PREACHING WITH A MOUTH OF GOLD

__________________

A Paper

Presented to

Vern Charette, Ph.D.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

__________________

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for PRCHG 7674

__________________

by

John B. Mann

March 26, 2015

 PREACHING WITH A MOUTH OF GOLD

Some men’s names are so common that one would fail to grasp the import of

their service if they were judged solely on the name bequeathed to them by a parent.

When such is the case, history often attributes to them a name that speaks more of their

character and contribution than what mother or father could realize in the child’s infancy.

Such was the case with John Chrysostom.

It was in 553 during Pope Vigilius’ papal reign, some one hundred and fifty

years after John’s death, that John was given the surname “Chrysostom.”1 A Father of the

Eastern Orthodox Church and an orator beyond comparison, Goldenmouth is an

appropriate name for the man who was a “martyr of the pulpit.”2 This essay will begin by

offering a brief biography of John’s life. It will then examine some of the most important

qualities and practices of John that led to his legendary preaching ministry. Finally, it will

end with some qualities that the contemporary preacher should incorporate into his own

ministry, even some sixteen hundred years later.

1
Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton, 1908), s.v. "St. John Chrysostom."

2
Chrysostom, "Prologomena," in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Philip Schaff
(Grand Rapids: T&T Clark, 1996), 22. Schaff gives him this designation because it was his pulpit ministry
that gained him great fame, and caused his martyrdom.

1
 2

From Life to Death

Schaff has helpfully divided Chrysostom’s life into five phases.3 The first

phase of his life extends from his childhood until his baptism, ranging from 347-370.

John was born in the capital of Syria at Antioch. His father, Secundus, was a military

officer. Little is known of him, only that he died of unknown causes while John was still

an infant. This left John’s mother, Anthusa, to care for her only son. Anthusa proved to

be a “rare woman.” A devout Christian, she raised John and his older sister by herself,

even refusing other offers marriage. She was totally committed to their education, rearing

them in the classics of the day. In so doing, the famous rhetorician Libanius, under whom

John would later study, exclaimed, “Bless me! What wonderful women there are among

the Christians!”4

Chrysostom, from the earliest of days, seemed to be destined to study the law.

His mother, who apparently was left financially stable due to her husband’s career in the

military, was able to send him to receive the best training possible. The rhetorician of

choice was a pagan orator by the name of Libanius.5 Baur says of Libanius, “His life,

deeds, and teaching methods can be considered the standard model for teachers and

schools in the fourth century.”6 Chrysostom adoringly expressed that his teacher is “the

3
Ibid, 5.

4
Ibid.

5
Walter MacGilvray, John of the Golden Mouth (London: James Nisbet and Company, 1871),
14.

6
Chrysostomus Baur, John Chrysostom and His Time, trans., M. Gonzaga, vol. 1 (London:
Sands and Company, 1959), 16.
 3

most ‘God-fearing’ of all of the pagans.”7 By which he was probably indicating the

strong superstition that Libanius held for the Greek gods.

It was under Libanius that Chrysostom learned the art of oratory and was

introduced to a Greek way of thought which would be evidenced through his proficient

use of illustrations. This will be discussed more in detail below. Libanius was so taken

with John’s abilities in oratorical art that, when quizzed who should be appointed as his

successor, Libanius replied, “John, if only the Christians had not stolen him from us.”8 It

was not to John’s disappointment that his Christianity prevented his receiving the mantle

of Libanius, for the role of the rhetorician required the practice of sophistry. This

dishonest rhetorical practice was offensive to the budding conscience of John. He refused

“to accept Satan’s wages,” choosing instead, to pursue a life of piety.9

The second phase of Chrysostom’s life in Schaff’s conception is the ascetic life

which lasted from 370-381. It was here that his mother’s example of piety and the

influence of his closest friend, Basil, captured John’s attention. This piety and friendship

led John to pursue a life of asceticism. He was raised in a Christian home of piety, yet his

journey toward baptism was somewhat surprising. Though the normal practice of baptism

was paedobaptism, John did not receive baptism until he was in his early twenties. The

explanation for this is probably connected to the Antiochian doctrinal controversies10 that

7
Ibid.

8
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History (Whitefish, MN: Kessinger, 2004), 320.

9
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 6.

