The Church and Wealth Papers Read at the 1986 Summer Meeting and the 1987 Winter Meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society - Studies in Church History

The essays in this collection explore the attitude of both individuals and institutions to the relationship between the Church and wealth, especially as it applied to members of the clergy and the religious orders, considering attitudes from the medieval ages to contemporary Latin America.;But there are other facets to the problem of the Church and wealth. Given that the Church always needed money, how should this be acquired - by tithe collection? By alms? By systematic giving? And, once acquired, how might it be spent? What has been the relationship between the Church and commerce, from the tradesmen and merchants of medieval Italy to the Catholics of 19th century Glasgow? Could Christians be eased through the eye of the needle by divesting themselves of their earthly riches and buying themselves into heaven through bequests or the purchase of spiritual benefits? These and many other questions are explored in the volume's 31 essays.