Part 2: Archbishop of Constantinople
Some time later, Nectarius, successor of Gregory Nazianzus as Patriarch of Constantinople, reposed in peace. A long search ensued for a man worthy of the patriarchal throne. Eventually the Emperor Arcadius learned of John, because the fame of his eloquence and holy life had spread everywhere. All the people of Constantinople wished to have him as successor to Nectarius, so the Emperor without delay sent an edict to Flavian, ordering him to send John to the Imperial City. When the people of Antioch learned of this, they assembled in the cathedral and prepared to oppose the imperial emissaries, for they refused to be deprived of their beloved teacher. They would not even heed the exhortations of their Patriarch concerning the matter. John himself did not wish to go to Constantinople, since he was humble and considered himself unworthy of the lofty rank of patriarch. The Emperor learned of these things, which caused him to desire to see John and to have him as Patriarch still more. Therefore, he sent the Count Asterius to take John from the people secretly and to bring him to Constantinople.
The Count succeeded in his mission, and when John drew near the Imperial City, all its inhabitants went out to meet him. The Emperor sent a multitude of nobles to greet the saint, and then himself received him with great honor in the presence of the clergy and the people. All rejoiced at the coming of this great luminary of the Church except for Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria and those who thought as he did. Theophilus was greatly troubled, because he envied John’s fame and hated the saint. He wished to see one of his own presbyters, whose name was Isidore, made Patriarch, and did not accept the decision of the council which elected John to the throne. Nevertheless, Theophilus was compelled to submit to the council’s resolution and to consecrate John.
The blessed one was elevated to the patriarchal throne in the year 398, on the twenty-sixth day of February. The Emperor and all his princes and nobles went to receiye the blessing of the newly consecrated Patriarch, who prayed for the ruler and the people, blessing them all. The saint then gave a most edifying homily, exhorting the Emperor to adhere firmly to the Orthodox faith, to shun heretics, to attend the services of the church frequently, and to govern in a righteous and compassionate manner. “May Your Piety know,” said he, “that I shall not fail to reprove and correct you when necessary, even as the prophet Nathan did not hesitate to upbraid King David for his transgression.”
John likewise admonished all the spiritual and secular authorities and their subordinates to fulfil their duties in an honorable way. He spoke at great length, and those who heard him were filled with delight. While the saint was speaking, a demoniac who stood in the midst of the people suddenly cast himself to the ground, and an evil spirit began to shake him violently. The possessed man cried out in a terrifying voice, and all who were present in the church were overcome by fear. The blessed John commanded that the man be brought before him, and made the sign of the precious Cross over him, driving out the unclean spirit and restoring the man to health. The Emperor and the people saw this and glorified God, Who had granted them a great luminary, a physician of both souls and bodies.
The Most Holy Patriarch John assumed the administration of the Church and began to shepherd Christ’s rational flock. He zealously sought to root out evil habits from among those of every station in life but especially among the clergy, striving to do away with incontinence, envy, injustice, and other unseemly deeds. Everywhere he sowed seeds of chastity, love, justice, and mercy, and with his eloquent tongue exhorted all to repent. He had great concern for the salvation of the souls of men, and this care did not end with the inhabitants of the Imperial City but extended to the surrounding cities and other lands. He sent out tried and God-fearing members of his clergy, holy men, to preach the word of God, to confirm the people in Orthodoxy, to do away with impiety and heresy, and to guide the erring back to the path of salvation. Many of the ancient pagan temples remaining in Phoenicia were utterly destroyed at his command, demolished down to their foundations. The Celts, who were infected with the impiety of Arianism, he wisely healed and converted to Orthodoxy. To this end, he commanded the presbyters and deacons appointed to labor among them to study the Celtic language, that they might instruct the barbarians in piety in their own tongue. He likewise enlightened the Scyths who dwelt along the Danube, and the Marcionite heresy he drove from all the lands of the east. Thus did Saint John illumine the world with the light of his teaching.
