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The Church Fathers · c. 641–642
The Life of John the Almsgiver
Leontius of Neapolis · 7th century
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What it is
The life of a patriarch of Alexandria who kept a register of the city's poor, called them his lords and masters, and ran hospitals and hostels from church funds.
Why it lasted
The fullest ancient account of organised Christian charity as an administrative operation rather than a private virtue.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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