St. John Chrysostom's theology of Christian transformation

Abstract

Our thesis aims to supplement existing scholarship on St. John Chrysostom's theology of Christian transformation by arguing that John's theology is grounded in his robust understanding of the Trinitarian economy and tailored to the pastoral concerns of his priesthood. For John, the Trinitarian economy begins with the Father's work of creation and providence for humanity. It continues with the Son's multi-faceted salvific work in history, which includes his substitutionary atonement for human sins and representative role on behalf of humanity. As for the Holy Spirit, his economic work is two fold. First, He is the one who inspires the writing and interpretation of Scriptures. Second, He is the agent of Christian transformation. Indeed, the latter constitutes a significant aspect of John's theology of Christian transformation. According to John, Christian transformation begins when the Spirit unites Christians with Christ through the Church and its sacraments. The goal of this union is to enable every Christian to live the life of the angels. This angelic life is achieved through the Christian's ascetic cultivation of virtues by means of a synergistic collaboration with the Spirit and is best demonstrated in the lives of the biblical and Christian exemplars. John's theology, as this thesis also shows, is positively influenced by his ecclesiastical, theological and historical context. His belief that union with Christ is achieved by the Spirit through Church is in line with the teachings of Antiochene Christianity. His stress on the ascetic cultivation of the angelic life is not dissimilar to the vision of Syrian asceticism. Finally, his frequent call for Christians to cultivate virtues reminiscent of their heavenly citizenship also constitutes an effective response to his pastoral concerns, i.e., the challenge of Hellenistic paganism and Judaizing behaviour.