Saint John Chrysostom
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
- Feast Day
- September 13
- Life
- 347–407
- Doctor of the Church
- 1568
- Born
- Antioch, Syria
John, surnamed Chrysostomos (Golden-Mouthed) for his eloquence, was born at Antioch about 347. After studying rhetoric under the pagan teacher Libanius and sacred letters under Diodore of Tarsus, he embraced an ascetic life in the mountains, returning to the city for reasons of health. Ordained deacon in 381 and priest in 386, he served at the cathedral of Antioch for twelve years, preaching the homiletic series on Saint Paul's epistles, the Gospels of Matthew and John, and the moral life that earned him his name.
In 397 he was abducted under imperial pressure to Constantinople and consecrated archbishop. There he reformed clerical discipline, sold ecclesiastical luxuries to fund hospitals and feeding programs, and preached against avarice and the abuses of the imperial court. His denunciations of the Empress Eudoxia and the intrigues of Theophilus of Alexandria led to the so-called Synod of the Oak (403), which deposed him; popular protest brought his recall, but a fresh conflict caused his second exile in 404.
Forced on a fatal march to remote Pityus on the Black Sea, he died en route at Comana on 14 September 407 with the words Glory to God for all things on his lips. The Council of Chalcedon (451) vindicated his memory; his relics were returned to Constantinople in 438. Pope Saint Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1568. The memorial was moved from 14 September to 13 September after the calendar reform to make way for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
Chrysostom is the great patristic preacher and one of the four great Greek Doctors of the Church (with Athanasius, Basil, and Gregory of Nazianzus). The eucharistic liturgy that bears his name remains the principal liturgy of the Byzantine rite. His teaching on the obligation of the rich toward the poor, summed up in the maxim that not to share one's goods with the poor is to rob them, has shaped Catholic social thought.
Patronages
preachers · lecturers · education
From Saint John Chrysostom
"Glory to God for all things."
Catholic Churches Named After Saint John Chrysostom
9 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint John Chrysostom's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- Saint John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church — Inglewood, CA
- St. John Chrysostom [Ruthenian] — Pittsburgh, PA
- St. John Chrysostom Parish — Arnprior, ON
- St. John Chrysostom [Melkite] — Atlanta, GA
- Saint John Chrysostom Catholic Church — Eminence, KY
- St. John Chrysostom [Ruthenian] — Seattle, WA
- John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Parish — Houston, TX
- Saint John Chrysostom — Wallingford, PA
- St. John Chrysostom — Boston, MA
Sources