Stylianos Tellis: Justice in Augustine of Hippo and John Chrysostom: Comparative Analysis

The adoption of the ascetic mentality by Christians in the time of Augustine of Hippo leads to the redrawing of borders between the Roman State and the Church. As is well-known, Augustine in his De Civitate Dei harshly criticizes the Roman Empire, while expressing his objections to the notion of justice as formulated in the writings of Cicero. Beginning with Augustine's argument in the City of God, we will proceed to John Chrysostom's theological view regarding the Imperium Romanum and the way in which he interprets justice as a political good.It is understood that not only the philosophical accomplishments of Augustine but also of this Greek Church Father will be taken into account in the comparison we are attempting. John shares with Augustine the philosophical eclecticism of Christianity, which has as its main components the Platonic and Stoic traditions of the Greco-Roman world. Thus we will investigate the boundaries between the Christian perception of justice and that of Platonism and Stoicism.