Universal teachers. Issue III. John Chrysostom. Essay on life and work

Contents Chapter one I section II section III section IV section Chapter two I section II section III section IV section V section Chapter three I section II section III section IV section V section VI section VII section VIII section IX section X section XI section Chapter four I section II section III section IV section V section VI section Sources and aids for writing an essay “He burned with the zeal of the apostles.” “He was merciless towards sin and full of mercy towards the sinner.” When St. Gregory the Theologian left Constantinople, he asked to elect in his place a worthy husband who would be a strong fighter for Orthodoxy. Gregory's successor, Nektarios, was not, however, such. But the desire of Gregory the Theologian was fulfilled when, after Nektarios, the see of Constantinople was occupied by St. John Chrysostom. The definition of his personality is characteristic: “He was not afraid of people at all, because he feared God. If he found something fair and necessary to say, then no extraneous considerations could prevent him from doing so.” He did not know a deal with conscience, did not impose silence on his lips if he had to speak. In this respect, he was not only not inferior, but, one might say, he was often even superior to Gregory. Truly he is “the lamp of the world, the teacher of the universe, the pillar and foundation of the Church.” His majestic image, surrounded by the glory of martyrdom, stands out clearly against the background of the 4th century. It is not for nothing that such a name was given to him: the most brilliant church speakers of all the past centuries of Christianity are inferior to Chrysostom the preacher, who burned the hearts of people with his verb. “His menacing, fiery word (and it must be added, always breathing with love) both exposed and illuminated the ancient world, called Christian, but immersed in the abyss of lawlessness; it caused an upsurge of his spiritual powers and led him on the path of rebirth.” Chrysostom's word did not cease with his death. His creations are still truly nutritious food and blessed light. They are reflections of life, because, firstly, they are replete with interesting information about that time, its customs, and, secondly, John taught how to live, and lived himself. Word and deed were not at odds with St. a preacher who “beared universal reproach as a witness to the truth and wanted to be justified before the face of God,” not caring about the judgment of the world. But the world, which once persecuted him, recognized him as its lamp, and began to look for truth and lessons of Christian morality not only in his works, but also in his life, which shows everyone the wondrous heights of Christian perfection. Having given all of himself to the service of God and His Church, having gone through a difficult path of life that ended in death in exile, Chrysostom leaves the earthly vale with gratitude to God for everything. “Thank God for everything!” - these are the last words of the exiled saint, who drank that cup of suffering, one drop of which is enough for the majority to evoke a murmur of reproach and almost indignation against the will of Providence. It is clear that such a life is instructive in itself, because it in itself is already a light that disperses darkness. Getting to know the life of Chrysostom can not only clarify his personality and give an idea of ​​his time, but also bring us strength in the fight against sin, lift our weak spirit and illuminate the darkness of our restless souls. A great preacher can serve for us as an example of fearlessness in trouble, fidelity to truth, an example of love for one’s neighbor and selfless submission to the will of God. St. John was born in 347 in Antioch, on Singon Street, where the Apostle Paul lived for some time. Antioch had a beautiful location and occupied a prominent role among the cities of the East. A large and magnificent city, from its very foundation by Seleucus, Antioch did not cease to grow from the time it became part of the Roman Empire. Particularly decorated under Diocletian with many churches, palaces and baths 1, and under Constantine with a magnificent church, it was, together with Constantinople and Alexandria, one of the three metropolises of the East that have no rivals. “The old city, the so-called Palea, lay along the Orontes River; the new one occupied a large island on the river itself, connected to the banks by means of five bridges. The inhabitants were proud of that magnificent street, 36 stadia long and bordered on both sides by porticos - a street that crossed the city in a straight line, parallel to the river. The water supply was amazing. The baths were vast and magnificent. Antioch also stood out for its excellent arrangement of proper lighting. Night differed from day only in the quality of light, and everyone, at their own discretion, could continue both work and pleasure at night without difficulty. Antioch had rich villages within its borders and, in addition, the entire suburb of Daphne, of which the Syrians were so proud that they usually called the capital itself by its name - “Antioch under Daphne.” Emperor Constantius called it “the capital of the East.” The plain that surrounded the city abounded in vineyards, laurel and myrtle groves. Antioch was famous for its pleasant climate. The population of Antioch extended to 200 thousand and consisted of Romans, Greeks, Syrians, Jews, Arabs, etc. In educational terms, Antioch was for Asia what Athens was for Europe. Christianity spread early to Antioch. Here for the first time the gospel gospel was heard to the pagan world; “here for the first time the very name of a Christian was pronounced, and here in the bosom of the nascent Church arose the first dispute about the observance of the law (circumcision), which forced the ap. Paul in the “face to resist” ap. Petru. Christianity, born under the ap. Paul, strengthened and formed into the famous Apostolic Church. Antioch had St. Ignatius, famous for his wondrous dying messages and martyrdom in Rome. Of the 200 thousand inhabitants of Antioch under Chrysostom, half were already considered Christians, although, of course, many of them were Christians only “in appearance.” The parents of John Chrysostom, Anthus and Secundus, were not such Christians. The father held a prominent position as a military leader. He died when John was still a child. The young widow (she was still 21) was left with two children: a daughter and a son. The girl soon died, and Anfusa devoted herself entirely to raising her son, whom she loved selflessly and for whose sake she refused a new marriage. She belonged to those women of whom Christians were proud and of whom pagans were amazed. It was about Anthusa that the famous pagan philosopher Livanius exclaimed: “What wonderful women these Christians have!” Yes, such women were the adornment of Christian society, and the Church owes them no little. Their true love, their ardent jealousy brought good fruits. They served as an example and support for many; they raised and preserved for the Church those who later became the stronghold of the Church. Anfusa's love protected the childhood of John Chrysostom and stood guard over his youth. “She forgot her youth, her whole life seemed to go into her son’s life. She nurtured his soul; what love gave him remained for him a pure source, from which he drew joy and strength until the end of his life.” Anfusa wanted to give her son a good education. As a result of the order of Emperor Julian, the teaching of higher sciences was prohibited in Christian schools. They had to turn to pagan teachers for scientific knowledge. But before sending her son to a pagan school, the pious Anfusa began raising him. She instructed the priest to teach elementary lessons on the Holy Scriptures and herself read the Bible with the boy, instructing him with conversations in Christian morality, reinforcing all this with the example of her Christian life. At the same time, the youth John, whose soul was just opening up to the conscious perception of impressions, had to witness the desperate struggle of paganism with Christianity. “Having seized the imperial throne, Julian threw off the mask of hypocritical piety and openly acted as an enemy of Christianity, hatred of which had long been hidden in his soul. Everywhere he began to raise decaying paganism and suppress Christianity. Since Antioch was one of the main strongholds of Christianity, which had glorious teachers and valiant confessors there, Julian did not fail to turn his attention to this center of the religion he hated and took all measures to destroy it. Heading to Antioch, Julian visited its suburb Daphne, where the church of Apollo was famous in its time. Once this temple, with the sacred grove surrounding it, was a place of constant pagan celebrations, but now Julian was struck by its emptiness. There was not even any sacrifice to bring, and the priest who met him had to slaughter his own goose on the occasion of the unexpected triumph. This picture deeply struck the emperor, especially since the nearby Christian church, in which the relics of Saint Babyla lay, resounded with sacred chants and was filled with worshipers. Julian could not stand it and ordered the Christian church to be closed and the relics removed from it. This unjust order, however, did not suppress the spirit of Christians. They solemnly transferred the relics, and when this majestic procession took place, resounding the surroundings and streets of Antioch with the singing of the psalm: “Let those who bow down to idols, who boast about their idols, be put to shame, Julian could clearly see the large number of Christians and their enthusiastic devotion to their faith. Then, betraying his calmness and hypocritical tolerance, he ordered the arrest of many Christians, threw them into prison, and even ordered some of them to be tortured. Meanwhile, heavenly wrath broke out over the idol church. The Church of Apollo was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Julian's rage was boundless, and he ordered the closure of the main Christian church in Antioch, and its elderly presbyter, St. Theodoret, who refused to hand over the most sacred belongings of the temple to the pagan authorities, was martyred. One noble widow, Publius, was beaten simply because the psalm was heard being sung from her house: “May God arise and His enemies be scattered,” while Julian was passing by. Two of the young military leaders from the imperial guard once, in a friendly company, expressed a complaint about the injustice of the government regarding Christians, and upon denunciation they were immediately arrested, imprisoned and, when they refused to convert to paganism, were immediately beheaded; Their bodies were buried with honor by Christians. Giving vent to his rage, Julian acted in every way to suppress Christianity. He ridiculed Christianity, imposed heavy taxes on Christians, confiscated church property, expelled bishops and priests, bypassed Christians with rewards and turned a blind eye to the zeal of governors known for their hatred of the Christian faith. Finally, as a mockery of Christianity, he decided to rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in order to refute the prediction of Jesus Christ about its complete destruction. John, like his pious mother, experienced many anxious days during these persecutions. One might even think that he took an active part in the burial of the martyrs and, together with other Christians, shed hot tears over the headless corpses. In his sixteenth year, John entered the famous teacher of eloquence, Livanius, from whom Basil the Great once took lessons. Livanius was truly a remarkable man of his time. First he taught in Constantinople, then in Athens, and ended his work and life in Antioch, where he was born. He looked down on Christianity and, without harboring bitter hostility towards it, was not averse to laughing at the teachings of the “carpenter’s son.” Having once visited a Christian school, where the teacher was a devout Christian, Livanius ironically asked the latter: “What is the carpenter’s son doing now?” The teacher replied: “He whom you mockingly call the son of a carpenter is in fact the Lord and Creator of heaven and earth. “He,” the teacher added, “is now building funeral horns.” Soon after this, news was received of the unexpected death of Julian, who, during the Persian campaign, mortally wounded, in an insane rage threw clods of mud with his dried blood towards the sun and exclaimed in his dying breath: “You have defeated me, Galilean!” Livanius, having learned about the death of Julian, could not help but think about the answer of the Christian teacher. With the insight characteristic of remarkable minds, Livanius soon appreciated the outstanding abilities of his student (as he had previously noted among his listeners of Basil the Great) and fell in love with him both for his brilliant mind and for his noble heart. Livanius paid special attention to the gifted young man, and this latter did not waste time, taking advantage of the favor of the famous rhetorician. John's successes were so fast and amazing that Livanius was delighted and constantly praised his talented student, whom he predicted a brilliant future in the legal profession. Wanting to distinguish his favorite from others, Livanius once read John’s speech at a friendly meeting of fellow teachers, which aroused the delight of the listeners. Livanius himself exclaimed at the same time: “Happy are the emperors who reign at a time when the world has such an amazing writer!” In his speech, young John, according to Livaniya, “combined the power of oratorical evidence with the art of judicial speech.” Having studied eloquence and Greco-Roman literature, John left the school of Libania and took up philosophy, taught by Andraphagius. And in the new school, John discovered his deep independent mind, his ability to quickly assimilate what he was learning. The instructions of this philosopher, according to Arch. Agapit, “contributed