John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church (344–407)

Biography

The only son of a superior officer, he had been educated Christianly by his mother, who had been widowed. At the age of twenty he already excelled as an orator and was compared to Demosthenes. John went to the Bishop of Antioch and asked for baptism. He said goodbye to the legal profession, to the theater and to the world and went to live as an anchorite in the mountains where he spent five years. There he wrote "DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PRIESTHOOD." But his sublime voice could not be extinguished in the desert. Patriarch Flavian claimed him and returned to the city. As a priest and assistant to his Bishop, he dedicates himself to the ministry of the Word and becomes Juan CHRISOSTOMO, the one with the "MOUTH OF GOLDEN". He preached at all hours, attacked vices, exhorted, advised, dazzled with his words, but he was not satisfied with the passing enthusiasm of his listeners. I wanted to see the fruit, the works. He did not admit an answer only in words. "It is not enough, he says, to decorate the temple. What will God say to you if you have not taken care of your brother? In the year 397 he was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople. He will continue to preach against the injustices of the court and the powerful. Vices were met with the protest of his word. He took his position seriously and deposed numerous unworthy Bishops, tried to restore morality to his clergy, persecuted monks who went sightseeing instead of praying in their He also founded new Christian communities in the countryside and took care of the religious instruction of the soldiers. His income was distributed entirely among the poor, for whom he also founded hospitals. The people saw him as an ascetic and poor monk, and loved him as a father. The atmosphere at court became increasingly colder. 403 he was deposed as patriarch with false evidence and exiled to the border of Armenia, for censuring the luxuries and frivolity of the empress. He continued preaching in the desert and corresponded with all the Churches of the world. He died in 407. Saint John Chrysostom was one of the Greek fathers most devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and has been called the Theologian of the Eucharist and the best interpreter of Saint Paul. Rome, in St. Peter's Basilica.