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John Chrysostom

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He was born in Antioch of noble parents: his father was a high-ranking military officer. His father died soon after his birth and so he was brought up by his mother Anthusa. He was [[baptism|baptized]] in 370 and [[tonsure]]d a [[reader]] (one of the [[minor orders]] of the Church). He began his education under a [[paganism|pagan]] teacher named Libanius, but went on to study [[theology]] under [[Diodore of Tarsus]] (one of the leaders of the later [[Antiochian School]]) while practising extreme asceticism. He was not satisfied, however, and became a [[hermit]] (circa 375) and remained so until poor health forced a return to Antioch.
He was then [[ordination|ordained]] a [[deacon]] in 381 by St. [[Meletius of Antioch]], and was ordained a [[presbyter]] in 386 by Bishop [[Flavian I of Antioch]]. It seems this was the happiest period of his life. Over about twelve years, he gained much popularity for the eloquence of his public speaking. Notable are his insightful expositions of [[Bible]] passages and moral teaching. The most valuable of his works are his ''Homilies'' on various books of the Bible. He particularly emphasized [[alms|almsgiving]]. He was also most concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He spoke out against abuse of wealth and personal property. In many respects, the following he amassed was no surprise. His straightforward understanding of the Scriptures (in contrast to the Alexandrian tendency towards allegorical interpretation) meant that the themes of his talks were eminently social, explaining the Christian's conduct in life.
[[Image:John Chrysostom.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Modern Greek icon]]
[[Image:oqropiri.jpg|right|thumb|Coffin of St. John Chrysostom in Komani, Georgia]]
St. John was fearless when denouncing offences in high places. An alliance was soon formed against him by Eudoxia, Theophilus and other enemies of his. They held a [[Synod of the Oak|synod]] in 403 to charge John, in which the accusation of Origenism was used against him. It resulted in his [[deposition ]] and banishment. He was called back by Arcadius almost immediately, however, for the people of the city were very angry about his departure. There was also a "quaking" in the Imperial bedroom (thought to be either an actual earthquake or perhaps as a stillbirth or miscarriage for the empress) which was seen as a sign of [[God]]'s anger. Peace was shortlived. A silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near the [[cathedral]] of [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|Hagia Sophia]]. John denounced the dedication ceremonies. He spoke against her in harsh terms: "Again [[Herodias]] rages; again she is confounded; again she demands the head of John on a charger" (an allusion to the events surrounding the death of [[John the Forerunner]]). Once again he was banished, this time to Caucasus in Georgia.
The pope in Rome ([[Innocent I of Rome|Innocent I]] at this time) protested at this banishment, but to no avail. John wrote letters which still held great influence in Constantinople. As a result of this, he was further exiled to Pityus (on the eastern edge of the Black Sea). However, he never reached this destination, as he died during the journey. His final words were "Glory be to God for all things!"
== His importance ==
During a time when city clergy were subject to much criticism for their high lifestyle, John was determined to reform his clergy at Constantinople. These efforts were met with resistance and limited success. He was particularly noted as an excellent preacher. As a [[theologian]], he has been and continues to be very important in Eastern Christianity, but has been less important to Western Christianity. He generally rejected the contemporary trend for emphasis on allegory, instead speaking plainly and applying Bible passages and lessons to everyday life. In some ways, he represents a sort of synthesis between the [[hermeneutics|hermeneutic]] methods of the more allegorical [[Alexandrian School]] and the more literal Antiochian School.
His banishments demonstrated that secular powers had strong influence in the eastern Church at this period in history. They also demonstrated the rivalry between Constantinople and Alexandria, both of which wanted to be recognized as the preeminent eastern see. This mutual hostility would eventually lead to much suffering for the Church and the Eastern Empire. Meanwhile in the West, Rome's primacy had been unquestioned from the fourth century onwards. An interesting point to note in the wider development of the [[papacy]] is the fact that Innocent's protests availed nothing, demonstrating the lack of influence the bishops of Rome held in the East at this time.
