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| Chrysostom fearlessly preached to the great and small |
John Chrysostom
(347-407 AD)
His birth name is John, but since the 7th century
has been called “Chrysostomos” (Greek for the
Golden Mouth) because of his great preaching. He was one of the greatest preachers of the
ancient Christian era and his life offers us a couple of lessons in Christian leadership. Born to a wealthy
couple in Syria, John’s father (whose name is unknown) was a prominent military
officer for the Roman government in Antioch.
He died when John was quite young leaving his mother Anthusa ,who
remained a widow the remainder of her life, to devote her full attention to the
education and religious upbringing of their son.
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| Libanius |
John was given the best education of the day by Libanius, arguably
the greatest master of rhetoric and literature of that era. Although he lived in a time when Christianity
became the required religion of the Roman Empire, he remained a pagan and was
undisturbed for his beliefs because of his renown. It is curious how Chrysostom’s mother, a
devout Christian and one obviously desiring his conversion, would see fit to
secure Libanius’ services for her son knowing the possible risk of his
influencing him towards paganism. But
even more interesting is that three of the greatest preachers and theologians
of this period, Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Theodore of Mopsuestia,
were all trained by this same man. John’s education was
focused on rhetoric and eloquence. Such an education would prepare him for a
career in law or government. John briefly
practiced law and for a .time was a civil servant, but when he became a
Christian, he took his training and applied it to the art of preaching.
Once converted he broke with the secular world and wanted to
become a monk like St. Antony of Egypt who lived alone in the desert and
devoted his entire life to prayer.
Although Anthusa was very glad for her son’s conversion, she begged and
pleaded with John to not enter into the monastic life because it would mean
leaving her. John obeyed his mother in
this and only after her death did he spend several years in monastic retreat
living in a mountain cave near Antioch
from 374-380 AD. Unfortunately, John was
too rigorous in his asceticism early on and this ruined his health forcing him
to suspend living as a solitary and instead he spent his life serving the
broader church as a pastor and preacher.
This change of vocation proved to be a rich blessing for the Christian
church of Antioch and the greater Body of Christ.
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| Icon of John |
John Chrysostom’s appearance is described in one ancient
book as being diminutive in stature and having what looked like an oversized
head on a small body due to his constant fasting. He was known to have a prominent nose and
deep-seated eyes and due to his balding, a pronounced forehead furrowed with
wrinkles. He is said to have been
handsome to look at but very easily could assume a severe expression.
For the first 16 years of his ministry he served in various
capacities in Antioch (the place where followers of Jesus were first called
Christians). During this time he
preached and wrote many of his books and commentaries.
Although he had no designs on the position, John was
eventually elected to be the bishop of Constantinople. This city was second only to Rome and the
papacy in its ecclesiastical importance.
He was directly appointed by the emperor Arkadius who arranged for him
to be spirited out of Antioch and brought under imperial guard to
Constantinople. The reason it happened
this way is that it was expected that there would be riots in Antioch when the
people found out their beloved preacher had been taken from them.
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| Constantinople |
Constantinople was a sophisticated and worldly metropolis
(as its current manifestation Istanbul Turkey is today) in the ancient
world. It was the capitol of the Roman
empire and the seat of their imperial throne.
It would be inaccurate to say that Chrysostom disliked his promotion to
the great city. He saw the opportunity
for influence and greater ministry especially since members of the royal
household would all be under his spiritual care.
John himself was a bachelor and celibate priest but he did
enjoy the companionship and help of the city’s great deaconess Olympia. In many regards she was his equal both
spiritually and intellectually. She ran
a great convent nearby the episcopal residence and regularly cared for him
providing meals and laundry and advice when he needed it. Author J. N. D. Kelly suggests that both of
them had a mutual attraction to one another but were very cognizant of their
roles in the church and world and took precautions to not place themselves in a
position where temptation could overcome them.
Later when John was exiled, it was Olympia who would arrange for his
support and would send people to encourage him.
John’s talent and eloquence at preaching was at a level
well-suited for the city. However, in a
city known for its excesses and decadence, Chrysostom lived a manner of life
that created tension for him most of the time.
He personally lived as an ascetic and gave his salary away to the poor
and sick. He insisted on earnest
Christian living and practical works in his church and often vehemently
denounced the worldliness of his congregation which did include the imperial
court who were often singled out for direct rebukes and were routinely offended
by them.
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| John's Church the "Hagia Sophia" |
As bishop, Chrysostom found the priesthood of Constantinople
in need of great reform and discipline.
Some supposedly celibate priests lived with women known in public as “spiritual
sisters”. Others were guilty of taking
church finances and lavishly furnishing their homes and wardrobes. All the while the poor and sick were
neglected and preaching was made a low priority. John reformed all of these things and
required all finances of the diocese to be placed under his scrutiny. Many luxuries purchased at church expense
were sold off and churches were ordered to have regular services at hours where
common people could attend and hear the word preached. As with any reformer, many rejoiced to see
justice and righteousness prevail, while many more were quite offended and
became his enemies. Although Chrysostom had a singular and brilliant talent in
the pulpit and was a man of great holiness, he was far less gifted in
understanding human relations and the management of people. His blunt approach, while true to his
character and his faith, probably more than any other factor led to his
eventual downfall.