greatly to the improvement in John of observation, a clear and correct view of objects, which distinguishes his writings.” Young John kept himself simple and did not like luxury. “His clothes were always clean and suitable for his condition, but without luxury and without any sophistication; one could never notice in his movements, in his gait and treatment of others the desire to express himself, which always serves as a sign of an easy mind and an unreasonable person. While some of his comrades, who studied with him, some appeared at the school on horseback, richly decorated, others in magnificent chariots, surrounded by a crowd of servants or slaves, John came there alone or accompanied only by a servant. In vain did his father’s friends persuade him to buy a carriage suitable for his birth and his condition.” “I don’t want to submit to the prejudices of others,” he answered, “I can do without these excesses; I do not like either splendor or luxury, which neither reason nor the teaching of divinely inspired writers can approve of. The Word of God says: “Everyone who exalts himself will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” At the age of twenty, John completed his school education and became a lawyer. This immediately brought John into the stormy cycle of life, and he became “face to face with that world of untruths, insults, oppression, enmity and lies, tears and gloating that make up the everyday life of people.” Lawyering to some extent benefited John, giving him the opportunity to become acquainted with those vices that he later so vividly portrayed and so mercilessly persecuted in his sermons. But, on the other hand, this social life also presented quite a bit of danger. She opened access to higher positions and captivated her with her pleasures. The young lawyer did not escape his passion for social life. He visited theaters and circuses; but his unspoiled nature was indignant at the emptiness that many took for real life. John soon saw how this world, with its evils and untruths, is far from that divine ideal, which, in his own favorite expression, was presented to him when he “drinked his soul from the pure source of the Holy Spirit.” Scripture, entered the field of life with an immaculate heart.” John had a friend, Vasily, who remained faithful to “true wisdom.” This friend constantly influenced John and was partly responsible for the beneficial revolution that took place in John, who became carried away by a somewhat secular life. John decided to quit the bar and devote himself to serving God. The friend was deeply rejoiced at this decision and prayed with John, who bitterly mourned his temporary infatuation and thanked the Creator, who had rescued him from the danger of eternal destruction. John took off his secular clothes and dressed in black clothes. Such clothing was worn by those Christians who doomed themselves to an ascetic life. John locked himself in his mother's house and devoted himself entirely to prayer, reading the Holy Scriptures, killing himself with fasting and vigil, sleeping on the bare ground. Having received holy baptism from Bishop Meletius, he was made a reader in 370. At this time, John decided to devote himself to the exploits of monasticism, to which Vasily had long been urging him. Deeply respecting his mother, he did not dare to act without her parental blessing, but when his mother learned of his intention, she decided to prevent her son from entering monasticism. She was a Christian, but also a mother who dearly loved her son, who was her “joy of life.” And so, “when my mother,” Chrysostom himself says, “learned about my intention, she silently came up to me, took me by the hand and led me to her room; we both sat down near the bed on which I was born, and she began to cry... Then she began to say words even sadder than tears. “My son,” she said, “my only consolation in these long lonely years was to look at you, to recognize in your features the one who was no longer with me. From your very infancy, when you still could not speak, at that time in life when children give the most joy, I found all my consolation in you alone. Now I ask you for one thing - have pity on me: do not force me to experience the horror of loneliness for the second time, to shed those bitter, already cried tears again! Wait a little; perhaps I will die soon - then do as you know; in the meantime, bear with me, don’t be bored of living with me any longer; do not offend the one who has never offended you in any way, otherwise you will anger God. Although you say that you have many friends, none of them can bring more peace than me, because there is no one who cares about your well-being as much as I do.” Chrysostom was touched by his mother’s fiery pleas, and fulfilled her wish. Remaining in the world, John devoted himself entirely to the study of the Holy Scriptures, talking with friends and mainly with Vasily, with whom he was so close in the mood of his soul. In order to strengthen himself more spiritually and concentrate his thoughts on sublime objects, he took on himself a vow of abstinence, not allowing himself any jokes or idle conversations, and thereby accumulated the spiritual strength that he needed later. The persecution of Christianity, which John witnessed in his adolescence, during the reign of Julian the Apostate, took on a slightly different character under Valens, who, as an Arian, persecuted Orthodoxy. Bishop Meletius, who enjoyed common love, was condemned to exile and imprisonment. This intrepid defender of Orthodoxy did not agree to any concessions to please the emperor. The people, who always knew how to protect a real shepherd, threatened to kill the official who carried out the will of the king. But the meek Meletius, who lived according to the covenant of Christ, covered the official with his robe and persuaded the crowd not to do him any harm. In addition to Meletius, many other Orthodox hierarchs were expelled. “The bishops who remained in their places hastened to fill the vacant chairs with persons distinguished not only by their pious life, but also by their wisdom in speech, and as Orthodox bishops it was necessary to repel heretical errors with the power of the word, armed with a deep knowledge of the word of God and partly with philosophy and dialectics. Despite the secluded and modest life of John and Basil, the fame of their virtues and talents spread far beyond the borders of Antioch; Therefore, it was proposed by the bishops to elevate them to the abolished sees. The friends were embarrassed when they learned about the bishops' decision and began to consult what to do in such a difficult case. John, having learned about Vasily’s hesitant consent to accept the bishopric, did not want to deprive the Church of such a worthy man as Vasily was, and decided to act towards his consecration. John asked his friend to delay the decision that circumstances would dictate; friends separated. Basil was convinced that John would also not shirk the episcopacy. At the appointed time, Vasily was summoned to a meeting of the cathedral and a decision concerning him was announced. He agreed to take the rank. But he was very surprised and saddened when he learned that John had retired into the desert, avoiding initiation.” Many people reproached John for this, including Vasily himself. But John justified himself by saying that he considered himself unprepared for such a high and responsible post and did not consider himself worthy of such an important rank. He wondered how the shepherds could find in him, a 27-year-old young man, such talents that would make him worthy to occupy the episcopal see. On this occasion, John wrote 6 discourses “On the Priesthood,” in which he expressed his view of the tasks and responsibilities of the priest (without separating the priest from the bishop). “Reading this book,” says Archimandrite Agapit, “everyone feels imbued with a sense of wonder and reverence for the priesthood, understands that the priest is not an ordinary person, but a being different from others, that he is a mediator between heaven and earth, is a divine man. This creation of Chrysostom, from its very appearance to our times, in its completeness, retains general respect for itself. This book has always brought great consolation to priests who wanted to be enlightened by an accurate knowledge of their duties and bear abundant fruit in the field of their ministry.” In his conversations about the priesthood, John says among other things: “When people are needed who can govern the Church and take so many souls into their care, let those heroes appear to us who in great measure surpass all others and exceed everyone in the perfection of the soul as much as Saul exceeded the entire Jewish people in height of body, or even much more. Since the great apostle was the first to hear the command to shepherd the sheep of Christ and the question that preceded the command (Do you love me more than these?), love for Christ became the first condition of shepherding, and shepherding itself its highest expression. how God rewards those who abstain from vices of their own free will, and not under compulsion. Therefore, a lot of skill is required for the shepherd, so that those who suffer are spiritually convinced to voluntarily undergo healing and even be grateful for this healing." “The flock follows their shepherd wherever he leads them; if any sheep stray from the straight path, moving away from good pasture, he should only shout louder to gather them; but if a person strays from the path of the right faith, then the priest will have a lot of work, effort and patience. A person cannot be drawn either by force or forced by fear, but must only be brought back by conviction to the truth from which he has fallen. Therefore, a priest needs a courageous soul, so as not to weaken, so as not to despair of the salvation of the erring.”... “The priestly service is performed on earth, but according to the heavenly order. Therefore, the celebrant needs to be as pure as if he were standing in heaven itself in the midst of the heavenly powers” ​​... “People living on earth, priests, were appointed to manage the heavenly things and received power that God did not give to either the angels or the archangels, for it was not said to the latter, but to the shepherds: if you bind them on earth, they will be bound in heaven; and as much as you permit on earth, they will be permitted in heaven.” “What the priests do on earth, God completes in heaven, and the opinion of the slaves is confirmed by the Master. Doesn't this mean that He gave them all heavenly power? Forgive them their sins - they will be forgiven; and they hold on - they hold on. The Father is the father of the Sons, and He entrusted this judgment to the priests. What power can be greater than this?.. Priests for us are those men who have been given spiritual birth and rebirth through baptism; through them we put on Christ. Therefore, it is right that we should not only fear them more than kings and rulers, but also honor our fathers more” ... “A priest should be watchful and prudent and have many eyes on all sides, as if he lives not for himself alone, but for many people. It is not enough to learn to neglect food and a soft bed; but not many can endure insults, slander, caustic words, and reproaches from their superiors. You can see that strong people are outraged by these troubles and become furious. Such people must be removed from the monastery of the priesthood." “The shepherd must be important and not proud, stern and supportive, authoritative and sociable, impartial and helpful, humble and not servile, strict and meek, so that he can comfortably withstand all obstacles...” “The priest must have a soul purer than the rays of the sun, so that the Holy Spirit never leaves him without Himself. The priest must have great strength and firmness in order to protect his soul from all impurity and preserve spiritual beauty intact. The slenderness of gait, the tangle of curls, the oiling of hair, the preciousness of clothes, the beauty of precious stones - all this can lead the soul into confusion. Having escaped these networks, many fall into others: unkempt hair, dirty clothes, rude treatment, incoherent speech." Characterizing the book “On the Priesthood,” St. Isidore Pelusiot says in a letter to Eustathius: “I am sending you the book that you asked from me, and I wish that it will bring you as much good as it brought everywhere. Reading this book, penetrating the soul, stings it with divine love. John, this sage, a learned interpreter of the mysteries of God, a lamp for all churches, wrote this book with such prudence and... care that all, both those who perform the duties of the priesthood to spread the glory of God, and those who perform these duties with negligence, will find in it - some food for their piety, others - an incentive to correct their actions. Having in mind to serve the Church, John withdrew into the desert in order to strengthen himself with exploits and free himself from the infirmities that interfere with pastoral service 2. In the desert, his comrades Maxim and Theodore were waiting for him - the same Theodore who left monasticism and went into the world, seduced by the beauty of one maiden; but John wrote him a fiery message and thereby forced Theodore to repent and return to living in the desert. Going to the monastery, John longed for achievement with all his soul, but temptation awaited him in the desert. The undisturbed solitude filled a soul full of life with horror. He wanted to leave the desert, but he overcame himself and, having entered the monastery, headed by Diodorus of Tarsus, gave himself to the spiritual guidance of one elder, “so that through the renunciation of his will and unconditional submission to the leadership of another, without hindrance, he could achieve the perfection of humility, which is the basis of all moral perfection.” It is interesting to get acquainted in general with the way of life of the hermits who lived on the wooded hills surrounding Antioch. We draw this acquaintance from the conversations of