Shenoute of Atripe and the Uses of Poverty

Abstract

This book studies the public life of an extraordinary Egyptian monk, Shenoute of Atripe, and the discourse on poverty that he put forward to promote and legitimize his active role in society. Shenoute was not only the abbot of a large monastic federation in southern Egypt but also a holy man with supraregional influence. His rise to public prominence is intimately linked to his energetic development of the care of the poor at his monastery. Many of the distinctive concerns of late antiquity—rural patronage, religious intolerance, the role of the state, gift giving—can be traced in his writings, but they are consistently articulated in terms of the care of the poor. Shenoute attacks paganism—in word and deed—not only because it is pagan but also because it oppresses the poor. His tirades denounce rural patronage as a form of exploitation, but only when practiced by rival patrons. He validates the astonishing wealth of his monastery by claiming it derives from “blessings” sent by God—not by the pious laity—on behalf of the poor. And he justifies the controversial political involvement of an abbot by acting as the spokesman of the poor, a truth-teller who does not fear power.

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