St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople
Forms of name: John
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch about the year 347. He excelled in secular studies but preferred study of Holy Scripture and prayerful contemplation. He was guided in the faith by his mother and by St Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, who baptized St. John in 367.
St. John later studied the ascetical life under the presbyters Flavian and Diodorus of Tarsus. He embraced monasticism after the death of his mother, spent four years in the wilderness under an experienced spiritual guide, and for two years he lived in a cave in silence, but he was forced to return to Antioch to recover his health.
In 386 Bishop Flavian of Antioch ordained St. John to the priesthood. St. John was a gifted preacher, and his oratory earned him the name "Chrysostom" (meaning "Golden-Mouthed"). For twelve years the saint preached in church, usually twice a week, but sometimes daily; he wrote commentaries and sets of homilies on entire books of the Holy Scriptures, plus many homilies on individual passages of Scripture, instructions on the Feast days, laudations on the Saints, and apologetic homilies.
In 397, with the death of Archbishop Nectarius of Constantinople, St. John was summoned from Antioch and elected to the See of Constantinople. Here his denunciations of the lax morals in the capitol earned him the enmity of Empress Eudoxia, who twice had him exiled from Constantinople. He reposed at Comana on September 14, 407, during his second exile.
The holy relics of St. John Chrysostom were solemnly transferred from Comana to Constantinople in the year 438, and placed in the Church of Holy Peace (Hagia Eirene). Although he reposed on Sept. 14, his feast was moved to Nov. 13 because of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Commemorated:
- January 27 (Translation of relics)
- January 30 (Synaxis of the Three Holy Hierarchs)
- September 14 (Repose)
- November 13
Online Resources:
- Short bio (with icon) at OCA's Lives of the Saints
- Troparion and kontakion at OCA's Lives of the Saints
- Index to St. John's writings online, at Great Books and Classics
Available at ArchangelsBooks.com:
- The Cult of the Saints by St. John Chrysostom, translation and introduction by Wendy Mayer with Bronwen Neil
- On Marriage and Family Life by St. John Chrysostom, translated by Catharine Roth and David Anderson
- On Wealth and Poverty by St John Chrysostom, translated by Catherine Roth
- On the Priesthood (Popular Patristics Series) by St John Chrysostom
- St. John Chrysostom Commentaries on the Sages Vol. 1: Commentary on Job translated by Robert Charles Hill
- St. John Chrysostom Commentaries on the Sages Vol. 2: Commentary on Proverbs, Commentary on Ecclesiastes translated by Robert Charles Hill
- Daily Readings from the Writings of St. John Chrysostom edited by Anthony M. Coniaris
- The Church's Identity Established through Images according to Saint John Chrysostom by Protopresbyter Gus George Christo
- Women and Men in the Early Church: The Full Views of St. John Chrysostom by David C. Ford
- Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom: Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop by J. N. D. Kelly
- Lives of the Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom
- Icon of St. John Chrysostom
- Russian Silk Orthodox Icon of St. John Chrysostom
- Icon of the Three Holy Hierarchs
- Russian Silk Orthodox Icon of the Three Holy Hierarchs
Available at Amazon.com:
- On Living Simply: The Golden Voice of John Chrysostom by Robert Van de Weyer
- St. John Chrysostom: Eight Sermons on the Book of Genesis translated by Robert C. Hill
- St. John Chrysostom: Commentary on the Psalms, translated by Robert C. Hill
- St. John Chrysostom: Spiritual Gems from the Gospel of Matthew, translated by Robert Charles Hill
- On Repentance and Almsgiving (The Fathers of the Church) by St. John Chrysostom, translated by Gus George Christo
- Homilies on Genesis, 1-17 (The Fathers of the Church) by St. John Chrysostom
- Baptismal Instructions (Ancient Christian Writers) by St. John Chrysostom, translated by Paul W. Harkins
- The Homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Gospel of St. Matthew