Providence and Narrative in the Theology of John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom consoles his suffering flock by employing biblical narratives that carry a distinctive theology of God's loving providence.

Robert Edwards (Author)

9781009220934, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 December 2022

240 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

This book is the first major study of providence in the thought of John Chrysostom, a popular preacher in Syrian Antioch and later archbishop of Constantinople (ca. 350 to 407 CE). While Chrysostom is often considered a moralist and exegete, this study explores how his theology of providence profoundly affected his larger ethical and exegetical thought.  Robert Edwards argues that Chrysostom considers biblical narratives as vehicles of a doctrine of providence in which God is above all loving towards humankind. Narratives of God's providence thus function as sources of consolation for Chrysostom's suffering audiences, and may even lead them now, amid suffering, to the resurrection life-the life of the angels. In the course of surveying Chrysostom's theology of providence and his use of scriptural narratives for consolation, Edwards also positions Chrysostom's theology and exegesis, which often defy categorization, within the preacher's immediate Antiochene and Nicene contexts.

1. Stories of suffering and providence
2. Divine and human activity in biblical narrative
3. Narrative clusters, providential habits, and typological exegesis
4. Proofs of providence and God's philanthropic character
5. True judgments and consolation
6. The virtue of yielding to providence.

Subject Areas: Theology [HRLB], History of religion [HRAX], Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]