[Rank]
S. Joannis Chrysostomi Episcopy Confessoris Ecclaesiae Doctoris;;Duplex;;3;;vide C4a

[Name]
John Chrisostom

[Rule]
vide C4a;mtv
9 lectiones

[Oratio]
Mercyful Lord, we beseech thee continually to increase by thy heavenly grace,~
thy holy Church, which Thou hast vouchsafed to enlighten by the glorious labours~
and teaching of thy blessed Confessor and Bishop John Chrysostom.
$Per Dominum

[Lectio4]
John of Antioch, who, on account of the golden stream of his eloquence, is~
called by the Greeks Chrysostomos, or, the golden-mouthed, was a lawyer and man~
of the world of much eminence, before he turned his great intellect and~
wonderful industry to the study of things sacred. He took orders, and was~
ordained a priest of the Church of Antioch, (in the year of our Lord 386,) and~
after the death of Nectarius, was forced by the Emperor Arcadius to accept,~
though sorely against his own will, the Archbishopric of Constantinople. Having~
received the burden of a shepherd's office, (upon the 26th day of February,) in~
the year 398, he set himself zealously to do his duty, struggling against the~
degradation of public morality and the loose lives of the nobility, and thereby~
drew upon himself the ill-will of many enemies, especially the Empress Eudoxia,~
whom he had rebuked on account of the money of the widow Callitropa, and the~
land of another widow.

[Lectio5]
Come Bishops being assembled in a Council at Chalcedon, which Council~
the Saint held to be neither lawful, nor public, although he was commanded to go~
there, he refused. Whereupon Eudoxia, striving earnestly against him, caused him~
to be sent into exile. Soon after, however, the people of the city rose, and~
demanded his recall, and he was then brought back again amid great public~
rejoicings. Nevertheless he ceased not to war against vice, and absolutely~
forbade the celebration of public games round the silver statue of Eudoxia in~
the square outside the Church of the Eternal Wisdom. Upon this, a party of~
Bishops, who were enemies to him, banded together, and obtained that he should~
be banished again, which was done accordingly, (on the 20th day of June, 404,)~
amid the lamentations of widows and the poor, who felt as if they were being~
deprived of a common father. During this exile, it almost passeth belief how~
much Chrysostom suffered, and how many souls he turned to the faith which is in~
Christ Jesus.

[Lectio6]
At this time a Council was assembled at Rome, wherein Chrysostom's restoration~
to his See was decreed by Pope Innocent I., but meanwhile, he was suffering~
great hardships and cruelties on his journey at the hands of the soldiers who~
had him in charge. As he passed through Armenia he prayed in the Church of the~
holy martyr Basiliscus, and the same night that blessed conqueror appeared to~
him in a vision and said Brother John, to-morrow thou shalt be with me. On~
the next day, therefore, he received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and, arming~
himself with the sign of the cross, resigned his soul to God, it being the 14th~
of September, (in the year of salvation, 407.) As soon as he was dead a furious~
hailstorm took place at Constantinople, and after four days the Empress died.~
The Emperor Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, brought the body of John Chrysostom~
to Constantinople with great state, and numerously attended, and on the 27th of~
January, (438,) laid it with magnificent honours in the grave, beside which he~
prayed for the forgiveness of his own father and mother. The holy body was~
afterwards taken to Rome, and is now buried in the Vatican Basilica. The number,~
devoutness, and brilliance of St John Chrysostom's sermons and other writings,~
his acuteness in exposition, and the close aptness of his explanations of Holy~
Scripture, have been and are the object of universal wonder and admiration, and~
often seem not unworthy to have been dictated to him by the Apostle Paul, for~
whom he entertained a wonderful devotion.

[Lectio94]
John came from Antioch and was called "Chrysostom" because of the golden flood~
of his eloquence. Ordained a priest of the Church of Antioch, he was later,~
against his will made archbishop of Constantinople to succeed Nectarius, through~
the influence of Arcadius the emperor. In this office, since he spoke out~
strongly against the degradation of public morals and the licentious lives~
of the nobility, he drew down on himself the hatred of many persons. He gravely~
offended Empress Eudoxia also, because he reprehended her for taking the money~
of the widow Callitropa and the land of another widow. For all these reasons he~
was forced into exile, while all the widows and the needy mourned at being~
deprived of their common father. It is beyond belief how many hardships he~
suffered in his exile and how many people he converted to the faith of Jesus~
Christ. The number, warmth and brilliance of his sermons and other writings are~
universally admired. He gave up his soul to God on September 14, and his body~
-was buried in the Vatican basilica. This outstanding Doctor of the universal~
Church was appointed the heavenly patron of preachers by Pope Pius X.
&teDeum
