February 26. John Chrysostom. As a young man, John was severe in rejecting a life of luxury and ease. He spoke the truth plainly and in love, and people hungered for his leadership so much they virtually kidnaped him. A military escort took him to Constantinople, where he reluctantly agreed to be consecrated their bishop. On this date in 398, John was ordained the Bishop of Constantinople.
In that position, he continued speaking out against self-indulgence and sin in the clergy and within the government. He continued with the kind of talk that can make a man powerful enemies. But no enemy on earth is as powerful as God. Here’s John’s story.
Telling the truth may make a man enemies; holding onto the truth will make a man strong.
People loved John and crowded in to hear him speak. Wonderful, right? Good for the people, good for the kingdom of God, not so good for John’s jealous enemies.
John preached bluntly and repeatedly against the self-indulgent lives of the people. And while the other bishops held themselves separate from and above “the people,” John did not.
Instead of repenting of their self-indulgent ways, the bishops mounted an insidious campaign against John. Bishop Theophilus liked the other clergy to be weak-minded men, so he could dominate them. But about John, there was nothing weak in body or mind.
Theophilus schemed with a group of Egyptian bishops, who brought twenty-nine false accusations of immorality and high treason against John. But he refused to appear before a packed court of his enemies, and he appealed to a general council.
His request was ignored.
Theophilus then sent a letter to the King stating, “Whereas John is accused of various offences, and in consciousness of his guilt has refused to appear, he is by the laws degraded from his bishopric, and this has been done. The memorials include a charge of treason. Your piety, therefore, will command, that whether he will or no, he be expelled from his office, and pay the penalty for his treason.”
So John was sentenced to life in exile.
As soon as John’s unfair sentence became public knowledge, the people got all riled up. A single word from John would have raised an insurrection. Instead, he refused to rebel or resist and surrendered himself freely to the imperial officers.
He then traveled in the dark to the harbor and climbed on board a ship destined for a city at the mouth of the Black Sea. He expected he would never return.
John believed all that had occurred was God’s doing, that he was “an oak of righteousness,” one the Lord had planted.
“To grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3 NASB).
Whether he lived or died or was barred from his home country, John was determined to glorify the Lord.
He experienced peace and felt no anxiety. He said, “If the Empress Eudoxia wishes to banish me, let her do so; ‘the earth is the Lord’s.’”
He then told about how Isaiah had been sawn into pieces and said he was ready to endure the same. He went on, “If Eudoxia 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.”
He said, “If cast before wild beasts, I remember Daniel in the lion’s den. If Eudoxia 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.’”
But the people who had converted to Christianity under John’s preaching took up weapons and surrounded the palace and demanded he be restored as their bishop.
The following night, an earthquake convulsed the whole city. Eudoxia’s bedroom shook violently. Fright consumed her, and she felt convicted over her part in John’s exile. She begged the Emperor to avert the wrath of God by recalling John from exile. Messengers were sent out with humble apologies to bring him back.
When John returned, throughout Constantinople the people rejoiced. As he entered the gates, the people swarmed him, lifted him up, and carried him to the church. They set him down in the official bishop’s chair.
John concluded, “For the providence of God is beyond understanding, his care is incomprehensible, his goodness is indescribable, and his love for humanity is unsearchable.”
Are there some heroes of faith in your life who can help you endure? Telling the truth may make a man enemies; holding onto the truth will make a man strong.
Moore, Herbert. “The Dialogue of Palladius concerning the Life of St. John Chrysostom (1921). Introduction by Herbert Moore. Pp. vii-xxv.” Accessed October 13, 2020. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/palladius_dialogus_01_intro.htm.
Schaff, Philip. “NPNF1-09. St Chrysostom: On the Priesthood; Ascetic Treatises; Select Homilies and Letters; Homilies on the Statutes by Schaff, Philip (1819-1893).” Accessed October 14, 2020. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf109/npnf109?queryID=5724518&resultID=978
Hall, Christopher A. “Letters From a Lonely Exile: John Chrysostom to Olympias the Deaconess.” Christian History. Published October 1, 1994. Mystagogy Resource Center. https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/07/letters-from-lonely-exile-john.html.