이 소논문은 요한 크리소스톰의 부와 자선에 대한 연구이다. 이 논문은 부에 대한 바른 이해를 위해서 먼저 부에 대한 기존의 잘못된 개념들을 버리고, 부를 세 가지 신학적 원리들 (유일하고 참되신 소유주이신 하나님의 원리, 공공선의 원리, 덕행의 원리)로 새롭게 정의하는 크리소스톰을 드러내 준다. 크리소스톰에 따르면, 부는 부자들의 정신을 혼미케하여 잘못된 재물관, 즉 허상의 부(wealth as shadows) 관념을 소유케 한다. 이런 허상의 부를 부수고, 참되고, 올바른 부 (wealth as reality) 이해를 새롭게 정립하기 위해서, 크리소스톰은 먼저 하나님이 모든 것의 참되고 유일한 소유주라는 원리에 의지한다. 이 원리는 그 당시 상식으로 통했던 절대적, 배타적 소유권 개념을 깨고, 부자들을 청지기의 위치로 강등시킨다. 둘째로, 이웃을 향한 공공선의 원리는 궁핍한 동료 천국시민을 위해서 부가 사용되어질 때에만, 부가 참된 정체성과 존재 이유를 가지게 된다는 것이다. 마지막으로 덕행의 원리는 이 땅에서 부자들이 부의 참된 소유자가 되는 길을 자선을 통해서 제시해 준다.

This paper will explore John Chrysostom``s understanding of wealth and almsgiving. My thesis is that, for Chrysostom, the proper understanding of wealth can only be achieved by first rejecting a popular, yet false conception of wealth and then redefining it in light of three theological principles: the principle of God as the sole owner, the principle of the common good, and the principle of virtues. Chrysostom’s teachings on wealth and almsgiving evolved from Antioch and Constantinople where the rich lived luxuriously while neglecting the poor. His monastic practice as well as his pagan education under Libanius contributed to the formation of his teachings on wealth and poverty. But the greatest factor that shaped his social thought must have been Scriptures which he cherished and preached constantly. For him, the deceptive power of wealth blinded the minds of the rich and confused them with false ideas of wealth. Through this confusion, a misguided understanding of “wealth as shadows” became popular among people. Having rejected and deconstructed this commonly held, yet false notion of wealth, he redefined it in terms of three principles in order to provide a correct view to his hearers, namely, “wealth as reality.” The principle of God as the sole owner of all things broke the common idea of absolute ownership of his time and put the rich into a position of a steward. The principle of the common good fosters an idea that wealth possesses its true identity and existence only when it is used and shared for fellow-citizens in need. The principle of virtues turns the present impossibility of true ownership into a future reality. For Chrysostom, almsgiving is the most significant virtue by which wealth as shadows becomes wealth as reality. It transforms a mere owner of possessions into their true owner.