Course:Carey HIST501/Project 2/John Chrysostom

Year of birth and death

Born 347 in Antioch, Syria. Died 407 in Comana, Helenopontus, in a state of exile and in transit to more remote exile, dying as a result of severe treatment and forced marching.

Short biographical sketch of the church father

The wealth of literary material both ascribed to and written about John Chrysostom can be overwhelming (especially in the pursuit of a BRIEF biography!) It is of note that the surname given to him was not from birth but attributed to him later in his life on account of his tremendous skill and efficacy as an orator, the word "Chrysostom" meaning "golden mouth".

"...early Church Father, biblical interpreter, and archbishop of Constantinople. The zeal and clarity of his preaching, which appealed especially to the common people, earned him the Greek surname meaning “golden-mouthed.” His tenure as archbishop was stormy, and he died in exile. His relics were brought back to Constantinople about 438, and he was later declared a doctor (teacher) of the church."

"John was the son of a high-ranking military officer and was raised as a Christian by his widowed mother. Although he studied law under a distinguished pagan rhetorician, Libanius, he gave up his profession to study theology, ultimately becoming an ascetic hermit-monk. When his health gave way, he returned to Antioch and became an ordained deacon in 381 and a priest in 386. Over the next 12 years he established himself as a great preacher, and his homilies (sermons) were well regarded...He was concerned, above all, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the needy and oppressed. He was not alone among the early Fathers in speaking out against the abuse of wealth. He believed that personal property is not strictly private but a trust. In his eloquent, moving, and repeated insistence on almsgiving, he frequently taught that what was superfluous to one’s reasonable needs ought to be given away."

John was raised Christian, and initially studied law, but was moved by an encounter with bishop Miletius in 367 to renounce worldly life and study and devoted himself to ascetic religious pursuit and the study of Scripture. He was a lector, then a monk, then a lector again after his severe practices of fasting and exposure to the elements as a monk nearly killed him still early on in his life. After this chapter of his life he went on to be a deacon and then a priest, all this still happening in and around his hometown of Antioch. From there he went on to be the Archbishop of Constantinople (much against his will), and there he accomplished a tremendous amount.

The first act of the new bishop was to bring about a reconciliation between Flavian and Rome. Constantinople itself soon began to feel the impulse of a new ecclesiastical life. The necessity for reform was undeniable. Chrysostom began "sweeping the stairs from the top" (Palladius, op. cit., v). He called his oeconomus, and ordered him to reduce the expenses of the episcopal household; he put an end to the frequent banquets, and lived little less strictly than he had formerly lived as a priest and monk. With regard to the clergy, Chrysostom had at first to forbid them to keep in their houses syneisactoe, i.e. women housekeepers who had vowed virginity. He also proceeded against others who, by avarice or luxury, had given scandal. He had even to exclude from the ranks of the clergy two deacons, the one for murder and the other for adultery. Of the monks, too, who were very numerous even at that time at Constantinople, some had preferred to roam about aimlessly and without discipline. Chrysostom confined them to their monasteries. Finally he took care of the ecclesiastical widows. Some of them were living in a worldly manner: he obliged them either to marry again, or to observe the rules of decorum demanded by their state. After the clergy, Chrysostom turned his attention to his flock. As he had done at Antioch, so at Constantinople and with more reason, he frequently preached against the unreasonable extravagances of the rich, and especially against the ridiculous finery in the matter of dress affected by women whose age should have put them beyond such vanities. Some of them, the widows Marsa, Castricia, Eugraphia, known for such preposterous tastes, belonged to the court circle. It seems that the upper classes of Constantinople had not previously been accustomed to such language. Doubtless some felt the rebuke to be intended for themselves, and the offence given was the greater in proportion as the rebuke was the more deserved. On the other hand, the people showed themselves delighted with the sermons of their new bishop, and frequently applauded him in the church (Socrates, Church History VI). They never forgot his care for the poor and miserable, and that in his first year he had built a great hospital with the money he had saved in his household....

...but his teachings on the misuse of riches angered the wealthy and influential. An unscrupulous alliance against him was made by Eudoxia, the wife of the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius, and the archbishop of the rival see of Alexandria, the powerful Theophilus." - bold emphasis added.

The ultimate result of having made enemies of the powerful and affluent was John's being stripped of his title, exiled, and eventual killed by forced marching in 407.

His last words were: Doxa to theo panton eneken (Glory be to God for all things). He was buried at Comana. On 27 January, 438, his body was translated to Constantinople with great pomp, and entombed in the church of the Apostles where Eudoxia had been buried in the year 404...Chrysostom has deserved a place in ecclesiastical history, not simply as Bishop of Constantinople, but chiefly as a Doctor of the Church. Of none of the other Greek Fathers do we possess so many writings.

Major contributions

John Chrysostom was not outstanding as a theologian nor as a theological writer; it has been said that a detailed history of Christian theology could be written without mentioning his name. He was a superb orator though. In his sermons he seldom used allegory but spoke plainly and combined penetration into the meaning of Scripture with a genius for its personal application.

