„Das hier ist kein Theater, und ihr sitzt nicht da, um Schauspieler zu betrachten und zu klatschen“ – Theaterpolemik und Theatermetaphern bei Johannes Chrysostomos
Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum, 8 (3):
567--592 (2005)Abstract
Although there are numerous comments on the theatre in the writings of Chrysostom, the information he gives on the theatre in Antioch and Constantinople is very limited. On the one hand, Chrysostom uses the arguments of theatre polemics that had long been conventional. These patterns do not form a point of view that indicates a theatre-goer. On the other hand, details of the stage and of performances are missing because Chrysostom mentions the theatre only to relate them to worship, to his audience and their attitudes. He achieves this above all through the use of theatre metaphors. There are two questions to be raised. Chrysostom’s theatre polemic is not a delayed expression of mispleasure against Christians who are long-time theatre-goers. What happens when Chrysostom uses conventional patterns of polemic at the end of the fourth century? What situation is reflected in the theatre metaphors? The use of conventional patterns shows that the intent was not to discuss certain performances or a certain practice but expressed the discomfort of an educated elite with the taste of the masses. When Chrysostom adopts this attitude as the church’s approach, he is no longer able to address the masses within the church and can only invite his audience to identify with educated outsiders. It was therefore only partly appropriate to apply the conventional arguments of theatre polemic to the situation at the end of the fourth century. It was not the time to speak from the position of an urban outsider, but to form civic life from the church’s point of view. While Dio of Prusa was able to make concessions to the taste and need of the masses, Chrysostom was not able to point to a place outside the church. Alternatives had to be found within the church. Church and theatre drew closer in terms of their task and function in civic life, making it necessary to define the limits in a situation where distinctions go fuzzy. The polemics draw attention to the incompatibility of church and theatre in a situation where civic and ecclesial ceremonies are both urban features. The aim of using the theatre metaphors is no different. Chrysostom intends to bring his audience out of the world of the stage. He uses metaphors to speak within the structures given by the theatre of very different attitudes. In contrast to the polemical patterns the metaphors are flexible and fit easily into the situation. They presume a context in which the church and theatre are already seen in a competitive situation and the preacher, for example, is expected to show a professional competence similar to an actor on the stage.