John Chrysostom
("golden-mouth")
340/350- 14 September 407,
feast day: 13 November

John Chrysostom was born in Antioch between 340 and 350 and died in Komana on 14 September 407. Chrysostom first became a monk, living briefly in the desert before returning to Antioch to be ordained as a deacon in 381 and as a priest in 386. In 398, Chrysostom was invited to Constantinople to succeed Nektarios as bishop of Constantinople. As bishop, Chrysostom was very active politically, and his opposition to Empress Eudoxia proved unwise. In August 403, the Synod of the Oak at Chalcedon removed Chrysostom from his appointment. He was briefly recalled to the capital when riots broke out over his treatment, but in 404, he was permanently banished to Koukousos in Armenia. He died three years later. Chrysostom is best known as an orator. Most of his writings are preserved in approximately two thousand manuscripts. He is also known as one of the authors of the liturgy although the surviving liturgy attributed to him is probably not his work. The largest portion of his oeuvre consists of exegetical homilies on books of the Bible. In his homilies, Chrysostom stressed the historical and literal meaning of the biblical texts, attempting to demonstrate ways in which they could provide spiritual guidance in daily life. He also devoted many of his writings to the subject of morality, criticizing cohabitation of the sexes in ascetic communities and priestly homes, the circus, theater, and other forms of public entertainment. In art, John Chrysostom can be recognized by his sunken cheeks and high forehead. BLR

COMPARANDA
Icon of St. John Chrysostom (Washington D. C., Dumbarton Oaks)

BIBLIOGRAPHY
"John Chrysostom." Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander Kazhdan. 3 vols. New York: Oxford University Press. 1057-1058.