John Chrysostom. “The hermits,” says Chrysostom, “as soon as the sun begins to rise, or even before dawn, rise from their beds and sing hymns to God. Having sung their songs, they kneeled and called upon the glorified God for help in their affairs. After this, one takes Isaiah, another talks with the apostles, another reads about other spiritual subjects. All this is sweet, pleasant and full of spiritual fragrance. Others are engaged in handicrafts and with the labor of their hands they acquire what is necessary for the poor, because they love the poor and the crippled and there are always many such guests at their table; one heals the wounds of the sick, another leads the blind, another carries the legless. The hermits have not only one food, one clothing, but also one soul of love, and therefore they are not proud of one another. Their conversation is always filled with calmness and humility. Their meal is without any excess, for only bread and water are consumed. If they want to spice up their food, then vegetables make up a delicacy. For many, only grass serves as a bed, the sky instead of a cover, and the moon instead of a lamp. They despise a magnificent robe like a cobweb. During the day, at certain hours, they gather for common prayer, called the third, sixth and ninth hours and Vespers.” In the wilderness of the desert, in a monastic monastery, John lived “for four years, spending time in prayer and in acts of self-mortification. He studied the word of God under the guidance of Diodorus and made special efforts to know himself. Striving with all his might for the highest perfection, he increasingly increased the feats of self-mortification, fasting, physical labor and night vigils. Thus St. Chrysostom, supported by the all-powerful power of grace, inspired by the example of the holy life of many ascetics, like a ship on the open sea with a fair wind, with all sails, quickly walked the path of moral improvement.” But not content with the monastic feat, John retired to a secluded cave, which was located at quite a distance from the monastery, among the rocks, in an uninhabited forest. “God alone knows,” says Agapit, “the feats that he performed there, all the labors that he undertook, all the sorrows that he experienced, and that fiery prayer that he raised to heaven.” In this deep, dark cave, John spent two years, without a bed, a chair, or a table, eating only bread brought to him by a friend. He fell asleep leaning against the wall of the cave. His health could not stand it, his strength was broken, further feats became impossible, and his soul, strengthened by desert living, longed for an active life. He returned to Antioch, where he was joyfully greeted by Bishop Meletius, who again took his see. Monastic life brought undoubted benefits to John. It caused damage to his health, but from his six-year monastic life, John brought out a deep knowledge of Scripture “and a fiery faith in the reality of everything invisible, that clear insight that is inherent in all the great saints who emerged into the world from the depths of the desert, where they spent many years, as if hidden in the mystery of the face of God.” Enduring the exploits of monastic life and believing in the high ideal of monasticism, John waged a tireless struggle against all those who rebelled against monasticism. The representative of the latter was Emperor Valens himself. Carried away by the networks of the Arians, he turned out to be a cruel enemy of monasticism, as a stronghold of Christianity. By royal order, the famous Nitrian monasteries were destroyed, and this persecution ended with the burning of 24 shepherds in Nicomedia. Those close to Valens put up all sorts of obstacles for those who wanted to become a monk. And so John came to his defense, writing three books: “To those who are at enmity against those who attract to monastic life.” Here he poured out all the ardor of his heart and eloquently proved what happiness the soul finds in the desert - in a solitary conversation with God. However, it must be added that John, attaching great importance to desert living, subsequently demanded that monks act in favor of society, remaining true to his idea that desert living is a preparatory school for pastoral work. Thus, during his journey into exile, John meets one of those monks who completely locked themselves in their cells, ceasing all communication with the world. He convinced the monk that it would be incomparably more pleasing to the Lord if he returned to active life and went as a missionary to spread Christianity. While placing a high value on monastic life, John did not want only hermits to be truly religious people, and did not recognize that a lower level of Christian life was sufficient for the rest of humanity. He said that the only thing that distinguishes a layman from a monk is his vow of celibacy. Thus, he wrote, among other things, the following: “You are a Christian by birth, brought up in this excellent religion, and you do nothing of the kind. What do you say to this? Without a doubt, you will answer: I will show you others who perform, namely the monks who live in the deserts. But aren’t you ashamed to recognize yourself as a Christian and refer them to others, as if you cannot show in yourself what distinguishes a Christian? The pagan will not hesitate to object to you: what need does the willow have to walk through the mountains, the deserts are watching? If it is impossible to be pious while living in the city, then it is a small honor to Christian statutes if they need to leave the city and flee into the desert. On the contrary, show me a man who has a wife, children and a house, and yet lives piously. What do you say to this? Shouldn’t we lower our gaze and be ashamed?” (At the end of Romans) To finish the story of John’s hermit’s life, let us briefly touch upon how the Lord “wanted to demonstrate the holiness of His servant through miraculous actions.” They say that one young man, named Euplius, could not see with his right eye since childhood. Through John's prayer, he received healing and began to see as if he were healthy. In addition, John healed a certain Christina from a long illness, making her vow to be gentle with the servants and give alms. In the vicinity of one city, a lion attacked people and herds. The residents asked John to help them. He prayed and gave them a cross so that they would put it in the place from which the lion usually came out. The residents did this, and soon found the lifeless corpse of a lion lying at the foot of the cross. Strengthened spiritually and fully prepared to serve for the benefit of the Church, John returned to Antioch. The school gave him philosophical knowledge; the legal profession taught eloquence; the desert tempered him with feat, perfected him with self-deepening, made him wise with contemplation, and made him with a strong knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Now awaited him further study of life, acquaintance with human suffering and needs. Bishop Meletius, delighted by the return of his beloved spiritual son, hastened to take advantage of his high qualities and ordained him to the rank of deacon. The duties of a deacon were quite complex. The deacon carried out the instructions of the bishop, served in the church, but mainly he worked in the field of charity, caring for the various needs of sick and poor Christians. “He had to visit the sick, console the dying, help the poor and find funds for their maintenance. The position was difficult, requiring complete selflessness and love. But at the same time, this position was an excellent school for further service. In the desert, John, caring about the salvation of his own soul and not seeing the human disasters depressing suffering humanity, could weaken in his love for mankind, because; Without seeing the unfortunate people in front of you, it is not difficult to completely forget about them. His current diaconal service again placed him in the midst of real life and opened before his eyes this whole world, full of tears and suffering. Previously, as a lawyer, he could get acquainted with the other side of human life; but there his very occupation prompted him to take the side of the strong and rich in their litigation with the poor and weak, but now he acted as a defender of these latter, and he had to fight the greed of the rich, tame their encroachments on the meager purses of the poor, protect the disadvantaged from the oppression of greedy and heartless officials, make as easy as possible the life of those toiling and burdened, whom Christ especially called to himself. The picture that revealed itself to John’s eyes was sad, but familiarity with it was necessary for him in the service ahead of him, and it was precisely this that made him the true shepherd and benefactor of the suffering that he later became. The first silver that he gave to the poor was his own, and from that time until his death he called nothing his own: everything he had, he considered to belong to the poor.” The deacon did not preach in church - teaching the flock was the responsibility of the presbyter. Without preaching to the laity in church, John continued to teach in writing, writing several remarkable works during his deaconal ministry. These include: “Two words to a young widow”, “Three words to the ascetic Stagirius” and the historical essay “About the martyr Babyla”. In his instructions to Stagirius, John Chrysostom confirms his faith in Providence and teaches him to submit to the will of God. It shows that everything in the world happens either by definition or by God’s permission; that all the disasters that befall us, the loss of property, health, honors, sometimes serve as a punishment, sometimes as a test, and always as an expression of God’s favor towards us, a means to our salvation; that He sometimes afflicts those whom He loves with sorrows, and we must endure courageously, with humility, with faith and hope, all the disasters sent upon us by God’s goodness. “Remember,” wrote Chrysostom to Stagiri, “that the time of rewards and crowns is in the next century, and the present century is a time of struggle and labor, if only we want to enjoy eternal peace. If anyone among the careless wants to enjoy the pleasures here and the heavenly rewards prepared for those who work and mourn, he deceives himself and is deceived. If even at secular games no one receives a crown without difficulty, having opponents of the same nature, i.e. people - then how, where evil forces are fighting against us, can we defeat their fury without sorrow and suffering? In the rank of deacon, John had to see firsthand the misery of life, and, turning to a young widow, he pronounces a sentence on the ambitious aspirations of the world. John served for five years in the rank of deacon. Meletius died. He was replaced by Flavian, who, recognizing John as a useful figure, ordained him to the rank of presbyter. At this time, John was thirty-nine years old. Antioch, more than any other city, needed a courageous and zealous shepherd in the fight against everything that harmed Christianity and truly Christian life. Of the two hundred thousand inhabitants, only half recognized Christianity, the other half were pagans and Jews. “Paganism, which was living out its time,” says A. Lopukhin in his excellent article about John Chrysostom, “had its most prominent representatives who, not wanting to recognize the victory of Christianity, tried to put up fragments of their learning against it and renew paganism. The pagan schools were taught by famous philosophers and rhetoricians of that time, from whom even Christians studied, and many of the latter unwittingly became infected with the views of their teachers. On the other hand, the Jews, strong with their wealth and industry, kept the population in their hands and, as ardent haters of Christianity, often entered into an alliance with the pagans in order to strike harder at the religion they hated. The very common life of Christians with Jews and pagans, with whom they were necessarily connected by numerous business and trade interests, involuntarily left a peculiar stamp on them, and they no longer had that integrity of religious mood that occurs in the inhabitants of a city inhabited only by Christians. A huge part of them were still semi-pagans. They accepted Christianity, fulfilled its external instructions, but were not imbued with its spirit. In their life there were many customs that smacked of paganism. Under the influence of such a mixture of beliefs among Christians, teachers constantly appeared who wanted to comprehend and remake Christianity with their own minds.” Parties were formed, a split occurred, so to speak, and heresies reigned. Along with the religious mood, public life was not distinguished by high morality. Of course, there were pious people, but the majority led a pagan life, indulged in all sorts of pleasures indecent for Christians. For this majority, the theater and circus were more expensive and closer than the church; the hearts of this majority were alien to Christian love for one's neighbor. Wealth and poverty alternated. The magnificent palaces of the rich amazed the eye with their luxury, but right there, next to the palaces, poor huts huddled, and at the same time as the rich were drowning in bliss, they were satiated, before their eyes the poor were dying from hunger and disease. At that time, charity was not yet recognized. Everyone was left to take care of themselves. Thinking only about the pleasures of life, the rich heartlessly oppressed the weak and poor, who, driven out of patience, took cruel revenge on them. Rebellions arose repeatedly, and those bloody scenes were played out that should have horrified every true Christian. Such were the times and conditions of Antiochian life. She created her own demands, and John fully answered them. He was strong in spirit, strong in science, knew his native city well, studied its life both as a lawyer and even more so in the rank of deacon. Flavian understood who he was dedicating, and Providence blessed his choice. Archimandrite Agapit