Everything about Chrysostom totally explained
» This article refers to the Christian saint. For other uses of the name, see Chrysostomos.
Saint John Chrysostom (c. 347–407,, ),
archbishop of
Constantinople, was an important
early father of the
church. He is known for his eloquence in
preaching and
public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the
Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his
ascetic sensibilities. After his death (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the
Greek surname
chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed", rendered in
English as Chrysostom.
The
Orthodox Church and
Eastern Catholic Churches honor him as a
saint (
feast days:
November 13 and
January 27) and count him among the
Three Holy Hierarchs (feast day,
January 30), together with Saints
Basil the Great and
Gregory the Theologian. He is recognized by the
Roman Catholic Church as a saint and a
Doctor of the Church. Churches of the
Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, the
Anglican Communion, and some parts of the
Lutheran church, commemorate him on
September 13, though the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod commemorates him on the traditional Western feast day of
January 27.
The
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria recognises John Chrysostom as a saint (
feast days: 16
Thout and 17
Hathor).
Chrysostom is known within Christianity chiefly as a
preacher,
theologian and
liturgist, particularly in the
Eastern Orthodox Church. Among his sermons, eight directed against the Jews remain controversial for their impact on the development of
Christian antisemitism.
He is sometimes referred to as
John of Antioch, though that name more properly refers to the bishop of Antioch named
John (429-441).
Biography
Early life and education
John was born in
Antioch in 349. Different scholars describe his mother Anthusa as a
pagan or as a Christian, and his father was a high ranking
military officer. John's father died soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. He was
baptised in 368 or 373 and
tonsured as a
reader (one of the
minor orders of the Church). As a result of his mother's influential connections in the city, John began his education under the pagan teacher
Libanius. From Libanius John acquired the skills for a career in
rhetoric, as well as a love of the Greek language and
literature. As he grew older, however, he became more deeply committed to Christianity and went on to study
theology under
Diodore of Tarsus (founder of the re-constituted
School of Antioch). According to the Christian historian
Sozomen, Libanius was supposed to have said on his deathbed that John would have been his successor "if the Christians hadn't taken him from us". He lived with extreme
asceticism and became a
hermit circa 375; he spent the next two years continually standing, scarcely sleeping, and committing the
Bible to memory. As a consequence of these practices, his stomach and kidneys were permanently damaged and poor health forced him to return to Antioch.
Priesthood and service in Antioch
He was ordained as a
deacon in 381 by Saint
Meletius of Antioch, and was ordained as a
presbyter (that is, a
priest) in 386 by Bishop
Flavian I of Antioch. Over the course of twelve years, he gained popularity because of the eloquence of his public speaking, especially his insightful expositions of Bible passages and moral teaching. The most valuable of his works from this period are his
Homilies on various books of the Bible. He emphasised charitable giving and was concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He also spoke out against abuse of wealth and personal property:
His straightforward understanding of the Scriptures (in contrast to the Alexandrian tendency towards
allegorical interpretation) meant that the themes of his talks were practical, explaining the Bible's application to everyday life. Such straightforward preaching helped Chrysostom to garner popular support. He founded a series of
hospitals in Constantinople to care for the poor.
One incident that happened during his service in Antioch illustrates the influence of his sermons. When Chrysostom arrived in Antioch, the bishop of the city had to intervene with Emperor
Theodosius I on behalf of citizens who had gone on a rampage mutilating statues of the Emperor and his family. During the weeks of
Lent in 397, John preached twenty-one sermons in which he entreated the people to see the error of their ways. These made a lasting impression on the general population of the city: many pagans converted to Christianity as a result of the sermons. As a result, Theodosius' vengeance wasn't as severe as it might have been.
Archbishop of Constantinople
In 398, John was requested, against his will, to take the position of Archbishop of Constantinople. He deplored the fact that Imperial court protocol would now assign to him access to privileges greater than the highest state officials. During his time as Archbishop he adamantly refused to host lavish social gatherings, which made him popular with the common people, but unpopular with wealthy citizens and the clergy. His reforms of the clergy were also unpopular with these groups. He told visiting regional preachers to return to the churches they were meant to be serving — without any payout.
His time in Constantinople was more tumultuous than his time in Antioch.