=== The ''Homilies against the Judaizers'' ===
Chrysostom wrote of the [[Judaism|Jews]] and of Judaizers in eight homilies ''Adversus Judaeos'' (against the Judaizers) [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.htmleight homilies ''Adversus Judaeos'' (against the Judaizers)].<ref>"This [Adversus Iudaeos] is the Latin translation of the title given to the homilies in PG 48.843. The Benedictine editor, Montfaucon, gives a footnote (reprinted ibid.) which states that six MSS and [Henry] Savile [in his edition (1612) of Chrysostom] have at the head of this homily: "A discourse against the Jews; but it was delivered against those who were Judaizing and keeping the fasts with them [i.e., the Jews]. These quotes " This note is not altogether accurate because Savile, for Hom. 27 of Vol. 6 (which is Disc. I among the Adversus Iudaeos in PG and in this translation), gives (p. 366) the title: "Chrysostom's Discourse Against Those Who Are Judaizing and Observing Their Fasts." In Vol. 8 (col. 798) Savile states that he has emended Hoeschel's edition of this homily with the help of two Oxford MSS, one from the Corpus Christi College and the other from the New College; he must have gotten his title from any or all of these sources. Savile gives all eight of the homilies Adverus Iudaeos (Vol. 6.312-88) but in the order IV-VIII (wich are translations posted entitled Kata Ioudaion, i.e. Adversus Iudaeos), I (with the title given above), III and II (with the title affixed to them in our translation). Because of the titles in both some MSS and editions and because of the arguments which will be set forth in this introduction, we feel justified in calling this work AgainstJudaizing Christians rather than giving it the less irenic and somewhat misleading traditional title Against the Jews." ''John Chrysostom, Discourses against Judaizing Christians'', translated by Paul Halsall from W. Harkins. ''The Fathers of the original GreekChurch''; v. 68 (Washington: other researchers give slightly different translationsCatholic University of America Press, 1979), p. xxxi, footnote 47</ref> At the time he delivered these sermons, Chrysostom was a tonsured reader and had not yet been ordained a priest or bishop.
* "The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the [[fast]]s. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. Yet some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts. I wish to drive this perverse custom from the Church right now." (Homily I, I, 5)
* "Are you Jews still disputing the question? Do you not see that you are condemned by the testimony of what [[Christ]] and the [[prophet]]s predicted and which the facts have proved? But why should this surprise me? That is the kind of people you are. From the beginning you have been shameless and obstinate, ready to fight at all times against obvious facts." (Homily V, XII, 1)
Many researchers believe that the The purpose of these attacks was to prevent Christians from joining with Jewish customs, and thus prevent the erosion of Chrysostom's flock. Others characterize Robert L. Wilken contends that applying the modern label of Anti-Semitism onto St. John Chrysostom is anachronistic. He particularly focuses on the rhetorical genre that St. John employed in these homilies, and other Church fathers as anti-Semiticpoints out that St. John was using the genre of psogos (or invective):
:"The psogos was supposed to present unrelieved denigration of the subject. As one ancient teacher of rhetoric put it, the psogos is "only condemnation" and sets forth only the "bad things about someone" (Aphthonius Rhet. Graeci 2.40).... In psogos, the rhetor used omission to hide the subject's good traits or amplification to exaggerate his worsts features, and the cardinal rule was never to say anything positive about the subject. Even "when good things are done they are proclaimed in the worst light" (Aristides Rhet. Graeci 2.506). In an encomium, one passes over a man's faults in order to praise him, and in a psogos, one passed over his virtues to defame him. Such principles are explicit in the handbooks of the rhetors, but an interesting passage from the church historian Socrates, writing in the mid fifth century, shows that the rules for invective were simply taken for granted by men and women of the late Roman world. In discussing Libanius's [St. John's Pagan instructor in Rhetoric] orations in praise of the emperor Julian [the Apostate], Socrates explains that Libanius magnifies and exaggerates Julian's virtues because he is an "outstanding sophist" (Hist. eccl. 3.23). The point is that one should not expect a fair presentation in a psagos, for that is not its purpose. The psogos is designed to attack someone, says Socrates, and is taught by the sophist in the schools as one of the rudiments of their skills.... Echoing the same rhetorical background, Augustine said that, in preparing an encomium on the emperor, he intended "that it should include a great many lies," and that the audience would know "how far from the truth they were" (Conf. 6.6)." (p. 112).