My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 13th of November, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
Our Father Among the Saints JOHN CHRYSOSTOMOS,
Archbishop of Constantinople.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Plagal of Fourth Tone
Grace shining forth from thy mouth like a beacon hath Illumined
the universe, and disclosed to the world treasures of uncovetous-
ness, and shown us the heights of humility; but whilst instructing
us by thy words, O Father John Chrysostomos, intercede with the
Logos/Word, Christ our God, to save our souls.
Kontakion Hymn. Plagal of Second Tone
From the Heavens hast thou received Divine grace, and by thy lips
thou dost teach all to worship the One God in Trinity, O John
Chrysostomos, all-blessed righteous one, Rightly do we acclaim thee,
for thou art a teacher revealing things divine.
The greatest and most beloved of all Christian orators was born in Antioch the Great in the year 344 or 347 A.D.; 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, by whom he was ordained reader about the year 370 A.D., he chose instead to dedicate himself to God. From the year 374 to 381 A.D. 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 A.D. 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 A.D. 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 area 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 Nectarios 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 A.D., by Theophilos, 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; Arcadius was a man of weak character, and much under the influence of his wife Evdoxia. The zealous and upright Chrysostom’s unsparing censures of the lax morals in the imperial city stung the vain Evdoxia; through Theophilus’ plottings and her collaboration, Saint John was banished to Pontus in 403 A.D. The people were in an uproar, and the following night an earthquake shook the city; this so frightened the Empress Evdoxia 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 Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in September of 403 A.D. and had it dedicated with much unseemly revelry, Saint John thundered against her, and she could not forgive him. In June of 404 A.D. he was exiled to Caucasus, 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 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,
who had appeared to him shortly before, foretelling the day of his death, which came to pass on September 14, 407 A.D. His last words were "GLORY TO GOD FOR ALL THINGS." His holy relics were brought from Comana to Constantinople thirty-one years later by the Emperor Theodosios the Younger and Saint Pulcheria his sister, the children of Arcadius and Evdoxia, 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 Chrysostomos ("Golden-mouth") because of his eloquence. He made exhaustive commentaries on the Divine Scripture and was the author of more works than any other Church Father, leaving us complete commentaries on the Book of Genesis, the Gospels of Saint Matthew and John, the Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles of Saint Paul. His extant works are 1,447 sermons and 240 epistles (letters). Twenty-two teachers of the Church have written homilies of praise in his honor. Besides his feast today and on January 27th, he is celebrated as one of the Three Hierarchs on January 30th, together with Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory the Theologian.
It should be noted that, because September 14th is the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Saint’s memory has been transferred to this day, November 13th. [Source: The Great Horologion).
(To be continued)
_____________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +
With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 