Theophilus, the
Patriarch of Alexandria, wanted to bring Constantinople under his sway and opposed John's appointment to Constantinople. Being an opponent of
Origen's teachings, he accused John of being too partial to the teachings of that theologian. Theophilus had disciplined four
Egyptian
monks (known as "the tall brothers") over their support of Origen's teachings. They fled to and were welcomed by John. He made another enemy in
Aelia Eudoxia, the wife of the eastern Emperor
Arcadius, who assumed (perhaps with justification) that his denunciations of extravagance in feminine dress were aimed at herself.
Depending on one's outlook, John was either tactless or fearless when denouncing offences in high places. An alliance was soon formed against him by Eudoxia, Theophilus and others of his enemies. They held a
synod in 403 (the
Synod of the Oak) to charge John, in which his connection to Origen was used against him. It resulted in his deposition and banishment. He was called back by Arcadius almost immediately, as the people became "tumultuous" over his departure. There was also an
earthquake the night of his arrest, which Eudoxia took for a sign of
God's anger, prompting her to ask Arcadius for John's reinstatement. Peace was short-lived. A silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near his
cathedral. John denounced the dedication ceremonies. He spoke against her in harsh terms: "Again Herodias raves; again she's troubled; she dances again; and again desires to receive John’s head in a charger," an allusion to the events surrounding the death of
John the Baptist. Once again he was banished, this time to the
Caucasus in
Armenia.
Pope Innocent I protested at this banishment, but to no avail. Innocent sent a delegation to intercede on behalf of John in 405. It was led by
Gaudentius of Brescia; Gaudentius and his companions, two bishops, encountered many difficulties and never reached their goal of entering
Constantinople.
John wrote letters which still held great influence in Constantinople. As a result of this, he was further exiled to
Pitiunt (
Abkhazia region of
Georgia) where his tomb is the shrine for pilgrims. He never reached this destination, as he died during the journey. His last words are said to have been, "δόξα τῷ θεῷ πάντων ἕνεκεν" (Glory be to God for all things). Chrysostom's extant homiletical works are vast, including many hundreds of exegetical sermons on both the
New Testament (especially the works of
Saint Paul) and the
Old Testament (particularly on
Genesis). Among his extant exegetical works are sixty-seven homilies on
Genesis, fifty-nine on the
Psalms, ninety on the
Gospel of Matthew, eighty-eight on the
Gospel of John, and fifty-five on the
Acts of the Apostles.
The sermons were written down by the audience and subsequently circulated, revealing a style that tended to be direct and greatly personal, but was also formed by the rhetorical conventions of his time and place. In general, his homiletical theology displays much characteristic of the
Antiochian school (for example, somewhat more literal in interpreting Biblical events), but he also uses a good deal of the allegorical interpretation more associated with the
Alexandrian school.
John's social and religious world was formed by the continuing and pervasive presence of paganism in the life of the city. One of his regular topics was the paganism in the culture of Constantinople, and in his sermons he thunders against popular pagan amusements: the
theatre,
horseraces, and the revelry surrounding holidays. In particular, he criticized Christians for taking part in such activities:
» "If you ask [Christians] who is
Amos or
Obadiah, how many apostles there were or prophets, they stand mute; but if you ask them about the horses or drivers, they answer with more solemnity than
sophists or rhetors".
John's sermons on Paul's Epistle to the Romans featured extensive speaking about certain verses. He would go through the chapters, speaking about each verse one by one. This was to break down the writing and make it easier for lay people to whom he as speaking to understand. He would often speak at length about just one verse, so these sermons tended to be quite long. John's homilies were characterized by examining each verse in detail, looking at the language of it, and discussing both the explicit and the implied meaning of each word, and the passage as a whole, and these sermons were no different. In these sermons, John goes through all of Paul's epistle, verse by verse, explaining each one to his audience.
One of the recurring features of John's sermons is his emphasis on care for the needy. Echoing themes found in the Gospel of Matthew, he calls upon the rich to lay aside materialism in favor of helping the poor, often employing all of his rhetorical skills to shame wealthy people to abandon conspicuous consumption:
» :"
It isn't possible for one to be wealthy and just at the same time."
:"
Do you pay such honor to your excrements as to receive them into a silver chamber-pot when another man made in the image of God is perishing in the cold?"
