Mariachiara Giorda: Divine and human economy: the evolution of a concept in the Egyptian monasticism

The history of the different monastic practices and the evidence – real and symbolic – of the family appear as an excellent case study in order to show the possibility of a synthesis between two different interpretations about economy: the first concerns the relationships between economy and Trinity; the second concerns the temporal role of Trinity, which is made known within the “economy of salvation”. Aim of this paper is to investigate the different forms, in the light of the theological concept of “economy”, of relationships between the governance of God and the governance of men, the human power, its management and its spiritual implications in some monastic communities (in particularly in Egypt between the fourth and the seventh century). Cultural and social practice produces objective structures (economic and power), which consequently produce cognitive, affective dispositions and culture. In that manner, economy is a cultural product, a form of organization which reflects the structures of power.

What is the relationship between economic taxonomy in monasticism (real and symbolic) and the daily life of the community? Is the economic monastic field a consequence of the religious monastic field? The monastic economy is linked to the Weltanschauung of the Christian practice of life.