St. John Chrysostom[1] was born in 345 or 347 of a remarkable Antiochian
family. His parents were quite wealthy and his mother is mentioned to have a
large number of maids. His father, Secund, a high ranking army official, died
soon after Ioannis’s birth and his upbringing was left entirely in the hand of
his loving mother Anthoussa.
Ioannis received his training in the great educational
institutes of Antioch, where the teachings of religious aspects and classic
Greek philosophy were flourishing. He studied the art of rhetoric with the
pagan sophist Livanios, who admired Ioannis’s mother and expressed this
admiration by the phrase “what women do Christians have!” Livanius founded a
school of rhetoric in Constantinople and was always declaring that Ioannis
would be his successor had Christianity not taken him up. Later on Ioannis
studied theology in Antioch’s School of Theology.
After practicing law for a while in Antioch, he
retreated to the desert for six years, where in praying and fastig was
preparing himself to be a clergyman. In 381 he was ordained deacon by Meletios,
Archbishop of Antioch and escorted him to
Constantinople in order to participate to the 2nd
Ecumenical Synod (381). In 386 he was ordained priest by Flavianos, Archbishop
of Antioch.
He devoted his life to the education of the illiterate
and the relief of the poor. As a priest in Antioch he mobilized a lot of people
and made great efforts in order to provide food and shelter for 3000 widows and
hundreds of ill or imprisoned persons.
In Constantinople, utilizing all the opportunities
that were given to him by the Archbishop’s office he
supported and fed 7000 poor people. His love for
the poor was so great that later on he even sailed objects of the Episcopal
mansion and annulled official banquets in order to find money for the support
of the city’s poor. For Ioannis the Church is “a laboratory of holiness and not
a goldsmith's and silversmith's”.
He severely reproved those who did not follow Jesus
path of ethic and duty and he fought with all his might the discriminations
between rich and poor. In a fervent speech (61st speech to Mathew, Greek
Patrology 58, 591, 2) he withered the cruel landowners who so bluntly took
advantage of the poor people efforts: “…if one examines the way landowners
treat poor, wretched farmers he will ascertain that they are more cruel than
the barbarians. They ask ever larger shares and even more hard work from people struck by hard work and hunger… And who can
count the added frauds and injustices they put into practice when they buy the
share of the crops that happen to be left in the poor farmers hands? The
landowners barns and cellars are filled by the farmers labor and sweat and in
return as a payment they toss them a trivial amount...". For Chrysostomos
the "poor man - rich man" schema does not exist. All goods are God's
and "whatever the Lord offers is common for all" (Gr. P. 61, 85). "For all were given to as by Christ.
Our existence and our breath and air and light... As for terms we use, such as
'mine' or 'yours', are simple words that do not correspond to reality. For the
air and the earth and the land and the materials are the Creators'. We should
spend money for our fellow-men sake, since they are God's and not ours. ...If
you spend them for yourself, then they become alien, even though they belong to
you... When you consider them a common good then they are yours as well as next
men's in exactly as they are the sun and the air and the earth and all the rest
of the natural goods" (GR. P. 61, 86(87)).
Ioannis Chrysostomos belongs to the chorus of the
great men of Church and humanity. He loved people as
Christ did and lean over their pains with true interest and compassion.
By 397 his reputation went over the limits of Antioch
and the Byzantine Emperor Arkadios summoned him in Constantinople and appointed
him Archbishop
against his will. From his new
position he tried to apply in Constantinople the same pastoral and social
models as in Antioch. He set up a staff of clergymen and women devoted to the
church's services in order to reform the whole of the pastoral works in
Constantinople. He did not confine his interests only in his Episcopal region
but did his best to organize and help the missionary work beyond his province
even in pagan nations outside the borders of the empire[2].
In his sermons
he spared no one. He accused the extravagance and materialism of the
authorities, the unworthy officials of the royal court and the vain clergymen, preaching the need to return to the authentic content
of Christian life. A judge and a censor of everyone and everything he was soon
elevated to a renouned figure of public life not only in Constantinople but in
the whole of the Empire.
His demand for strict implementation of the principles
of Christian faith, his controlling language -from which not even Empress
Eudoxia escaped- and his courage resulted in serious and dangerous reactions.
His conflict with the Empress ended up in his removal from the Episcopal Throne
and his exile in Armenia. Later on and due to the people’s reaction the Empress
was forced to reinstate him. The restoration of his relations with the Empress
was only temporary since Chrysostomos was not willing to tolerate
uncomplainingly her last expression of vanity: her silver statue that was set
in the Square of Senate. His disavowal of her actions once again turned her
against him. A few days before the Easter of 404 he was arrested and escorted
to the border of Armenia and Kappadokia while his supporters were persecuted.
But Chrysostomos, despite the distance and his failing health continued to
communicate with his flock through his letters while many of his supporters
took the dangerous trip to visit him. Because of the dangers of their trip he
decided to move to Comana in Pontus. He died on the way there on 14 September 407. His Last
words were “Thank God for all his has given. Amen”.
His enemies did not seem to be satisfied with his
death and the church of Agia Sofia and the Senate Building were set on fire and
his supporters (named Ioannites, after him) were persecuted over a long period
of time. Among them there were 40 archbishops. About 30 years later, Emperor
Theodosios B’ allowed his relics to return and be buried in Constantinople (27 January 438). We celebrate his memory on November 13, because he died on
the day the Holy Cross was celebrated.
Ioannis Chrysostomos is considered the greatest
ecclesiastical orator with an impressive in extent and theologically exhaustive
authoring work most of which is preserved. In Migne’s Patrology his works take
up volumes 47 to 64. His speeches form a major part of his work, while the rest being dissertations and letters, in which one can feel the
liveliness of his words. The reader feels the writer talking to him. His preaches
were original and convincing and the faithful were literally “hang” from his
lips. This is the reason he is called Chrysosotomos (Gold mouthed) and
“Church’s Demosthenes”. It is about 1000 of his
speeches that are preserved, a fine example of the art of
oratory. 238 of his letters on various subjects are also preserved. Most of
them were written during the years of his exile and were addressed to about 130
persons. He also wrote a Liturgy, named after him, that is still conducted in
churches all year round.
Without a doubt in the face of Ioannis Chrysostomos
all can identify, even to this day, the social worker, the great educator, the
tireless prelate who fought to the end for the good of his flock.
Vassiliki
V. Pappa, BD, MSc, MA
[1] Information about his life and
works (written in Latin or Greek) can be found in his writings, especially in
his letters, in works of his contemporaries or later historians, in biographies
and speeches.
[2] Ioannis Chrysostomos, Letters: 53, PG 52, 637∙ 54, PG 52, 638∙ 55, PG 52,
639∙ 123, PG 52, 676-677∙ 126, PG 52, 685 εξ.
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