Treatises
Outside of his sermons, a number of John's other treatises have had a lasting influence. One such work is John's early treatise
Against Those Who Oppose the Monastic Life, written while he was a deacon (sometime before 386), which was directed to parents, pagan as well as Christian, whose sons were contemplating a monastic vocation. The book is a sharp attack on the values of Antiochene upper-class urban society written by someone who was a member of that class. Chrysostom also writes that, already in his day, it was customary for Antiochenes to send their sons to be educated by monks. Other important treatises written by John include
On the Priesthood (one of his earlier works),
Instructions to Catechumens, and
On the Incomprehensibility of the Divine Nature. In addition, he wrote a series of well-known letters to the
deaconess Olympias.
Sermons on Jews and Judaizing Christians
During his first two years as a presbyter in Antioch (386-387), Chrysostom denounced
Jews and
Judaizing Christians in a series of eight sermons delivered to Christians in his congregation who were taking part in
Jewish festivals and other Jewish observances. It is disputed whether the main target were specifically Judaizers or Jews in general. His homilies were expressed in the conventional manner, utilizing the uncompromising rhetorical form known as the
psogos (Greek: blame).
One of the purposes of these homilies was to prevent Christians from participating in Jewish customs, and thus prevent the erosion of Chrysostom's flock. In his sermons, Chrysostom criticized those "Judaizing Christians", who were participating in Jewish festivals and taking part in other Jewish observances, such as the
shabbat, submitted to
circumcision and made pilgrimage to Jewish holy places. Chrysostom claimed that on the shabbats and Jewish festivals
synagogues were full of Christians, especially women, who loved the solemnity of the Jewish liturgy, enjoyed listening to the
shofar on
Rosh Hashanah, and applauded famous preachers in accordance with the contemporary custom. A more recent apologetic theory is that he instead tried to persuade
Jewish Christians, who for centuries had kept connections with Jews and
Judaism, to choose between Judaism and Christianity.
Chrysostom held Jews responsible for the
crucifixion of Jesus and
deicide (killing God, see "
Jewish deicide" for the subject) and added that they continued to rejoice in Jesus's death. He compared the synagogue to a pagan temple, representing it as the source of all
vices and heresies. He described it as a place worse than a
brothel and a
drinking shop; it was a den of scoundrels, the repair of wild beasts, a temple of demons, the refuge of brigands and debauchees, and the cavern of devils, a criminal assembly of the
assassins of Christ. Palladius, Chrysostom's contemporary biographer, also recorded his claim that among the Jews the priesthood may be purchased and sold for money. Finally, he declared that he hated the synagogue and the Jews.
In
Greek the sermons are called
Kata Ioudaiōn (
Κατά Ιουδαίων), which is translated as
Adversus Judaeos in Latin and
Against the Jews in
English. The most recent scholarly translations, claiming that Chrysostom's primary targets were members of his own congregation who continued to observe the Jewish feasts and fasts, give the sermons the more sympathetic title
Against Judaizing Christians. The original Benedictine editor of the homilies,
Bernard de Montfaucon, gives the following footnote to the title: "A discourse against the Jews; but it was delivered against those who were Judaizing and keeping the fasts with them [theJews]." As such, some have claimed that the original title misrepresents the contents of the discourses, which show that Chrysostom's primary targets were members of his own congregation who continued to observe the Jewish feasts and fasts.
Sir Henry Savile, in his 1612 edition of
Homilies 27 of Volume 6 (which is
Discourse I in
Patrologia Graeca's
Adversus Iudaeos), gives the title: "Chrysostom's Discourse Against Those Who Are Judaizing and Observing Their Fasts."
Liturgy
Beyond his preaching, the other lasting legacy of John is his influence on Christian liturgy. Two of his writings are particularly notable. He harmonized the liturgical life of the Church by revising the prayers and rubrics of the
Divine Liturgy, or celebration of the Holy Eucharist. To this day, Eastern Orthodox and most Eastern Catholic Churches typically celebrate the
Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. These same churches also read his
Catechetical Homily (
Hieratikon) at every
Easter, the greatest feast of the church year.
