Christian Mission and Poverty

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Christian Mission and Poverty

of Nyssa. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers. Less recognized is their sister Macrina and the crucial role she played in encouraging them to study theology and practice poverty. Although Basil lived before Benedict, I offered Benedict’s Rule first to show that monasticism was a different kind of response to the economics of the day than the type of response Clement proposed. Basil represents yet another way of thinking about Jesus’ commands in relation to money, poverty, and Christian mission. While these various thinkers differed concerning the relation of money to the Christian faith, they all agreed that to participate in Christian mission meant being committed to ministry alongside the poor. They all agreed that having wealth was in some sense dangerous, even if some, like Clement, thought it was a necessary good in order to practice Christian hospitality and stewardship. Whereas Clement of Alexandria had focused on dispelling the inner attachment to wealth and Benedict of Nursia had stressed the importance of literally rejecting wealth for the sake of Christian community, Basil and the Cappadocians stressed directing wealth toward providing for the poor and correcting injustice. Basil was born into a wealthy family in Caesarea of Cappadocia, which is in modern-day Turkey. 1 After a severe drought and in the face of famine, Basil preached and taught the responsibility of wealthy Christians to share their resources on behalf of the disenfranchised. He had to find a middle ground between the figurative approach of Clement and the literal approach of the monastics. He preached about themes related to 1 See Benedict of Nursia and Basil of Caesarea, Becoming a Community of Disciples: Guidelines from Abbot Benedict and Bishop Basil , edited by Greg Peters, Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics 2 (Wichita, KS: The Urban Ministry Institute, 2021).