St. John Chrysostom.

St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch between 340-350. His parents were probably Christians. The father was apparently of Roman origin and was a senior military officer. However, he died shortly after the birth of John. John had one older sister, but it seems that she also died in childhood. Antus’ mother was of Greek origin. When she became a widow, she was about twenty years old, but she did not remarry, she wanted to devote all her energies to raising her son. The boy was very bright, distinguished by decisiveness and clarity of judgments. He received a very good education in literature and oratory. He then wanted to continue his legal studies. But the sight of tricks in the judiciary disgusted him. On the advice of his friend Basil, he preferred to delve into reading St. Fonts. He was baptized in 368, as it was quite common in those days for people to be baptized only as adults. In 372, John went to the mountains so that he could live there in the company of monks and hermits, only for God. He lived like this for six years. He read a lot of St. Font and wrote. After six years he returned to Antioch to be active as an apostolic. He was ordained a priest in 386. Antioch was assigned to him as a preacher’s place. He worked there for twelve years. It was a large city, it had about one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, of which two thirds were Christians. He was very zealous. They called him Golden-mouthed (Chrysostom in Greek), as he spoke very brilliantly and passionately about God’s truths. On February 28, he was consecrated as a bishop and installed as Patriarch of Constantinople, despite his disapproval.

Even as Patriarch of Constantinople, John lived a very strict life. He sold the expensive furniture after his predecessor, gave the money to the poor, avoided society and entertainment, never organized feasts. He tried to raise the level of priests – both spiritually and educationally. Furthermore, he was also very zealous towards the nobles and others. He also admonished Empress Eudoxia, who was proud, greedy and oppressed the people. The bishops, paid to the empress, assembled, deposed John from the rank of patriarch of Constantinople, and asked the emperor to banish John. The people rebelled against it, but the weak emperor could not stand against the empress and her company. John preferred to hand himself over to the emperor to prevent bloodshed. However, the people gathered and marched towards the imperial palace. Then Eudoxia also got scared and John was released. In 403, however, she had him imprisoned again, and in 404 he was dragged away – already as an old man – into exile in the city of Kukusus (today Göksum) in Armenia. It was a desolate region. However, people came to John from everywhere to show him their respect and to hear the interpretation of God’s word from his mouth. Rumors were still circulating about him even in Constantinople. Pope Innocent I also defended him. In 407, John was excommunicated even further, to the foot of the Caucasus in Potiont. He was not even allowed to rest during the journey, he had to march in any weather. On September 13, they arrived in a small settlement. John wanted to rest there, at least for a while. He felt that the end was near. He put away his clothes, dressed only in white, as for a wedding. and gave away all that he still had. He spent the night at the grave of the martyr St. Basilisk, who was buried there. He appeared to him and told him that the next day they would be together in heavenly glory. Indeed, on the 14th of September, as soon as he started to march, he fell to the ground. They took him to the sanctuary of St. Basilisk, where he ended his life, repeating his favorite sigh: “Praise be to the Lord for everything. Amen.”

He was buried next to St. Basilisk, but in 438 his remains were transferred to Constantinople. In the 13th century, his body was transported to the old Vatican Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. John left behind the most comprehensive work of all the Eastern Greek Fathers. There are interpretations of the Holy Scriptures, homilies, and letters. In 1568, he received the title of Doctor of the Eucharist. He is the patron saint of preachers.