ST. JOHN UNDER HOUSE ARREST
When he heard this, the Emperor at first wavered about how he should act; but then, at the prompting of the opponents of John, he sent the high official Marinus, who managed the estates of the Empress, to remove the glorious teacher of the Church, the holy John, by force. However, the saint was permitted to remain at the patriarchal residence until it was time to leave; and he spent two months there without leaving his cell, until the imperial decree concerning his exile and imprisonment was composed.
During this time, the favored of God was condemned to many sorrows and tribulations; the malice of his enemies increased to such an extent that more than once they made attempts on his life. They bribed one man to kill St. John; and in order to conceal his evil design, the one who had been bribed pretended to be demonized and with a concealed sword began to roam about the patriarchal residence, awaiting a convenient moment to slay the saint. But the people who were faithful to John, suspecting the seemingly demonized one of evil intent, seized him and found his sword. They took the evil-doer to the governor of the city for interrogation, but John, learning of what had happened, sent the bishops who were with him to try to wrest him from the hands of the authorities. Another time, the slave of a certain priest, one Elpidius, was noticed by the people when he, in great agitation and with a hurried gait, made his way to the patriarchal residence. One of those guarding John seized him and asked whither he was going with such haste; and he, answering nought, struck the man who was questioning him with a sword. At the sight of this, someone else cried out. Elpidius struck him also with the sword, and a third one also who was at hand. Screams and shouts arose. The slave took to his heels, brandishing his bloodstained sword and defending himself against the pursuing crowd. On the way he encountered a certain man who had just come out of a public bath; this man tried to seize him, but did not succeed in doing so, for he fell, fatally wounded by the sword. When at last this savage brigand was seized, he admitted that he had been hired to slay John for fifty gold pieces. Thenceforth, the people began to guard the house of their beloved archpastor more carefully, arranging shifts so as not to leave him without protection for so much as a minute, for they saw that the enemies of John were seeking an opportunity to murder the saint.
THE SECOND EXILE OF ST. JOHN
With the onset of Pentecost there came an imperial decree that John be sent into banishment. With this, one statesman advised John to leave the city secretly, so that the people would not rebel and rise up against the soldiers who were to lead him into exile. “Otherwise,” he said, “thou shalt be the cause of bloodshed, for it was commanded that thou be taken by force; the people will resist and sedition will result.”
When he heard this, John summoned several of his beloved bishops and clergymen, and also the blessed deaconess Olympia, and bade them farewell. At this time of parting everyone wept bitterly. And the holy John himself shed tears. When. he had parted with those dearest to him, John departed unnoticed by a side door, heading toward the sea, that the people might know nothing of his departure. By the sea, soldiers were waiting for the saint, who, taking him in charge, straightway placed him aboard a small boat; in it, the saint was transported to Bithynia, and from thence was taken on a long journey.
After St. John was banished, there was a fire in the cathedral church of Constantinople, which was an obvious expression of the wrath of God. Fanned by a mighty wind, the flames issued forth from the church and, rising high into the air in the form of a bridge, inclined towards the palace in which the councils against the holy John had taken place and consumed it utterly. And one could see a miraculous phenomenon: the fire, as if alive, twisting around in the likeness of a snake, set fire to distant buildings, but those located near the church remained untouched. From this everyone saw that it was not coincidental, but rather because of divine anger, that such a conflagration had occurred, and that the cause of this anger was the banishment of St. John Chrysostom.
In the course of three hours, from the sixth hour of the day to the ninth, many splendid ancient buildings were reduced to ashes, as well as all manner of adornments in the city and incalculable riches. Yet, amongst the people not one person died from the fire. Seeing this, everyone said that God was punishing the city with fire for the unjust exile of the favored of God. But the enemies of John maintained the opposite, saying: “John’s supporters have set the church on fire!”
In consequence of this, many were arrested and subjected by the governor of the city, a pagan by faith, to all manner of torture and torment, of which several died. Yet despite this they were still unable to find the cause of the fire, and were even more certain that the fire had happened because of God’s anger.
While the saint was being led to imprisonment, he suffered a multitude of torments at the hands of the soldiers along the way. The soldiers had been ordered by the Empress to torment and oppress the saint in every way possible during the journey, in order to exhaust him the more quickly and bring about his death. Thus, they sat him upon an ass unbroken to the saddle and drove the animal along quickly, covering in a single day a journey which should have been covered in two or three days. During the journey, John was not given any peace or rest; he spent the nights in common and filthy inns, sometimes in the houses of Jews, and countless vile things were done in his presence. Nowhere was he permitted to enter a church; and when the saint asked about this, he was subjected to all manner of mockery and insults; and besides this, they wore the saint down with hunger and took from him the money that had been allotted to him for food on the way.
