski F., Flawian I, EK V 323
French D.R., Rhetoric and the rebellion of A.D. 387 in Antioch, „Historia” 47 (1998) 468-484
Joannes Chrysostomus, Ad populum Antiochenum hom., PG 49
Joannes Chrysostomus, Contra ludos et theatra, PG 56
Joannes Chrysostomus, De Anna sermones, PG 54
Joannes Chrysostomus, De Eleazaro et septem pueris hom., PG 63
Joannes Chrysostomus, De inani gloria et de educandis liberis, ed. A.M. Malingrey, SCh 188, Paris 1972
Joannes Chrysostomus, De laudibus S. Pauli Apostoli homiliae, ed. A. Piédagnel, SCh 300, Paris 1982
Joannes Chrysostomus, De paenitentia hom., PG 49
Joannes Chrysostomus, De sancta pentecoste hom., PG 50
Joannes Chrysostomus, In Acta Apostolorum hom., PG 60
Joannes Chrysostomus, In epistulam ad Hebraeos hom., PG 63
Joannes Chrysostomus, In epistulam I ad Timotheum hom., PG 62
Joannes Chrysostomus, In epistulam II ad Timotheum hom., PG 62
Joannes Chrysostomus, In epistulam ad Titum hom., PG 62, tłum. T. Sinko: Św. Jan Złotousty, Homilie na Listy Pasterskie św. Pawła i na List do Filemona (Tym. I, II. Tyt. Filem.), Kraków 1949
Joannes Chrysostomus, In Isaiam, PG 56
Joannes Chrysostomus, In Joannem hom., PG 59
Joannes Chrysostomus, In illud: „Vidua eligatur”, PG 51
Joannes Chrysostomus, In Matthaeum hom., PG 58
Leppin H., Steuern, Aufstand und Rhetoren. Der Antiochener Steueraufstand von 387 in christlicher und heidnischer Deutung, w: Gedeutete Realität. Krisen, Wirklichkeiten, Interpretationen (3.-6. Jh. n. Chr.), hrsg. H. Brandt, Stuttgart 1999, 103-123
Mattioli U., Giovanni Crisostomo, w: Senectus. La vecchiaia nell’antichità ebraica e cri¬stiana, ed. U. Mattioli, t. 3: Ebraismo e cristianesimo, ed. U. Mattioli – A. Cacciari – V. Neri, Bologna 2007, 429-447
Mattioli U., Vecchi e vecchiaia in Giovanni Crisostomo, w: Cultura e promozione umana. La cura del cuerpo e dello spirito dai primi secoli cristiani al Medioevo: contributi e attualizzazioni ulteriori. Atti del III Convegno (Troina, 29 X – 1 XI 1999), ed. E. Dal Covolo – I. Gianetto, Troina 2000, 299-314
Mayer W., The homilies of St John Chrysostom: provenance, reshaping the foundations, OCA 273, Rome 2005
Minois G., Historia starości. Od antyku do renesansu, tłum. K. Marczewska, Warszawa 1995
Palladius, Dialogus de vita Joannis Chrysostomi, ed. A.M. Malingrey – P. Leclercq, SCh 341, Paris 1988
Paverd F. van de, St. John Chrysostom. The homilies on the statues, OCA 239, Roma 1991
Soler E., Evêque et pasteurs à Antioche sous l’empereur Théodose: L’Engagement chrétien dans la défense de la cité après la sédition des statues (387), w: Vescovi e pastori in epoca Teodosiana. XXV Incontro di studiosi dell’antichità cristiana (Roma, 8-11 maggio 1996), t. 2, SEA 58, Roma 1997, 461-467
Szczur P., Rewolta podatkowa w Antiochii (387) w świetle przekazów Jana Chryzostoma i Libaniusza. Retoryka i fakty historyczne, „Roczniki Historii Kościoła” 1[56] (2009) 49-75
Voicu S.J., Flaviano di Antiochia, NDPAC II 1979

Published
2011-12-15


Szczur, P. (2011). Wady ludzi starych w ocenie Jana Chryzostoma. Vox Patrum, 56, 371–382. https://doi.org/10.31743/vp.4230

Piotr Szczur 
Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II



License

Papers published in Vox Patrum are covered by the Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) licence. Authors and users can use published works licensed under the CC-BY-ND since 2018. For earlier publications, copyrights are available under fair use rights in accordance with the Act of February 4, 1994 on copyrights and related rights.