THE TRANSLATION OF THE RELICS Of OUR HOLY FATHER JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Which the Holy Church Celebrates on 27 January
When thirty years and more had passed since the repose, in the city of Comana, of the great ecumenical teacher, the holy John Chrysostom, the most holy Proclus (who at one time had been his disciple, and later became his successor in the see of Constantinople), celebrating a divine service in the Great Church of the imperial city on the anniversary of the holy one’s passing, delivered a sermon to the people, glorifying the favorite of God with many praises.
“No one is able to praise the holy John fittingly,” said he, “save only if another such John were now to appear! Like a river overflowing with waters, his memory, arising from the recollection of his countless labors, struggles and instructions, giveth drink unto the faithful. Therein shine rays of the grace of God, wherein to one there appeareth the sun of the Godhead with clarity; to another is revealed the cleansing of the Orthodox Faith from heresy; to yet another, the destruction of idols becometh manifest; and to yet another, the falsehood of errors is laid bare; another seeth the confirmation of the Faith and the correction of morals; whereas for another heavenly crowns gleam therein. O hierarch whose memory is like a breeze full of fragrance! O name of John which correspondeth to his deeds! O title of ‘golden mouth’ which clearly showeth what sort of man he was in the preaching of the word of God! O tongue more exalted than the heavens! O teacher who spreadest abroad the thunder of the Gospels! This was John, who was like unto the Forerunner of the Lord who preached repentance. The one was unshakable; the other invincible. The one was virginal; the other the defender of purity. The one baptized in the wilderness; the other set noetical snares in the city. The one denounced adultery; the other upbraided the avaricious. The one was cast into prison; the other was condemned to exile. The one was beheaded with the sword; the other wished to receive such a death for the truth. Many were his struggles on earth; many were the crowns prepared for him in heaven. John now crieth out with the holy Apostle Paul: ‘I am “a sweet savor of Christ” [II Cor 2:15], for I have cleansed all places of error, as of a foetid stench: in Ephesus I expunged the delusion of Midas; in Phrygia I rendered the mother of false gods childless; in Caesaria I abolished the debaucheries of the people; in Syria I put an end to assemblies opposed to God; in Persia I sowed the seed of piety. Everywhere I planted the roots of the Orthodox Faith; and by means of my teaching I have illumined the whole world with the knowledge of God. In composing my books, I spread the nets of salvation everywhere. With John the Theologian, I theologized concerning the Word of the Father. With the fisherman I cast the nets of Orthodoxy into the world.’
“O John! Thy life was truly full of sorrow; yet thy death was one of honor. Thy grace is glorious, and thy reward is great!”
While the holy Proclus discoursed thus in church, the people, their love for St. John Chrysostom fanned to flame, were unable to await the end of the homily, but all, as with a single mouth, cried in a loud voice to the most holy Proclus, entreating him to hasten the return of the holy relics of John from Comana to Constantinople. Their loud cries resounded in the church for so long that the Patriarch could not complete his sermon. Straightway after the dismissal, the most holy Proclus went to Emperor Theodosius II, the son of Arcadius and grandson of Theodosius the Great; and he besought him to permit the translation of the precious relics of St. John Chrysostom, saying: “Return, O Emperor, him who evangelically gaveth thee birth through holy baptism and who bore thee on his hierarchical arms into the church, as once the elder Symeon bore the Lord. The Church crieth out to thee: ‘My beauty hath faded, my lips are closed, my splendor is dimmed! A wild boar hath scattered the shepherds of the sheep of Chrysostom, and blood-thirsty beasts have destroyed the fruits of my mouth. Envy hath defiled the holy place of my minister; as in a forest grove they have cut him off from me with axes and enclosed him in a tomb of silence. The friends of the heretics have said among themselves: “We shall stop the mouth which hath spoken much against us. We shall put his speech to shame, for no one can speak thus any more, and no one will say ought against us.” How long, O Emperor, will the enemy revile me for the sake of Chrysostom? Return to me him who was the likeness of my Bridegroom Christ. Give to me, thy mother, thy spiritual father. Although thy mother in the flesh sent him away from me, do thou not follow her pitiless heart and foolish intention, but be thou zealous for the holiness of the spirit, without which no one shall see the Lord. The glory of Eudoxia hath passed away, but the Church abideth for ever. I am thy mother for everlasting ages. Make it possible for me to publish abroad the glad tidings of the return of Chrysostom, and thou shalt have in me a mediator for thee before God. Acquire the soul of Chrysostom as thine intercessor. Be thou a son of righteousness, made steadfast through the prayer of thy father.’