With such animosity was St. John Chrysostom led to imprisonment! When the saint had occasion to pass through towns in which there were bishops who were his enemies and friends of Theophilus, the latter subjected him to all manner of offenses. Some would not permit him to enter the city, and others even encouraged the soldiers to treat him all the worse. On rare occasions, the holy fathers who dwelt in the wilderness, on hearing that the holy John was passing by on his way to imprisonment, went out to meet him and with lamentation accompanied him. Of this the holy John himself, in his epistle from Cucusus to Bishop Cyriacus, made mention in these words: “Many woes did we experience on the way, but were in no way distressed over this. When we passed through Cappadocia and Taurocilicia, whole companies of fathers, holy men, and innumerable throngs of monks and virgins came out to meet us, and shed abundant tears. Looking upon our progress into exile, they lamented and said to one another: ‘It would be better for the sun to hide its rays, than for the mouth of John to fall silent!’ This brought me great distress and grief, for I saw that they were all lamenting over me. About all else that happened to me I was not concerned.” Thus John wrote of himself.
THE STAY OF ST. JOHN IN CUCUSUS
When he was led into Lesser Armenia, to the city of Cucusus, he was kindly received by Bishop Adelphius into his own home, for, before his arrival, that prelate had received a vision from God, commanding him to receive the saint. While staying in Cucusus, the holy John converted many unbelievers to Christ through his teaching. The fame of St. John Chrysostom spread far throughout the surrounding areas, and many people from all parts flocked to him, desiring to hear him and hear his instructive words. And many from Antioch who respected and knew him also came. Rumor of all this reached Constantinople, and the enemies of John grew troubled. He seemed dangerous to them even in his confinement, and for that reason they decided to send him still further away.
And a command arrived in Cucusus from the Empress, that John be sent to a barren place called Pityus, located on the shores of the Black Sea, surrounded by coarse barbarians. Carrying out the new order of the Empress, the soldiers conducted John to a second place of exile, and during the journey subjected him to the same mockeries as they had previously, attempting to bring about his death the more quickly. They made him travel through rain and heat without clothes, forbade him to enter cities and villages, and, as before, spurred the ass upon which the bishop was sifting along quickly. Such a cruel path did the holy John have to travel during his banishment. And during the course of the journey he reposed.
THE HOLY APOSTLES PETER AND JOHN AGAIN APPEAR TO ST. JOHN
Not long before the repose of the blessed one, while he, as was his custom, stood in prayer at night, the holy Apostles Peter and John, who had appeared to him before when he was struggling in the monastery in Antioch, came to him again. The holy Apostles said to him: “Rejoice, good pastor of Christ’s reason-endowed sheep, mighty athlete! We have been sent to thee by our common Master Jesus Christ, in order to help thee and comfort thee amid the sorrows and difficulties which thou hast borne for the purity of thy soul. For thou, emulating John the Baptist, hast rebuked iniquitous kings. Be of good cheer and be strong; for thee great reward hath been prepared in the kingdom of heaven. We are announcing to thee glad tidings of great joy: in the course of a few days thou shalt depart to the Lord thy God and shalt enjoy everlasting blessedness with us in the kingdom of heaven. Wherefore, have hope, for thou hast prevailed over thine enemies, put to shame those who hate thee, and triumphed over the adversary, the devil. Eudoxia will be riddled with worms and will call upon thee for help, but will find no help and will die amid terrible affliction. She will suffer cruelly and not find a minute’s relief, for she will receive this as a punishment from God.” After this, they gave him something to eat, and said: “Take and eat, that hereafter thou mayest no longer require other food in this life. This will suffice thee until such time as thou surrenderest thy soul into the hands of God.”
The holy John, taking what was given him, ate of it in their presence and was filled with joy. Then, the Apostles who had appeared to him departed.
There were with John two priests and one deacon, who had gone with him into exile from Constantinople, and would not leave him, being bound to him with bonds of love. They saw with their own eyes how the Apostles came to John, heard all they said, and blessed God, Who had vouchsafed them to suffer with His favorite.
THE VISION OF ST. BASILISCUS
After several days of travel, the exiles reached Comana; close to this city was a church dedicated to the holy great-martyr Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana, who, during the reign of the impious Emperor Maximian, had suffered for Christ’s sake in Nicomedia together with the priest Lucian of Antioch. In this church they spent the night. The following day was the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross, and during the night before the feast, the holy martyr Basiliscus appeared to the blessed John, saying: “Brother John, take heart! For tomorrow we shall be together!” The same holy martyr appeared also to a priest of his church, saying: “Prepare thou a place for brother John, for he cometh to us!”
When day broke, John implored the soldiers to stay in Comana at the Church of St. Basiliscus until the fifth hour; but they would not listen to him and started to continue the journey, trying to travel all the more quickly. They journeyed by water and sailed very quickly, like a feathered bird in flight. Thus, in the course of several hours, they had sailed nearly three miles from the city.
