NAMED CHRYSOSTOM
St. John Chrysostom often delivered his homilies from memory, at which all the inhabitants of Antioch marvelled greatly, praising the blessed one, for until that time no one had preached the Word of God without a book or notebook; John was the first such preacher among them. His homilies were full of such power, that all who listened could not help but delight in them. This is why so many scribes recorded St. John’s sermons on parchment, and, recopying them, gave them to others. His homilies were read at banquets and in squares, and those who listened learned his words by heart, like the Psalter. John was such an eloquent orator and teacher dear to all, that in the whole city there was not one person who did not want to listen to his discourses; and whenever they learned that John would speak, all thronged to church with joy. The city rulers and judges left off their work, the merchants their trade, the artisans their craft, and went with haste to listen to the teaching of John, taking care that they not miss a single word which issued forth from his lips. All considered it a great loss when they could not manage to listen to the sweet speeches of John. This is why he was given various laudatory titles. Some called him “the mouth of God and Christ”, others “the eloquent one”, and still others “the mellifluous”.
It happened that the blessed one, especially at the beginning of his priesthood, gave sermons which by their content were not always understood by his listeners, who had little education. Once, a certain woman, on hearing a sermon, yet not understanding what had been said, lifted her voice among the people and said to John: “O spiritual teacher, though I would fain call thee John of the golden tongue: the well of thy holy teaching is deep, but the rope of our minds is short and cannot reach its depths!” Then many of the people said: “God Himself hath given John this name through the mouth of this woman! Let him henceforth be called Chrysostom!” And from that time until the present, the Church has continued to refer to the holy John by this title.
Having reasoned that it was not suitable to speak to the people using words which were beyond their comprehension, St. John thenceforth strove to adorn his speech, not with refined oratory, but rather with simple and morally edifying words, that even the simplest listener might understand and derive benefit therefrom. Teaching the residents of Antioch the Faith and Christian life, St. John was, moreover, a comforter of his fellow citizens in times of social disasters. |