The saint also had great compassion for the poor and the sick, and he saw that the hungry were fed, the naked clothed, and orphans and widows cared for at the Church’s expense. Many were the hospitals that the blessed one erected, where the ailing and strangers could lay their heads. They were given whatever they needed and had servants and physicians to watch over them. Moreover, two God-fearing priests were appointed to care for their spiritual needs.
Saint John guided the Church diligently, strengthening the good in a spirit of love and chastising the wicked. Because of this, he was loved greatly by the virtuous but hated by the evil. He was especially detested by certain of his clergymen whom he condemned for their wicked deeds and excommunicated. This made them very angry with the Patriarch and especially with his faithful servant, the deacon Serapion, a man of honorable life, who once said to the saint in the presence of all the clergy, “Master, you will not succeed in correcting these men unless you drive them off with a staff!” Many of the clergy were filed with anger when they heard this and began to speak evilly of the holy Patriarch among the people, reviling him who was worthy of all praise. Although the saint knew of their anger, he paid it no heed, and the more he was slandered, the further his fame spread, reaching even faraway countries, so that many came from distant lands to see the saint and to hear him preach.
The Metropolitan Severian was one of those who was angered by Deacon Serapion and Saint John. At first, Severian was loved by John, but when the saint learned that Severian had blasphemed Christ, he immediately drove him away. The Empress, however, took the Metropolitan’s part, and at her request, John forgave him and they were reconciled.
Although he lived in the world and held a lofty rank, John never abandoned his former monastic struggles. Whatever time was left him after he had attended to the affairs of the Church he spent alone, locked in his cell, either praying or reading sacred books. He always kept a strict fast, and his abstinence surpassed all measure. He ate only barley bread and water, slept little, and then not on a bed but standing. He never attended feasts or banquets, as he was accustomed to fasting and abstinence from his youth and could not bear even the sight of varied and rich foods, suffering as he did from an infirmity of the stomach. He completely devoted his mind to the understanding of the divine Scriptures, and especially loved the epistles of the holy Apostle Paul, whose icon he kept in his cell.
Once, while writing an exegesis on one of the epistles of Paul, Saint John thought to himself, “Who knows whether what I am writing is pleasing to God or not? Have I understood the power of this portion of the sacred Scriptures?” He began to pray God to reveal to him the truth of the matter, and soon the Lord hearkened unto His servant, granting him the following sign. One night, John was alone in his cell, writing a commentary on the Scriptures by candlelight, Proclus, his attendant, came to the door to tell the saint the request of someone in need, but before knocking, he looked through the keyhole to see whether the Patriarch was occupied. He saw that Saint John was sitting and writing and that an elder of most venerable appearance stood behind him, bent down toward the ear of the Patriarch and speaking softly to him. The man entirely resembled Saint Paul as he was depicted upon the icon which stood against the wall. Proclus was amazed, for he did not know who was speaking with the Patriarch, nor could he understand how the elder had entered the cell, since the door was locked. He waited for the man to depart, and as soon as the hour for Matins drew near, the elder disappeared. Proclus saw this for three nights in succession, and finally dared to ask the Patriarch, “Master, who is it that speaks into your ear at night?”
“No one has been with me,” answered John.
Then Proclus told him how he had seen through the keyhole an old man of venerable appearance, whispering into his ear as he wrote. Proclus also described the man’s face and clothing, and John marvelled greatly. Then Proclus glanced at the image of Saint Paul and exclaimed, “The man whom I saw resembled in every way the saint depicted upon this icon!”
John then understood that it was the holy Apostle Paul whom Proclus had seen and that his work was pleasing to the Lord. Falling to the ground, he gave thanks to God, praying with tears in his eyes for a long time. After this he devoted himself to the writing of sacred books with still greater zeal. These works he left to the Church of Christ as a precious treasure.
