Archive for category John Chrysostom
Golden Tongue & Iron Will – A Brief Bio of John Chrysostom
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom on October 22, 2010
Robert Krupp presents a brief bio on John Chrysostom, one of my favorites –
John Chrysostom had little patience with sins of any sort, but he was especially piqued at the misuse of wealth:
“It is foolishness and a public madness,” he once preached, “to fill the cupboards with clothing and allow men who are created in God’s image and our likeness to stand naked and trembling with the cold so that they can hardly hold themselves upright.… You are large and fat, you hold drinking parties until late at night, and sleep in a warm, soft bed. And do you not think of how you must give an account of your misuse of the gifts of God?”
This type of preaching—eloquent and uncompromising—would eventually earn John of Antioch the name by which he is now distinguished: Chrysostomos, “the golden mouth.” It would also contribute, though, to his exile and premature death.
Golden Tongue & Iron Will | Christian History.
The Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom on October 13, 2010
- Image via Wikipedia
I’ve made no bones over the years about my enjoyment of John Chrysostom, so imagine my surprise when this piece of history came up in readings and discussions over the past few weeks… I thought that perhaps this might interest some of you… It is the Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom, commonly performed in it’s entirety in the Eastern Orthodox churches. It is commonly used in the Orthodox Churches, and while many of us may find it too ‘Catholic’ I would ask you to simply read it and gain from the ancient mind his love of God. Simply put, it is a work of art.
I might, given the time later, devote a few posts to highlighting a few of the more precious passages…
Set yourself in their world – filled with illiterate peoples and new converts. Pretend that you cannot read the Scriptures, or that you are new to the faith. Pretend that the most important thing in your life is the church service, and in that, the Communion… Then, strip away modernity and read and listen to what Chrysostom is saying in a service meant to bring people together who are so divided, either by class or faith, etc…
Also, if I may, you may wish to read it aloud…
Remember, this was written early in the 5th century… and while you may not agree with all the theological points made…there is enough here to enjoy…
The Charisma of John Chrysostom’s Priesthood
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom on April 17, 2010
There stands the priest, not bringing down fire from Heaven, but the Holy Spirit: and he makes prolonged supplication, not that some flame sent down from on high may consume the offerings, but that grace descending on the sacrifice may thereby enlighten the souls of all, and render them more refulgent than silver purified by fire. Who can despise this most awful mystery, unless he is stark mad and senseless? Or do you not know that no human soul could have endured that fire in the sacrifice, but all would have been utterly consumed, had not the assistance of God’s grace been great. (On the Priesthood, 3.4)
(Thanks to James for the Quote).
John Chrysostom’s Easter Homily
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom on April 4, 2010
Let all pious men and all lovers of God rejoice in the splendor of this feast; let the wise servants blissfully enter into the joy of their Lord; let those who have borne the burden of Lent now receive their pay, and those who have toiled since the first hour, let them now receive their due reward; let any who came after the third hour be grateful to join in the feast, and those who may have come after the sixth, let them not be afraid of being too late; for the Lord is gracious and He receives the last even as the first. He gives rest to him who comes on the eleventh hour as well as to him who has toiled since the first: yes, He has pity on the last and He serves the first; He rewards the one and praises the effort.
Come you all: enter into the joy of your Lord. You the first and you the last, receive alike your reward; you rich and you poor, dance together; you sober and you weaklings, celebrate the day; you who have kept the fast and you who have not, rejoice today. The table is richly loaded: enjoy its royal banquet. The calf is a fatted one: let no one go away hungry. All of you enjoy the banquet of faith; all of you receive the riches of his goodness. Let no one grieve over his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed; let no one weep over his sins, for pardon has shone from the grave; let no one fear death, for the death of our Saviour has set us free: He has destroyed it by enduring it, He has despoiled Hades by going down into its kingdom, He has angered it by allowing it to taste of his flesh.
When Isaias foresaw all this, he cried out: “O Grave, you have been angered by encountering Him in the nether world.” The Grave is angered because frustrated, it is angered because it has been mocked, it is angered because it has been destroyed, it is angered because it has been reduced to naught, it is angered because it is now captive. It seized a body, and, lo! it encountered heaven; it seized the visible, and was overcome by the invisible.
O death, where is your sting? O Grave, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are abolished. Christ is risen and the demons are cast down. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life is freed. Christ is risen and the tomb is emptied of the dead: for Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the Leader and Reviver of those who had fallen asleep. To Him be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Chrysostom, Against the Jews homily 2 (missing part) is now in English!
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom on March 19, 2010
Roger Pearse has given the world a wonderful gift:
Ever since the eight sermons against the Jews by the 4th century writer John Chrysostom were published, men have noticed that sermon 2 is only a third of the length of the others, and speculated that some of it is missing. The missing portion was discovered in a manuscript on Lesbos a decade ago and published, but no English translation has ever been made of it.
One now exists, and it is here. I commissioned it and own the copyright, but I make the translation public domain. Do whatever you like with it, personal, educational or commercial.
Now to communicate with the owners of copies of the Eight Sermons online, and try to persuade them to host the missing chunk as well!
Chrysostom, Against the Jews homily 2 (missing part) is now in English! at Roger Pearse.
John Chrysostom’s Christmas Homily
Posted by Joel in John Chrysostom, Theology on December 25, 2009
I have come to admire the Golden Mouth, John Chrysostom, from a homiletic standpoint as well as an interpretative standpoint. He is sound in many of this thoughts, and although we may arrive at a different view of the Godhead, it would be difficult at best to find that difference in this homily.
John Chrysostom on keeping Christmas
Posted by Joel in Church Fathers, John Chrysostom on December 25, 2009
Yesterday, although it was a feast-day of Satan, you preferred to keep a spiritual feast, recieving our words with great good will, and spending most of the day here in church, drinking a drunkness of self-control, and dancing in the chorus of Paul. – On Wealth and Poverty, Sermon 1
The feast day that John mentions is Saturnalia. Many have painted the corruption of the Church with the brush of conspiracy, but here we see that it was not conspiracy, but a matter of people choosing to hold a worship servicce as opposed to partaking in the feast of Saturnalia.
