Deepertruth: Stand in the Gap With Us and Saint John Chrysostom

 Stand in the Gap With Us and  Saint John Chrysostom 9/13/2023

John Chrysostom, (born 347 ce, Antioch, Syria—died September 14, 407, Comana, Helenopontus; Western feast day September 13; Eastern feast day November 13), early Church Father, biblical interpreter, and archbishop of Constantinople.

Did you know that “Chrysostom” is a nickname that meansDid you know that “Chrysostom” is a nickname that means “golden-mouthed”? A legendary orator, St. John Chrysostom enjoyed immense popularity as a preacher in Antioch.? A legendary orator, St. John Chrysostom enjoyed immense popularity as a preacher in Antioch.

Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor—Memorial. Saint John Chrysostom was born as John of Antioch. “Chrysostom” is a title attributed to him, meaning “Golden Mouth,” an honorific Greek title emphasizing the power of his preaching and writings. distinguished for lofty or persuasive utterance : eloquent.

The ambiguity and intrigue surrounding John, the great preacher (his name means “golden-mouthed”) from Antioch, are characteristic of the life of any great man in a capital city. Brought to Constantinople after a dozen years of priestly service in Syria, John found himself the reluctant victim of an imperial ruse to make him bishop in the greatest city of the empire. Ascetic, unimposing but dignified, and troubled by stomach ailments from his desert days as a monk, John became a bishop under the cloud of imperial politics.

If his body was weak, his tongue was powerful. The content of his sermons, his exegesis of Scripture, were never without a point. Sometimes the point stung the high and mighty. Some sermons lasted up to two hours.