John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom was perhaps the greatest expositor and preacher of the Greek church. He was born in Antioch in Syria, about 347 A.D., the second child of Secundus and Anthusa. Anthusa was widowed shortly after John’s birth, at the age of 20. She reared John well, training him in her Christian faith as well as seeing to his secular education.

John was the favorite pupil of the great teacher of rhetoric, Libanius. Nevertheless, he left a law career to dedicate himself completely to the work of the ministry. He was instructed for three years by Meletius, the bishop of Antioch, after which he was baptized at the age of 23. He wished to immediately enter the monastic life, but was restrained by the pleas of his mother to wait until her death. John stayed in the monastery for six years, until forced by broken health to return to Antioch. This period of isolation had been profitable, for his ability and training were now complemented by self-discipline and a thorough knowledge of the Bible.

Soon after his return to Antioch he was ordained as a deacon. Five years later, in 386, he became a priest. He quickly became well known for his powerful preaching and missionary work. Many of his sermons were recorded verbatim by stenographers, and are still available today. He emphasized the practical, moral issues, rather than doctrine. Most of his sermons were exegetical, verse-by-verse commentaries of the text. He preached a series of 88 homilies on the Gospel of John, and covered most of the rest of the New Testament. There was a heavy emphasis on application of the truth to one’s own life. In order to be closer to the people, so they could see and hear him as he preached, and so he could see their response, he began preaching from the center of the church. In 398 John was selected to be the new bishop of Constantinople.

This was entirely a surprise to him, but he entered into his new responsibilities with enthusiasm. He refused to enter into the round of social activities in which most of the clergy were involved, and lived a strict, ascetic life. He stripped his home of pompous luxuries, and gave most of the income of the see for charitable uses. In his eyes the lust for wealth and power was the major cause of evil and suffering, and he wanted no part of it. He preached against all forms of immorality, including the evil practices among the clergy and government officials. He was very popular with the people, but many of his peers were infuriated by the attacks on their vain life style. Yet he did not consider himself as a social reformer; his purpose was to convert men, not make them conform to a list of rules.

The opposition mounted against him, and in 403, led by Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, and the empress Eudoxia, was successful in deposing him. He was recalled almost immediately, because of the dissatisfaction of the people and Eudoxia’s superstitious reaction to an earthquake which destroyed a room in her palace. A few months later, John was again removed from his church, and taken to Cucusus, in the Taurus mountains. They were not content with banishing him, for his church was burned down and his most loyal parishioners were persecuted. He wrote many letters during the next four years, seeking to tell the true story behind his exile. Over 200 of these letters are still extant. Most of the bishops in both East and West supported John, but Theophilus prevailed. John took advantage of his new environment, and began a missionary work among the Persians.

In 407 his opponents decided to move him still further away from civilization. Two soldiers were ordered to take him with all possible haste to the desert of Pityus, on the north east coast of the Black Sea. He died on the journey, at Comana in Cappadocia, on September 14, 407.

Ten years later his name was restored to the diptychs, and in 438 his remains were moved to Constantinople. Both the Greek and the Roman churches still honor him today.