notes a remarkable circumstance that happened during the ordination of John - a circumstance that calmed Chrysostom himself, always humble and unsure of his dignity. While Flavian, during the divine service, laid his hands on the consecrated presbyter, a white dove flew in and, in the presence of a large public assembly, sat on the head of John, as a symbol of the purity of his soul and the presence of the Holy Spirit that filled his heart. John's dedication was greeted with joy by the Orthodox and with alarm by the Arians. The Orthodox blessed God, seeing in John a new defender of their faith, but the Arians were indignant, recognizing his extensive knowledge and talents. No one yet knew John as an orator. He was known as a learned writer and an active deacon. But the bishop highly valued him as an orator, and therefore entrusted him with the duty of preaching in the church. At that time, Christian cities were not yet divided into parishes, and therefore Chrysostom had to teach the entire Antiochian society, preaching in various churches of the city. The most important of them was the “Great Church,” described by Eusebius of Thessaly. She, according to Puch, did not strictly belong to the class of basilicas. A very tall dome rested on the body of an octagonal building. All around there was an extensive fence lined with small additional buildings. Valuable jewelry abounded everywhere. This church was also called Golden because of the mass of gold decorations. The old church, or Palea, did not have the same splendor and was not so well adapted for huge meetings. The Great Church had a convenient structure: its auditorium was spacious and well protected from the heat in summer and from cold in winter. Nevertheless, John preferred the ancient church; Yes, the flock loved her more. However, meetings did not always take place in the city. The area around Antioch was dotted with chapels in honor of the martyrs. These chapels were called martyria. The day after his ordination, Chrysostom delivered his first church sermon, which made a strong impression on all those praying. John began like this: “Is what happened to us true? Did what came true really come true, and are we not under deception? Is the present not night and a dream, but really day, and we are awake? And who would believe this, that during the day, when people were awake and awake, a poor and rejected young man was elevated to such a height. Everything came true and was accomplished. The people listen to our wretchedness, as if they hear from us something great and excellent. I ask all of you to breathe courage into us with zeal for prayer and beg the One who gives the word to those who bring good news with new power to give us the word to open our lips.” After this humble introduction, John says that he would like to offer a sacrifice of praise to the divine perfections on the spiritual altar, but remembers that praise is not red in the mouth of a sinner, and therefore he is content with glorifying God's works and His grace shining in pious people and His faithful servants. Having praised Flavian, he turned to his listeners with a request to always be devoted to God's will, to trust in his help and to pray for himself, an unworthy preacher. “If you have any attention to me,” he told those listening, “then pray that great reinforcement will come to me from above, for I previously needed protection, especially now I need many hands and countless prayers, so that I can safely return the deposit to the Lord who gave it on the day when those who received the talents will be called and brought in and will have to give an account. So, pray that I may not be among the bound, nor among those thrown into darkness, but among those who can receive even a small condescension through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion and worship forever and ever.” Further sermons pleased the population even more, who generally loved to listen to speakers. Word quickly spread about the new preacher, and the church where John taught was always full of people. John preached twice a week, and sometimes more often. His fame grew. Not only Orthodox Christians, but even Arians, Jews and pagans gathered to listen to him; the latter placed John even higher than Libanius. Livanius delighted the ears, but did not touch the heart. The student of Livania, “without resorting to any artificial verbiage and without being carried away by the ringing of phrases, struck with the extraordinary vitality of his speech: every word of his breathed with strength and life, because it was taken from a reality known to everyone and explained with examples that were equally understandable to a highly educated patrician and an unenlightened farmer. Such sermons had never before been heard in Antioch, and its inhabitants listened with amazement to the words of the preacher, who completely captured their hearts.” John was not shy about forms of speech, allowing witticisms and proverbs in his conversations, if only this was necessary for the benefit of the matter. “Therefore, it often happened that from his fiery speeches a joyful smile lit up on the faces of thousands of listeners, although after a few moments he could make these same listeners shed bitter tears; then he made them blush with his caustic sarcasm because of his hypocrisy; then with a winged arrow of conviction he struck them to the very heart; then he threw thunder and lightning directly, so that under his lightning-fast denunciations the most desperate sinner involuntarily humbled himself.” If we add to this that the preacher always showed fearlessness and was distinguished by sincerity, and his voice, attractive, clear and sonorous, caressed the ear, penetrating into the remote corners of the church, then the charm that his sermon produced on all listeners is understandable. John did not read sermons, but conducted lively oral conversations, which were recorded by cursive writers and sold among the residents. Soon John's fame reached such a height that every sermon was an event for the city. Everyone ran to listen to him. Merchants left trade, artisans left work, lawyers left the court; For many there was not even a place in the church. John was nicknamed Chrysostom for his eloquence. Tradition has preserved the very incident in which this name occurred. Not limiting himself to moral instructions, John sometimes spoke with dogmatic teachings about the sublime truths of religion and delved into such theological wisdom that was inaccessible to most. In one such case, a certain simple woman, who listened with reverence to the flow of the preacher’s speech, could not penetrate into their meaning and with purely feminine impatience shouted to him: “Spiritual Teacher, or, better to say, John Chrysostom, you have deepened the well of your holy teaching so much that our minds cannot comprehend it!” “The people picked up the name expressed by the woman, and, seeing God’s instructions in it, decided to call the preacher “Chrysostom.” This title was formally recognized by John at the Council of Chalcedon in the 5th century. The woman’s instructions were not ignored by John. He rarely delved into theology anymore and tried to speak in such a way that each of the listeners received spiritual food, understanding everything in the sermon. Describing John as a preacher, Pusch says: “Chrysostom’s eloquence is remarkable. His ease is truly amazing even for an Oriental speaker; it has liveliness and passion, harmony and sonorous smoothness; his period is abundant and strong, like that of a Roman, but has a Syrian grace, somewhat gentle, always elegant and touching. It has imagery; his comparison is true and sharp. The practicality of his sermons also places them very highly.” Many of the listeners, according to the custom of that time, applauded John, which he did not like at all, and he said: “I don’t need any applause, no excitement, no exclamations. I wish only that, listening with silence, you carry out what is said. This is applause for me, this is praise for me.” The rebellion of the Antiochians especially highlights John Chrysostom as a preacher and true shepherd. But before moving on to the story of these stormy days in the chronicles of Antioch, let us briefly touch upon the content of the sermons that so excited the society and attracted numerous listeners to the church. I do not mean sermons “on occasion,” but those that were directed against the constant vices of society and the ulcers of the life of that time. Tirelessly fighting against paganism, Judaism and heresies, Chrysostom shows no less, if not more, zeal in enlightening Christians who do not live according to the covenants of Christ. Constantly showing concern for improving morals and instilling virtue, he wanted his flock to be truly Christian. “Like the great Apostle Paul, whom he tried to imitate, St. Chrysostom took care of every soul; to enlighten, teach, lead to God and save everyone - was his main desire and effort. This is the goal to which he devoted his entire life, all the strength God gave him, the talent of eloquence, praying unceasingly, fasting, teaching, comforting the mourning, helping the poor and widows, admonishing the lost, reconciling those at war, the weak with the weak, the little with the poor, sharing like the apostle. Paul to all for all, so that he might win all to Jesus Christ.” The morals of Christian society at that time were such that they could not help but cause sorrow in the heart of the ascetic. The depiction of these morals, made by Chrysostom himself, is bright and figurative. “Disasters,” says St. Chrysostom - now oppressing St. The church, no less - what am I saying? - they are much more than they were in previous centuries. I search among the sheep of the verbal flock for true Christians and do not find them. Are there those who would not slander their brothers, would not have envy, would not indulge in hatred and revenge, and would not be carried away by stinginess? What corruption in the youth and neglect in the elders!.. No one wants to raise children. The pagans look at us carefully: the holiness of our life should excite them to a better life, but - alas! in fact the opposite turns out. What can motivate them to accept the Christian faith when they see that you, a Christian, lead an equally criminal life, also love wealth and shudder at the mere thought of death? Is it not so little that we express patience when disasters and illnesses befall us? Are we not running to the circus and theater with the same speed as they are? How can they believe the truths we preach? What can convince them? Miracles? But they are currently few in number. Sanctity of morals? But no one's life serves as a model for this. Our love? But our souls are completely empty and there is not a trace of a warm feeling of love in them.” With all the ardor of his mighty eloquence, John armed himself against the luxury and avarice of the rich. The rich knew no limits to their whims, while the poor languished in the clutches of need. Luxury was evident in everything: in the arrangement of houses, in clothing, and in feasts. John described exorbitant luxury several times in his conversations. He depicted bedrooms, the walls of which were entirely covered with marble or gilded metal; described beautiful columns with the same gilded capitals, covered with gold plates. He described the chambers, the gardens surrounding them, the graceful fountains among these gardens and the porticoes. Country houses are no less magnificent than city palaces. “What preparations did the rich man, whose number of slaves reached up to two thousand, make for moving for several days, for a simple country walk! With what retinue of servants he set off on a stretcher, in a cart drawn by decorated mules.” The furnishings of the houses were no less luxurious. Here, too, gold glittered everywhere, and beds and chairs made of ivory were striking. The chariots were covered with golden plaques, sparkling at the slightest movement, thanks to precious stones. The mules' harness was also all decorated. Luxury also reigned in clothing. Everyone tried to wear brocade and silk. Silk is even used to decorate shoes. Feasts were also held with great solemnity: the dishes were distinguished by their sophistication. Dinners usually ended with drinking and shows, and cleanliness was insulted. Addressing lovers of such feasts, the preacher said: “From feasts all our lusts are born. When you leave the table, flushed with wine and food, you walk straight into a pit of sewage.” Luxurious outfits were mainly reserved for women who pampered themselves to the extreme. The preacher scolded them for this, speaking indignantly about their empty vanity and love of dress. “For women, there is nothing they won’t do to just get beautiful earrings in their ears. One is jealous of the other and one is mad before the other.” Why are outfits evil? Because because of them, crimes are committed: bribes, extortions, theft. People go to great lengths to get their hands on jewelry. The poor forget all the commandments of love. They try to seduce with their outfits and arouse envy. Regarding clothing, Chrysostom wrote, among other things, to Olympias the deaconess: “I will say about the simplicity of clothing. It seems that this virtue is lower than others, but if you carefully examine it, you will find that it is very majestic and requires a soul that stands above all worldly things. Ap. Paul, warning women against valuable clothes, understood well that foppishness is a serious illness of the soul; it is the surest sign of a bad heart, and this disease is difficult to fight!” "ABOUT! For you, your jewelry is more valuable than your children!” John Chrysostom exclaims bitterly, and this was the deep truth... At the very time when the rich were so luxurious, the life of artisans and villagers presented a bleak picture. Exhausted by hunger, they worked without rest, depressed by intolerable quitrents, condemned to a hard life, no better than the life of donkeys and mules. “What am I saying,” exclaims John, “they take care of these unfortunates less than they