Saint John Chrysostom | |
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East: Great Hierarch and Ecumenical Teacher West: Bishop and Doctor of the Church |
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Born | c. 349 Antioch |
Died | 14 September 407 (aged c. 58) Comana in Pontus |
Venerated in |
Eastern Orthodoxy Roman Catholicism Oriental Orthodoxy Church of the East Anglican Communion |
Beatified | does not apply |
Canonized | already considered a saint before the mid-5th century in Constantinople |
Feast |
Eastern Orthodoxy 13 November (Accession to the archbishopric of Constantinople) 27 January (Translation of Relics) 30 January (Three Holy Hierarchs) Western Christianity 13 September (Repose—transferred from 14 September) |
Attributes | Vested as a Bishop, holding a Gospel Book or scroll, right hand raised in blessing. He is depicted as emaciated from fasting, with a high forehead, balding with dark hair and a small beard. Symbols: beehive, a white dove, a pan,chalice on a bible, pen and inkhorn |
Patronage | Constantinople, education, epilepsy, lecturers, orators, preachers |
John Chrysostom (/ˈkrɪsəstəm, krɪˈsɒstəm/; Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος), c. 349 – 407,Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. The epithet Χρυσόστομος (Chrysostomos, anglicized as Chrysostom) means "golden-mouthed" in Greek and denotes his celebrated eloquence. Chrysostom was among the most prolific authors in the early Christian Church exceeded only by Augustine in the quantity of his surviving writings.
He is honored as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican churches, as well as in some others. The Eastern Orthodox, together with the Byzantine Catholics, hold him in special regard as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs (alongside Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus). The feast days of John Chrysostom in the Eastern Orthodox Church are 13 November and 27 January. In the Roman Catholic Church he is recognized as a Doctor of the Church and commemorated on 13 September. Other churches of the Western tradition, including some Anglican provinces and some Lutheran churches, also commemorate him on 13 September. However, certain Lutheran churches and Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. The Coptic Church also recognizes him as a saint (with feast days on 16 Thout and 17 Hathor).