Legacy and influence
During a time when city clergy were subject to criticism for their high lifestyle, John was determined to reform his clergy in Constantinople. These efforts were met with resistance and limited success. He was an excellent preacher. As a theologian, he's been and continues to be very important in
Eastern Christianity, and is generally considered the most prominent doctor of the Greek Church, but has been less important to Western Christianity. His writings have survived to the present day more so than any of the other
Greek Fathers. He rejected the contemporary trend for allegory, instead speaking plainly and applying Bible passages and lessons to everyday life.
His exile demonstrated the rivalry between Constantinople and Alexandria for recognition as the preeminent Eastern See, while in the west, the
Pope's primacy remained unquestioned.
Influence on the catechism and clergy
Chrysostom's influence on church teachings is interwoven throughout the current
Catechism of the Catholic Church (revised 1992). The Catechism cites him in eighteen sections, particularly his reflections on the purpose of prayer and the meaning of the
Lord's Prayer:
Christian clerics, such as R.S. Storr, refer to him as "one of the most eloquent preachers who ever since apostolic times have brought to men the divine tidings of truth and love", and the 19th century
John Henry Cardinal Newman described Chrysostom as a "bright, cheerful, gentle soul; a sensitive heart."
Antisemitism
Chrysostom's
Adversus Judaeos homilies have been circulated by many groups to foster
anti-Semitism. James Parkes called the writing on Jews "the most horrible and violent denunciations of Judaism to be found in the writings of a Christian theologian". His sermons against Jews gave momentum to the idea that Jews are collectively responsible for the death of Jesus. British historian
Paul Johnson claimed that Chrysostom's homilies "became the pattern for anti-Jewish tirades, making the fullest possible use (and misuse) of key passages in the gospels of Saints Matthew and John. Thus a specifically Christian anti-Semitism, presenting the Jews as murderers of
Christ, was grafted on to the seething mass of pagan smears and rumours, and Jewish communities were now at risk in every Christian city." During
World War II, the
Nazi Party in
Germany abused his work in an attempt to legitimize the
Holocaust in the eyes of German and
Austrian Christians. His works were frequently quoted and reprinted as a witness for the prosecution.
After World War II, the Christian churches denounced Nazi use of Chrysostom's works, explaining his words with reference to the historical context. According to Laqueur, it was argued that in the 4th century, the general discourse was brutal and aggressive and that at the time when the Christian church was fighting for survival and recognition, mercy and forgiveness were not in demand. According to
Patristics scholars, opposition to any particular view during the late fourth century was conventionally expressed in a manner, utilizing the rhetorical form known as the
psogos, whose literary conventions were to vilify opponents in an uncompromising manner; thus, it has been argued that to call Chrysostom an "anti-Semite" is to employ anachronistic terminology in a way incongruous with historical context and record.
Music and literature
Chrysostom's liturgical legacy has inspired several musical compositions. Noteworthy among these are:
Sergei Rachmaninoff's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op.31, composed in 1910, one of his two major unaccompanied choral works;
Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Op.41; and
Arvo Part's Litany, which sets seven sentence prayers of Chrysostom's Divine Liturgy for chorus and orchestra.
James Joyce's novel
Ulysses includes a character named Mulligan who brings 'Chrysostomos' into another character's mind because Mulligan's gold-stopped teeth and his gift of the gab earn him the title which St. John Chrysostom's preaching earned him, 'golden-mouthed': Chrysostomos also refers to Stephen, the independent and exiled genius:
Relics
John Chrysostom died in the city of Comana in the year 407 on his way to his place of exile. There his
relics remained until 438 when, thirty years after his death, they were transferred to
Constantinople during the reign of the Empress
Eudoxia's son, the Emperor
Theodosius II (408-450), under the guidance of John's disciple,
St. Proclus, who by that time had become
Archbishop of Constantinople (434-447).
John's relics were looted from Constantinople by
Crusaders in 1204 and brought to Rome, but were returned to the Orthodox on
27 November 2004 by
Pope John Paul II. His silver and jewel-encrusted skull is now kept in the
Vatopedi Monastery on
Mount Athos in northern
Greece, and is credited by
Eastern Orthodox Christians with
miraclulous healings. His
right hand
is also preserved on Mount Athos, and numerous smaller relics are scattered throughout the world.
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