This posting is about St. John Chrysostom the saint, not the parish which we attend in Arnprior.
I was aware that St. John Chrysostom was known as the golden-mouthed preacher, but I never knew his life could be framed as a tragedy. This is the title of a chapter in Henry Chadwick’s densely written book The Early Church. A summary of St. John at the back of our church does not mention the word tragedy but acknowledges he ran afoul of the authorities. I’ve also used Masterpieces in Catholic Literature edited by Frank Magill as a source for this material.
St. John Chrysostom born in Antioch, became a monk in the Syrian desert in 374 CE. After injuring himself through mortifications, he returned as a deacon and then presbyter (priest) to Antioch and applied his oratorical skills from the pulpit for which he had been well trained by Libanius a pagan Greek teacher of rhetoric.
He soon developed a large following after giving a series of sermons starting in 386 CE. He defied the political and religious leaders of his time by preaching against extreme wealth and lax morals. So it was quite surprising that after Archbishop Nectarius of Constantinople died in 397, John was literally physically kidnapped and appointed Archbishop in the capital by the court.
John was a man of many outstanding qualities, but in some respects ill fitted to be bishop of an affluent city filled with gossip and intrigue. John was ascetic, aloof, energetic and outspoken to the point of indiscretion, especially when he became excited in the pulpit. The rich resented as a personal affront his socialist sermons explaining that private property only existed as a result of Adam’s fall, or pillorying those who cared nothing for beggars at their door and wanted only to own 10 fine houses with hundreds of servants and lavatories of gold.
He offended men by by repeatedly proclaiming that a woman had as much right to demand fidelity from her husband as a man had of his wife. His unsparing sarcasms about feminine luxuries were not relished by ladies of high fashion.
Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria who had tried to install his own candidate in Constantinople, was annoyed with John’s sheltering of l50 monks who supported Origenism. Joining with Empress Eudoxia whose extravagant and luxurious lifestyle came under public criticism after John compared her to Jezebel, the two brought about the conviction of John on charges of immorality and treason in 403 CE.
John was deposed and exiled but the very next day, an earthquake damaged the capital which was seen as a bad omen. The empress ordered his return and there was much rejoicing. But John continued to criticize the empress and other segments of the nobility. He was once again banished in 404 and died in exile 3 years later at the age of 60.
He is honoured as a saint and doctor of the Catholic Church and as a Holy Father and Ecumenical Teacher in the Eastern Church. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the standard Eucharistic liturgy celebrated on most Sundays and feast days in the Byzantine tradition.
So there you have it, the tragedy of St. John Chrysostom.
