The answer
The Church Fathers did not condemn private ownership; they did however condemn its misuse and corruption. In a document from the apostolic age, Hermas, we read: “Practice an expenditure of your own, in which you can rejoice; and do not corrupt nor touch what is another’s nor covet it.”1088 St. Clement of Alexandria reminds us of the blessing of possessions and wealth when they are used to support those in need. Wealth should not be squandered for our own useless pleasures, but for the common benefit of all.1089 Lactantius states that perfect justice lies in using wealth not for personal pleasure, but for the common benefit.1090 The views of the Fathers can be summarized in the following points:
a. The Fathers do not think of ownership as independent possession, but rather as a kind
of responsible management of goods over which we have been appointed to be faithful stewards.1091
b. They distinguish between private ownership and coveting what belongs to others.
c. In St. Augustine’s view, the believer who is unable to give up his possessions must
at least give up his love for them.1092 The scholar Origen considers greed as a type of paganism. St. Cyprian sees greed as an enslavement to money and the forfeiture of the freedom of the children of God.1093 And St. John Chrysostom believes that a miser worships money, and he must choose between worshiping the demon of mammon or worshipping the Lord Christ.1094
d. St. Gregory of Nyssa believes that although we have the right to own private
property, it is by no means an absolute right, for the believer must always take into consideration the power of God and the right of others to share his possessions. Private ownership has a spiritual role as well as a social role. The glaring disparity between social classes — in his opinion — is not the product of the individual’s right to own private property, but of people’s selfishness and lack of human conscience.
e. St. John Chrysostom distinguishes between two types of property. There is public
property, which God gave to all humanity alike, such as: the air; the sun; water; etc. These are basic and essential needs for life that no one can own privately. However, He allowed nonessential items to be possessed privately, such as: gold; silver; and precious stones; etc.; to provide the opportunity for the rich to show love for the poor, and for the poor to experience gratitude towards the rich.
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
1088 Pastor of Hermas (or Shepherd of Hermas), Similitude 1.11 (ANF 2:32).
1089 St. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) 2.1 (ANF 2:237–242).
1090 Lactantius, The Divine Institutes 6.12 (ANF 7:175–178).
1091 Cf. “Epistle to Diognetus,” in Staniforth, Maxwell, and Andrew Louth, eds. Early Christian Writings (Penguin Classics, 1987) 10: p. 148.
1092 St. Augustine of Hippo, Enarr. In Ps. 131.5. Cf. his Expositions on the Book of Psalms 35.9; 82.4 (NPNF I/8:81, 386).
1093 St. Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise 8: On Works and Alms 13 (ANF 5:479).
1094 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians 6.5–6 (NPNF I/13:76–77).