The great teacher of the whole world did not hesitate to denounce every injustice and to defend the oppressed, urging the Emperor and Empress alike to wrong no one and to do good works. He threatened with God’s judgment those of the nobility and high rank who seized the property of others and defrauded the poor. Therefore, since it was not only the clergy whom the saint demanded live according to the dictates of God’s law but the secular authorities as well, he also incurred their malice. As a great fire is kindled from a little spark, so did fierce anger rise up in the hearts of those who heard the saint condemn sin in a general way, since they knew that they were guilty of the sins against which he spoke. Those who hated the saint’s teachings cursed when they heard his good and wise words, mindlessly twisting their meaning. “When the Patriarch preaches in the church,” they would say, “he does not teach but condemns; he does not instruct, he insults. Rather than exhorting the Emperor and Empress, he reviles them and all the authorities.” They also said that John was lacking in mercy and failed to cover the sins of his neighbor, for the following reason.
There lived in the imperial palace a eunuch named Eutropius, who was the chief imperial chamberlain. This man was raised to the rank of patrician, and he persuaded the Emperor to enact a law forbidding anyone to flee to a church to escape the sentence of death. According to this law, if anyone should flee to a church for this reason, he was to be removed by force and executed. Now there was an ancient custom that a man who had violated civil law in any way and had been sentenced to death could flee to a church and thus escape execution just as once the Israelites were permitted to flee to the cities of refuge. Eutropius caused this custom to be abolished, which grieved Saint John Chrysostom greatly, because he considered this to be violence against the Church. In a short time, however, Eutropius himself fell into the pit which he had dug for others, and was slain by the sword which he had sharpened. The Emperor became very angry with Eutropius because the latter committed some weighty offense, and condemned his chamberlain to death. Eutropius fled to a church and hid beneath the holy table in the altar. The blessed John, greatest of zealots, then mounted the ambo from which he instructed the people, and directed a sermon of reproof against Eutropius. He said that it was fitting that the unjust and newly decreed law be tried out on him who had devised it, but John’s enemies seized upon these words and began to censure him among the people. They condemned him for lack of mercy and accused him of failing to cover over the sins of others. Little by little, they stirred up the hearts of many, arousing hostility against John. But the saint continued to seek to please God, not men, and labored to direct the Holy Church well.
During Saint John Chrysostom’s reign as Patriarch, there still remained numerous Arians in Constantinople. They were permitted to profess their faith freely and to perform their services. The blessed one considered how he might cleanse the city of the Arian heresy, and one day, when he found a convenient occasion, said to the Emperor, “Pious Emperor, if someone were to set in your crown a worthless stone, dark and dirtied, alongside the jewels imbedded in it, would you not consider that he had dishonored the entire crown?”
“Yes, that is so,” the Emperor replied.
“Thus is this Orthodox city dishonored,” continued John, “by the presence of the unbelieving Arians. Just as the dishonoring of your crown would arouse your wrath, 0 Emperor, so does the defilement of this city by the heresy of Arianism incur God’s anger. Therefore, you would do well either to return the heretics to the unity of the faith or to drive them from the city.”
When the Emperor heard this, he commanded that the leaders of the Arians be brought before him, and asked them to recite their confession of faith in the presence of the Patriarch. When they began to utter words full of impiety, and blasphemies against our Lord Jesus Christ, the Emperor commanded that they be expelled from the city.
After some time, the Arians, who had as helpers and intercessors persons of high rank serving in the imperial palace, began to return to the city on Sundays. They would form processions and go to their chief place of assembly, chanting heretical songs which blasphemed the Most Holy Trinity. When the Most Holy Patriarch John learned this, he was troubled, fearing that the common people would join in the Arians’ processions. He ordered his clergy to walk in procession through the city with lighted candles, carrying crosses and holy icons and chanting hymns glorifying the Most Holy Trinity, composed to combat the blasphemous songs of the Arians. When the processions met, considerable tumult would arise between the Orthodox and their opponents. Once a riot ensued, and several people on either side were killed, the head of the Emperor’s eunuch Bresonus, who was among the Orthodox, being split open with a stone. The Emperor learned of this and became furious with the Arians. He forbade them to form processions or to enter the city, and thus the blasphemings of this heresy finally vanished from Constantinople.
There was a general named Gainas, by origin a barbarian, who was extremely courageous in battle and enjoyed the Emperor’s favor. This man was deceived by the heresy of Arius and persistently asked the Emperor to give one of the churches of the city to the Arians. The Emperor did not know how to answer him, since he feared that Gainas, a foul-tempered and violent man, would become angry and bring about a rebellion within the Greek Empire. The Emperor told Saint John of this and received this reply: “Call for me when Gainas next petitions you for a church, and I will answer for you.”
