Fifth-Century Patristic Conceptions of Savings and Capital: Isidore of Pelusium and Theodoret of Cyrrhus

Abstract

After a long period of experimentation with solutions to the economic problem in growing Christian communities, the fifth-century Fathers seemed to realize some of the obstacles to or limitations of the “classical” teachings on the proper management of wealth. This chapter presents two case studies of fifth-century patristic responses to the issue of savings and capital: the exhortation for the consolidation of Church finances by Isidore of Pelusium and the call for social cooperation by Theodoret of Cyrrhus. Their views signify, respectively, the attempt to preserve traditional Christian patterns of wealth management by trying to amend shortcomings and the emergence of diverse approaches in an era when the Church had to face new dilemmas as it had already expanded over urban centres.