St. John Chrysostom (349–407)

TENNY THOMAS

St. John was born at Antioch in Syria of noble parents: his father was a successful civil servant in the bureau of the com­mander of military operations in the dio­cese of Oriens, the magister militum per Orientem. His father died soon after his birth and his mother Anthusa brought him up. He began his education under the renowned pagan rhetorician Libanius. He went on to study theology under the Syrian theologian Diodore of Tarsus and was baptized in 368, after which he spent the next three years as an aide to Bishop Meletius of Antioch. In 371 he was ordained reader and spent time in strict asceticism, though he was forced to abandon the monas­tic life because of the breakdown of his health. In 381 Flavian, the newly appointed archbishop of Antioch, ordained John dea­con, and then priest in 386. Both as priest at Antioch and as archbishop ofConstantinople he won the greatest renown as a preacher; hence his epithet Chrysostomos (“golden mouthed”), given to him posthumously.

His writings are most notable as exposi­tions ofpastoral teaching. His many biblical commentaries became a general model for ancient Christian preaching in the East; they wove together a straightforward narra­tive style with rhetorical flair and vivid moral instruction. The most valuable part of his works is perhaps his Homilies on various books of the Bible. He particularly emphasized almsgiving and was most concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He often spoke out against abuse of severe disparities of wealth and poverty in the cities of the empire, and the main themes of his discourses were eminently social, explaining the proper manner of a Christian’s conduct in life.

In 387 after a riot in Antioch had destroyed statues ofthe emperor, threatening to bring down military punishment on the city, John delivered a series of passionate appeals for clemency (Homilies on the Statues), and his reputation was established. Against his wish, he was made archbishop of Constantinople in 398, and immediately set about the work of reforming the city, where the decadent standards of the court had been encouraged among the clergy by the worldly and princely style of his prede­cessor. His outspokenness and asceticism alienated many of the court and clergy, and especially the Empress Eudoxia. Theophilos of Alexandria saw his opportu­nity to assert dominance over the capital when Chrysostom gave shelter to the Tall Brothers, monks whom Theophilos had censured and exiled from Egypt because of their Origenism. At the Synod of The Oak, held with imperial approval at Chalcedon in 403, Theophilos tried and deposed John for canonical irregularities. The emperor deposed him, though shortly afterwards recalled him from exile. As soon as he was back in the city he renewed his reform pro­gram with even greater zeal, earning the undying enmity of the empress. He was exiled again, on the specious grounds that he had resumed his see after a synodical condemnation without canonical rehabili­tation. At first John was sent to Antioch, but later his punishment was increased by an enforced winter march to Pityus, situated on the eastern shores of the Black Sea. John died in exile on September 14, 407, at Comana in Asia Minor. The Orthodox Church commemorates his feast day on November 13, and again in the company of Sts. Basil and Gregory the Theologian as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Baur, C. (1959) John Chrysostom and His Time.

Westminster, MD: Newman Press Hartney, A. M. (2004) John Chrysostom and the Transformation of the City. London: Duckworth. Kelly, J. N. D. (1995) Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom – Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. London: Duckworth.

Maxwell, J. (2006) Christianization and Communi­cation in Late Antiquity: John Chrysostom and His Congregation in Antioch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, W. and Allen, P. (2000) John Chrysostom. London: Routledge.