John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), whose epithet means 'Golden-Mouthed' in Greek, is considered the greatest preacher in the history of the Eastern Church and one of the most prolific authors of early Christianity. His surviving works — including over 700 homilies, numerous commentaries on Scripture, and hundreds of letters — constitute the largest body of writing from any Church Father. Born into an aristocratic family in Antioch, one of the great cities of the Roman East, John studied rhetoric under the famous pagan orator Libanius, who reportedly said on his deathbed that John would have been his successor 'if the Christians had not stolen him.' After his baptism around 370, John spent six years as a monk in the mountains near Antioch, practicing extreme asceticism that permanently damaged his health. Returning to Antioch, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest, quickly gaining renown for his preaching. His homilies 'On the Statues' (387), delivered during a crisis when the people of Antioch feared imperial retribution for destroying the emperor's statues, demonstrated his extraordinary ability to comfort, instruct, and inspire. In 397, John was taken against his will to Constantinople to serve as Archbishop — the most prestigious bishopric in the Eastern Empire. There, his fearless denunciation of corruption among the clergy, the excesses of the imperial court, and the extravagance of the wealthy earned him powerful enemies, including Empress Eudoxia, whom he is said to have compared to Jezebel. His calls for social justice and his insistence that the wealth of the Church belonged to the poor made him beloved among the common people but increasingly isolated at court. Deposed through the machinations of Archbishop Theophilus of Alexandria and exiled twice, John died on a forced march to a remote outpost on the eastern shore of the Black Sea on September 14, 407, his last words being 'Glory be to God for all things.' His remains were returned to Constantinople in 438 with great ceremony. The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom remains the most frequently celebrated Eucharistic liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches to this day.