Eventually the empress Eudoxia conspired with other clergy
who were jealous of John to have him falsely accused of heresy, overthrown, and
placed into exile. A secret church
council known as the Council of the Oak (so-called because it was held at a
country villa estate called “the Oak” nearby Constantinople) was convened and
29 false charges were brought to bear on him which led to his banishment from
the church. The central gist of the
charges were that he was teaching the doctrines of Origen, a long-dead but
highly influential and speculative theologian whom the church had condemned as
heretical some decades before. One of
the absurdities of Chrysostom being accused of being “Origenist” is that Origen
was so highly speculative and looked for spiritual and mystical meanings in the
scripture. Chrysostom was far more
conservative in his interpretation of scripture almost taking an antithetical
approach. He was certainly not guilty as
charged.
However, three days after he was excused from his post a
huge earthquake hit Constantinople. A
great public outcry ensued over Chrysostom’s dismissal and the natural disaster
only confirmed that God was in agreement with the people. John was hastily reinstated to his position. Once back in the pulpit, John fearlessly
continued his denouncements of public immorality and especially singled out
Eudoxia who had had a silver statue of herself erected near his church the
Hagia Sophia and was known for her extravagant dressing.
Eventually John was condemned again and sent into exile in
404 being banished to the wastes of eastern Asia Minor (Armenia). Although efforts were made to have him
released by Pope Innocent I, it was to no avail with the court of
Constantinople. 3 years into his exile
when he was being moved to a more remote location (he was growing popular with
the local people in the initial location) he falls ill and collapses from
exhaustion having been forced to walk a road too hard and too long for his
frail constitution. When he sensed he
was dying he asked the guards in charge of him to take him to a small roadside
church where he could have a final communion before passing away. His last words were said to be “in all
things, glory be to God.”
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| Theodosius II |
Thirty years later, Theodosius II, the son of Arcadius and
Eudoxia, orders the remains of John brought back to Constantinople to be buried
and venerated by the church. When the
coffin arrived at nearby Chalcedon, Theodosius fell down before it and
apologized to Chrysostom for his unworthy treatment at the hands of his
parents.
John Chrysostom’s body of sermons and practical commentaries
on the Bible are considered to be some of the most valuable of the ancient church
era and most remain in print today.
Although John was a brilliant expositor he never studied Hebrew and thus
most all of his surviving sermons are on the Pauline letters and Gospels of the
New Testament. What he is known for is
paying attention to the context and meaning of the author and deriving its
practical application for the problems of today. Because of this many of his sermons have
great relevance even in today’s modern culture.
In summing up what we might learn from the life of this great preacher a couple of thoughts come to mind:
1. Competence in the pulpit does not make a person omni-competent in all other things. John would have probably benefited from a leadership team that could have advised him and back him in making reforms and changes especially in a well-established city with a well-established sin matrix. He did it as the lone righteous prophet and good as that is, prophets don't have a record of things turning out well for them.
2. No education is a waste of time. John was educated for political and legal eloquence but transferred his learning into usefulness for the Lord. All work is the Lord's work (unless it is hurtful and dishonest towards people) and that same work can be used for ministry. In fact, I know a person who was a missionary who in his field experience had to learn sanitation and waste water management. This turned into another career for him and now he is using his career as a platform for more ministry. God doesn't waste anyone's life. What you have learned can be used in some way for Him.
In summing up what we might learn from the life of this great preacher a couple of thoughts come to mind:
1. Competence in the pulpit does not make a person omni-competent in all other things. John would have probably benefited from a leadership team that could have advised him and back him in making reforms and changes especially in a well-established city with a well-established sin matrix. He did it as the lone righteous prophet and good as that is, prophets don't have a record of things turning out well for them.
2. No education is a waste of time. John was educated for political and legal eloquence but transferred his learning into usefulness for the Lord. All work is the Lord's work (unless it is hurtful and dishonest towards people) and that same work can be used for ministry. In fact, I know a person who was a missionary who in his field experience had to learn sanitation and waste water management. This turned into another career for him and now he is using his career as a platform for more ministry. God doesn't waste anyone's life. What you have learned can be used in some way for Him.
To enjoy a sampling of the preaching genius of John
Chrysostom, the “Golden Mouth”, go to:
Sources:
“John Chrysostom”
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature Vol.
2.
McClintock and Strong eds. (Grand
Rapids : Baker Book House, 1981)
“John Chrysostom” Butler’s
Lives of the Saints. Bernard Bangley
Ed. (Brewster : Paraclete Press,
2005)
Kelly, J.N.D. Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom,
Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. (Grand
Rapids: Baker, 1995)
Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries: A
History of the Christian Church (Grand
Rapids : Academie Books, 1981)
The Oxford History of
Byzantium. Cyril Mango, Ed. (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2001)
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity Vol. 1. (New York : Harper Collins, 2010)
Davidson, Ivor J. A Public Faith : From Constantine to the
Medieval World AD 312-600 Vol. 2.
John
D. Woodbridge & David F. Wright Eds.
(Grand Rapids : Baker Books,
2005)
2005)
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