Thus speaking many things in behalf of the Church, he moved the Emperor to consent. Men of the most exalted station were sent to Comana with a silver coffer, to translate the holy relics of St. John Chrysostom with great honor. When they arrived in that place and showed the imperial epistle to the bishop of Comana and all the people, great sorrow, lamentation and grief arose among the people over their impending deprivation of so great a treasure. The people did not wish to surrender the holy relics. They deliberated at length on this subject; yet they found themselves unable to oppose the Emperor’s edict. When the men sent by the Emperor wished to remove the holy relics from the grave, the sacred remains straightway became more onerous than stone or any other heavy weight, so that, despite all their efforts, they were unable to move them from their place. The envoys exerted themselves to a great extent, but achieved nothing. Understanding from this that the saint did not wish his relics removed from that spot, they immediately informed the Emperor of this in writing. The Emperor, taking counsel with the most holy Patriarch and other holy men, understood his mistake, namely, that he had sent men to take the relics of St. John from Comana not with prayer, but with an edict. Then he thought to write to the holy one a letter, as to one still alive, asking forgiveness for his audacity and beseeching him to agree to return to his see and comfort his flock. And in his own hand he wrote as follows:
“Theodosius the Emperor, to the ecumenical teacher and my spiritual father, the holy John Chrysostom: Considering thy precious body, most honored father, to be something inanimate, like the bodies of the rest of the dead, I commanded that it be brought to us immediately; but I did not receive that which I desired on account of mine unworthiness. And now I am sending to thee, as to one living, this petition, penned in mine own hand, and I ask thee with faith to fulfill my petition and that of thy people. Forgive me for what I audaciously undertook, covering it with the depth of thy wisdom. Do thou, who taughtest repentance to all, forgive a penitent. O father, return to us, children who love their father, and gladden us who love thee with thy coming. In great need, I earnestly entreat thee to come to us, and I do not command it. Put me not to shame a second time, honored father! Grant thyself to them that desire to see thee! Return in peace and take up that which is thine own with love.”
Having written this epistle, the Emperor entrusted it to his courtiers and commanded that, having opened the grave of the saint, they place it on the breast of the saint and then have an all-night vigil celebrated. When the imperial letter dispatched by the Emperor to Comana was placed upon the breast of the holy John and when, afterwards, following the celebration of the all-night vigil, the Emperor’s emissaries touched the precious relics, the saint straightway yielded to them; his body became as light as it was by nature. The envoys rejoiced, and, taking the precious relics from the tomb, placed them in the Emperor’s reliquary.
There was in that place a certain pauper whose leg had withered because of a serpent’s bite and who lived in the churches, begging alms. He took a little covering from the tomb of the saint and wrapped it about his leg. Immediately, his withered leg became as strong as the other, and he began to walk about, glorifying God. All the people gathered together with torches to venerate the precious relics of the saint, and escorted them with abundant tears and lamentation during their translation. The Emperor’s party set out on their journey and, having covered a great distance unimpeded, reached the wharf at Chalcedon. The Emperor and all his retinue, the Patriarch and all his clergy, as well as a great multitude of the people, took ship and went to meet the holy relics. A special imperial galley had been prepared to receive the precious relics of John, in which the coffer and its precious contents were placed. As they were returning to Constantinople, a tempest suddenly arose upon the sea, in accordance with God’s providence. All of the ships were tossed this way and that, and the ship which bore the reliquary and remains of the saint, bereft of its rudder, sailed by itself, invisibly guided not by any human hand, but by the power of God. It came to shore at the site of the widow’s vineyard, for which St. John Chrysostom had endured such great misfortunes and banishment itself. Thus, even after his death he showed zeal for righteousness and denounced the unjustly occasioned offense. Straight-way the sea grew calm, the ships came together in one place without having sustained damage, and no one suffered any harm from the sea’s turbulence.
