Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 9
Chrysostom — Priesthood, Ascetic Treatises & Homilies
SECTION 1
A SELECT LIBRARY
Title: NPNF1-09. St. Chrysostom: On the Priesthood; Ascetic Treatises; Select Homilies and Letters; Homilies on the Statutes Creator(s): Schaff, Philip (1819-1893) (Editor) Print Basis: New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886 Rights: Public Domain CCEL Subjects: All; Proofed; Early Church; LC Call no: BR60 LC Subject…
1,629 wordsSECTION 2Chapter II.--Chrysostom's Youth and Training, a.d. 347-370.
Chapter II.--Chrysostom's Youth and Training, a.d. 347-370. "Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto Thee; and doest promise, that when two or three are gathered together in Thy name Thou wilt grant their requests: fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of …
1,286 wordsSECTION 3Chapter III.--His Conversion and Ascetic Life.
Chapter III.--His Conversion and Ascetic Life. The quiet study of the Scriptures, the example of his pious mother, the acquaintance with Bishop Meletius, and the influence of his intimate friend Basil, who was of the same age and devoted to ascetic life, combined to produce a gradual change in his character. [5] He entered the…
935 wordsSECTION 4Chapter IV.--Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes His Work on the Priesthood.
Chapter IV.--Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes His Work on the Priesthood. About this time several bishoprics were vacant in Syria, and frequent depositions took place with the changing fortunes of orthodoxy and Arianism, and the interference of the court. The attention of the clergy and the people turned to…
895 wordsSECTION 5Chapter V.--Chrysostom as a Monk. a.d. 374-381.
Chapter V.--Chrysostom as a Monk. a.d. 374-381. After the death of his mother, Chrysostom fled from the seductions and tumults of city life to the monastic solitude of the mountains south of Antioch, and there spent six happy years in theological study and sacred meditation and prayer. Monasticism was to him (as to many other g…
1,955 wordsSECTION 6Chapter VII.--Chrysostom as Patriarch of Constantinople. a.d. 398-404.
Chapter VII.--Chrysostom as Patriarch of Constantinople. a.d. 398-404. After the death of Nectarius (successor to Gregory Nazianzen), towards the end of the year 397, Chrysostom was chosen, entirely without his own agency and even against his remonstrance, archbishop of Constantinople. He was hurried away from Antioch by a mili…
743 wordsSECTION 7Chapter VIII.--Chrysostom and Theophilus. His First Deposition and Banishment.
Chapter VIII.--Chrysostom and Theophilus. His First Deposition and Banishment. At this time Chrysostom became involved in the Origenistic controversies which are among the most violent and most useless in ancient church history, and full of personal invective and calumny. [17] The object in dispute was the orthodoxy of the grea…
762 wordsSECTION 8Chapter IX.--Chrysostom and Eudoxia. His Second Banishment, a.d. 403.
Chapter IX.--Chrysostom and Eudoxia. His Second Banishment, a.d. 403. The restored patriarch and the repentant empress seemed reconciled, and vied with one another in extravagant laudations for two months, when the feud broke out afresh and ended in perpetual exile and death. Eudoxia was a beautiful, imperious, intriguing and …
719 wordsSECTION 9Chapter X.--Chrysostom in Exile. His Death. a.d. 404-407.
Chapter X.--Chrysostom in Exile. His Death. a.d. 404-407. Chrysostom was conveyed under the scorching heat of July and August over Galatia and Cappadocia, to the lonely mountain village Cucusus, on the borders of Cilicia and Armenia, which the wrath of Eudoxia had selected for his exile. The climate was inclement and variable, …
733 wordsSECTION 10Chapter XI.--His Character.
Chapter XI.--His Character. Chrysostom was one of those rare men who combine greatness and goodness, genius and piety, and continue to exercise by their writings and example a happy influence upon the Christian church. He was a man for his time and for all times. But we must look at the spirit rather than the form of his piety,…
884 wordsSECTION 11Chapter XII.--The Writings of Chrysostom.
Chapter XII.--The Writings of Chrysostom. Chrysostom was the most fruitful author among the Greek Fathers. Suidas makes the extravagant remark that only the omniscient God could recount all his writings. The best have been preserved and have already been noticed in chronological order. They may be divided into five classes: (1)…
2,306 wordsSECTION 12As to the question of the papacy he considered the bishop of Rome as the successor of Peter, the prince of the Apostles, and appealed to him
As to the question of the papacy he considered the bishop of Rome as the successor of Peter, the prince of the Apostles, and appealed to him in his exile against the unjust condemnation of the Council at the Oak. Such appeals furnished the popes with a welcome opportunity to act as judges in the controversies of the Eastern chur…
1,306 wordsSECTION 13Chapter XIV.--Chrysostom as a Preacher.
Chapter XIV.--Chrysostom as a Preacher. The crowning merit of Chrysostom is his excellency as a preacher. He is generally and justly regarded as the greatest pulpit orator of the Greek church. Nor has he any superior or equal among the Latin Fathers. He remains to this day a model for preachers in large cities. He was trained i…
1,058 wordsSECTION 14INTRODUCTION TO THE TREATISE ON THE PRIESTHOOD.
INTRODUCTION TO THE TREATISE ON THE PRIESTHOOD. The events recorded in this celebrated treatise on the Priesthood must have occurred when St. John Chrysostom was about twenty-eight years of age. His father had died when he was a young child; his mother was a devout Christian, but had not destined him for the clerical vocation. …
2,040 wordsSECTION 15Book I.
Book I. 1. I had many genuine and true friends, men who understood the laws of friendship, and faithfully observed them; but out of this large number there was one who excelled all the rest in his attachment to me, striving to outstrip them as much as they themselves outstripped ordinary acquaintance. He was one of those who we…
2,528 wordsSECTION 16For I do not demand any account for the wrongs which I have sustained at your hands, nor for the deceit or treachery you have practised, nor
For I do not demand any account for the wrongs which I have sustained at your hands, nor for the deceit or treachery you have practised, nor for the advantage which you have derived from me in the past. For I placed my very life, so to say, in your hands, yet you have treated me with as much guile as if it had been your business…
2,446 wordsSECTION 17Book II.
[42] Androgathius in philosophy, Libanius in rhetoric. [43] An expression frequently employed by St. Chrysostom in the sense of a life of religious contemplation and study. [44] For an account of the oppressive way in which the public taxes were collected, see Gibbon's History (Milman's edition), vol. iii. 78. [45] The iron f…
2,300 wordsSECTION 184. What then is one to do? For if you deal too gently with him who needs a severe application of the knife, and do not strike deep into one
4. What then is one to do? For if you deal too gently with him who needs a severe application of the knife, and do not strike deep into one who requires such treatment, you remove one part of the sore but leave the other: and if on the other hand you make the requisite incision unsparingly, the patient, driven to desperation by …
2,209 wordsSECTION 19Basil: Do you then suppose that love is sufficient for the correction of one's fellowmen?
Basil: Do you then suppose that love is sufficient for the correction of one's fellowmen? Chrysostom: Certainly it would contribute in a great measure to this end. But if you wish me to produce evidence of your practical wisdom also, I will proceed to do so, and will prove that your understanding exceeds your lovingkindness. A…
1,285 wordsSECTION 20Book III.
Book III. 1. Chrysostom: As regards the insult to those who have done me honor, what I have already said might be sufficient to prove that in avoiding this office I had no desire to put them to shame; but I will now endeavor to make it evident, to the best of my ability, that I was not puffed up by arrogance of any kind. For if…
2,493 wordsSECTION 21Well! after this will any one venture to condemn me for arrogance? For my part, after what has been said, I imagine such religious fear will
Well! after this will any one venture to condemn me for arrogance? For my part, after what has been said, I imagine such religious fear will possess the souls of the hearers that they will no longer condemn those who avoid the office for arrogance and temerity, but rather those who voluntarily come forward and are eager to obtai…
2,309 wordsSECTION 22It behoves us, then, to be on the watch on all sides, and to make a careful search lest any spark of this desire should be secretly smoulder
It behoves us, then, to be on the watch on all sides, and to make a careful search lest any spark of this desire should be secretly smouldering somewhere. For it is much to be wished that those who are originally free from this passion, should also be able to avoid it when they have lighted upon this office. But if any one, befo…
2,262 wordsSECTION 2315. Would you like me to show you yet another phase of this strife, charged with innumerable dangers? Come, then, and take a peep at the pub
15. Would you like me to show you yet another phase of this strife, charged with innumerable dangers? Come, then, and take a peep at the public festivals when it is generally the custom for elections to be made to ecclesiastical dignities, and you will then see the priest assailed with accusations as numerous as the people whom …
2,961 wordsSECTION 24But the superintendent of these persons ought not only to be gentle and forbearing, but also skillful in the management of property; for if
But the superintendent of these persons ought not only to be gentle and forbearing, but also skillful in the management of property; for if this qualification is wanting, the affairs of the poor are again involved in the same distress. One who was entrusted not long ago with this ministry, and got together a large hoard of money…
2,398 wordsSECTION 25[86] Exod. xxviii. 4 sq.
[86] Exod. xxviii. 4 sq. [87] 2 Cor. iii. 10. [88] The Holy Eucharist is frequently called by St. Chrysostom and other Greek Fathers the Sacrifice, sometimes the "unbloody Sacrifice," partly as being an offering of praise and thanksgiving, partly as being a commemoration or representation of the sacrifice of Christ. We must be…
1,431 wordsSECTION 26Book IV.
Book IV. Basil heard this, and after a little pause thus replied: If thou wert thyself ambitious of obtaining this office, thy fear would have been reasonable; for in being ambitious of undertaking it, a man confesses himself to be qualified for its administration, and if he fail therein, after it has been entrusted to him, he…
2,400 wordsSECTION 272. For as it is not enough for those who are chosen to say in excuse for themselves, "I did not summon myself to this office, nor could I av
2. For as it is not enough for those who are chosen to say in excuse for themselves, "I did not summon myself to this office, nor could I avoid what I did not see beforehand;" so neither will it be a sufficient plea for those who ordain them to say that they did not know him who was ordained. The charge against them becomes grea…
2,935 wordsSECTION 285. Why should any one describe the silly chatter of our own people? For these are not less than the attacks upon us from without, while they
5. Why should any one describe the silly chatter of our own people? For these are not less than the attacks upon us from without, while they give the teacher even more trouble. Some out of an idle curiosity are rashly bent upon busying themselves about matters which are neither possible for them to know, nor of any advantage to …
2,509 wordsSECTION 299. But when a dispute arises concerning matters of doctrine, and all take their weapons from the same Scriptures, of what weight will any on
9. But when a dispute arises concerning matters of doctrine, and all take their weapons from the same Scriptures, of what weight will any one's life be able to prove? What then will be the good of his many austerities, when after such painful exercises, any one from the Priest's great unskillfulness in argument fall into heresy,…
1,295 wordsSECTION 30Book V.
Book V. 1. How great is the skill required for the teacher in contending earnestly for the truth, has been sufficiently set forth by us. But I have to mention one more matter beside this, which is a cause of numberless dangers, though for my own part I should rather say that the thing itself is not the cause, but they who know …
2,286 wordsSECTION 317. For let the best artificer be himself the critic of his own designs, and let his performances be determined to be good or poor, according
7. For let the best artificer be himself the critic of his own designs, and let his performances be determined to be good or poor, according as the mind which designed them gives sentence upon them. But let him not even consider the opinion, so erroneous and inartistic, of the outside world. Let, therefore, the man who undertake…
1,143 wordsSECTION 32Book VI.
Book VI. 1. Our condition here, indeed, is such as thou hast heard. But our condition hereafter how shall we endure, when we are compelled to give our account for each of those who have been entrusted to us? For our penalty is not limited to shame, but everlasting chastisement awaits us as well. As for the passage, "Obey them t…
2,363 wordsSECTION 335. Great is the conflict which recluses undergo, and much their toil. [208] But if any one compare their exertions with those which the righ
5. Great is the conflict which recluses undergo, and much their toil. [208] But if any one compare their exertions with those which the right exercise of the Priesthood involves, he will find the difference as great as the distance between a king and a commoner. For there, if the labor is great indeed, yet the conflict is common…
2,400 wordsSECTION 3410. Basil: And now, art thou free from toils? hast thou no cares while thou livest by thyself?
10. Basil: And now, art thou free from toils? hast thou no cares while thou livest by thyself? Chrysostom: I have indeed even now. For how is it possible for one who is a man, and who is living this toilsome life of ours, to be free from cares and conflict? But it is not quite the same thing for man to plunge into a boundless o…
2,658 wordsSECTION 35Dost thou really think that this lad would be equal to more than the mere description, and would not, at the very first glance, lose heart?
Dost thou really think that this lad would be equal to more than the mere description, and would not, at the very first glance, lose heart? 13. Do not think that I have exaggerated the matter by my account, nor suppose that because we are shut up in this body, as in some prison house, and are unable to see anything of the invis…
1,589 wordsSECTION 36INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THEODORE.
INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THEODORE. These two letters, which are the earliest of Chrysostom's extant works, are addressed to a friend who had been a member of the little ascetic brotherhood which Chrysostom and Basil formed, soon after they had abandoned secular life, as described in the first book of the Treatise on the P…
2,618 wordsSECTION 374. And speak not to me of those who have committed small sins, but suppose the case of one who is filled full of all wickedness, and let him
4. And speak not to me of those who have committed small sins, but suppose the case of one who is filled full of all wickedness, and let him practice everything which excludes him from the kingdom, and let us suppose that this man is not one of those who were unbelievers from the beginning, but formerly belonged to the believers…
2,233 wordsSECTION 387. Wherefore we have need of zeal in every direction, and much preparation of mind: and if we so order our conscience as to hate our former
7. Wherefore we have need of zeal in every direction, and much preparation of mind: and if we so order our conscience as to hate our former wickedness, and choose the contrary path with as much energy as God desires and commands, we shall not have anything less on account of the short space of time: many at least who were last h…
2,594 wordsSECTION 3910. For when you hear of fire, do not suppose the fire in that world to be like this: for fire in this world burns up and makes away with an
10. For when you hear of fire, do not suppose the fire in that world to be like this: for fire in this world burns up and makes away with anything which it takes hold of; but that fire is continually burning those who have once been seized by it, and never ceases: therefore also is it called unquenchable. For those also who have…
2,215 wordsSECTION 4012. The majority it is true of those who are not very sensibly minded propose to be content with escaping hell; but I say that a far more se
12. The majority it is true of those who are not very sensibly minded propose to be content with escaping hell; but I say that a far more severe punishment than hell is exclusion from the glory of the other world, and I think that one who has failed to reach it ought not to sorrow so much over the miseries of hell, as over his r…
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Source & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.