Preaching Bondage: John Chrysostom and the Discourse of Slavery in Early ChristianityPreaching Bondage introduces and investigates the novel concept of doulology, the discourse of slavery, in the homilies of John Chrysostom, the late fourth-century priest and bishop. Chris L. de Wet examines the dynamics of enslavement in Chrysostom’s theology, virtue ethics, and biblical interpretation and shows that human bondage as a metaphorical and theological construct had a profound effect on the lives of institutional slaves. The highly corporeal and gendered discourse associated with slavery was necessarily central in Chrysostom’s discussions of the household, property, education, discipline, and sexuality. De Wet explores the impact of doulology in these contexts and disseminates the results in a new and highly anticipated language, bringing to light the more pervasive fissures between ancient Roman slaveholding and early Christianity. The corpus of Chrysostom’s public addresses provides much of the literary evidence for slavery in the fourth century, and De Wet’s convincing analysis is a groundbreaking contribution to studies of the social world in late antiquity. |
Contents
Slavery between Metaphor and Theology | 45 |
The Pastoralization of the Household and Its Slaves | 82 |
Slavery Education and the Formation | 127 |
On the Discipline and Punishment of Slaves | 170 |
Managing | 220 |
Preaching Bondage and the Legacy | 271 |
Glossary | 281 |
| 315 | |
| 321 | |
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Preaching Bondage: John Chrysostom and the Discourse of Slavery in Early ... Chris L. de Wet No preview available - 2015 |
Common terms and phrases
adultery Cambridge University Press carceral castration child Christ Chrysos church domestic doulology Early Christian elite enslaved especially eunuchs female Foucault freeborn freedom Gender Glancy Greek Harper homilies homoeroticism household husband Inan institutional slavery John Chrysostom Keith Bradley Kuefler kyriarchal late ancient Christianity Late Antiquity Late Roman World Libanius male Manichaean manumission marriage master metaphor of slavery nature NPNF nurse Onesimus passions pastoralization Paul Paul Cartledge pedagogue Philemon Philodemus prostitutes punishment rhetoric Roman masculinity Roman slavery Roman society shame slave body slave girl slave sexuality slaveholding social spiritual status Stoic strategy surveillance tactical slaveholding theological tion virginity virtue women Xenophon York ἀλλ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἂν ἀπὸ γὰρ δὲ διὰ δοῦλος εἰ εἶναι εἰς ἐν ἐπὶ καὶ κἂν μὲν μετὰ μὴ οἱ ὅταν ὅτι οὐ οὐδὲ οὐκ πρὸς τὰ τῇ τὴν τῆς τί τὸ τοῖς τὸν τοῦ τοὺς τοῦτο τῷ τῶν ὡς ὥστε