John Chrysostom (; Koine Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, romanized: Iōánnēs ho Chrysóstomos, IPA: [i.oˈannis o xryˈsostomos]; Latin: Ioannes Chrysostomus, Ecclesiastical Latin: [joˈannes kriˈzɔstomus]; Syriac: ܝܘܚܢܢ ܦܘܡܐ ܕܕܗܘܐ (Yōḥannan Pumā d-Dahbā); c. 347 – 14 September 407) was a Church Father who served as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, particularly on the poor his Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities.
He is honored as a saint in the Catholic and Eastern churches, as well as in some others. The Eastern Orthodox, together with the Byzantine Catholics, hold him in special regard as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs (alongside Basil of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus). Along with them and Athanasius of Alexandria he is also regarded by the Catholic Church as one of the four Great Greek Church Fathers.
John was born in Antioch, Roman Syria (modern-day Antakya, Hatay, Turkey) in 347. Different scholars describe his mother Anthusa as a pagan or as a Christian. Christian tradition generally describes his mother as a devout Christian. 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). It is sometimes said that he was bitten by a snake when he was ten years old, resulting in infection from the bite.
As a result of his mother's influential connections in the city, John began his education under the rhetorician Libanius in the Sophist school. From Libanius, John acquired the skills for a career in rhetoric, as well as a love of the Greek language and literature. Eventually, he became a lawyer.
As he grew older, however, John became more deeply committed to Christianity and went on to study theology under Diodorus of Tarsus, founder of the reconstituted 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 had not taken him from us".
John lived in extreme asceticism and became a hermit in about 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.
Diaconate and service in Antioch
John was first appointed as a reader in the church of Antioch by Zeno of Verona upon the latter's return from Jerusalem. Later, he was ordained as a deacon in 381 by the bishop Meletius of Antioch who was not then in communion with Alexandria and Rome. After the death of Meletius, John separated himself from the followers of Meletius, without joining Paulinus II of Antioch, the rival of Meletius for the bishopric of Antioch. But after the death of Paulinus II (388) he was ordained a presbyter (priest) by Evagrius of Antioch, the successor of Paulinus by the Eustathius of Antioch faction in the city. He was destined later to bring about reconciliation between Flavian I of Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome, thus bringing those three sees into communion for the first time in nearly seventy years.
In Antioch, over the course of twelve years (386–397), John gained popularity because of the eloquence of his public speaking at the Golden Church, Antioch's cathedral, 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 spoke against abuse of wealth and personal property:Do you wish to honour the body of Christ? Do not ignore him when he is naked. Do not pay him homage in the temple clad in silk, only then to neglect him outside where he is cold and ill-clad. He who said: "This is my body" is the same who said: "You saw me hungry and you gave me no food", and "Whatever you did to the least of my brothers you did also to me"... What good is it if the Eucharistic table is overloaded with golden chalices when your brother is dying of hunger? Start by satisfying his hunger and then with what is left you may adorn the altar as well.
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.
One incident that happened during his service in Antioch illustrates the influence of his homilies. When Chrysostom arrived in Antioch, Flavian, 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 387, John preached more than twenty homilies 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 homilies. The city was ultimately spared from severe consequences.
In the autumn of 397, John was appointed archbishop of Constantinople, after having been nominated without his knowledge by the eunuch Eutropius. He had to leave Antioch in secret due to fears that the departure of such a popular figure would cause civil unrest.
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. He told visiting regional preachers to return to the churches they were meant to be serving – without any pay-out. He also founded a number of hospitals in Constantinople.
His time in Constantinople was more tumultuous than his time in Antioch. Theophilus I of Alexandria, the patriarch of Alexandria, wanted to bring Constantinople under his sway and opposed John's appointment to Constantinople. Theophilus had disciplined four Egyptian monks (known as "the Tall Brothers") over their support of Origen's teachings. They fled to John and were welcomed by him. Theophilus therefore accused John of being too partial to the teaching of Origen. He made another enemy in Aelia Eudoxia, wife of emperor Arcadius, who assumed that John's denunciations of extravagance in feminine dress were aimed at her. Eudoxia, Theophilus and other of his enemies 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, even threatening to burn the imperial palace. There was 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 in the Augustaion, near the Constantinian Hagia Sophia, his cathedral. John denounced the dedication ceremonies as pagan and spoke against the empress in harsh terms: "Again Herodias raves, again she dances, and again desires to receive John's head on a charger", an allusion to the Biblical events surrounding the death of John the Baptist. Once again he was banished, this time to the Caucasus in Abkhazia. His banishment sparked riots among his supporters in the capital, and in the fighting the cathedral built by Constantius II was burnt down, necessitating the construction of the second cathedral on the site, the Theodosian Hagia Sophia.
Around 405, John began to lend moral and financial support to Christian monks who were enforcing the emperors' anti-pagan laws, by destroying temples and shrines in Phoenicia and nearby regions.
Several historians, including Wendy Mayer and Geoffrey Dunn, have argued that "the surplus of evidence reveals a struggle between Johannite and anti-Johannite camps in Constantinople soon after John's departure and for a few years after his death". Faced with exile, John Chrysostom wrote an appeal for help to three churchmen: Pope Innocent I; Venerius, the bishop of Mediolanum (Milan); and Chromatius, the bishop of Aquileia. In 1872, church historian William Stephens wrote: