Background
St. John Chrysostom was born in 349 at Antioch in Syria to Greek parents from Syria. He was the son of a high-ranking military officer and was raised as a Christian by his widowed mother.
(Christian tradition often seems to give only grudging app...)
Christian tradition often seems to give only grudging approval to the married life, particularly its sexual aspect. In these sermons of St John Chrysostom we find an important corrective to this view. Although himself a monk, Chrysostom had a profound understanding of the needs of his congregation. Inspired by the epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians, he discusses the reasons God instituted marriage: primarily to promote holiness of the husband and wife, and only secondarily to produce children. Chrysostom goes on to discuss sexual relations, the mutual responsibilities of marriage, and parenting. While parts of Chrysostom's sermons may seem limited to his own time, the vast majority of his advice has timeless relevance for the Christian family.
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(None of the Fathers of the early church is better known o...)
None of the Fathers of the early church is better known or loved than St John Chrysostom, and none of his works is more popular than On the Priesthood. Its stylistic brilliance demonstrates the appropriateness of St John's enduring title, the golden-mouthed. Yet the rhetorical eloquence of the work is not simply camouflage for lack of substance. As Graham Neville observes in his Introduction, Chrysostom had a mind both practical and idealistic, that brought into close connection the evils and injustices of the world and the perfection of moral life demanded by the gospel. Chrysostom's unique gift for linking concrete observation and theological vision is nowhere more evident that in On the Priesthood. Its presence helps to account for the work's power to inspire and challenge Christians in all ages.
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( The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most...)
The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most celebrated Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Rite. It is named after the anaphora with the same name which is its core part and it is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th century. Used by every Greek Orthodox church as a template for worship since the 5th century, it has stood the test of time and reflects a love for God and his people not found in churches today.
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(St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in the year 349 A...)
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in the year 349 AD. His father died soon after his birth and he was raised by his deeply pious mother. Under her influence St. John became devout as well, and took to studying scripture under the guidance of the bishop of Antioch who would later be the one to baptize him. St. John was drawn to become a monk, and when he mother died he withdrew to the wilderness. There he wrote a number of works on the ascetic life. After a number of years he went to a cave to live in complete silence. He lasted for two years until his health declined and he was forced to come back into the world. He was ordained a priest in 386, and eventually earned the name, 'Chrysostom' (Golden-Mouthed) for his brilliant sermons. He was known for his love of scripture, and many of his sermons were compiled into commentaries. In 397 he was chosen to be the bishop of Constantinople, which was perhaps the most important Christian office of its day. Although an extremely busy position, he nevertheless continued his literary output in the form of sermons, which he delivered in the great church, Hagia Sofia. Unfortunately his often fiery sermons did not sit well with the royal court. He was banished from the city once by the empress. Then a second time the empress had him removed and forcibly walked to a remote location. St. John did not survive the journey and died on Sept. 17, 407. St. John Chrysostom left a tremendous mark on the Christian church. His liturgy is celebrated by Eastern Orthodox Christians almost every Sunday, and his homilies are considered by many to be the best every produced. This collection brings together the full range of his extant works in the English language. The following works are provided: 1. Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew 2. Homilies on Acts 3. Homilies on Romans 4. Homilies on First Corinthians 5. Homilies on Second Corinthians 6. Homilies on Ephesians 7. Homilies on Philippians 8. Homilies on Colossians 9. Homilies on First Thessalonians 10. Homilies on Second Thessalonians 11. Homilies on First Timothy 12. Homilies on Second Timothy 13. Homilies on Titus 14. Homilies on Philemon 15. Commentary on Galatians 16. Homilies on the Gospel of John 17. Homilies on the Epistle to the Hebrews 18. Homilies on the Statues 19. No One Can Harm the Man Who Does Not Injure Himself 20. Two Letters to Theodore After His Fall 21. Letter to a Young Widow 22. Homily on St. Ignatius 23. Homily on St. Babylas 24. Homily Concerning "Lowliness of Mind" 25. Instructions to Catechumens 26. Three Homilies on the Power of Satan 27. Homily on the Passage "Father, if it be possible . . ." 28. Homily on the Paralytic Lowered Through the Roof 29. Homily on the Passage "If your enemy hunger, feed him." 30. Homily Against Publishing the Errors of the Brethren 31. First Homily on Eutropius 32. Second Homily on Eutropius (After His Captivity) 33. Four Letters to Olympias 34. Letter to Some Priests of Antioch 35. Correspondence with Pope Innocent I 36. On the Priesthood
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St. John Chrysostom was born in 349 at Antioch in Syria to Greek parents from Syria. He was the son of a high-ranking military officer and was raised as a Christian by his widowed mother.
