|
St. John
Chrysostom:
Patron Saint of the Holy Metropolis of New Jersey
Apolytikion:
The grace of your words illuminated the
universe like a shining beacon. It amassed treasures of munificence
in the world. It demonstrated the greatness of humility, teaching us
by your own words; therefore, O Father John Chrysostom, intercede to
Christ the Logos for the salvation of our souls.
Kontakion:
You received divine grace from Heaven, and
by your own lips taught all to worship the One God in Trinity.
All-blessed, venerable John Chrysostom, deservedly, we praise you
for you are a teacher clearly revealing things divine.
|
|
This greatest and
most beloved of all Christian orators was born in Antioch the Great
in the year 344 or 347; his pious parents were called Secundus and
Anthusa. After his mother was widowed at the age of twenty, she
devoted herself to bringing up John and his elder sister in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. John received his literary
training under Anthragathius the philosopher, and Libanius the
sophist, who was the greatest Greek scholar and rhetorician of his
day. Libanius was a pagan, and when asked before his death whom he
wished to have for his successor, he said, "John, had not the
Christians stolen him from us." With such a training, and with such
gifts as he had by nature, John had before him a brilliant career as
a rhetorician. But through the good example of his godly mother
Anthusa and of the holy Bishop Meletius of Antioch (see Feb. 12), by
whom he was ordained reader about the year 370, he chose instead to
dedicate himself to God. From the years 374 to 381 he lived the
monastic life in the hermitages that were near Antioch. His extreme
asceticism undermined his health, compelling him to return to
Antioch, where Saint Meletius ordained him deacon about the year
381. Saint Meletius was called to Constantinople later that year to
preside over the Second Ecumenical Council, during which he fell
asleep in the Lord. In 386 Bishop Flavian ordained John presbyter of
the Church of Antioch. Upon his elevation to the priesthood his
career as a public preacher began, and his exceptional oratorical
gifts were made manifest through his many sermons and commentaries.
They are distinguished by their eloquence and the remarkable ease
with which rich imagery and scriptural allusions are multiplied; by
their depth of insight into the meaning of Scripture and the
workings of God's providence; and, not least of all, by their
earnestness and moral force, which issue from the heart of a
blameless and guileless man who lived first what he preached to
others. Because of his fame, he was chosen to succeed Saint
Nectarius as Patriarch of Constantinople. He was taken away by
stealth, to avoid the opposition of the people, and consecrated
Patriarch of Constantinople on February 28, 398, by Theophilus,
Patriarch of Alexandria, who was to prove his mortal enemy.
At that time the
Emperor of the East was Arcadius, who had had Saint Arsenius the
Great as his tutor (see May 8); Arcadius was a man of weak
character, and much under the influence of his wife Eudoxia. The
zealous and upright Chrysostom's unsparing censures of the lax
morals in the imperial city stung the vain Eudoxia; through
Theophilus' plottings and her collaboration, Saint John was banished
to Pontus in 403. The people were in an uproar, and the following
night an earthquake shook the city; this so frightened the Empress
Eudoxia that she begged Arcadius to call Chrysostom back. While his
return was triumphant, his reconciliation with the Empress did not
last long. When she had a silver statue of herself erected in the
forum before the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Saint Sophia) in
September of 403, and had it dedicated with much unseemly revelry,
Saint John thundered against her, and she could not forgive him. In
June of 404 he was exiled to Cucusus, on the borders of Cilicia and
Armenia. From here he exchanged letters with Pope Innocent of Rome,
who sent bishops and priests to Constantinople requesting that a
council be held. Saint John's enemies, dreading his return,
prevailed upon the Emperor to see an insult in this, and had John
taken to a more remote place of banishment called Pityus near the
Caucasus. The journey was filled with bitter sufferings for the aged
bishop, both because of the harshness of the elements and the
cruelty of one of his 310 guards. He did not reach Pityus, but gave
up his soul to the Lord near Comana in Pontus, at the chapel of the
Martyr Basiliscus (see May 22), who had appeared to him shortly
before, foretelling the day of his death, which came to pass on
September 14, 407. His last words were "Glory be to God for all
things." His holy relics were brought from Comana to Constantinople
thirty-one years later by the Emperor Theodosius the Younger and
Saint Pulcheria his sister, the children of Arcadius and Eudoxia,
with fervent supplications that the sin of their parents against him
be forgiven; this return of his holy relics is celebrated on January
27.
Saint John was
surnamed Chrysostom ("Golden-mouth") because of his eloquence. He
made exhaustive commentaries on the divine Scriptures and was the
author of more works than any other Church Father, leaving us
complete commentaries on the Book of Genesis, the Gospels of Saints
Matthew and John, the Acts, and all the Epistles of Saint Paul. His
extant works are 1,447 sermons and 240 epistles. Twenty-two teachers
of the Church have written homilies of praise in his honour. Besides
his feasts today and on January 27, he is celebrated as one of the
Three Hierarchs on January 30, together with Saint Basil the Great
and Saint Gregory the Theologian.
It should be noted that, because September 14 is the Exaltation of
the Cross, the Saint's memory has been transferred to this day. |