would take care of stones; they are not allowed to breathe and are equally exhausted whether their fields are fruitful or not. Can poverty be similar to their poverty when, at the end of a winter spent in rough work, exhausted by cold, rain and night labor, they return home empty-handed and, moreover, still in debt? They tremble at punishment, at illegal exactions and the robbery of stewards.” While attacking luxury, he did not deny the right to provision, even to wealth itself, although he understood it only as a means given by God to replace Him in His distribution of goods. The rich in wealth is given the opportunity to serve God. The stingy rich man is a blasphemer who robs God himself. By allowing the rich to use their property, John called them to mercy. He is the inspired apostle of charity and places it above all other virtues. “Fasting and kneeling,” he says, “bring benefit only to the one who observes them, and do not save anyone else; but almsgiving extends to everyone. It embraces all the members of Christ, but good deeds that extend to many are much more beautiful than those limited to one; love is the greatest gift. Let us constantly demonstrate it, and we will be no lower than Peter and Paul, despite their miracles.” It was not only duty that forced John to say this, but also his loving heart. He bore within himself the same gift of love that tradition attributes to his eponymous apostle of Christ, John the Theologian. He himself not only shared his income, but also distributed all his property to the poor. According to John Chrysostom, the hand of the poor is the altar on which we offer a fragrant sacrifice to God. The poor are representatives of Christ Himself, who accepts as action for Himself everything that was done for His suffering members. Demanding that alms be given generously, with love, John addresses the following words to his listeners: “I see that you sow, but not with your full hand, which is why I fear that you will not reap an abundant harvest. The poor are also children of one heavenly Father, in whose person Jesus Christ himself appears to us. He was pleased to give us the opportunity to testify to His love and gratitude, to appear to us in the person of the poor, strangers, prisoners and the sick. He tells us through the lips of these unfortunates: if you did not want to be grateful to Me for everything that I did and suffered for you, have compassion for My poverty; if My poverty does not touch you, take pity on My sufferings that exhaust Me, on My chains that weigh down My hands and feet. If My suffering, poverty, chains do not touch you, at least think about how little what I ask of you. I do not demand valuable offerings from you: I ask only one piece of bread, shelter from the dark night, a kind word and good advice. Give Me alms to acquire the right to those heavenly rewards that I have promised to the merciful. I endured and now endure under the guise of the poor, I still hunger, thirst, nakedness, endure cold, illness, suffering in the person of My lesser brothers, in order to attract you to Me, to give you an opportunity for deeds of mercy and to reward you in eternity. I do not say to you: free me from poverty, make me rich, although I myself became poor in order to enrich you; I ask you for some bread and a few scraps of clothes you don’t need; I do not require you to remove the chains from Me, although I myself have broken the chain of eternal condemnation for sin for you, but I ask you to visit Me in prison; For Me, the consolation that your heartfelt participation will bring Me is sufficient, and as a reward for this, I promise you heavenly bliss. I could have crowned you without this, but I want to be in your debt, I want to give you the joy of having at least some right to a reward; That’s why I, having contentment in myself, come into the world to ask for alms, standing at your door with my hand outstretched; out of love for you, I want to sit at your table, so that on the great day of the world judgment I can put you in front of the whole universe, praise your compassion and say before everyone: these are the ones who fed Me.” Demanding mercy for the poor, John goes into detail and lists what relates to works of mercy. In his opinion, it is not enough to give a beggar an obol (small coin) on the street: you need to share the remains of your lunch, give away old clothes; You should have a small box or mug at home and every day, before praying, put a donation in it, no matter how small it may be. Little by little, a sum will accumulate that will be able to not only relieve the unfortunate person, but sometimes even save him from trouble. But people, although they know how to save for themselves, do not know how to save for the poor. John finds it necessary that everyone give a tenth of their income to the poor. But alms can be shown not only by material alms. Services, patronage, advice - the same alms. Free care for the sick by doctors is also an act of mercy. John recommends intervention between the creditor and his debtor. “If you see a debtor in the square, pursued by a ruthless principal, offer yourself to him as a surety, pay the debt if you can, and if you cannot, then try to soften and persuade the principal with your pleas.” John also considers hospitality to be a work of mercy. “The soldiers,” he says, “are given accommodation at the request of the civil authorities, but they do not want to do the same for the poor, at the request of Christ.” Speaking about hospitality, John addresses his listeners with the following words: “Set aside a room in your house for a guest, that is, for Christ, take care of him; if you refuse such a sacrifice and do not want to bring Lazarus into your home, at least accept him in the stable. Are you trembling? But it is incomparably worse to refuse him at your door.” Is it necessary to question the poor and determine the extent of their need? John Chrysostom answers negatively. He wants that, when giving alms, they should not find out about the beggar. It must be given equally to everyone: mercy must have closed eyes and an open hand. Charity must imitate the goodness of God. “Does God,” exclaims John, “ever tell us: “Because you do not work, I will not light the sun for you; so you don’t do anything useful and good, I extinguish the moon, close the bosom of the earth, dry up lakes, springs and rivers, hold back the rains.” No, He always supplies us with His gifts with equal generosity; He lavishes them not only on the righteous, but even on the wicked. If you, Chrysostom continues, before giving alms, had first carried out research, how much time would have been lost? And to what extent your intelligence would risk being inaccurate! Is it possible to hope that any of those who seem so indifferent and outrageously cold would turn out to be so virtuous that they would seriously carry out these searches? At the slightest suspicion, he will abandon all inquiries and, through the fault of some, all beggars will be suspected.” John especially rebels for his reproaches to the poor. “You not only have no pity for him,” he says, “but you also mock him and insult the one who came to whom you should show compassion. If you don’t want to give, then why else reproach the poor and crush his sad heart? He came to you as if in a marina and asks for a helping hand. Why are you raising waves and making the storm even fiercer?” Christian charity is not at all the same as humanity. A humane person, when giving alms, first of all thinks about alleviating poverty and correcting existing evils. The charity that John spoke about is not at all the charity that we understand now. We want to improve well-being, and for Chrysostom it was enough that the poor man had food; a rich man must do good deeds for his salvation. Charity is good for both. She heals the wounds of the soul. The poor man gives us a saving lesson. He seems to be telling us: do not be exalted in your thoughts, because the world is perishable. Youth quickly disappears and old age sets in, beauty is replaced by ugliness, strength by weakness, health by illness, honor by shame, wealth by poverty. Today's rich man may be tomorrow's poor man. Almsgiving is as good for the one who gives it as for the one who receives it. Love is not included in the consideration of what a person suffered from and fell into poverty. Christian love does not punish the poor man because he became poor from his vice, from laziness. She warms and clothes the beggar of today, without asking who he was yesterday. Mercy meets every need, and Christian love loves every neighbor, pitying him for his vices, but not persecuting or punishing him for them. She tries to lift him up, and does not coldly push him into the abyss of falling, and the stronger the fall, the stronger the love. A friend of the poor, John sometimes sharply addressed the rich and said that the origin of all wealth lies in untruth, deceit and violence. “Every rich man is a wicked man or the heir of a wicked man. You received your wealth by inheritance, so be it. You yourself have not sinned, but are you sure that you are not now blessing theft and previous crimes? Wealth is the product of greed and stinginess, two of the most terrible vices. Who is the most unforgiving creditor who ruins the weak? This is a rich man. Who is happy about a bad harvest in order to make a profit? This is a rich man." "St. Scripture teaches us, said John, that a thief is not only one who steals someone else’s property, but also one who does not distribute what he has in excess. When a bear or wolf is satisfied, they stop chasing prey; the rich man is never satisfied." In essence, says Pusch, the main idea that always inspired John is a deeply Christian idea. He justifies the initial equality of people by recalling their common origin. They are brothers in the true sense of the word." “What marvelous measures did God take from the very beginning to instill in us a sense of humanity and love that would unite one to another? He gave us a common father, Adam. Why don’t we come into the world completely mature, like Adam himself? No, it was necessary for us to be adopted, born by our parents, it was necessary to be born one from the other, so that we would be united by mutual love. This is where family feelings come from, the mutual love of parents and children, brothers and sisters. To expand the circle of this pure and deep love, God forbade marriages between relatives. By this he wanted to mix some families with others. Finally, He gave us the sweet feeling of friendship, made us dependent on each other, unable to do without mutual brotherly services. If we are united by such relationships,” concludes Chrysostom, “then what is the importance of the differences in which titles and wealth place us?” Scourged the stingy rich, trying to awaken in them mercy towards the poor, John turned to the latter with a word of consolation, but did not set them against the rich, did not point to wealth as the happiness of life. He said that a cruel rich man should arouse regret, because he is more unhappy than a poor man. He always meant heaven, not earth, as the place of our temporary wandering. He cared about the soul, which is why, turning to the poor, he said: “Cry, cry with me, but not for yourself, but for your robbers, who are more unfortunate than you.” The fourth century, when John Chrysostom lived and acted, was no longer at all like the apostolic age. Faith weakened, for for the most part Christians were not made out of conviction, struck by examples of martyrdom, as was the case before, but were born. Luxury has brought corruption to life, to the purity of morals. The essence turned into ritual. Chrysostom briefly but expressively characterizes this sad phenomenon, saying: “The duties of religion have become formalities, performed out of habit. Everything is nothing more than a skill.” The Antiochian Christians also could not boast of knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. A superficial concept of faith and its foundations made many prone to superstition and the perception of all lies. Few people read St. books, but their outward respect was great. Many women wore a tiny Gospel around their necks in the form of a medallion. During illness, the Gospel was also placed on the weak. All this flowed from piety, but not the kind that John wanted to see in Christians, and he attached little importance to such outward religiosity. He wanted everyone to become thoroughly acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, and insisted that Orthodox Christians not only go to listen to church sermons, but also read the text at home, which served for conversation. He also wanted the father of the family, returning home, to convey the sermon to the family and explain it. He demanded that everyone, both rich and poor, both learned and less enlightened, try to refresh their souls by reading St. scriptures, because this reading is a cure for all evils. “Far from the sun, the shadow enlarges the body; close to it, it reduces it. One must place oneself in the full light of Scripture in order to fully realize the emptiness of human affairs. Holy Scripture gives meaning and vision of the invisible. Which of you, said Chrysostom, while at home, picks up a Christian book and delves into its content? No one can say this about themselves. Many people have checkers and dice, but St. no one or a few have books, and even those deal with them no more than those who do not have them at all, tying them up and putting them away forever in closets, and all their concern is only for the fineness of the skin on which the books are written, for the beauty of the writing, and not for the reading itself. Books are purchased not for benefit, but to show off one’s wealth, to boast of enlightenment or false piety. This is the extent to which vanity comes. If the devil does not torment himself into the house where there is the Gospel, much less will he touch a soul that has assimilated the Scripture. Sanctify your soul, always having the Holy Scriptures on your lips and in your heart.” Superstition is the other side