10
These controversies were based primarily on the ebb and flow of the Arian debates that
continued beyond the Council of Nicea.
 4

were widespread during this life.11

Though John’s mother was a pious Christian, she sought to discourage her

only son from entering monasticism. For John, the monastery seemed to be the natural

place to escape the temptations of the world. John recounts the scene with vivid imagery

as his mother appeals to the pangs she suffered in birth. She also repeatedly mentions

how he is the only image she has left of her dead husband, pleading with John not to

make her “a widow again.” She emphasizes that her time cannot be long, and he can

freely join the monastery after her death.12

Though it disappointed John, he relented to his mother’s wishes, at least

partially. According to Schaff,13 Chrysostom established a monastery within his home,

where he “secluded himself from the world and practised a rigid asceticism. He ate little

and seldom, and only the plainest food, slept on the bare floor and frequently rose for

prayer. He kept almost unbroken silence to prevent a relapse into the habit of slander.”14

It was during this time that Chrysostom would begin to train under the famed anti-Arian

theologian of the East, Diodorus.

It was from Diodorus that John learned to use a “literal” and “common-sense”

11
William Stephens, Saint John Chrysostom: His Life and Times (London: John Murray,
1883), 16-17.

12
Chrysostom, Prologomena, 7.

13
Evidence for this is scarce, but Schaff seems certain it happened. Kelly mentions that John
would walk about town in the robe of a monk and practice vows of silence. Most other biographers say
nothing of this.

14
Chrysostom, Prologomena, 7.
 5

exegetical method that would inform his preaching throughout his ministry.15 Ulback

comments, “If his oratorical training under Libanius contributed to make him the most

eloquent of preachers, he in a great degree owed it to Diodorus that he became one of the

most sound, rational, and felicitous of the expounders of Scripture.”16

Following the death of his mother, John was finally able to realize his desire to

be a monk. It was in 374 that he joined the monastery at Antioch, where his intellect was

sharpened and his spiritual discipline was strengthened. The monastic life suited

Chrysostom well, giving him ample time to reflect on what he had learned from Libanius,

as well as study the Scriptures and pursue the holiness he so desired. He also was able to

strengthen his friendship with Basil,17 who had urged him to enter the monastery before

his mother’s intervention.

Having his oratory abilities and spiritual life developed, John is now prepared

to enter onto the public stage, at least according to the clergy surrounding Antioch. The

ongoing Arian controversy had left a number of bishoprics empty. John and Basil were

both pinpointed as being capable of fulfilling the role of bishop, even though they had not

yet turned thirty years old, the acceptable age to be canonized as a bishop. Hesitant to

accept, the two friends made a pact that they should either both accept or both decline the

offer to enter the bishopric. In a slight-of-hand, John encouraged Basil to accept while he

secretly reneged. John would later offer an apologia18 for this act of deception in what is

15
Stephens, Saint John, 31.

16
Edward Ulback, "John Chrysostom, Preacher," Biblioethica Sacra 95, no. 379 (1938): 329.

17
Not to be confused with Basil the Great of the former generation.

18
His defense focused primarily on his own unworthiness to fulfill the office of Bishop, and
 6

arguably his most famous work, On the Christian Priesthood. Yet, it seems John was

destined to take center stage as an able proclaimer of the Gospel.

From 381 until 398, John’s fame quickly spreads as he moves from deacon, to

priest, to preacher in his hometown of Antioch. Entering Antioch as a deacon initiates the

third phase of John’s life. His first sermon was delivered in front of a large crowd. The

sermon was filled with “flowery language” and through the use of his rhetorical ability

and illustrative adornment he made the “pulpit his throne.”19

For nearly seventeen years John ascended the pulpit in Antioch. He confronted

the wealthy, condemned the theater, and appealed for the commoner to yield his life to

trust in Christ. When he preached, the church would be so filled with attenders that signs

were hung to warn the congregations of pickpockets who sought to rob the worshipers.20

His most serious challenge occurred when the city was provoked to riots by

excessive taxes levied by Emperor Theodosius the Great. The citizens responded by

destroying the statues that the Emperor had commissioned throughout the city. The

golden-mouthed preacher extemporaneously delivered a total of twenty-one homilies. In

these homilies he sought to comfort the people and appealed to them to change their

actions. Baur concludes, “The tax revolt of Antioch, among the large number of similar

and even more serious events of antiquity, would probably have left only a few

insignificant traces in history; what made it famous were the sermons which Chrysostom

successively Basil’s worth. This pre-Jesuit “the end justifies the means” approach of Chrysostom puts his
rhetorical flare on display as he defends his actions as being theologically acceptable.

