Jews and Heretics in John Chrysostom
Ebrei ed eretici in Giovanni Crisostomo
Résumé
John Chrysostom simplifies the contemporary religious complexity of
fourth-century Antioch by dividing humanity into four groups: Christians,
heretics, Jews and ‘Greeks.’ In an attempt to preserve his own community
from heretical and judaizing tendencies, he conducts his polemical battle on
all fronts, but the strategies and arguments used against the different groups
vary. While Chrysostom presents Judaism as a monolithic and undifferentiated
entity, he gives an account of the great variety of heretical currents. However,
there are also common elements in Chrysostom’s polemic, for instance
the demonization of the adversary and the use of the language of impurity
and disease aimed at arousing disgust in his audience. Chrysostom wanted
his audience to learn how to make a division between Christians and heretics
and between Christians and Jews, who in his view stand in opposition to
each other. The operation could be interpreted as a process of ‘schismogenesis,’
a term coined by Gregory Bateson to analyze different forms of contact
between cultures.