THE REPOSE OF ST. JOHN
However, in accordance with the providence of God, they touched shore again near the Church of St. Basiliscus, which astonished them exceedingly. John again began to implore them to tarry a while at that place until he had prayed in church. Recognizing the action of the power of God in the fact that they had arrived, against their will, at that place from which they had set sail, the soldiers decided to defer to John’s desire. Then the saint entered the church, requested bright ecclesiastical vestments, and changed all his clothes, beginning with his footwear; then he distributed all his clothing to those who had been with him on the boat, and in ecclesiastical raiment celebrated the divine liturgy and partook of the most holy and life-creating Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ; afterwards, having blessed all those present and given them a final kiss, he lay down, uttering the words “Glory be to God for all things!” And directly he surrendered his soul into the hands of God. This took place on the very day of the Exaltation of the Precious Cross of the Lord. In such a manner, the holy favorite of God who had borne his cross throughout the course of his entire life, crucified to the world and crucified together with Christ, reposed on the day dedicated to the memory of the Precious Cross. He was laid to rest in the very church in which he died, not far from the tomb of the holy martyr Basiliscus. Thus was the prophecy of the holy Epiphanius of Cyprus fulfilled, who said to John: “And thou shalt not reach the place to which thou shalt be exiled.”
And, in fact, John was being led toward Pityus, but reposed in Comana without reaching Pityus. Thus was extinguished the beacon of the Church, thus did the golden mouth fall silent, thus did the good athlete and sufferer complete his struggle and finish his course, having lived six years on the patriarchal throne and spent three more years in exile, being led about from place to place.
POPE INNOCENT AND EMPEROR HONORIUS
When the holy John died, those who had followed him up until his very death — the two priests and the deacon — having wept over the death of their father, set off for Rome to see Pope Innocent, and reported to him in detail everything that St. John had had to endure due to the malice of his enemies. They told him also of his end, and about how the holy Apostles Peter and John the Theologian had come to him before his repose, and what they told him; and how the holy martyr Basiliscus had appeared to him. Listening to everything, Innocent marvelled greatly and began to grieve over the great God-pleaser who had suffered for the truth. Concerning the circumstances of the exile and death of St. John Chrysostom, the Pope informed the Western Emperor Honorius, the brother of Arcadius, and they both regretted his loss bitterly and immediately wrote an epistle to the Emperor Arcadius. For his part the Pope wrote: “The blood of my brother John crieth out to God against thee, O Emperor, just as of old the blood of the righteous Abel cried out against the fratricide Cain; and this blood will be avenged, since thou hast in a time of peace raised a persecution against the Church of God. For thou hast driven out a true pastor of Christ, and along with him thou hast driven away Christ God also, and betrayed his flock into the hands of hirelings, and not the true pastors of Christ.”
This and much more did Innocent write to Arcadius, excommunicating him and Eudoxia from the Divine Mysteries, and with them also all their confederates who had taken part in the deposition of the holy John. Theophilus he also excommunicated from the Church, and summoned to a council to receive the punishment he deserved.
For his part, Honorius wrote to his brother Arcadius: “I know not by what temptation thou wast seduced, my brother, placing confidence in thy wife and, on her insistence, arranging that which no pious Christian emperor would do. The bishops and venerable fathers here cry out against thee and the Empress for having deposed from his throne without trial and contrary to the canons John, the great hierarch of God, and, having exhausted him with cruel tortures, delivered him over to a violent death.”
THE REPENTANCE OF ARCADIUS
At the end of this letter, Honorius called upon Arcadius to show repentance before God and to take revenge upon those who were guilty of John’s expulsion. When he received the letters from his brother and the Pope, the Emperor Arcadius fell into deep sorrow and a terrible fright. Having sought out all those in the city who had risen up against John, he gave them over to various punishments: some he had beheaded with the sword; others he deprived of their office with dishonor. The Emperor commanded that several of the bishops who had condemned the holy John and were then in Constantinople be seized and confined in disgrace in the common prison. Among them was Jechirion, the son of Theophilus’ brother. To Theophilus himself he sent an extremely stern letter, commanding him to make ready to be tried in Thessalonica, in order to receive a fitting punishment for his malice. Even his wife, the Empress Eudoxia, did not escape the anger of Arcadius: Arcadius separated her from himself, immured her in a separate palace, and forbade everyone except her maidservants to go in to her. Furthermore, he sent into exile the relatives of the Empress, who had wickedly conspired with her against the saint; he confiscated the property of some, and others he confined in dungeons and subjected to tortures and torments. Then he wrote to Pope Innocent concerning all that he had done, and with humility and repentance besought his forgiveness. He wrote also to his brother Honorius, asking him to entreat the Pope to lift his excommunication. Soon Arcadius received what he had requested. On reading his humble request, the Pope accepted his repentance and wrote to the blessed Proclus, who was then the Bishop of Cyzicus, to lift the excommunication and to vouchsafe him the Holy Mysteries; and he numbered the blessed John among the choir of the saints.
