Opulence and Simplicity: The Question of Tension in Syrian Catholicism

TY - CHAP

T1 - Opulence and Simplicity

T2 - The Question of Tension in Syrian Catholicism

AU - Bandak, Andreas

PY - 2017/2/27

Y1 - 2017/2/27

N2 - In various forms of Catholicism sacrifice holds a central position. The centrality of the divine sacrifice literally embodied in the sacrament of the Eucharist works in a wider sense as a model for action and thought outside the Church as a place for worship. Sacrifice here places the individual in various positions of moral debt that one can more-or-less willingly work towards suspending. In Damascus, Syria, a popular Catholic ethic of simplicity often collides with clergy who appear to collect money for this-worldly purposes or for the sake of what is perceived as their own benefit. Lamentation over such perceived opulence attests to a tension between grace, gift, and debt. This chapter explores such tension in attending to how moral personhood is fashioned through various engagements with prayer, surrender, and debt. Where David Morgan has argued for a particular Catholic sacrificial economy (2009), wherein individuals are placed in charged relationships, this chapter examines the inherent tension between simplicity and opulence. Catholicism, it argues, may very well work by asserting a particular emphasis on the holy office that appear opulent, which necessitates a counter-movement in the form of purification and work towards greater simplicity.

AB - In various forms of Catholicism sacrifice holds a central position. The centrality of the divine sacrifice literally embodied in the sacrament of the Eucharist works in a wider sense as a model for action and thought outside the Church as a place for worship. Sacrifice here places the individual in various positions of moral debt that one can more-or-less willingly work towards suspending. In Damascus, Syria, a popular Catholic ethic of simplicity often collides with clergy who appear to collect money for this-worldly purposes or for the sake of what is perceived as their own benefit. Lamentation over such perceived opulence attests to a tension between grace, gift, and debt. This chapter explores such tension in attending to how moral personhood is fashioned through various engagements with prayer, surrender, and debt. Where David Morgan has argued for a particular Catholic sacrificial economy (2009), wherein individuals are placed in charged relationships, this chapter examines the inherent tension between simplicity and opulence. Catholicism, it argues, may very well work by asserting a particular emphasis on the holy office that appear opulent, which necessitates a counter-movement in the form of purification and work towards greater simplicity.

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 0520288440

SN - 978-0520288447

SP - 155

EP - 169

BT - The Anthropology of Catholicism: A Reader

A2 - Norget, Kristin

A2 - Napolitano, Valentina

A2 - Mayblin, Maya

PB - University of California Press

CY - Berkeley, CA

ER -