When the reliquary with the holy one’s relics was transferred from the ship to the shore, all the city arose and went forth with torches, censers and hymnody. The clergy, taking up the reliquary, bore it first to the Church of the Holy Apostle Thomas, and then to the Church of Holy Peace. There the Emperor and the Patriarch opened the reliquary and found the body of the holy John blossoming like a cluster of grapes with comeliness and incorruption and emitting a sweet fragrance. The Emperor, removing his robe of royal purple, spread it over the relics, and then, falling on the breast of the saint, tearfully said: “Forgive the sin committed against thee, and do not let me suffer retribution for my parents’ intemperance. Although I am the son of her who drove thee out, yet am I innocent of causing thee tribulation. Forgive her offense, that I also may be freed of the blame which weigheth down on her. I bow mine office down to thy feet, and all mine authority do I submit to thy supplication. Forgive her who grieved thee with foolish violence, for she hath repented of what was done to thee and asketh forgiveness, humbly addressing thee through my lips, thus: Remember thine instructive discourse on not remembering evils, O father, and do thou thyself forget my malice. I wish to rise up from my fallen state, but extend to me thy hand, O thou who didst say: If anyone hath fallen, stand up and thou shalt be saved. I cannot bear thy displeasure with me; even my tomb quaketh, disturbing my bones. I fear everlasting punishment, and that I may be driven from a place at the right hand at the dread judgment of Christ. Thou hast saved many with thy teachings; let me not remain deprived of that salvation. Do not abandon me who cry after thee, but avenge thyself not on me, but on the devil, mine enemy, for he it was who instructed me to oppress thee, as once he instructed Eve to sin against God. Be not angry with me, O guileless one! O thou who didst not remember the evils done thee in thine earthly life, do not now remember them in thy heavenly life. If I, whilst living my transitory life, caused thee evil, do thou, living everlasting life, bring benefit to my soul. My glory hath passed away, and nothing helped me; but do thou help me, O father, in thy glory, which thou hast received of God, and, before I am condemned at the dread judgment of Christ, forgive me who am bereft of an answer.”
Uttering these words on behalf of his mother, the Emperor did not cease to weep, but bedewed the body of the saint with his tears and kissed it with fear. Likewise also, the most holy Proclus, lovingly venerating the body of the saint, exclaimed: “Rejoice, O Christ-loving father, teacher most sweet! I am thy child, who was nurtured on thy spiritual milk. As thou wast pastor before me, so now I am pastor; my sheep are thine; thy flock hath grazed upon thy pasture hitherto, and, hastening to thee, doth not wish to follow other shepherds! Show us thy face and make us hear thy voice!”
The whole crowd pushed forward if but to touch the precious reliquary of the saint and did not leave its side day or night. In the morning, the relics of the saint were placed upon the Emperor’s chariot and borne with great honor and glory to the great cathedral church of the Holy Apostles. When the reliquary was brought within and set on the patriarchal throne, all the people cried out as with a single voice: “Take up thy throne, O father!”
Then Patriarch Proclus, and with him many of the men of highest dignity, saw that the holy John, moving his dead lips as though alive, pronounced the archpastoral blessing: “Peace be to all!’
During the celebration of the holy liturgy, many miraculous healings were wrought for the sick through the holy relics of Chrysostom, and the tomb of the Empress Eudoxia ceased its long quaking. The priests placed the holy body of John in the sanctuary under the table of oblation, with gladness and joy glorifying Christ God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Who is glorified for ever. Amen. |
