Do the believer have the right to own private property?

St. Luke the Evangelist describes the state of the Church in the era of the apostles thus: “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44). He also says, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common” (Acts 4:32). So, did the Church prohibit Christians from owning private property? This right is the cause of the division of society into classes such as the wealthy, the middle class, the poor, and the completely destitute.

In the Old Testament, we find that Abraham the father of all the faithful was very rich (Gen. 13:2); but nevertheless, he was known for his hospitality for strangers and for his generous giving, even to the extent that he offered his only son as a sacrifice of love to God. And in addition, he was humble and meek. In the New Testament, the Lord Christ criticizes the rich fool; not because he was rich, but because he put his trust in his money and not in God (Luke 12:20). He also criticizes the rich man who showed no care for poor Lazarus; not because the rich man was rich, but because of the cruelty of his heart and his neglect of the poor (Luke 16:19–31). The apostle James criticizes the rich for their injustice towards their hired laborers (James 5:4). He also criticizes the church community for favoring the rich over the poor (James 2:1–6). We cannot forget that the Lord accepted the offering of the rich Joseph of Arimathea who offered his own tomb for the burial of His body (Matt. 27:60). And in its liturgies, the Church prays for the rich as well as for the poor; for example, in the liturgy of St. Gregory: “Mercy to those in repentance, goodness to the rich … Meekness to the honorable, help to the poor.”