<ref>''John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late 4th Century'', by Robert L. Wilken (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1983), p. 112.</ref>  Another important point of context that Wilkens highlights is the reign of Julian the Apostate, and the way he used the Jews (and was used by them) to undercut Christianity. Julian had even planned to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, primarily because he believed it would refute Christ's prophesies about the destruction of the Temple. This happened when St. John was a youngman, and so Christians at this time had no reason to believe that they had a firm position in society that could not be overturned in a short period of time. Thus polemics against the Jews were not the polemics of a group with a firm grip on power, but the polemics of a group that had reason to fear what the future might bring. :"The Roman Empire in the fourth century was not the world of Byzantium or medieval Europe. The institutions of traditional Hellenic culture and society were still very much alive in John Chrysostom's day. The Jews were a vital and visible presence in Antioch and elsewhere in the Roman Empire, and they continued to be a formidable rival to the Christians. Judaizing Christians were widespread. Christianity was still in the process of establishing its place within the society and was undermined by internal strife and apathetic adherents. Without an appreciation of this setting, we cannot understand why John preached the homilies and why he responds to the Judaizers with such passion and fervor. The medieval image of the Jew should not be imposed on antiquity. Every act of historical understanding is an act of empathy. When I began to study John Chrysostom's writings on the Jews, I was inclined to judge what he said in light of the unhappy history of Jewish-Christian relations and the sad events in Jewish history in modern times. As much as I feel a deep sense of moral responsibility for the attitudes and actions of Christians toward the Jews, I am no longer ready to project these later attitudes unto the events of the fourth century. No matter how outraged Christians feel over the Christian record of dealing with the Jews, we have no license to judge the distant past on the basis of our present perceptions of events of more recent times' <ref>''John Chrysostom and the Jews: Rhetoric and Reality in the Late 4th Century'', by Robert L. Wilken (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1983), pp. 162-163.</ref>  See also: [http://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20090205002052/http://chrysostom.org/jews.html Was Saint John Chrysostom Anti-Semitic?]
== Work on liturgy ==
:All-blest and venerable John Chrysostom,
:we worthily praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
 
{{start box}}
{{succession |
before=[[Nectarius of Constantinople|Nectarius]]|
title=[[List of Patriarchs of Constantinople|Archbishop of Constantinople]]|
years=398&ndash;404 |
after=[[Arsacius of Tarsus]]}}
{{end box}}
 
==Notes==
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==Source==
*Some material taken from [[w:John Chrysostom|''John Chrysostom'' at Wikipedia]] ==Modern Bibliography==* ''On Wealth and Poverty'' (SVS Press, 1999) (ISBN 088141039X)* ''On Marriage and Family Life'' (SVS Press, 1986) (ISBN 0913836869)* Robert Van de Weyer, ''On Living Simply: The Golden Voice of John Chrysostom'' (Triumph Books, 1997) (ISBN 0764800566)
== External links ==
*[http://www.chrysostom.org/ The Saint John Chrysostom Webpage]
*[http://www.ccel.org/c/chrysostom/ Works about and by John Chrysostom] from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
*[http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.aspsaints_view?contentid=290 John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople] ([[GOARCH]])*[http://www.goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.aspsaints_view?contentid=405 Removal of the Relics of John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople] (GOARCH)
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103292 St. John Chrysostom the Archbishop of Constantinople] ([[OCA]])
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102611 Repose of St John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople] (OCA)
*[http://www.antiochian.org/dynamis/1100322000.html November 13, 2004 : The Martyrdom of Saint John Chrysostom] ([[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America|Antiochian]])
*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/j/saintsj.htm#pha17 A few beautiful icons of St. John Chrysostom]
*[http://www.ec-patr.org/list/index.php?lang=en&id=37 John I Chrysostom] - [[Church of Constantinople]] website
'''French'''
*Abbaye Saint-Benoît de Port-Valais. [http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/chrysostome/ SAINT JEAN CHRYSOSTOME - OEUVRES COMPLÈTES].
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