of faith. Superstitions were very widespread in Antiochian society. Christians noted times, days and meetings. They had both happy and unhappy ones. Chrysostom reproaches them for the fact that “when leaving the house, they observed who they would meet for the first time - with a sick or healthy person, with a poor woman or with a rich one - and by this meeting they determined a good or bad day; wore medallions of Alexander the Great around their necks or on their legs instead of placing all their trust in the cross of the Savior. He reproached them for lighting a lot of wax candles at the birth of children and giving these candles different names, so that later they could give the child the name of the candle that burned out longer, as an omen of a long life.” Everyone considered it necessary to celebrate the New Year with feasts and fun in order to live joyfully throughout the year. The feasts began at dawn. The doors of houses were decorated with flowers, cups were filled with wine, public dances and shows were given, cities were illuminated, and drunks were seen everywhere on the streets. John rebels against such a meeting of the New Year and pronounces an accusatory word. “Now,” he says, “we must fight not with the barbarians who raided, but with the evil spirits who walk solemnly around the square. Our city is having fun, showing off, all crowned; the square, like a woman who loves clothes, is decorated; Every artisan wants to outdo his comrade. If you want to decorate, then decorate the soul, not the square, not the house, so that the angels reward you with their gifts. What upsets me most are the games and fortune-telling, these feasts where men and women get drunk beyond measure. It’s crazy to conclude from one happy day that it will be like this throughout the whole year. The year will be happy for you not when you get drunk on the first day, but when you do what pleases God on both the first and other days. If you are disposed to spend every day in prayer and charity, then the whole year will be happy for you. And if, forgetting virtue, you wait for your happiness from the beginning of months and the numbering of days, then nothing good will happen to you.” He especially attacked drunkenness, because this vice had become common. They even laughed at non-drinkers. A complete misunderstanding of the faith of Christ, based on love and forgiveness, forced many Christians to the point of madness during quarrels with pagan enemies. They prayed: “Avenge me, O Lord, so that my enemies will see that I have a God.” Thus, Christians made God a participant in their malice. John tried to clarify all the rudeness, all the absurdity and sinfulness of such an appeal to God. "How! - he exclaimed: - you ask God for forgiveness of your sins and pray that He will be merciless towards others! What would you say if a person who came to you to ask for mercy, seeing his enemy, at the moment of kneeling before you, stood up and began to beat him? The three youths in the cave did not pray against Nebuchadnezzar; But you say: defeat my enemy, return to him on his son the evil he did to me.” There was an absurd belief that the oath in the synagogue had special power. Once Chrysostom met a man who was dragging a woman to the synagogue: he had a dispute with her and wanted to force her to swear an oath in favor of his cause. The woman did not want to swear an oath before the Jews. Chrysostom had great difficulty in convincing a Christian that swearing is prohibited and that it is even less possible to force an oath. Surprised that a Christian was taking a woman to the synagogue, John asked him why he was doing this? He answered: “They assured me that the oath taken in the synagogue is more terrible than all others.” Formalism and routine permeated everywhere. Even the sacrament of communion suffered from ritualism and superstition. It was considered obligatory to take communion on Easter, and if they had to miss it without communion, then Christians experienced superstitious fear. But, except for the days of Easter, they did not receive communion at all. On the issue of private communion, Chrysostom gives the following solution: “You must have a pure soul. If your soul is pure, partake as often as you want; if not, don’t partake on Easter either.” Many looked at the post incorrectly. He was credited with a power that he does not have on his own. They saw in it the healing of sins, even if it was limited only to food, not accompanied by deeds. John Chrysostom always said that the power of fasting is in curbing the flesh, in correcting vices, in demonstrating good deeds, and that outside of this, it is invalid, because alone without good deeds does not bring salvation. He said: “God requires fasting and abstinence from us not only so that we remain in ignorance, but so that we spend our time on spiritual pursuits; Since human nature is inclined towards intemperance, fasting was invented as a medicine in order to distract us from pleasures. But if someone, due to weakness, needs reinforcement, let him strengthen himself, do not deprive himself of spiritual teaching and take much more care of it. “I do not blaspheme fasting,” he continues, “I value it highly, but I grieve to see you neglecting all other commandments and thinking that fasting alone is enough to achieve salvation, while in the host of virtues fasting occupies only the last place.” John Chrysostom allows the excuse of non-observance of fasting by poor health and allows (and this has become the rule of the Church) to replace fasting in this case with alms, reconciliation with enemies - in a word, with good deeds. “Whoever does this will commit true fasting, the kind that the Lord requires of us, for He commands abstinence from food so that we can make the flesh obedient in fulfilling the commandments. “Since the main goal of fasting is to tame passions, what is the importance of taking a different path to achieve the same goal?” John Chrysostom had to struggle quite a bit with a disrespectful attitude towards the house of God, with an incorrect concept of prayer itself. He constantly reminds us that prayer only has power when it comes from a right and pure heart. A short inner, earnest prayer is more important than a long, careless one... There is no need to whisper with your lips and raise your hands. Many fell into despondency when they did not receive what they asked for immediately after prayer. John always said that if a prayer is not heard, it is because it was not strong enough, and he added: “One must ask only what God can agree to, and, moreover, ask with zeal and faith. You can’t demand miracles.” Speaking about miracles, he tirelessly teaches that miracles are lower than works, and loves to repeat the words of Jesus Christ to the 70 disciples: “Rejoice not in this, that the spirits obey you, but in that your names are written in heaven. Love is a true miracle.” That is why he said that if anyone had the love of the apostles Peter and Paul, he would not be inferior to them, although they would have the advantage of working miracles. “What confirms our life,” he asks: “miracles or good behavior?” Of course, the latter. Previously there was a need for miracles, but they are not necessary now, because the works themselves speak of the truth of the faith.” This does not mean, Pusch rightly notes, that Chrysostom does not allow miracles. He undoubtedly confirms them and speaks of healings from holy relics. “Sometimes he said that he would prefer divination to a miracle in the proper sense, because to a certain extent demons can imitate miracles and give deceptive verisimilitude, whereas, when trying to predict, divinations are refuted by events.” He taught people who were afraid of sorrows about the benefits of sorrows. “Now,” he said, “while enjoying the world, we have become weak, lazy, and filled the church with thousands of evils. When they endured persecution, then they were more well-behaved, more zealous, more zealous; What fire is to gold, so is sorrow to the soul: it erases filth from it, makes it clean, fresh and clear. Sorrow leads you into the kingdom, and a carefree life leads you into Gehenna.” Disrespect for the church was often shown and upset John. Those standing in the church talked loudly among themselves, sometimes even quarreled during the distribution of the Eucharist. As usual, the women were the most talkative. John severely denounced this behavior of Christians, realizing the evil that such an attitude would pose to the house of God. “What are you doing, man,” he exclaimed, “how are you not afraid that while you are talking and careless, the demon, who has found an idle soul, will enter it, like into a house without doors. Believe that at the moment of the consecration of bread and wine, heaven opens and angels descend from it.” The legend says that he actually saw them surrounding the altar. John always said that every home should be a church. All the advice given by Chrysostom to Christian families boils down to one thing: “Create a church from your home.” But one should not conclude from this that home prayer is better than church prayer. “At home, of course, you can and should pray, but you cannot pray as in church, where there are so many fathers, where a unanimous voice rises to God. You will not be heard as quickly when you pray on your own as you do together with your brothers, for there is something more here, such as unanimity, agreement, a union of love, the prayer of priests. Such prayer has much greater strength, greater boldness than prayer at home.” This is what John Chrysostom himself says. Now let's move on to those stormy days, to that rebellion of the Antiochians, which almost destroyed them all and razed the city itself from the face of the earth. The rebellion occurred shortly before Lent, in 388.) A popular storm was caused by the decree of Emperor Theodosius on a new tax. Wanting to celebrate the tenth anniversary of his reign, Theodosius needed money; therefore he made a tax on some rich cities, among which Antioch occupied a prominent place. But the population did not at all want to participate with their own means in the triumph of Theodosius and greeted his decree not only unsympathetically, but also with irritation. The Antiochian senators and nobles exclaimed angrily: “This tax will ruin the city!” Their cry was taken up by the crowd, especially by those homeless street people who are in such cases the most zealous servants of rebellion. A little time passed, and the whole city was already in complete outrage. The crowd first of all rushed to Flavian to ask for his petition to abolish the tax; but the bishop was not at home. Outrage grew. A large crowd destroyed the baths and rushed to the palace where the ruler lived. He hid through a secret door and rode off to Daphne, where the imperial troops were encamped. The crowd began to besiege the palace. “The rebels began to smash the gates with axes and hammers. Finally, having made a kind of battering ram from the skeleton of a marble bench, they smashed the gate with it until the oak beams fell with a crash. Taking advantage of this, the people rushed straight into the large courtroom. There was no one in it. Around the state chair, near the wall of the ledge, stood bronze and marble statues of the imperial family. Above all was the statue of Theodosius with a diadem on his forehead and an imperiously outstretched hand. Next to the statue of the emperor stood a statue of Flaccilla, his beloved and recently deceased wife, who with her tenderness always had a beneficial influence on the hot-tempered emperor. On their sides were smaller statues of Theodosius's two sons, Arcadius and Honorius. A little away from them there was a statue of the emperor’s father.” Brought up in reverence for the emperor and the entire royal house, the crowd involuntarily stopped in front of the royal images. Probably, a reverent feeling would have overcome the fire of passions and the rebels would have left the court without doing anything wrong, but some brawler boy threw a stone at one of the statues and broke it. Charm as usual! The naughty stone was a spark thrown into gunpowder. Passions that had subsided for a moment flared up with renewed vigor, the spark turned into a fire, and a crowd of rebels shouted: “Down with the tyrants!” continued to smash statues and destroy everything in the chamber. After some time, the statues were dragged out into the street, they were dragged along the pavement with mockery, and then thrown into the Orontes River. A terrible thing has been done. Passions died down again, and fear for what had been done suddenly gripped the rebellious crowd. She realized that she had committed a crime that could not be forgiven by the emperor. It was necessary to wait for his anger. The rebels were threatened with execution, and the city was threatened with complete ruin. But what was done could not be undone. “There was something terrible in the contrast that the city presented in its usual state and now, when a dark cloud of despondency enveloped its inhabitants. In the normal state, the lively noise of life did not stop until the smell of lilies and jasmines spread in the cold twilight of the starry sky. Among the colonnades, sparkling with countless lamps, a frivolous crowd, consisting of all kinds of nationalities and dressed in the most colorful costumes, usually wandered until late at night, carefree laughing, chatting, buying and selling. Now the streets were empty, and if a few people appeared here and there, they quickly and furtively made their way like ghosts, looking around. If two or three people happened to meet at some crossroads, they would stop only for a short time, just to ask what was new, or to exchange a few words about what might await them. The ruler of Antioch, knowing that he himself would have to answer for the insult inflicted on the emperor, decided to prove his indignation by merciless revenge. Streltsy foremen, each with his own detachment, entered houses and led out prisoners chained in chains. The trial of the case began. Even boys were arrested and tortured. The