On Social Justice #38

Publication Data: Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2009
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: 111
Dimensions (l × w × h): 18.4 cm × 12.7 cm × 0.8 cm
ISBN: 978‒0‒88141‒053‒2

   
St Basil the Great
Translation with Introduction and Commentary by C. Paul Schroeder
Foreword by Gregory P. Yova

Number 38 of Popular Patristics Series

“[...]St Basil’s homilies on the subject of wealth and poverty seem[...]utterly fresh and contemporary today. The heart of Basil’s message is this: Simplify your life, so you have something to share with others. And this offers a place to start for everyone, both those who possess great wealth and those of modest means. Even the poor, as Basil points out, can benefit by sharing. While some patristic texts concern obscure and highly philosophical questions of theology, and thus require significant introductory and explanatory material in order to be understood by the modern reader, Basil’s teachings on social issues are for the most part as immediately graspable and applicable today as they were in the fourth century. It may even be, at a time when vast income disparity, overuse of limited environmental resources, and global climate change are becoming matters of increasing concern, that Basil’s message is more relevant now than ever before.”
—“Preface”

CONTENTS

Foreword
Preface
Introduction
To the Rich
I Will Tear Down My Barns
In Time of Famine and Drought
Against Those Who Lend at Interest
Appendix: The Pseudo-Basilian Homily On Mercy and Justice
Bibliography