Abstract
Approaches to almsgiving in the Catholic tradition of the Early Modern Times largely followed the ideas, developed in the previous period: surplus and need are taking into account, and only a certain correlation of them turns alms from pious counsel to an obligation, gives the poor certain rights as well; important is a distinction between different categories of needy recipients (by criterion of moral dignity, place in the hierarchy of the so-called “ordered love”, etc.). At the same time, approaches to almsgiving slightly vary in the “high” theology and in writings addressed to the laity. In the first case, there is a noticeable departure from the medieval understanding of alms as mainly spiritual practice, or an act of charity directed at the benefactor himself; the understanding of alms as a form of redistribution of goods, or an act of justice directed at another comes to the fore. This is also reflected in the development of practical criteria for distribution of alms: to whom, on what grounds, how much is due. These trends are less pronounced in the “popular” theology: as before, the reasoning on almsgiving in the 16th and 17th centuries focuses on the person of a benefactor and his merits – lifetime and posthumous. In this context, almsgiving acts primarily as an act of charity. At the same time, the focus in the “high” and “popular” theology is not so much on the problem of poverty as a social phenomenon and of opportunities to eradicate it, as the question of opposing its specific manifestations.
Highlights
Борьба с проявлениями нищеты становится одной из важных тем теоретического дискурса раннего Нового времени
There is a noticeable departure from the medieval understanding of alms as mainly spiritual practice, or an act of charity directed at the benefactor himself; the understanding of alms as a form of redistribution of goods, or an act of justice directed at another comes to the fore
The focus in the “high” and “popular” theology is not so much on the problem of poverty as a social phenomenon and of opportunities to eradicate it, as the question of opposing its specific manifestations
Summary
Борьба с проявлениями нищеты становится одной из важных тем теоретического дискурса раннего Нового времени. Понимание милостыни как способа перераспределения материальных благ было знакомо еще раннехристианской эпохе; отчетливее об этом говорят богословы и канонисты XII–XIII вв. Милостыня также не должна поощрять безделье, и дающий должен отдавать себе отчет, кому он оказывается помощь: иногда стоит отказать голодающему в хлебе, если тот, уверенный в постоянстве этой помощи, будет упорствовать в пороках. Этьен Турне вводит также разделение на милостыню, которая подается в стенах дома («радушие, или гостеприимство», hospitalitas) и вне дома («великодушие, или щедрость», liberalitas): в первом случае надлежит быть щедрым без какой-либо дискриминации, во втором – взирая на лица, различая своих-чужих, праведников-грешников, и т.д.21. При этом большинство канонистов и богословов сходилось во мнении, что в ситуации, когда чьей-то жизни грозит опасность, христианину надлежит руководствоваться безусловной заповедью любви и подавать милостыню, не взирая на лица; единственным оправданием отказа в помощи могла быть только нехватка средств у самого дающего. Данная процедура оформилась впоследствии в мнемотехническое двустишие: qualitas petendis, facultas tribuentis / res petita, modus petitionis
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