interrogations were carried out quickly and ended in cruel sentences.” Where was salvation to come from? Who could provide it? Nobody but God! And the corrupt, rebellious Antiochians rushed to the church, to their teacher Chrysostom, whom they diligently listened to and whom they were so upset by their behavior. Stricken with grief and suffering for his spiritual children, John did not preach for a whole week. Meanwhile, the people's grief increased, a feeling of remorse, shame and fear burned the hearts of people. And so, on Sunday of Cheese Week, Chrysostom in the Church of St. Vavilov made his first speech to the Antioch flock. People gathered in huge numbers. There was dead silence. The Antiochians longed for a word from Chrysostom, whom they loved and respected. They knew that he was far from the temptations of the world, that he was inaccessible to the feeling of fear and was the personification of justice. Everyone saw him as a father and friend, that warrior who feared only one God. John began his conversation in an excited and quiet voice, but his voice soon grew and sounded like metal under the arches of the church. - “What should I say? What to talk about? – the preacher asked with deep sorrow. – Now is the time for tears, not words; sobs, not speeches; prayers, not sermons. So grave is the crime, so incurable is the wound, so great is the ulcer; it is above all medicine and requires the highest help. So Job, having lost everything, sat on a dunghill; Hearing about this, his friends came and, seeing him from afar, tore their clothes, sprinkled themselves with ashes and groaned. Let me mourn the present too. For seven days I was silent, like Job’s friends: let me now open my lips and mourn the common disaster. Who wished harm on us, beloved? Who envied us? There was nothing more glorious than our city; now nothing became more pitiful than him. I cry and sob now not about the greatness of the threatened punishment, but about the recklessness of what was done. Tell me how we can bear the shame of our deeds. Nothing has ever been happier than our city; now there is nothing sadder than him. Its inhabitants, like bees buzzing around a hive, crowded into the square every day, and everyone considered us happy. Now this hive is empty, because just as smoke drives bees away, fear drives us away. There is nothing more kind than the homeland, but now there is nothing more sorrowful than it. Just as not only those living in it, but also all the neighbors flee from a house engulfed in flames, trying to save their body, so now, when the king’s anger, like fire, threatens to fall from above, everyone is in a hurry to leave and save at least the body. Our disaster has become a mystery: without enemies - flight, without capture - captivity. Everyone knows about our disaster, because when they receive our fugitives, they hear from them about the defeat of our city. But I’m not ashamed of it and I don’t blush. Let everyone know in order to raise a common voice from the whole earth to God and beg the King of Heaven for salvation. Recently our city was subjected to an earthquake, and now the very souls of the inhabitants are being shaken; Then the foundations of houses shook, now the very foundation of everyone’s heart trembles. We all see death before our eyes every day, live in constant fear and endure the punishment of Cain, suffering more than those imprisoned, and enduring an extraordinary and new siege, more terrible than which it is impossible to imagine... And just as it is unsafe for the besieged to go beyond the city wall because of the enemies surrounding him, so for many of the inhabitants of the city it is unsafe to leave the house and appear in the square, because everywhere they catch the guilty and the innocent, they seize them in the middle of the square and are dragged to court indiscriminately. And not only the city, the air itself, even the bright circle of the sun, it seems, has now been darkened by sorrow and become darker, not because the properties of the elements have changed, but because our eyes, darkened by sadness, cannot clearly, with the same ease, receive the light of the sun’s rays.” Having expressed his grief, mourning the misfortunes of his native city, Chrysostom hastened to encourage his flock. “Give me your souls! – he exclaimed: “throw away your sorrows, let’s cast everything on God.” This will serve us to end the disaster, because when the Lord sees that we listen to His word with attention and do not abandon prayer and wisdom in the most difficult times, He will soon give us help and a good change, turning the storm into silence. Let us not lose heart, beloved! We do not care so much about ourselves as He who gave us a soul and gives us so many benefits. Let us inspire ourselves with hope and let us complacently wait for what will please the Lord to do with us.” The people left the church with tears, but with a relieved soul, with hope in their hearts for salvation. And the people were not mistaken, because they had such great shepherds as John Chrysostom and Flavian. At the very time when no one dared to rise up to defend the unfortunate and intercede for them, the elderly Bishop Flavian, half ill, despite the harsh winter, went to Constantinople to beg the emperor for mercy - even his sister’s serious illness did not stop the shepherd from going. Neglecting dangers, risking even his very life, he set off on a long journey (it was 1200 miles to Constantinople), not holding out hope of seeing his sister alive upon his return. When thousands died, the bishop forgot about himself and his loved ones. He did what no pagan would do. The pagans themselves said this to John. Flavian left. But what will the emperor say to him? Will the bishop soften the royal anger? The people languished in uncertainty. At the request of the clergy, the torture was stopped, but they could be resumed with greater force by order of the emperor, who was distinguished by a kind heart, but was quick-tempered, irritable, and, finally, is there no limit to kindness itself? Never before in Antioch during Lent was there such holy silence as now. Circuses and theaters are deserted; the shops were closed. The whole city has definitely turned into one church. Even those who had never looked into the church now almost never left it. John did not miss the moment and took advantage of it for the benefit of his flock. He continued to preach and influence the hearts of the Antiochites. On the very next day of Bishop’s departure. Flavian Chrysostom addressed the people with a consoling speech in the cathedral church. He mentioned the absent bishop and then continued: “When I look at this throne, idle and abandoned by the teacher, I rejoice and cry at the same time; I’m crying because I don’t see my father here; I rejoice because he set out on a journey for our salvation and went to deliver so many people from the royal wrath. It is an adornment for you that you have such a father; for him it is a crown that he is so loving towards his children and justified by the very deed that Christ said that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), he went willingly to lay down his life for all of us, although many things prevented him from going on the road and forced him to stay here. If Christ, he says, gave Himself for us, then what kind of apology and forgiveness will we be worthy of, who have been entrusted with governing such a numerous people, if we do not decide to do and endure everything for the safety of those entrusted to us?.. And he decided to endure every danger, and nothing could keep him here. We hope that our hopes will be successful, because God will not despise such zeal and care and will not allow His servant to return without success. I know that as soon as he appears and sees the pious king, he will be able to immediately tame his anger with just his appearance, because among saints not only their words, but also their very faces are filled with spiritual grace.” Then, turning to the people, John added: “Let us also call on the Lord and pray to Him, and He will undoubtedly tame the king’s anger and deliver us from all the sorrows that threaten us. The Father there appears before the king of the earth, and here we will appear before the King of heaven and help him with prayers. The whole church can do a lot if we offer prayers with a grieving soul and a broken heart.” The messengers sent to Constantinople by the ruler were ahead of Flavian in their reports. The angry emperor immediately sent two of his dignitaries to Antioch so that they would roughly punish the rebellious city. And so they, one of whom was called Ellevich, and the other Caesarea, entered Antioch early in the morning at the head of a detachment of troops. They declared the will of the emperor, whose decree read: 1) Antioch is deprived of the title of capital of Syria, and this title passes to the city of Laodicea; 2) until further notice, all public baths, circuses, theaters and other places of entertainment in the city are closed; 3) torture, which had been stopped, was ordered to be resumed and all perpetrators to be subjected to severe punishment; 4) the imperial grain dacha, distributed among the poor, ceases. The investigation and trial of those responsible began. Torture and executions resumed. The prisons were overcrowded. None of the lawyers dared to defend the accused. Everyone was afraid for themselves. And only John Chrysostom visited the dungeons, spent nights in them, consoled prisoners exhausted by torture, caring with love and tenderness for the tortured and never tired of interceding for them with the authorities. The people's cries reached the desert, where the ascetics were saved, having renounced the world, but not from love for their brothers, whose grief resonated with pain in their hearts. They left their secluded homes and entered the city in a crowd. They were dressed, says Farrar, in leather and rough sheepskins, some barely covered themselves with rags, since the remains of their clothing had long since turned into shreds. They had long hair hanging down over their shoulders. Their faces were thin, gloomy, their movements were impetuous. Many of them had not been to Antioch for entire years, and yet in all the steps of these strange people there was no timidity or servility. The dignitaries who were going to court saw them and were amazed. The hermits did not bow, did not cry, did not beg, but stood straight in a threatening pose. Both dignitaries were even more surprised when one of these strange people stepped out and, grabbing Caesarea’s horse by the bridle, imperiously ordered him to get off the horse. -Who is this crazy man? asked Caesarea. - This is not crazy, this is Macedonian barley eater. Caesarea heard about Macedonia, for the fame of this ascetic thundered throughout the Christian world. Caesarius and his comrade immediately dismounted and knelt before the hermit. Knowing no fear, not paying attention to the surprise of his retinue, Macedonius said: “Go, my friends, and tell the emperor this way: “You are also a man, although you command people. Do you dare destroy the image of God? Statues are easy to restore, as has already been done, but can you restore the image of God in life when it has been destroyed by you? Can you make even one hair grow again on the people you have condemned to death? And other hermits confirmed these words, adding: “We are all ready to lay down our lives for this city.” We are ready to die for those whom you condemn; If the gift needs victims, then let us be them, let him execute us and spare the townspeople. We will not leave this city until he is forgiven. The royal envoys fulfilled the will of the hermits. The proceedings were suspended, and Caesarea immediately went to Constantinople. When he arrived there, Flavian had already introduced himself to the emperor and received his forgiveness for the rebels. The task entrusted to Flavian was one of the most difficult. It is necessary to soften the anger of Theodosius, but what could be given to justify the rebels? Theodosius was not cruel. He showed his zeal for the faith, his concern for the population, and with his wise rule he enabled cities (including Antioch) to develop industry and accumulate great wealth. The ten years of his reign were years of peace. The Antiochians might not sympathize with the tax and ask for it to be waived from them, but they did not dare to express their lack of sympathy so rudely, so insultingly to the sovereign. The bishop understood all this and felt himself in an extremely difficult situation. “Theodosius,” says Farrar, “did not attach much importance to external oriental splendor and appeared simply, ascending to the throne at the end of the hall. He was a strong, handsome Spaniard, surrounded by slender Gothic bodyguards. The greatness of the imperial power shone through the simplicity, making itself felt in the extraordinary dignity of his entire step. Suppressed by bitter feelings, Flavian did not even dare to approach the emperor and, stopping at a distance, at the other end of the chamber, lowered his eyes and bowed his gray head, and wept bitterly. From the excitement that gripped him, he could not even speak. Theodosius's heart was seething with anger, but the emperor could not bear this sight: he stepped down from the throne, approached the bishop and, taking the elder by the hand, spoke to him in a gentle tone, as if he himself needed justification. “Have I really,” he said, “deserved such an attitude from Antioch?” Haven't I always been kind to this city? Didn't I intend to visit him personally? Even if the Antiochians had some reason to be offended by me, why did they insult my noble father? Why did they insult my sons, and most importantly, why did they insult the late empress, whom I loved so dearly and whose loss is so difficult for me. Wasn't she herself kindness personified? Didn't the poor benefit from her care and maternal love? Wasn’t she, without a retinue, like an ordinary woman, visiting the poor and sick? Wasn’t she always interceding for everyone with me? And insult her like