19
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 10.

20
Ibid, 11.
 7

preached on the occasion, which soon found their way through all of the Christian

world.”21 Through a display of pastoral care and oratorical acumen, Chrysostom was able

to quieten the city within a few months, thereby avoiding the full extent of Theodosius’

wrath being poured out. John also saw many pagans converted to Christianity.

After twelve years at Antioch, the time was ripe for John’s transition from

preacher to bishop. The fourth phase of his life was initiated in 398 in a move from

Antioch to Constantinople. Constantinople was the site of the second ecumenical council

which took place in 381 and was named after Rome’s greatest emperor, Constantine.

John labored, once again establishing himself as a pulpiteer beyond comparison and

demonstrating a form of pastoral care rarely seen in cities of royalty.22

Constantinople had become a favorite settlement for the Goths, toward whom

John extended the Gospel through missions and outreach. It was only a few years before

that Theodosius the Great had declared Nicene orthodoxy “to be the only valid legal

faith” due to the influence of Gregory of Nazianzus and others. Most of the Arians who

remained in the city were gothic. The Goths suffered various levels of persecution at the

hands of the Emperor. Theodosius had taken the buildings from the Arians, leaving them

without a place to worship. John would subsequently open various churches, providing a

place to worship. However, the services were to be conducted in an orthodox manner

rather than Arianism. This extended hand gave John the opportunity to befriend many of

21
Baur, His Time, 277.

22
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 12.
 8

the Arian priests in an effort to convert them to orthodox Christianity.23

Pastorally, John sought to overcome the excesses of his predecessors and the

royalty of the city by continuing to practice the ascetic lifestyle he had learned so many

years earlier. He sold the furniture from the bishop’s palace and gave the money to the

poor. He refused to attend the social gatherings that had become expected of the cities’

pastors. He denounced the abuses of the priests, disciplined the inconsistencies of other

religious leaders, and confronted the rich for their luxuries at the expense of the poor.

This made John a favorite among the average inhabitants of Constantinople.24

However, John’s popularity within the city did not set well with the empirical

rulers. Though John was tender toward his flock, he was often obstinate and

confrontational with nobility, including the new emperor Arcadius and his wife Eudoxia.

The plot to rid the city of John’s tenure was manifested when John traveled to Ephesus in

401 to discipline six bishops who had been accused of simony. In his absence, the

shepherding of Constantinople was left in the hands of Gabala, “an unworthy and adroit

flatterer.”25 In his absence, Eudoxia enlisted Gabala to join in a scheme to rid the city of

Chrysostom. Upon John’s return and discovery of the scheme, he subtly confronted the

empress from the pulpit through a sermon on Elijah’s confrontation with Jezebel.

As the Origenistic controversies26 continued to ravage the land, the bishop of

23
C.L. De Wet, "John Chrysostom and the Mission to the Goths: Rhetorical and Ethical
Perspectives," Theological Studies 68, no. 1 (2012): 1-4.

24
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 12.

25
Ibid, 13.

26
Though Origen had died in c.254, controversy continued to divide the clergy as debates
 9

Alexandria, Theophilus, put a plan in motion to overthrow Chrysostom. There had been

a longstanding rivalry between the two, though Theophilus was the one who ordained

John to his bishopric in Constantinople. In 403, Theophilus traveled to Constantinople

where he sought the favor of Eudoxia through lavish gifts and proceeded to gather a

council of thirty-six bishops to hear the testimony of disaffected priests who had been

disciplined by John. Charges were brought against John, including treason and

immorality. Astutely, John refused to appear before the mock-court and appealed to a

general council. He was subsequently sentenced to banishment for life.

Though John had made no friends with the hierarchy, the city as a whole

adored him for his pastoral care and pulpit presence. Yet, John willingly submitted

himself to the imperial officers rather than incite a rebellion. The peasants were so

incensed by the conclusion of the court to bring charges against John that riots ensued

nonetheless. The peasants stormed the palace demanding the restoration of their pastor.

Theophilus began to exact vengeance on the rioters in order to restore peace.

It was during the middle of the insurrection that an earthquake shook the city,

with Eudoxia’s bedroom near the epicenter. Fearing that the wrath of God had visited in

order to exact vengeance upon the Jezebel who had denounced God’s prophet, she

pleaded with the Arcadius to restore John. The timid emperor gladly relented. Theophilus

boarded a ship under the cover of night and slinked back into Alexandria defeated.

