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"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".
~ St. John Chrysostom
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Our parish patron saint, St. John Chrysostom
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St. John was born in 347 CE in Antioch. Because
of his exceptional speaking ability, he earned the title Chrysostom - which
means "golden mouthed." He was headed for a promising career in law but after
his baptism at the age of 23, he decided to enter the priesthood.
He became immensely popular as a preacher and church leader and was
eventually elected as Patriarch of Constantinople. He got himself in hot water
with the political and religious leaders of the day by preaching against extreme
wealth and lax morals. He lived what he preached and sold the expensive
furnishings in his residence to give money to the poor and the hospitals.
Some authorities, including the Empress, plotted to depose him, but the
people protested in multitudes and John kept his position for a while. John was
only five feet tall but his small stature never prevented him from standing tall
in defiance of unjust state authority, bowing only to God and never compromising
his high Christian principles. This eventually proved too much for the political
rulers of his time and John was eventually exiled from Constantinople.
He continued to write and preach, however. He believed strongly in the power
of public worship and was a great liturgist. He wrote: “You cannot pray at home
as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out
to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of
minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests.”
(De incomprehensibili)
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TRIVIA
One of St. John's pet peeves was applause in church. He often preached against
the practice, arguing that it detracted from the sacredness of worship.
Some
debates never end! |
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| For more
information about and some wonderful images of St. John Chrysostom visit the
following web site:
www.chrysostom.org |
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The liturgy written by St. John Chrysostom is still used in many Orthodox
churches today. He died in 407 CE at the age of 50 years. His feast is
celebrated on September 13th. |
The Easter 2007 issue of the Diocesan News of the Diocese of
Kamloops, British Columbia featured one article in a series entitled
"Who Are the Church Fathers?" This article by Rev. Dale
Normandeau was on the life of St. John Chrysostom.
In addition, the Diocesan News even
asked for permission to use a picture of St. John from our stained glass
window that they found on our website. If you would like to read this
detailed article on the life of St. John Chrysostom, please click the
link below. A pdf file will open in a new window. The article is on page
2.
Thanks to Frances & Chuck Bishop of the Diocesan News
(Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops, British Columbia), and Fr. Dale Normandeau for permission to
post this article.
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