Vigils Reading – St John Chrysostom

ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

From “The Fathers of the Church” by Pope Benedict XVI

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St John Chrysostom was born in Antioch, Syria, in 344. His father died

when he was an infant and his mother raised him. He studied with the most

famous rhetorician of the day, Libanus. Baptized as a young adult in 368, John

undertook an ascetic life for four years, living alone on the neighboring Mount

Silpius. He extended his stay for a further two years, living alone in a cave under

the guidance of an old hermit.

Having fallen ill, he found it impossible to care for himself and returned to

the city and was ordained a deacon and then a priest. From 386 to 397 he

preached in the cathedral at Antioch, perhaps the most satisfying and happiest

years of his life. There he delivered courses of sermons on books of the Bible.

John was nicknamed “Chrysostom”, that is, “golden mouthed”, because of his

eloquence.

In 397 he was taken, almost by force, to Constantinople, ordained bishop,

and made patriarch of the capitol city. He lived ascetically and showed deep

concern for the poor and the sick. But his style of life offended some powerful

people, including the Empress Eudoxia. Theophilus, the patriarch of

Alexandria, was also among his enemies, and in 403 Theophilus presided at a

synod near Constantinople that deposed John.

John was banished twice, the first time for only a short while. But during

the second exile he died on September 14, 407 while being forced to travel in

harsh weather.

John is known for a large corpus of homilies, most of them on Scripture.

Among his best known and most read books are the six books On the

Priesthood.