However, the seeming repentance of Eudoxia and Arcadius would not last

long. It was two months later that Eudoxia commissioned a silver statue in her own

regarding his orthodoxy raged.

 10

likeness to be erected to receive the “adoration” of the people. The golden mouthed

preacher, incensed both at her arrogance and that a number of his flock actually attended

the celebration, ascended the pulpit and thunderously condemned the self-exaltation of

the Empress. Preaching on John the Baptist and Herodias, Chrysostom thundered, “Again

Herodias is raging, again she is dancing, again she demands the head of John on a

platter.”27

Once again, the city rioted as Theophilus schemed from afar, Eudoxia raged

with revenge, and Arcadius issued an order to have John removed because of this sermon.

They ransacked houses and imprisoned supporters of John. His advocates were “scourged

and tortured.” John’s life was endangered, forcing him to lock himself away in the

episcopal palace. Finally, on June 5, 404, Arcadius issued an edict calling for the

preacher to be banned from the city. After being captured, the fifth and final phase of

Chrysostom’s eventful life, he was sent to a small mountain village in Armenia where he

would be kept under watch. Upon hearing of his departure, the people rushed the

cathedral where they met the resistance of the imperial army. Simultaneously, a great

hurricane began to sweep across the city. In the chaos, a fire broke out in the cathedral,

creating more havoc. After much bloodshed and many arrests, the Emperor was able once

again to seize control of the city.28

Chrysostom’s memory still held great persuasion over the peasants of

Constantinople. This prompted Eudoxia to send John to the cruelest climate in the Empire

27
Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, 8.20.

28
MacGilvray, The Golden Mouth, 322.
 11

on the edge of the Black Sea. With weakening health, John is unable to complete the

journey. On September 14, 407, at the age of sixty, John requested to enter a chapel a few

miles outside of Comana in Pontus to partake of the Eucharist. After doing so,

Goldenmouth spoke his final words: “Glory to God in all things, Amen.”29

Chrysostom’s Legacy as a Preacher

What were the elements that led to John’s popularity and lasting legacy as a

preacher known as “Goldenmouth?” Chrysostom’s fame was based on his ability to

captivate the congregation as he preached. In the words of Perthes, “No one can employ

more touching, impassioned, vigorous, or penetrating words than Chrysostom.”30

Chrysostom, unlike the bishops before him, was not prone to yield himself to the political

extravagancies and favors of the day. He was a preacher, first and foremost. He

“preached Sunday after Sunday and during Lent, sometimes twice or oftener during the

week, even five days in succession.”31

John’s ministry demonstrated a significant amount of development, from his

formal training in rhetoric as a lawyer to his practice as a preacher. MacGilvray says he

probably began preaching from a manuscript, but as more preaching engagements

presented themselves, he probably moved to the utilization of an outline in order to

maintain the workload.32 His training in rhetoric would prove to move audiences as he

29
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 16.

30
Frederic M. Perthes, Life of John Chrysostom (Boston: Aeterna, 2014), 137.

31
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 11.

32
MacGilvray, The Golden Mouth, 96.
 12

declaimed against the evils of the world and appealed for greater commitment to

Christ.33 As his voice would rise in crescendo, the people would applaud. He would

subsequently rebuke them for robbing glory from Christ through their applause. He

would retort, “You praise what I have said, and receive my exhortation with tumults of

applause; but show your approbation by obedience; that is the only praise I seek.”34 He

had the ability to awake within his hearers “emotions they had never felt before.”35

John was persistent in his preaching. Sometimes angered by the congregation

which would come to hear him preach, and then they would leave the services only to

return to the theatre especially raised the ire of Chrysostom.36 “He had strong

convictions, and was not afraid in any place to utter them. Whatever he perceived to be

truth, he told; wherever he saw meanness, he denounced it; wherever he saw hypocrisy,

falsehood, and wrong, he exposed them with merciless severity.”37 Yet the very crowds

he offended returned to hear this preacher with regularity.

Chrysostom was able to appeal to the commoner because of his masterful use

of illustrations. “To him, no flower that bloomed, no bird that gave out its morning or

evening song, no insect of day, no cloud that crossed the sky, was meaningless.”38 His

33
Wendy and Pauline Allen Mayer, John Chrysostom, The Early Church Fathers (New York:
Routledge, 2000), 26.

34
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 22.

35
MacGilvray, 351.

36
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 11.

