Dear Friends,
Let us pray,
O God, who gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: Mercifully grant to all who proclaim your word such excellence in preaching, that all your people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
St. John Chrysostom, one of the greatest Early Church Fathers of the 5th Century, was born around 347 AD. St. John became a monk and was ordained a priest to serve the Church in Antioch where his eloquent preaching on the Sacred Scriptures earned him the title of “Chrysostom,” meaning golden-mouthed.” In 398, Chrysostom was called upon to assume the responsibilities of the Patriarch Archbishop of Constantinople, much to his chagrin. This reluctant patriarch nevertheless fulfilled his duty with extraordinary energy and courage. St. John Chrysostom’s call to repentance and moral reform won him the enmity of the nominally Christian Empress who had him deposed and exiled on trumped-up charges. But his preaching and intrepid boldness inspired the hearts of the people of Constantinople who held him in great affection. His devotion to the written Word of God was matched by a love of the Eucharist and of divine worship. To this day, the principal “Byzantine” liturgy celebrated by most Slavic, Greek, and middle-eastern Christians is known as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. St. John Chrysostom, who died under the harsh conditions of his exile in 407, will always be remembered as one of the greatest of the Early Church Fathers and one of the greatest preachers of all time. Due to his holiness and beautiful but always practical bible teaching, St. John Chrysostom is regarded as a ‘Doctor of the Church’ by the Church and one of the three Holy Hierarchs and Ecumenical teachers by Eastern Orthodox Christians. (Marcellino D’Ambrosio hagiography)
In The Episcopal Church many have heard his Easter sermon (Christ is Risen and you, o death, are annihilated!), and, we daily read one of his prayers in Morning and Evening prayer (Almighty God you have given us grace at this time…). The Church is indebted to St John for his sermons, his liturgy, and the deep evangelical faith which is present in his prayers.
Epiphany Blessings,
Father Eric