This man did not directly shape or even comment extensively on matters of doctrine, orthodoxy, or church politics. In some ways he might be thought of as a more simple, "down to earth" preacher. But that's not at all to say he wasn't tremendously influential and respected in a way that shaped the formation of said doctrine, orthodoxy, and church politics. Most tellingly, numerous figures at various councils and gatherings appealed to the words and expressed beliefs of John Chrysostom:: an excerpt from New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia demonstrates this:

As has already been said, Chrysostom's was not a speculative mind, nor was he involved in his lifetime in great dogmatic controversies. Nevertheless it would be a mistake to underrate the great theological treasures hidden in his writings. From the very first he was considered by the Greeks and Latins as a most important witness to the Faith. Even at the Council of Ephesus (431) both parties, St. Cyril and the Antiochians, already invoked him on behalf of their opinions, and at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, when a passage of Chrysostom had been read in favour of the veneration of images, Bishop Peter of Nicomedia cried out: "If John Chrysostom speaks in the way of the images, who would dare to speak against them?" which shows clearly the progress his authority had made up to that date.

Both short and long-term impact of the selected church father

Many writings attributed to this church father are still used liturgically or referenced by the church today. Here's an example:

Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

If any be a devout lover of God, let him partake with gladness from this fair and radiant feast.

If any be a faithful servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord.

If any have wearied himself with fasting, let him now enjoy his reward.

If any have labored from the first hour, let him receive today his rightful due.

If any have come after the third, let him celebrate the feast with thankfulness.

If any have come after the sixth, let him not be in doubt, for he will suffer no loss.

If any have delayed until the ninth, let him not hesitate but draw near.

If any have arrived only at the eleventh, let him not be afraid because he comes so late.

For the Master is generous and accepts the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes at the eleventh hour in the same was as him who has laboured from the first. He accepts the deed, and commends the intention.Enter then, all of you, into the joy of our Lord. First and last, receive alike your reward. Rich and poor, dance together. You who fasted and you who have not fasted, rejoice together. The table is fully laden: let all enjoy it. The calf is fatted: let none go away hungry.

Let none lament his poverty; for the universal Kingdom is revealed.

Let none bewail his transgressions; for the light of forgiveness has risen from the tomb.

Let none fear death; for death of the Saviour has set us free.

He has destroyed death by undergoing death. He has despoiled hell by descending into hell. He vexed it even as it tasted of His flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he cried: Hell was filled with bitterness when it met Thee face to face below; filled with bitterness, for it was brought to nothing; filled with bitterness, for it was mocked; filled with bitterness, for it was overthrown; filled with bitterness, for it was put in chains. Hell received a body, and encountered God. It received earth, and confronted heaven.

O death, where is your sting?

O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen! And you, o death, are annihilated!

Christ is risen! And the evil ones are cast down!

Christ is risen! And the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen! And life is liberated!

Christ is risen! And the tomb is emptied of its dead; for Christ having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  To Him be Glory and Power, now and forever, and from all ages to all ages.

Amen!

In the interest of being fair and balanced in our approach to this historical figure and not romanticizing him, let it be known: there is one particularly dark blot on an otherwise commendable legacy: overt and severe anti-Semitism. Among his many volumes of works are eight separate "Against the Jews" declarations, which go far beyond what was typical of his correction/refutation of error or heresy, blaming them for the murder of Jesus, including even an assertion that "it is the duty of all Christians to hate the Jews"

“The Jews sacrifice their children to Satan… They are worse than wild beasts. The synagogue is a brothel, a den of scoundrels, the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults, a criminal assembly of Jews, a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, a gulf and abyss of perdition…

The synagogue is a curse. Obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or hear; she has deliberately perverted her judgment; she has extinguished within herself the light of the Holy Spirit…

[The Jews] have fallen into a condition lower than the vilest animals. Debauchery and drunkenness have brought them to the level of the lusty goat and the pig. They know only one thing: to satisfy their stomachs, to get drunk, to kill and beat each other up like stage villains and coachmen…

I hate the Jews because they violate the Law. I hate the Synagogue because it hates the Law and the Prophets. It is the duty of all Christians to hate the Jews.” - bold emphasis added.

So one can see in him a conflicted and conflicting character, to say the least: all at once heroic and hateful at times. He is remembered chiefly for his skilled communication and application of Scripture in a way that made plain sense to common people, and for his staunch and unyielding advocacy for the poor and oppressed and calling those more fortunate to their God-ordained responsibility. This ultimately got him exiled and then killed; not a debate about some heresy or an accusation on moral or ecclesiastical grounds, but the fact that John Chrysostom ran afoul of the powerful and the affluent and wouldn't back down or water down his message that cast them in a bad light.

References

6. Aland, Kurt. Saints and Sinners; men and ideas in the early church. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1970.

7. Baur, Chrys. "St. John Chrysostom." Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.

8. Chrysostom, St. John. On the Priesthood. Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press, 1955.

9. "Chrysostom, St. John." Encyclopedia Americana. Chicago: Americana Corp., 1951.

10. "Chrysostom, St. John." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.

11. Kelly, J. N. D. Golden Mouth; the story of John Chrysostom, Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1995.

12. Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Preaching of Chrysostom; Homilies on the Sermon on the Mount. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1967.

13. Willey, John Heston. Chrysostom the Orator. Cincinnati: Jennings and Graham, 1906.