Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/657

 CHARITY

595

CHARITY

ters of morality, worship, and religion, they were brought under the displeasure of the civil power. Refusing to offer sacrifice or to take oaths in the name of false gods, they were shut out from the everyday life of the Geld, the market-place, the social gatherings, the theatre, and the forum, as well as from most of the gainful occupations. Forced to live a life apart, they easily became objects of mis- understanding, suspicion, and calumny. Then came that long and frightful series of persecutions, which they met with a uniform policy of non-resistance. The important consequence of all these conditions was that the normal life of the Christian became one of sacrifice and suffering, of prayer, fasting, and chastity. A very large proportion of them looked forward complacently to martyrdom for themselves, and to the near approach of the end of the world for all. In these circumstances the possession and en- joyment of earthly goods could have very little at- traction and very little meaning. Almsgiving, and almsgiving in abundance, became one of the ordinary activities of the earnest Christian who had anything in excess of his own simple needs.

(c) In the third place, the administration of charity was under the immediate and exclusive direction of the bishop. The details of the work, as investigating and registering those in distress, and distributing the amount of relief which the bishop deemed proper in each case, were attended to by the deacons, and in the case of needy women by the deaconesses. The latter were either unmarried women or widows of mature years. Assistance was given only to persons unable io .urn their living and in real need, and to these only in so far as was strictly necessary. I Vnturies of sub- sequent experience, combined with the latest theoreti- cal knowledge, have neither produced a better system nor achieved more satisfactory results than this primi- tive Christian organization of charity. In the words of the Lutheran Chlhorn, "never has she [the Church] more highly reverenced the poor, more kindly and lovingly treated them; never also has she been far- ther from fostering beggary, and making life easy to idlers" (op. cit., p. 180).

(d) Among the sources of the material relief dis- pensed by the Church during the age of the persecu- tions, the most important seems to have been the oblations of natural products placed upon the altar at the time of the F.ucharistic Sacrifice. All the faith- ful who could do so participated in this offering, since it was regarded as an element of the religious service. The names of the contributors were announced to the congregation. Distinct from the oblations were the cob- lectcE, which were likewise natural products, but which were handed in on certain fast days immediately before the reading of the Epistle. Another source consisted of money contributions to the church treas- ury, t o or area. These were usually given secretly. Kxtraordinary collections were taken up from the richer members, and large sums were ob-

I from those who on the occasion of their con- version sold all their goods for the benefit of the poor. In their capacity aBcouegia, or corporations, some of the churches may have taken dues from their memb i which helped to swell their resources for works of char- ity. Finally, the needy of all classes received a great deal of assistance directly from individuals. Heads of families were obliged to care not only for their chil- dren and other dependent relatives, but for all the members of their household, both bond and free. So cheerfully and so generously did the Christians give, so generally did tney part with all their superfluous revenues for the benefit of the distressed, that the Church was not called upon to determine the duty of ible contributions by any precise ordinance or law. The imposition of tithes did not begin until after the victory of Constantine in 312 (Ratzinger, op. cit., pp. 71, 72).

The results produced by the four factors just de- scribed were remarkable not only in the material order but also in the realm of thought. Assistance was afforded to the clergy, to widows and orphans, to the destitute, the aged, the siek. the persecuted, the imprisoned, and the stranger; and decent burial was given to the neglected dead. Although the clergy had the first claim upon the charily of the faithful, only those were assisted who were unable to support themselves from their own resources or by their own labour. Indeed, it was through the latter means that the greater number obtained their livelihood. The claims of the widows and orphans were recognized as second only to those of the clergy. Children aban- doned by the pagans received support from the Church. In general all members of the community who were wholly or partially incapable of self-main- tenance were given the measure of assistance that they needed. Owing to the frequent pestilences, sick- ness was one of the very important forms of distress, and it received from the charity of the Christians all the care and comfort that the knowledge and resour- ces of the time made possible. Material and moral aid was extended to the victims of persecution. Prisoners were visited and comforted, especially those condemned to inhuman conditions of life and toil in the mines. Succour was frequently brought to the latter from a distance of hundreds of miles. ( 'hrist tans who were compelled, through economic conditions or on account of the persecutions, to seek shelter or a liveli- hood far from home, obtained abundant hospitality from their fellow-Christians. Another form of char- ity practised by the faithful at this time, anil a most necessary one in view of the indifference of the pagans, was tin buryingof thedead. Although their charity was organized on congregational lines, it was not confined to parochial needs. Aid was given to other congrega- tions, even to those at a great distance. Thus Car- thage came to the relief of Numidia, and Home to the assistance of Caesarea. Even the Pagans and the Jews were not forgotten: witness the touching instances furnished by the Christians of Carthage and Alexan- dria (Ratzinger, op. cit.. p. 84).

Another beneficent work of Christian charity in the material order consisted in transforming the attitude of men towards labour, and the relations between mas- ters and slaves. Freemen who had hitherto been ashamed to work, and who had led a mendicant and parasitic life, became self-supporting and self respect- ing. In the Christian workshop master and servant regarded each other as brothers instead of enemies, and the worker performed his task freely instead of under compulsion of the chain and the lash. In the pagan view and in Roman law, the slave had no riglits, neither to humane treatment nor to marriage nor to life. He was not a person, but a thing. Chris- tianity taught the master that the slave was his brother in Christ, and his equal both in tin ( Ihristian assemblies and in the sight of God. It commanded the master to treat his slaves with mildness and hu- manity, to grant them freedom from toil on Sum lays and holidays, to permit them to live a family life in the same conditions of privacy, security, and indis- solubility that ought to mark his own marital rela tions. It enjoined upon the slave the duty of respect - ing himself as a man and a brother of ( hrist. and bade him obey his master not out of fear but out of regard for the social authority of Christ. It permitted him to aspire to the highest honours in the ( Ihurch. \\ bile the Church made no effort during this period towards the emancipation of the slaves, her attitude in this respect was dictated by motives "t tin- greatest kind- ness and the truest charity. Socially and econom- ically the Christian slave was no worse off than his persecuted fellow-Christians, whereas if he obtained liis freedom he would be unable to find an occupation compatible with a moral life. Tin agape not only