New Christian leaders called ‘Poor Euergetes’ came into existence in the 4th-6th century in the Byzantine World. The Poor Euergetes,monks or bishops who abandoned their property for Christ, were new heroes of the Christian period inaugurated by Constantine the Great in the 4th century. Nevertheless, they did not originate simply from Christian monastic spirituality. With the birth of the new leading class, the Poor Euergetes were also influenced by Hebrew-Jewish spirituality. This called for the care on the poor and the Greeko-Roman tradition of euergesia. It is worthwhile to pay attention to the imperial constitutions written since the 4th century. These influenced numerous Christian institutions. Constantine the Great offered to the church a right of inheritance. This right was not a problem until the 6th century. On the other hand, several Emperors like Leo, Anastasios and Justinianus aimed at the growth of numerous of Christian institutions with a policy called ‘prohibitio alienandi.’ This policy helped them to engage in the establishment and operation of the hospitals of the Christian Euergetes for the poor. I presented a list of some hospitals administrated by monasteries and churches. The Poor Euergetes that Christian hagiography of the 4th-6th century described were not imaginary but a historical leading group which established these hospitals and cared for the poor. Consequently, the imperial policy and Christian institutions collaborated for the charitable care of the poor in Early Christian Civilization.

New Christian leaders called ‘Poor Euergetes’ came into existence in the 4th-6th century in the Byzantine World. The Poor Euergetes,monks or bishops who abandoned their property for Christ, were new heroes of the Christian period inaugurated by Constantine the Great in the 4th century. Nevertheless, they did not originate simply from Christian monastic spirituality. With the birth of the new leading class, the Poor Euergetes were also influenced by Hebrew-Jewish spirituality. This called for the care on the poor and the Greeko-Roman tradition of euergesia. It is worthwhile to pay attention to the imperial constitutions written since the 4th century. These influenced numerous Christian institutions. Constantine the Great offered to the church a right of inheritance. This right was not a problem until the 6th century. On the other hand, several Emperors like Leo, Anastasios and Justinianus aimed at the growth of numerous of Christian institutions with a policy called ‘prohibitio alienandi.’ This policy helped them to engage in the establishment and operation of the hospitals of the Christian Euergetes for the poor. I presented a list of some hospitals administrated by monasteries and churches. The Poor Euergetes that Christian hagiography of the 4th-6th century described were not imaginary but a historical leading group which established these hospitals and cared for the poor. Consequently, the imperial policy and Christian institutions collaborated for the charitable care of the poor in Early Christian Civilization.

Codex Theodosianus, Byzantine Empire, Hospital, euergesia, Monasticism