The Μακροθυμία of God and the Πραότης of Christ

Abstract

The patience of God is a predominant theme in the homilies of St. John Chrysostom. Indeed, for Chrysostom, patience is not simply a human virtue but a diving attribute, an expression or reflection of God's φιλανθρωπία; it must therefore be understood in such a way that goes beyond its usual association with suffering, passivity, and powerlessness. Whereas patience in English, like patientia in Latin, is a somewhat ambiguous term, having both an active and a passive sense, the Greek language allows both for more precision and for greater depth and richness. This thesis will offer first an elaboration of Chrysostom's understanding of God's patience and then an exploration of how patience as a diving attribute colors and transforms not only our appreciation of Christ's patience but also the importance of practicing the virtue of patience in our own lives. In the effort to articulate Chrysostom's theology of patience, the primary concern of this thesis lies with the philosophical and theological concept of patience rather than with the lexical exactitude for which the translator always strives. The first chapter is theological in emphasis as it considers the description of God as μακρόθυμος in the Septuagint and examines Chrysostom's discussion of God's μακροθυμία in a selection of his homilies on Genesis and the Psalms. The second chapter is christological in emphasis as it analyzes Chrysostom's use of the term πραότης - whch in a (pagan) philosophical context is synonymous with μακροθυμία but in a biblical context has a very different meaning - in his exegesis of Christ's Passion in his Homilies on Matthew. Finally, the third chapter is anthropological in emphasis as it takes up the question of the imitation of God's μακροθυμία and Christ's πραότης as the way to restore and strengthen the divine likeness in the human person. Far from being a mere intellectal construct or the topic of purely academic debate, Chrysostom's theology of patience has much to teach us in regards to approaching current social and cultural reality.