St. John Chrysostom (c.347–407 CE) was a Syrian Christian preacher. One of the Doctors of the Church, he served as Archbishop of Constantinople. His Homilies are an invaluable record of religious thought.
Born in Antioch, Syria, John Chrysostom was named from the Greek meaning “golden mouthed” due to his power of eloquence. He spent six years as a monk in the mountains, but illness forced his return in 381 CE to Antioch, where he was ordained, and gained his reputation as a great religious orator.
In 398 CE, Chrysostom was made Archbishop of Constantinople, where he carried out many reforms. Still, his rebuke of vices caused the Empress Aelia Eudoxia (wife of the Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius) to have him overthrown and expelled in 404 CE. After that, he moved from one place of exile to another.
Chrysostom’s works are Homilies, Commentaries on the whole Bible (part of which have perished,) Epistles, Treatises on Providence, the Priesthood, etc, and Liturgies. His feast day is 27 January.
The Liturgy of St. Chrysostom is the eucharistic liturgy in general use in the Orthodox Church, except on the few days for which that of St. Basil is specified. The Prayer of St. John Chrysostom in The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England is taken from this liturgy.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by John Chrysostom
An insult is either sustained or destroyed, not by the disposition of those who insult, but by the disposition of those who bear it.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Insults
Nothing is more fallacious than wealth. Today it is for thee, tomorrow it is against thee. It arms the eyes of the envious everywhere. It is a hostile comrade, a domestic enemy.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Wealth
Every man is the painter and the sculptor of his own life.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Self-Discovery
Charity is the scope of all God’s commands.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Charity
The desire to rule is the mother of all heresies.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Christianity
Prayer should be the means by which I, at all times, receive all that I need, and, for this reason, be my daily refuge, my daily consolation, my daily joy, my source of rich and inexhaustible joy in life.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Prayer
If there were no tribulation, there would be no rest; if there were no winter, there would be no summer.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Adversity, Difficulties
Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Work
As a moth gnaws a garment, so doth envy consume a man.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Jealousy, Envy
Laughter does not seem to be a sin, but it leads to sin.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Laughter
Prayer is an all-efficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Prayer
This is the highest point of philosophy, to be simple and wise; this is the angelic life.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Angels
Good men do not always have grace and favor, lest they should be puffed up, and grow insolent and proud.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Men
It is a shame for a man to desire honor only because of his noble progenitors, and not to deserve it by his own virtue.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Ancestry
Humility is the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and bond of all virtue.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Humility
Depart from the highway, and transplant thyself in some enclosed ground, for it is hard for a tree that stands by the wayside to keep its fruit until it be ripe.
—John Chrysostom
Topics: Retirement
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
Jerome Greek Priest
Francis of Assisi Italian Monk
Vincent de Paul French Catholic Saint
Francis de Sales French Catholic Saint
Bonaventure Italian Christian Scholar
Nikolai Berdyaev Russian Christian Philosopher
Bernard of Clairvaux French Catholic Religious Leader
Pythagoras Greek Philosopher
John Bunyan English Writer, Preacher
A. W. Tozer American Christian Pastor