| dc.description.abstract | This thesis systematically explores Chrysostom’s theology and practice of
church leadership. It identifies major themes from Chrysostom’s treatise, De
sacerdotio, and discusses them in the larger context of his theological presuppositions
and historical situation. Reflections on the contemporary significance of Chrysostom’s
insights are given at the end of each major chapter and in the appendix.
Chapter 1 gives the rationale, methodology, and research limits of the thesis. It
discusses what is lacking in many theological studies of Chrysostom’s views on church
leadership and proposes to address the lack by employing a theological method that
emphasises the interrelationship of his theological ideas whilst taking advantage of the
revival in Chrysostomian studies that emphasise the historical and sociocultural
influences present in his works. After discussing the background of De sacerdotio,
interrelated themes are identified for further investigation in the next three chapters.
These themes are 1) preaching and soul care; 2) asceticism and angelic virtue; and
3) episcopal authority and management.
Chapter 2 discusses preaching and its use in soul care and community building.
After presenting a brief review of Chrysostom’s contributions to hermeneutics and
preaching as noted in modern scholarship, it argues, from De sacerdotio and various
exegetical homilies, that Chrysostom had a much broader definition of preaching than
is usually recognised. His understanding and practice of it is better described as
persuasive teaching. The discussion is then placed in the larger context of his
understanding of the human soul and of “soul care”. Since Chrysostom viewed the
soul as embodied, soul sickness, which he often associated with heterodoxy and moral
failure due to uncontrolled passions, can and often do have material causes. The
natural ability to overcome the passions incited by physical and biological conditions
rests in the intellect, a faculty of the soul. The intellect gives human beings the ability
to discern, will, and argue. Persuasive teaching is the best remedy for sick souls, as it
creates experience and offers content to reinforce, challenge, or even replace a
person’s already held beliefs and ethics. Chrysostom exercised persuasive teaching
for soul care and community building in several ways, including through preaching
homilies, manipulating sacred spaces, conducting liturgical processions, and using
exclusion for church discipline. I propose that contemporary theologians and church
leaders should similarly expand their understanding of preaching, since one’s
approach to preaching and its reception can qualitatively change if preaching is
understood not only as the transmission of divine revelation but as a healthy exercise
for the soul.
Chapter 3 discusses Chrysostom’s pursuit of asceticism and how this
influenced his concept and exercise of “angelic virtue,” a moral requirement for priests.
Various studies on Chrysostom’s approach to virtue formation have noted his
interaction with Greco-Roman values and his strategic use of rhetoric, exemplars, and
liturgical rites to achieve his pastoral aims. These strategies can be brought into a
cohesive whole by recognising Chrysostom’s presuppositions concerning the nature
and destiny of human beings and the problem of sin and evil. Drawing primarily from
Chrysostom’s homilies in Genesis and various monastic treatises, I argue that he
viewed angelic life as that carefree life which prelapsarian humans were able to live
because of God’s gratuitous and supernatural gifts. Because of sin, humanity lost
God’s supernatural gifts and the angelic life, but Christ won these gifts back for them.
Although the ultimate restoration of the angelic life is at a future resurrection,
Christians are presently able to exercise angelic living through synergistic cooperation
with the supernatural grace Christ obtained for them. This is angelic virtue. These
soteriological presuppositions, along with early and memorable exposure to ministrycentric
ascetic training, impacted Chrysostom’s perception of the society in which he
lived, the kind of virtues he found commendable, and the ways he attempted to
cultivate angelic virtue through the monastery, church, and household.
The role of
angelic virtue in virtue formation is further explained through Chrysostom’s use of the
Christian concepts of rewards and the resurrection to spur his congregation to upright
living. I then propose constructive ways that the same can be used to motivate
contemporary Christian ministers toward a healthier and more balanced approach to
ministry.
Chapter 4 discusses episcopal authority and management. For Chrysostom,
episcopal authority rests on Christological and apostolic continuity in the areas of
orthodoxy, ministry, and the endorsement of other legitimate bishops. His reflections
on said categories were necessitated by legitimacy issues in the episcopal situation in
Antioch and useful when he ascended to the see of Constantinople as an outsider. His
clear convictions about the limits and responsibilities of episcopal authority also
impacted his interactions with political powers, his clergy, and various episcopal
figures. Chrysostom’s theological ideals were often challenged by the harsh reality of
ministry and further complicated by the political environment in Constantinople. While
he clung to certain theological commitments, he had to abandon others, leading to
choices that had both positive and negative impact on himself and the people under
his care. Finally, since Chrysostom’s views on apostolic succession stem from his
Christology, I compare his interpretation of Christ’s High Priesthood with that of the
Christian priest. For Chrysostom, the priest represents Christ not at the level of being
but in the act of ministry—a ministry characterised by condescension and mediation.
Inspired by Chrysostom, I argue that it is therefore in the act of ministry that a priest
arrives at a mystical identification with Christ, where theosis can be a present reality
but also still a reality to come. This privilege also extends to lay ministers, if
Chrysostom is right that lay ministry is an extension of priestly ministry.
The appendix revisits and expands on four areas for contemporary reflection
that were previously introduced. This includes appropriating what was learned from
Chrysostom for rethinking the relationship between the laity and the ordained as
conversation; exploring the natural and supernatural aspects of synergistic virtue
formation in the context of the church; clarifying the interplay of individuality and
community in the goals of church leadership; and rethinking the political impact of
church leaders in contemporary society. | en |
