Preaching and popular Christianity : reading the sermons of John Chrysostom / James Daniel Cook.
This study reassess how we read Chrysostom's sermons, with a particular focus on the stern language which permeated his preaching, and on which the image of the contrary congregation is largely based. In doing this, it recovers a neglected portrayal of Chrysostom as a pastor and of preaching as...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oxford ; New York :
Oxford University Press,
2019.
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Series: | Oxford theology and religion monographs.
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | This study reassess how we read Chrysostom's sermons, with a particular focus on the stern language which permeated his preaching, and on which the image of the contrary congregation is largely based. In doing this, it recovers a neglected portrayal of Chrysostom as a pastor and of preaching as a pastoral and liturgical activity. The vast homiletic corpus of John Chrysostom has received renewed attention in recent years as a source for the wider cultural and historical context within which his sermons were preached. Scholars have demonstrated the exciting potential his sermons have to shed light on aspects of daily life, popular attitudes, and practices of lay piety. In short, Chrysostom's sermons have been recognised as a valuable source for the study of 'popular Christianity' at the end of the fourth century. This study, however, questions the validity of some recent conclusions. James Daniel Cook illustrates that Chrysostom is often seen as at odds with the congregations to whom he preached. On this view, the Christianity of elites such as Chrysostom had made little inroads into popular thought beyond the fairly superficial, and congregations were still living with older, more culturally traditional views about religious beliefs which preachers were doing their utmost to overcome. Cook argues that such a portrayal is based on a misreading of Chrysostom's sermons and fails to explain satisfactorily the apparent popularity that Chrysostom enjoyed as a preacher. -- ‡c From publisher's description. |
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| Item Description: | Revision of author's thesis (D. Phil.)--University of Oxford, 2016 under title: Preaching and Christianization : reading the sermons of John Chrysostom. |
| Physical Description: | viii, 237 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-233) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9780198835998 019883599X |