By Metropolitan Chrysostomos III of Mani
Among the foremost holy personalities of our Church is Saint John Chrysostom. In particular, the hymnography of the Church employs magnificent words and phrases to praise and extol this God-bearing Father of the fourth century. Here are some examples: “Rejoice, O John of Golden Speech, all-golden one,” “The treasury of the virtues,” “The mouth of the Church,” “The golden-voiced trumpet,” “The precision of theology,” “The correction of those who sin,” “The Father of orphans,” “The swiftest help of those who suffer injustice,” “An earthly angel and a heavenly man.”
Below, we examine three aspects of his personality.
a) Saint John Chrysostom as a Teacher of the Church. Indeed, Saint John Chrysostom was a tireless teacher, interpreter, and true theologian of Christian teaching. A man of the broadest education and a spirit of many talents, he is called the preeminent preacher of the Church, equal to Demosthenes and superior to Aristotle. It has been beautifully written that “Paul was the mouth of Christ, and Chrysostom the mouth of Paul.” His homilies were truly masterpieces of eloquence and spiritual depth. He had studied and delved into the Holy Scriptures as no one else in his time, and it is characteristic that the number of surviving manuscripts of his works is greater than the number of manuscripts of all the other ecclesiastical writers. There are more than 2,000. In the West, moreover, the first translation appeared forty years after his repose. Today, the bibliography relating to the works of Chrysostom is exceptionally extensive, comprising dissertations, studies, articles, essays, and biographies. He was, therefore, a student of the Scriptures, an author, and an incomparable preacher of the divine word.
Through his speech and writing, he continually delights, moves, elevates, and ennobles the human being. He becomes an exemplar of faith. As the Great Photios says, his words possessed purity, brilliance, and clarity. He frequently spoke twice a day, and the people listened to him with undiminished attention, with emotion, and often to the point of tears and applause.
The people called him “golden mouth”—Chrysostom! Through his magnificent preaching, he reproved, taught, instructed in the faith, comforted, encouraged, and strengthened people in the faith. He was called the dean of preachers, and for this reason he is also the patron of all preachers throughout the ages.
b) Saint John Chrysostom as a Celebrant of the Divine Mysteries of the Church. He was “wholly consecrated to God.” When he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, he appeared to have become immaterial. He was in the heavens. Moreover, his six discourses “On the Priesthood” constitute a work of great theological value and significance, in which the reader discovers how the divine Father regarded the ministry of the priesthood. His phrase, “For the priesthood is performed on earth, but possesses the order of the heavenly ranks,” has remained a classic expression, and for this reason he himself was deeply moved whenever he stood before the Holy Altar.
He also writes: “When the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit and performs the most awesome sacrifice, and continually touches the Master who is common to all, where shall we place him, tell me? How much purity and how much reverence must we require of him? For consider what sort of hands those must be which minister these things, what sort of tongue must be the one that pours forth those words, and how much purer and holier must be the soul that has received so great a Spirit. At that time, angels also stand beside the priest.”
He is the one who sings the praises of the priesthood and the is theologian of the Eucharist. Even if we merely read the awesome prayer of his Divine Liturgy during the Cherubic Hymn—“No one who is bound by carnal desires and pleasures is worthy to approach You, or to draw near to You, or to minister to You…”—we understand the supreme measure of holiness, priestly dignity, and spiritual ascent of Saint John Chrysostom, who was a presbyter in Antioch and later Archbishop of Constantinople. He was a true celebrant of the sacred rites and an initiate of the Mysteries of God. Furthermore, in this connection, we should not forget the four prayers of the Service before Holy Communion, which are so full of Eucharistic realism and content.
c) Saint John Chrysostom as a Shepherd of the Rational Sheep of Christ’s Flock. Indeed, he did not remain merely with words, but also proceeded to works of love for the people of God. He was a father to the poor, widows, orphans, the afflicted, and his suffering fellow human beings. The tears of others, their pain, and their trials were also a burden to him. A fervent champion of love, he cared for everyone. He established hospitals, homes for the elderly, and poorhouses. In Antioch, 3,000 people received their meals, and in Constantinople, 7,000 received food and clothing through the Hierarch Chrysostom. He had implemented what was called the “Chest of the Poor” in homes, where, at his urging, Christians collected money for the poor. He did not hesitate to confront even the avaricious and vainglorious Empress Eudoxia when it was necessary to defend the rights of those suffering injustice. Even from the places of his exile, Saint John Chrysostom continued to care for the almsgiving and assistance given to the poor. From there, too, he continued his charitable and pastoral activity. He was preeminently “the sociologist of the pulpit” and an ever-vigilant father at the side of the poor. Here we see Chrysostom being golden also in his works of love.
I wonder, we faithful Greeks of today, how well have we come to know and appreciate this great and wise Father of the Church? The Fourth Ecumenical Synod, which called him “Teacher of the Church,” urges us also to become his disciples. Indeed, becoming his disciples is the best way to celebrate the commemoration of Saint John Chrysostom.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
