Chrysostom, Saint John

Chrysostom, Saint John

St. John Chrysostom, detail of a 12th-century mosaic; in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily, …

(credit: Anderson—Alinari from Art Resource, New York)

(born 347, Antioch, Syria—died Sept. 14, 407, Comana, Helenopontus; Western feast day September 13; Eastern feast day November 13) Early Church Father, biblical interpreter, and archbishop of Constantinople. He was raised as a Christian and lived as a hermit until his health gave way, after which he returned to Antioch and was ordained a priest. He earned a reputation as a great preacher (Chrysostom means “golden-mouthed”). Against his wishes, he was appointed archbishop of Constantinople in 398. He angered the wealthy with his concern for the poor and his criticisms of the misuse of riches. A synod convened in 403 by Theophilus of Alexandria condemned him on 29 charges and banished him to Armenia. He died en route to a more distant exile on the Black Sea. In 438 his relics were brought to Constantinople, and he was rehabilitated by the church.