Our Saint|
St John Chrysostom John was born about 349 in Antioch (modern day Atakya, in Southern Turkey). The city was then one of the most prosperous in the Roman Empire. He was baptized a Christian in 368, and following his mother’s death he lived in community with other Christians, and later lived alone as a hermit. In 381 he was ordained deacon and five years later he became a priest, serving in Antioch. He was given the special task of instructing and seeking moral reform in the society of his day. He was an outstanding interpreter of the Bible, and his preaching earned him the nickname ‘Chrysostom’ - golden-mouthed. In late 397, in his late forties, John received the astonishing, and urgent, news that he had been appointed bishop of the then capital city of the Empire, Constantinople. On arriving in the great city he took up residence near Hagia Sophia, the great basilica of the Empire, and promptly set about the work of challenging and reforming the corruption of the society, including the imperial court, the church and the everyday people. He was strongly supported and encouraged in this work by the independent, strong-willed and intensely emotional deaconess, Olympias. There friendship grew and they encouraged one another throughout their lives. John’s directness, honesty and simplicity ensured his popular appeal but also were a great challenge to society, and especially to the volatile and impulsive Empress, Eudoxia, who, with some justification, took much of what he said as directed against her. Tension mounted and reached a head in 403 when John delivered a blistering attack on the vanity of some of the women of Constantinople. The Empress was furious. Political moves took place to depose John. He was exiled, but a popular revolt led to his recall. However, relationships between the palace and the Bishop remained weak and broke again when John preached a sermon comparing the Empress to Herodias, who had sought the head of John the Baptist on a platter. The unfortunate John was exiled again, to near Antioch. When it became clear that he remained influential he was sent into deeper exile, to Pityus on the eastern shores of the Black Sea. As he journeyed there he was compelled to walk with shameful disregard for his frail health. After two weeks of walking on 14th September 407, feeling exhausted he pleaded for rest. His request was refused and later that day, on the road, he collapsed and died. The brutal nature of his death has led some churches to commemorate him as a martyr. In the following years the divisions caused by John’s exile were healed and in 428 John’s memory was for the first time celebrated in the liturgy of the Church. Nine years later his remains were brought to Constantinople with magnificent ceremony. The Emperor, pressed his head to the precious reliquary and begged forgiveness of John. After a triumphant procession John’s remains were placed in the church of the Holy Apostles, the traditional resting place of bishops and emperors. They remained there until, in 1204, when, it is believed, plundering Venetians carried them off to St Peter’s, Rome during the Fourth Crusade. |
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| St Olympias, friend and companion of St John Chrysostom Olympias was born into the nobility of Constantinople about 366. At the age of eighteen she married Nebridius, the prefect of Constantinople, but was widowed within two years. She decided not to marry again, and this caused her problems for she was extremely wealthy. She was a charming and vivacious young woman who was determined to fulfil her calling despite outside pressures. In 391 she made over huge sums of money to assist the social work of the church, and, at an unusually early age was made a deaconess of the church. She had a dwelling built on the south side of the cathedral, and lived there in community with other women. Olympias led a simple life in Constantinople and was noted for her hospitality to all, especially Christian travellers visiting the city. Shortly after his arrival in Constantinople she became friends with John Chrysostom (who was approximately seventeen years her senior). The friendship was to guide and strengthen her throughout her life. She provided daily food for Chrysostom and saw to his laundry. A deep understanding grew between them and he frequently gave her advice. Her financial generosity to his causes led to a degree of envy from other clergy, and allegations of improper behaviour. She suffered greatly as Chrysostom became the victim of intrigue in the city. When Chrysostom was exiled she strongly supported his cause in Constantinople and refused to recognize his successor. She suffered persecution because of this and was even charged with burning down the great church of Agia Sophia. She answered the charges with boldness and irony. Asked why she had burned the church she replied that having spent considerable sums of money on building churches she was not going to start burning them down. She was fined and found life in Constantinople without Chrysostom very difficult. She was exiled and harried. Frustrated, she moved from place to place, settling in Cyzikos in 405. She appears to have continued to have suffered because of the divisions in the church and Chrysosotom’s enforced absence. Eventually low morale and depression set in. From his exile Chrysostom wrote regularly to her and tried to encourage her from what he called her ‘stagnant pond of depression.’ She died in Nicomedia, aged approximately 42, a few months after Chrysostom in July 408. She is honoured as a saint by the churches of the East with her companions (feast day 25th July) and by the churches of the West on 17th December. Her generosity, hospitality, forthrightness and energy have been an inspiration to many Christian women. She is regarded by many Christians as the patron saint of women in church ministry. |
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