Violence in Chrysostom's commentary on the Psalms

Abstract

In this study I will critically discuss Chrysostom’s treatment of power and violence in his “Commentary on Psalms”. When the Jews suffer from violence, Chrysostom believes that it is justified because they have tortured Christ. However, when God is described as a Warrior in the Psalms, Chrysostom is faced with a problem. On the one hand, he interprets it spiritually, but on the other hand he was a defender of the literal interpretation of the Antiochene School. But neither did he want to support the literal interpretation of the Anthropomorphites which he believed was an attack on the divine character of God. At the end it will become clear that Chrysostom’s statements regarding violence are imbedded in his own social, theological and cultural world.