John began his education under the pagan teacher Libanius. From Libanius, John acquired the skills for a career in rhetoric, as well as a love of the Greek language and literature.
As he grew older, however, he became more deeply committed to Christianity and went on to study theology under Diodore of Tarsus, founder of the re-constituted School of Antioch.
Adopting the life of Christian asceticism, he practiced austerities so severe as a desert recluse that his health collapsed, forcing him to return to his native city about age 33. At Antioch, John was ordained deacon in 381 and presbyter five years later. As a preacher, he drew the enthusiastic approval both of his bishop and of the Christian laity. His sermons are notable for their attention to the historical meaning of Scripture as opposed to an allegorical interpretation, for their concern with the practical moral application, and for their pungent thrusts against the loose morality of a city nominally Christian. The fame of John's preaching spread to Constantinople, the capital city of the empire. In late 397 he was virtually kidnaped and taken by military escort to Constantinople, where under pressure from figures in government and Church he reluctantly agreed to be consecrated bishop of that city. The ascetic and outspoken bishop was, tragically, not a sufficiently astute tactician to save himself from downfall.
In 403 John was condemned in absentia on charges which included sponsoring heretical teachings of Origen and making treasonable statements about the Empress. The synod was followed by an edict of banishment from the Emperor, which in spite of a temporary recall led to John's exile in 404 to a tiny village in distant Armenia. His continuing wide influence through correspondence from his place of exile prompted the government to order that he be marched on foot to a more remote and desolate place on the Black Sea. The hardships of the march killed him in September 407, before he reached his destination. A new emperor, Theodosius II, penitent for the injustice perpetrated by his parents, had John's body transported back to Constantinople in 438.
(None of the Fathers of the early church is better known o...)
(Christian tradition often seems to give only grudging app...)
( The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most...)
(St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in the year 349 A...)
Christian
Quotations:
"Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation for cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness. "
"If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice. "
"Be ashamed when you sin, don't be ashamed when you repent [To repent means to have a change of heart and mind. It is not simply a feeling of sorrow , but a psycho/spiritual growth away from evil/death and a turning to God/life]. Sin is the wound, repentance is the medicine. Sin is followed by shame; repentance is followed by boldness [ Boldness means to beg God for undeserved mercy]. Satan has overturned this order and given boldness to sin and shame to repentance. "
"The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path. "
"Happiness can only be achieved by looking inward & learning to enjoy whatever life has and this requires transforming greed into gratitude. "
"Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth, but theirs. "
"When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving (all these are attributes of God), to be generous, to love their follow men, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them. "
"When you are weary of praying, and do not receive, consider how often you have heard a poor man calling, and have not listened to him. "
"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others. "
"I am a Christian. He who answers thus has declared everything at once-his country, profession, family; the believer belongs to no city on earth but to the heavenly Jerusalem. "
"If you wish to leave much wealth to your children, leave them in God's care. Do not leave them riches, but virtue and skill. For if they learn to expect riches, they will not mind anything besides, and their abundant riches shall give them the means of screening the wickedness of their ways. "
"Such is friendship, that through it we love places and seasons; for as bright bodies emit rays to a distance, and flowers drop their sweet leaves on the ground around them, so friends impart favor even to the places where they dwell. With friends even poverty is pleasant. Words cannot express the joy which a friend imparts; they only can know who have experienced. A friend is dearer than the light of heaven, for it would be better for us that the sun were exhausted than that we should be without friends. "
"To destroy the fetus 'is something worse than murder. ' The one who does this 'does not take away life that has already been born, but prevents it from being born. '"
"For Christians above all men are forbidden to correct the stumblings of sinners by force. .. it is necessary to make a man better not by force but by persuasion. We neither have authority granted us by law to restrain sinners, nor, if it were, should we know how to use it, since God gives the crown to those who are kept from evil, not by force, but by choice. "
His personal simplicity of life, his determination toward moral reform of the clergy, and his caustic comments on the follies and vices of life at the court created enemies, the most powerful of whom was the scheming empress Eudoxia. She found a convenient ally in Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, who had long harbored resentment over John's elevation to the bishopric of Constantinople. John was providing sympathetic shelter in Constantinople to four monks, known from their stature as the Tall Brothers, who were enthusiasts for the teachings of Origen and who had been expelled from Egypt by Theophilus. Arriving in Constantinople ostensibly to defend his expulsion of the Tall Brothers, Theophilus gathered 36 bishops hostile to John at a synod in the Palace of the Oak at Chalcedon, across the straits from the capital.