JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, Patriarch of Constantinople, theologian, orator, martyr, St. (ca. 347–407). One of the most popular of all the Greek Church Fathers (q.v.), Joh n died in exile and was swiftly acclaimed a saint (q.v.). Trained in rhetoric by one of the last great pagan rhetoricians, Libanius, and in exegesis by Diodore of Tarsus, John’s intellect showed forth power, eloquence of expression, and insight. Early drawn to asceticism (q.v.), he tried his vocation as a monk, only to disable his health permanently through extreme fasting. Ordained deacon (381) and priest (386) in his native Antioch (q.v.), Joh n was renowned for his asceticism and inspired preaching, hence his epithet, “Chrysostomos” (the golden-mouthed).

His fame led to his appointment by Emperor Arcadius as archbishop of the imperial city. Never a man for compromise, John’s rigorous moral stance and fiery sermons led quickly to confrontations with both emperor and court, even the Empress Eudoxia. If his public criticisms of civil authorities were not welcome, perhaps even less so were his persistent attempts to compel the many clerics haunting the capital for favors and influence to return home to their monasteries and flocks. The powerful had no friend in John, probably the fiercest opponent of the abuses of wealth and privilege ever to grace the cathedra of the imperial city. His stance did, however, eventually win over the people of the capital, who would often applaud him even while he castigated their vices and failures. John’s greatest enemy was the powerful Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus. Collaborating with factions at court, Theophilus engineered John’s deposition and exile at the infamous Synod of the Oak in 403. Briefly reinstated due to popular outrage, he was exiled again in 404 and died three years later while being forcibly marched to a still more distant place, Colchis, on the coast of present-day Georgia.

Nevertheless, his popularity in both the Eastern and Western Churches has remained constant to the present. The remarkable number of his sermons and their honored place on the bookshelves of clergy and laity alike are one testimony to his enduring influence. John’s exegesis of Gen and the New Testament books, together with his occasional treatises, such as On the Incomprehensibility of God and On the Priesthood, reward their readers with a careful, sober approach to the mysteries of the faith, yet one embued with a holy passion. His theology (q.v.) is balanced, firm in its assurance of the foundations of theology, and filled with the voice of spiritual experience. The early years he spent as an ascetic in the Syrian mountains left their imprint on one who is read as gladly by monks as by pastors. His charitable efforts in the capital and his long-suffering in the face of undeserved calumny, disgrace, and hardship further underline the genuine character of his sanctity and ensure his place in the memory of the Orthodox Church as one of the “Three Hierarchs,” together with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus (qq.v.), commemorated at every Orthodox liturgy (q.v.). The liturgy most often celebrated bears his name, although its connection to him remains debatable.