The next day, Gainas came before the Eniperor and asked him for a church for use by the Arians, saying that this favor was due him as recompense for his labors in time of war and his bravery. The great John was summoned to the palace, and answered Gainas thus: “A pious Emperor does not take up arms against the churches of God. These are under the care of the spiritual authorities, appointed by God. If you wish to pray, enter whichever church you wish: all the churches of the city are open to you.”
“But I am of another confession,” replied Gainas. “It is for this reason that I wish to be given a church within the city. I desire that my fellow believers have a place to worship. I ask the Emperor not to disdain my request, for I have hazarded my life and suffered wounds for him, toiling greatly in the military service of the Empire.”
John then said, “You have received recompense for your labors: great honor from the Emperor, fame, rank, and gifts. It would behoove you to reflect upon what you were before and what you are now. Once you were a poor, obscure man, but now you have become wealthy and renowned. Consider how you lived before you crossed the Danube and how you live at present. You were a simple, impoverished peasant then, clad in wretched garments, happy to have bread and water on your table; but now you are a respected and famed commander, clad in the costly uniform of a general. You possess much gold and silver and countless estates, all due to the Emperor’s beneficence. Such are the rewards you have received for your labors! Be grateful, continue to serve the Greek Empire, and do not ask for divine things as recompense for mundane service.”
Put to shame by these words, Gainas fell silent. The Emperor marvelled at John’s wisdom and how he was able with a few words to stop the mouth of the tempestuous and violent barbarian. Within a year, however, Gainas forsook the Emperor’s service, and assembling a great army, marched on Constantinople. The Emperor, who had no force at hand with which to combat him, did not know what to do, and begged Saint John to go out to meet the barbarian and to calm him. Although he knew he had enraged Gainas when he told him he ought not ask for a church for the Arians, John was prepared to lay down his life for his sheep and went to the camp of the proud barbarian. And God aided His servant, for John’s eloquence calmed the man. After transforming the wolf into a lamb and reconciling him to the Emperor, the saint returned to the city.
Some time after this, in wintertime, Saint John journeyed to Asia, in order to set aright the affairs of the churches of the saints. Although his body was feeble, he could not permit the churches of God to suffer harm at the hands of wicked pastors, for many of the bishops there were stricken with avarice. These men were engaged in selling the grace of the Holy Spirit, taking money in exchange for the ordinations they performed. One such hierarch was Anthony, Metropolitan of Ephesus, whose wicked actions were reported to the Patriarch by Eusebius, the Bishop of Valentinopolis. Saint John deposed in that land numerous bishops guilty of simony. Both those who paid for their ordinations and those who ordained them he deprived of their rank, and in their places appointed others who were more worthy. When he had set in order all the affairs of the churches of Asia, he returned to Constantinople.
Thus Saint Chrysostom continued to profit the Church of God, and did not cease to upbraid and instruct sinners freely, in the hope of healing them and leading them to repentance. He was especially quick to denounce with his eloquent tongue, that sharp sword of the Word of God, the sins of avarice and greed, which were rooted in the hearts of the powerful and wealthy, for the mighty were accustomed to defraud the weak and were ever ready to take the possessions of the poor by force. Thus the rich grew to resent him, since they were censured by their consciences but were in no way willing to renounce their vices. Their hearts were hardened, and they could not endure to hear John’s words, harboring as they did much malice against him. They plotted to do him evil and began to spread false rumors about him. The Empress Eudoxia became especially angry with him, because she interpreted all that Chrysostom said in his sermons concerning the avaricious and the unjust as pertaining to her. She assumed that his words were intended to reproach or condemn her alone, as she was consumed with an insatiable passion for wealth and had taken the possessions of many by force. Whenever John spoke of avarice as the root of all evil, threatening with God’s judgment those who defrauded others, her conscience condemned her, and the Empress laid plans to remove him from the patriarchal throne.