37
MacGilvray, The Golden Mouth, 347.

38
Ibid, 352.
 13

preaching was laced with familiar words rather than the academic language that

plagued so many of his contemporaries.39 He was able to explain Scripture in such a way

that the most difficult points of doctrine would become enlightened to the most feeble-

minded.

Far from being a dry-as-dust academic lecturer, he is always striving to make the
bible [sic] come alive to ordinary people. Exposition apart, he intersperses his
addresses with vivid passages of human interest. The opening of the first (sermon at
Antioch), for example, is a prose poem lyrically celebrating, first, the joy felt by
seafarers and farmers at the arrival of spring, and then the even more thrilling
excitement of Christians when the season of fasting begins. … One evening when it
is getting dark and the congregation is distracted by the sacristan bringing in lights,
he is quick to rebuke it for neglecting the much more splendid and salutary light he
is kindling from God’s word.40

It was John’s ability to break the bread of life into “digestible pieces” that catapulted him

into fame, first at Antioch and then at Constantinople.41

However, John did not get drawn away into fanciful interpretations in order to

make Scripture fascinating, as did others. He sought to ground his preaching in solid

exegesis of the Bible. Chrysostom became the “most popular representative” of the

Antiochian school of exegesis, which was contrasted to Origen’s Alexandrian school that

focused on allegory.42

Hill argues that John’s approach to scriptural exegesis should be considered

39
Perthes, Life of Chrysostom, 135-36.

40
J.N.D. Kelly, Goldenmouth: The Story of John Chrysostom - Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop
(Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1995), 60.

41
Robert C. Hill, "St. John Chrysostom: Preacher on the Old Testament," Greek Orthodox
Theological Review 46, no. 3 (2001): 273.

42
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 18.
 14

akribeia,43 or “precision.” In his homilies on Genesis, he would expend great effort to

study the morphology of words and explain what he discovered, always in an

understandable manner. He would argue that, as God was precise in his use of Scripture,

so should the preacher seek to be just as precise. Preaching from Psalm 112:9,44 he would

say, “See how the inspired writer makes the best use of language. I mean, he doesn’t say

‘gave’ or ‘distributed’, but ‘dispersed’, which reveals both the generosity of the provider

and the substance being passed out.”45

Trakatellis argues that John’s homilies on Romans are verse by verse exposition

wherein John’s desire is to grow into a “deeper acquaintance with Paul.” John’s work is

filled with technical, historical, and linguistic examinations. Yet there is an

“anthropological passion” that is God-centered, and “well-controlled and balanced” so

that it “does not interfere with the precision, the clarity, and the subtlety of the

exegesis.”46

This is clearly demonstrated when he once, following a very pointed sermon, felt

an apologia was in order. He appealed to his congregation to hear his words as being the

audible voice of Scripture if he speaks consistent with Scripture.

43
This is a term in the Eastern Orthodox Church that separates close exegetical practices from
more loosely formed types of exegesis. It is akin to our own language of understanding “by the letter of the
law” versus “by the spirit of the law.”

44
“He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor.” This is the English Standard Version,
cited only because its use is equitable to the translation of the author cited. Chrysostom would have used
the Vetus Latina which would have contained the word “dispersit.”

45
Robert C. Hill, "Akribeia: A Principle of Chrysostom's Exegesis," Colloquium 14, (1981):
32.

46
Demetrius Trakatellis, "Being Transformed: Chrysostom's Exegesis of the Epistle to the
Romans," Greek Orthodox Theological Review 36, no. 3-4 (1991): 212.
 15

Do not be angry because I spoke so sternly the last time. It was chiefly because of
St. Paul, who spoke thus. When we blame someone for anything, we ourselves
deserve the same. For it is just for this reason that God has called men, not angels, to
the priesthood, and to be teachers of the Gospel; so that we might show more
tenderness and pity to sinners as a result of our own experience. On the other hand,
it is not our laws, but God’s, which we preach, and we cannot speak about the one
and be silent about the other, at our pleasure. We are the watchers who should
observe the approach of the enemy. So we must also declare the anger of God,
which breaks over those who transgress His law and do not do penance.47

Though John was an illustrative preacher whose sermons were doctrinally driven

and scripturally derived, his appeal was always for his hearers to yield their lives to

Christ in a way that their conduct would reflect their yieldedness. Stephens comments

that Chrysostom’s aim in preaching was to urge the sinner to confess and repent and

thereby relieve his conscience. Through preaching the Scriptures John believed he would

