Skip to main content
University of California Press

About the Book

A portrait of history’s first complex Christian society as seen through the lens of Christian philanthropy and gift giving
 
As the Roman Empire broke down in western Europe, its prosperity moved decisively eastward, to what is now known as the Byzantine Empire. Here was born history’s first truly affluent, multifaceted Christian society. One of the ideals used to unite the diverse millions of people living in this vast realm was the Christianized ideal of philanthrōpia. In this sweeping cultural and social history, Daniel Caner shows how philanthropy required living up to Jesus’s injunction to “Give to all who ask of you,” by offering mercy and/or material aid to every human being, regardless of their origin or status.
 
Caner shows how Christian philanthropy became articulated through distinct religious ideals of giving that helped define proper social relations among the rich, the poor, and “the pure” (Christian holy people), resulting in new and enduring social expectations. In tracking the evolution of Christian giving over three centuries, he brings to the fore the concerns of the peoples of Early Byzantium, from the countryside to the lower levels of urban society to the imperial elites, as well as the hierarchical relationships that arose among them. The Rich and the Pure offers nothing less than a portrait of the whole of early Byzantine society.
 

About the Author

Daniel Caner is Associate Professor at Indiana University, Bloomington. His previous books include Wandering Begging Monks: Spiritual Authority and the Promotion of Monasticism in Late Antiquity and History and Hagiography from the Late Antique Sinai.
 

From Our Blog

UC Press Award-Winning Authors

UC Press is proud to publish award-winning authors and books across many disciplines. Below are some of our recent award winners December 2022. Please join us in celebrating these scholars by sharing the news!Daniel Caner 2023 Phillip Schaff Prize The Photography Network American So
Read More

Q&A with Daniel Caner, author of The Rich and The Pure

Daniel Caner, author of the new book The Rich and The Pure joined us to discuss some of the key findings from his work.As the Roman Empire broke down in western Europe, its prosperity moved decisively eastward, to what is now known as the Byzantine Empire. Here was born history’s first truly
Read More

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Prologue: What Is a Christian Gift?
Map
Timeline

Introduction 
Surviving Sources and Historical Discourses
Philanthropy and Asceticism as Complementary Virtues

1. The Present-Giving World of Early Byzantium
Christian Gifts in the Late Roman Holy Land
Secular Gifts and the Late Roman Imperial Order
Providential Order and the Rise of a Religious Aristocracy
The Christian Ideal of Stewardship
2. "Give to All Who Ask of You": The Challenge of Early Byzantine Philanthropy
The Classical Roots of Christian Philanthrōpia
Christian Philanthropy before Constantine
Constantine and the Extension of Christian Philanthropy
Preaching Philanthropy in Christian Cappadocia
"To Each According to Need": Philanthropic Priorities in Church Institutions 
"To Each According to Rank": Philanthropic Priorities in Sixth-Century Monasteries

3. “Bend Your Heart to Mercy”: Almsgiving and the Christian Advocacy of Social Compassion
Preaching Direct Almsgiving in Christian Antioch
The Monastic Middle Way of Communal Ministrations
Monastic Mediation between the Rich, the Clergy, and the Poor

4. "Give It with Your Whole Soul": From Alms to Charity in Early Byzantine Monasticism
Defining Charity in Egyptian Desert Tradition
Gifts of Charity in the Seridos Monastery
Sins of Excess and Redemptive Almsgiving
Almsgiving as Purification in Eastern Hagiography
"Give as Your Alms from the Things Within": Alms, Charity, and Christian Altruism

5. “What God Has Put in Your Heart to Give”: Divine Patronage, Sacred Wealth, and Material Blessings
The Pauline Concept of a Christian Blessing
The Institutional and Lay Provision of Material Blessings
Human Avarice and Divine Patronage
Converting Lay Offerings into Blessings
Ascetic Stewardship and the Multiplication of Monastic Blessings
Gifts of a Sacred Order
Sacred Wealth and Monastic Culture

6. "You Are the Firstfruits of the World": Monasticism, Fruitbearings, and Prosperity in the Countryside
Agrarian and Monastic Expansion on the Rural Margins
A Syrian Village Perspective: The Letter of Cosmas of Panîr
Agriculture and Religious Science in the Roman Near East
The Intercessory Powers of Symeon Stylites the Elder
Ascetic Penance and Lay Prosperity in the Lives of Barsauma and Theodore
Fruitbearings, Gratitude, and Sacred Vessels

7. "Imperishable Remembrance in Heaven and Earth": Liturgical Offerings and the Rise of Patronal Monasteries
Lay Offerings and Church Commemorations
Church Apologetics for Commemorative Rites
Jacob of Serug's On the Loaf for the Departed 
Patronal Praise and the Proliferation of Private Monasteries
Monks, Freedmen, and the Perennial Quest for Perpetual Commemoration 
Memory, Salvation, and the Economics of Monastic Patronage

Epilogue: When Holy Men Walked the Earth

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

"Caner furthers our understanding of how religious and laypeople negotiated relationships with one another and how they defined themselves in relation to their wealth. His book is an outstanding contribution not only to gift-giving practices in early Byzantine Christianity, but also to the establishment of monastic self-identity in this period."
Journal of Early Christian Studies

"Caner deftly exhibits the difficulty of implementation inherent in each mode of giving. . . . It is a gift to the scholarship of its subject."

Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"Deeply learned and carefully considered, Caner’s book is a masterly exploration of 'the first truly affluent, complex Christian society.'"
New York Review of Books
"The Rich and the Pure is a welcome and provocative analysis of timeless questions that continue to influence much that is complicated and messy about stewardship, philanthropy, divestment, welfare, social justice, gratitude, and gift wraps."
Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies
“This book is a game-changer and will set the direction of everything that will come thereafter—and all the while it reads like a novel. I could not put it down!”—Susanna Elm, Sidney H. Ehrman Professor of History and Classics, Department of History, University of California, Berkeley

"The result of decades of meticulous research across a vast array of sources, including archaeology, The Rich and the Pure offers new and nuanced perspectives on Christian attitudes toward wealth—its possession, and its circulation—against the very concrete background of the societal developments in the Eastern Mediterranean from the fourth to the seventh century.”—Claudia Rapp, University of Vienna and Austrian Academy of Sciences

“For now, and for any foreseeable time to come, this will be 'the' book on the roots of Christian wealth and charity. I expect it will be hailed as an instant classic.”—Hal Drake, University of California, Santa Barbara

Awards

  • Phillip Schaff Prize 2023 2022, American Society of Church History