When all this happened thus, God, the Lord of vengeance, Himself took revenge upon the enemies of John, His favored. He subjected them to the harshest punishments while still on the earth, so that they all died cruel deaths. At this time, all the bishops, clergymen, worldly dignitaries and, in general, all those people who had unjustly risen up against the holy John were covered with festering sores, which putrefied all their flesh and caused them to die. The arms and legs of some withered; the entire bodies of others began to rot; and in a great many, worms appeared, so that over a long period of time an unbearable stench emanated from them. One of the number of unjust judges who had condemned the blessed one to exile fell from a horse and died suddenly, breaking his right hand, with which he had signed the unjust accusation against the innocent John. Another became dumb and his limbs withered; and thus he died. The tongue of a third, with which he had slandered the holy John, swelled up to such an extent that he could not speak; then he confessed his sin, writing it on parchment. And thus was it possible to see the manifestation of the dread wrath of God in divers chastisements brought down upon those guilty of driving John from his see.
The Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria, in consequence of the death of Pope Innocent of Rome, escaped trial and the punishment of men, but did not escape the judgment of God. He went insane and died of that malady. The legs of Cyrinus, Bishop of Chalcedon, began to rot; physicians amputated portions of them repeatedly, lest he putrefy utterly; but he died after his legs had been sawed off to the knee. The dread judgment of God also reached the hapless Empress Eudoxia. Struck down with grief and shame, she fell ill with a heavy issue of blood, and her flesh swarmed with worms, as the Apostles had foretold to the blessed John. From her such a stench issued forth that those who passed by were unable to bear the fetor of her flesh; many of the most experienced doctors treated her and sprinkled her with fragrant scents, but to no avail. Then she asked the physicians: “Why are ye unable to cure my infirmity?” They did not dare to explain this to her. “If ye do not know the reason why I am unable to recover,” the Empress said to them, “I will tell you: I have received this infirmity in consequence of divine wrath, which hath overtaken me because of the evil which I caused to Patriarch John!”
She returned to the children of Theognostus the vineyard which had been taken from them, and to many others also she returned all that she had taken away from them unjustly. However, she did not receive healing, and died in that affliction. After her death, for the unmasking of her iniquity, the tomb in which she had been laid quaked continually for thirty-two years, until the time of the translation of the precious relics of St. John Chrysostom from Comana to Constantinople, on January 27, A.D. 438.
THE GLORY OF ST. JOHN
Thus the Lord punished the enemies of John; and He glorified the righteous one in the following manner. Bishop Adelphius, who had received John kindly into his residence in Cucusus, having heard of the repose of the saint, was overcome by great sorrow and began earnestly and tearfully to entreat God to show him in which rank of saints John was to be found. Once, while praying about this, he passed into an ecstasy and beheld a radiant and joyful youth; taking Adelphius by the hand, the youth led him to a place of splendor and showed him the choir of the holy teachers of the Church. Directing his gaze hither and thither, Adeiphius wanted to catch sight of John, but could not see him anywhere. Having shown Adelphius each of the teachers and the patriarchs of Constantinople, the youth led him away in haste from that place. Following after him, Adelphius was grieved because he had not seen the blessed John in the company of the holy fathers. But when he was leaving that place of splendor, someone standing at the portals took him by the hand and said: “Why art thou departing hence with such sorrow? If one entereth here sorrowful, one returneth from here cheerful; but thou hast behaved contrariwise. Thou camest in gladness, but leavest sorrowful!” Adelphius answered: “The reason I am sorrowing is that I did not see among the teachers of the Church my much beloved John!” “Thinkest thou,” that personage said, “that John is a preacher of repentance?” “Yea,” answered Adelphius. Then he who was standing at the gates of paradise said to him: “A man still in the body is not able to see him, for he standeth before the throne of God, which is surrounded by the cherubim and seraphim!”
Having received such news concerning the holy John, Adelphius rejoiced and glorified God, Who had revealed this mystery to him. Thus, the holy John, after the many tribulations, tempests, misfortunes and sorrows which he suffered for the Truth, arrived at the calm haven of heaven where, rejoicing with the angels, he glorifies the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, God Who is one in Trinity, to Whom also be from us glory, worship and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
KONTAKION; Tone 1:
The honored Church was mystically gladdened by the return of thy precious relics; and having hidden them like most precious gold, by thy supplication she bountifully imparteth the grace of healings unto them that hymn thee, O John Chrysostom. |