“affect the heart and moral practice of his hearers.” The aim was John’s “primary

emphasis,” which was “to convert souls.”48

Lessons for Today

Having demonstrated that Chrysostom was a preacher who was exceptional in

his use of illustrations, biblical in his message, and evangelistic in his appeal, three

applications for the modern day preacher will now be given from the ministry of John

Chrysostom. First, the preacher learns that, though formal training may not be necessary,

it is beneficial. “A preacher then should have loftiness of mind, far exceeding my own

littleness of spirit, that he may correct this disorderly and unprofitable pleasure on the

part of the multitude, and be able to lead them over to a more useful way of hearing, that

47
Baur, His Time, 212.

48
Stephens, Saint John, 422.
 16

his people may follow and yield to him, and the he may not be led away by their own

humors.”49 John received benefit, and therefore his hearers received benefit, because he

received a wide array of training. Whether it was the rhetorical training he received from

Diodorus or the exegetical training he learned in the monastery, John could preach with a

mouth of gold because his mind had been sharpened by extensive training. The

contemporary preacher should, likewise, constantly seek to hone his skill through

ongoing training, education, and assessment.

Second, the preacher must learn humility if he will preach well. This is

something Chrysostom had to constantly war against in his own life, as was evidenced in

his desire to join the monastery. “For if he be first carried away with the desire for

indiscriminate praise, he will reap no advantage from his labors, or from his power in

preaching, for the mind being unable to bear the senseless censures of the multitude is

dispirited, and casts aside all earnestness about preaching.”50 The man who mounts the

pulpit must first be mounted by brokenness.

Finally, the effective preacher must learn to have endurance when the sermons

are not affecting the hearers. As mentioned above, John would at times grow impatient

with the crowds who came to the church, but left without amending their manners of

living. Chrysostom comments, “He to whom the office of preaching is entrusted should

not desist from preaching, no matter whether he has success or not. If he converts only

ten or five or even only a single one, should not that suffice to make him happy? Indeed,

49
Chrysostom, "On the Priesthood." V.1.

50
Ibid.
 17

if he converts none at all, which seems to be an impossible case, it would still be a

gain, if men would sin with somewhat less boldness and effrontery; and anyhow the

reward for his trouble remains sage for him. For we are not obliged to convert the people,

but only to admonish them to be converted.”51

Not only must the preacher have endurance when the people do not respond in

a life-changing way, but he must endure in the face of intense opposition. John became

the enemy of both religious officials and state officials. Eudoxia’s desire to have him

banished and Theophilus’ schemes to have him banished would certainly make John war-

weary. However, moved with such commitment to his flock and such concern for the

truth of Scripture as he understood it, he would maintain a consistent presence before the

people. The preacher of today will endure cold hearts and hot heads. He must be a man of

endurance if he would experience the successes of true ministry.

Conclusion

John Chrysostom was in no wise a perfect illustration of Christian conduct, as

was evidenced in his scheme against Basil. However, his ongoing ministry that

demonstrated rigorous training, Christian humility, and a tenacious endurance can serve

as an example for the preacher today whose desire is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ

in an often resistant and opposing world. Were the contemporary preacher to observe the

life and conduct of the golden mouthed preacher, he could learn much. Indeed, one may

wonder what gave John Chrysostom the ability to face the oppositions of cruel world, and

51
Baur, His Time, 209.
 18

yet his dying confession remain, “Glory to God in all things.” Perhaps Goldenmouth

can answer that better than anyone else.

When I was driven from the city, I felt no anxiety, but said to myself: If the empress
wish to banish me, let her do so; ‘the earth is the Lord’s.’ If she wants to have me
sawn asunder, I have Isaiah as an example. If she wants me to be drowned in the
ocean, I think of Jonah. If I am to be thrown into the fire, the three men in the
furnace suffered the same. If cast before wild beasts, I remember Daniel in the lion’s
den. If she wants me to be stoned, I have before me Stephen, the first martyr. If she
demands my head, let her do so; John the Baptist shines before me. Naked I came
from my mother’s womb, naked shall I leave this world. Paul reminds me, ‘If I still
pleased men, I would not be the servant of Christ.’52

52
Chrysostom, Prolegomena, 14.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baur, Chrysostomus. John Chrysostom and His Time. Translated by M. Gonzaga. Vol. 1.
London: Sands and Company, 1959.

Chrysostom. "On the Priesthood." In The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by
Philip Schaf, IX. Grand Rapids: T&T Clark, 1996.

________. "Prologomena." In The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip

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