that! To mock her memory like that! This is too much, father! How can I forgive the brutal mob that smashed the image of my wife into pieces and dragged her statue down the street with vile insults? The bishop answered the emperor with tears: - We have sinned! We acknowledge all your generosity, we do not deserve your compassion and your forgiveness. Still, forgive me, forgive me! This is how you can best destroy evil. When the devil deprived man of paradise, did not God open heaven to the fallen race? Oh, be like God! The eyes of all Jews, pagans, Greeks and barbarians in Antioch are turned to you. If they see that mercy dominates judgment and forgiveness calms anger, then they will all exclaim with one voice: Oh, how great is the power of Christianity! Remember, sir, the complacency of the wise Constantine when his statues were also insulted. He just smiled and, raising his hand to his forehead, said that he felt no harm and no pain. Remember also your own tenderness, sir, when, releasing the prisoners, you exclaimed: “Oh, if I could also bring back the dead!” Worse than earthquakes and fires were our crimes and your anger for us. But remember the day when you yourself will appear before the judgment seat of the One who said: “If you forgive men their sins, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins.” Forgive us for the insult we have caused you, just as God forgives every day the insults that people inflict on Him. He commands his sun to shine on the good and the evil, and to rain on the just and the unjust. You are kind and merciful: show yourself more noble than we deserve. Otherwise, I will never return to my hometown, but will hide my shame in some place of exile.” Theodosius was deeply touched by the bishop's speech and could hardly restrain himself from sobbing. “Oh,” he exclaimed, “wasn’t Christ crucified by the very people He came to save?” And He forgave them! Shouldn't I also forgive those under my control? And already completely devoid of anger, giving full vent to his good feelings, the emperor added, turning to the bishop: - Return home, father, return as soon as possible, say that I forgive and cancel all the decisions that I made. Antioch will not be demoted. I restore all rights to her, and give full forgiveness to those accused. Struck by the unexpected joy, the elderly bishop fainted. Someone from the retinue picked up Flavian. Having come to his senses, he could barely thank the emperor and offer thanks to God in a broken voice. Very tired from the journey and a little ill, Flavian did not immediately go back to Antioch, but, wanting to quickly console its inhabitants, he immediately sent a letter by courier, in which he announced the mercy of the emperor. As soon as he gathered his strength, Flavian hurried to Antioch, where he arrived on the eve of Easter. Almost all the Antiochians came out to meet him, and he was carried into the city like a triumphant. Chrysostom rejoiced along with his spiritual children and spoke an enthusiastic word before joyful and happy listeners. “Blessed be God,” he said, his voice broken with joyful tears, “blessed be God, who has done immeasurably more than we have asked or thought; It seemed to us enough to be temporarily freed from threatening troubles, but the merciful God, far surpassing our requests with his gifts, returned our father to us sooner than we could have expected.” Chrysostom urged the people never to forget this terrible test. The sad event became a thing of the past, but it was a good lesson for the Antiochians and proved to all pagans the power of Christianity, all its great beneficial influence. “The outcome of this event,” says Lopukhin, “weaves an unfading wreath on the foreheads of its main figures, and all of them were Christians, shepherds and devotees of the Church of Christ: the intrepid elderly bishop, who was not afraid of either the difficulty of the long journey or the wrath of the emperor, just to intercede for his people; selfless hermits who, abandoning their serene residence in the silent desert, came to the rebellious city to save human souls - and especially the greatest sweet-voiced shepherd and teacher of this people, who day after day delivered wonderful conversations that, during horrors and anguish, were heard tirelessly, either as threats of a righteous judge, or as the caresses of a deeply loving father, and made a stunning impression on hundreds of thousands of listeners. These speeches resonated in the hearts of not only Christians, but also pagans. Pagans visited temples in droves in the hope of finding consolation for their suffering souls. They listened in amazement as the Christian preacher exposed vices and follies, as he, like a trumpet, called everyone to correction. The pagans were convinced with undeniable clarity how vain and fleeting earthly honors and riches are, how they are unable to sustain life in times of danger and disaster, and how much higher their Christian hope is, which places the goal and good of life in the imperishable treasures of the afterlife. They learned that for a virtuous person, death is only a transition to a blessed life, and that the suffering here is useful, as it cleanses the soul. This world, in which there is so much vanity and grief, received new interest in the eyes of the pagans when they heard from Chrysostom that there is an eternal and omnipotent Creator, Who, like a father, cares for all people, extending His care to the point that without His will a hair of the head does not fall.” Christianity showed itself in all its greatness, whose representatives fearlessly rose to defend the unfortunate, while noble pagans, full of earthly fear, did not dare to utter a word in defense of the rebels. And the mass of pagans wished to be baptized, which further increased the joy of Chrysostom and Flavian, happy that his intercession saved the Antiochians from terrible punishment. Life went on as usual. John continued his preaching work, visiting hospitals, huts of the poor, houses of widows and orphans, bringing consolation, kindness and medicine to everyone everywhere. The population's love for him grew every year, The connection between the flock and the shepherd grew stronger, who did not ignore a single life phenomenon, took advantage of every opportunity to teach, ease grief and be a friend to the flock. Whether there was an earthquake, whether illness befell the city, or famine, John appeared with his help and with his word. In every moment of sorrow and confusion, he was like a faithful guard at his post, and people flocked to him, seeking support, encouragement and guidance. He wiped away tears, softened sadness, reassured the hopeless, calmed the storm of passions, reinforced the hopes of the weak. He responded to everything that worried and occupied the poor and the rich, answered all the questions that arose in the minds of the Antiochians, did not avoid a single phenomenon that gave rise to bewilderment, and that is why all his conversations and teachings were so worldly, so close and understandable to everyone. The connection between him and his flock grew stronger, and Chrysostom himself showed all 1 shepherds of future centuries an example of what a true shepherd can be, what he is able to do and what kind of love he deserves. Yes, he knew his sheep, and the sheep knew him and listened to his voice. Such boundless love was established between John and the Christians that he could not exist without his flock, and the flock without him. If it happened that John, tired of his work, retired outside the city to breathe in the mountain air, then a mass of letters were immediately sent to him, in which they begged him to return as soon as possible, because “the flock grieves and languishes in his absence.” And he, forgetting about his health, returned to Antioch, happy and joyful from the consciousness of such love for himself. But did this prevent John from being harsh in his reproofs and strict in his teachings? No! He correctly understood love, and this love forced him, for the good of his flock, not to remain silent about their vices, to expose their shortcomings, to call sinners to repentance and correction. Hating sin, he grieved for sinners because he loved man as the image of God and was “merciless towards sin, but full of mercy towards the sinner.” Chrysostom wished never to leave Antioch and was sure that this would be so; but a wider field awaited him; he was appointed to serve the Church in the rank of Patriarch of Constantinople. Patriarch Nektarios died in 397. At this time, Theodosius’s son, Arkady, was already in charge of the kingdom - a man of short minds, weak will, who was under the influence of dignitaries, and subsequently under the influence of his wife, Eudoxia. Eutropius, a dignitary who then had influence on the emperor, was once in Antioch and heard Chrysostom preaching. He was seduced by the eloquence of the Antioch presbyter, and now, when the question of electing a patriarch arose, Eutropius pointed out to the emperor John as the most worthy deputy of Nectarius. Arkady agreed with the opinion of Eutropius and approved the election of John. But, knowing the love of the Antiochians for John and fearing their open resistance, Eutropius decided to take Chrysostom by cunning. The dignitary invited John outside the city, as if wishing to visit the tombs of the martyrs with him. Outside the city, a chariot was already waiting, on which Chrysostom was placed and quickly rushed to the capital. John did not know why they were taking him, and no one dared to explain the truth to him. He looked with longing at Antioch, which was disappearing from his eyes, where he was born and lived so many happy years, becoming close in soul to his flock. When John arrived in Constantinople and heard from the lips of Eutropius about his appointment, he exclaimed in embarrassment: “Oh, spare me! I don't want this honor! I foresee that this will all end in disaster!” “I know that you did not achieve a high position,” said Eutropius, “but such is the will of his eternity, the emperor.” John was embarrassed by this title and with characteristic frankness and directness exclaimed: “What an inappropriate title! What to call Christ after this? All flesh is like grass: the grass dries up - a person disappears... Oh, take me back to my humble house in Antioch! I’m not used to breathing air filled with flattery.” John's words amazed and puzzled the dignitary. He could not help but smile, although at the same time he felt deep respect for this independent presbyter, in whose person he had met a true Christian. “This is the will of the emperor,” repeated Eutropius, “go to him, he is waiting for you.” John had to submit, but he felt orphaned without the Antiochian flock and understood with what grief the hearts of all Antiochians would be filled when they learned of his separation from him. And he was not mistaken: the grief of the Antiochians knew no bounds or measure. The emperor received John in the Purple Chamber, which received its name from the fact that its floor and walls were lined with porphyry and it was decorated with purple curtains embroidered with gold. The floor was sprinkled with gold dust; here and there decorations made of agate and carnelian were visible; the ceiling was supported by columns of Numidian pink and golden marble. John was accompanied by a brilliant retinue of dignitaries. In the hall stood the court warriors in cloaks studded with pearls and helmets decorated with emeralds. In the middle of the hall stood a throne supported by golden lions. The Gothic guards were stationed near the throne, whose warriors had golden collars on their clothes. On the throne, on silk pillows embroidered with pearls, sat Emperor Arkady. Dragons were embroidered in gold on his purple clothes, and huge rubies adorned his ears; a necklace of large pearls sparkled around the neck, chains of precious stones hung onto the chest; Arkady's whole figure, thanks to his golden clothes, sparkled; Arkady was wearing a tiara on his head, which suited his black hair. The emperor's appearance did not correspond to his brilliant surroundings. He was a young man of nineteen, short in stature, thinly built, devoid of strength and life, already at these years looking like a weak old man. He looked sleepy, and when the dignitaries, kneeling before him, introduced John to him, Arkady spoke sluggishly, as if half asleep; “I’m glad to see you,” and after a pause he added; “On the twenty-sixth day of this month you will be consecrated bishop.” From the emperor, John, accompanied by the same retinue, went to the chambers of the empress. Eudoxia was the complete opposite of her husband. She was a brilliant, beautiful, energetic woman, full of life, hungry for power. Eudoxia, says Farrar, stood up to greet John, and not only did not allow him to kiss her hand, but she herself passionately pressed the hem of his robe to her lips. “I sincerely congratulate Your Holiness on this great promotion,” said the Empress. “I thank you, empress,” answered John, “but I am embarrassed by this title and dignity, because in Antioch I served God and His Church in simplicity.” John spoke humbly but independently. “I know,” replied the Empress, “that we will be friends.” You have a lot to work for the Church and the poor, and my treasurer has already received orders from me to generously contribute to your charity. John warmly thanked Eudoxia for her alms to the churches. On February 26, 398, John was consecrated to the rank of Archbishop of Constantinople. The consecration took place in the great church of St. Sofia. It was a magnificent church. The gates shone in bronze and were decorated with bas-reliefs, the windows were made of thin slabs of alabaster, the capitals of the columns were carved in the shape of leaves, and all of this was made of porphyry. The dome was decorated with mosaics on a golden background and painted with multicolor paints. In the middle of the altar stood a magnificently decorated throne, made of gold, decorated with precious stones; between the columns supporting the altar hung silk curtains, on which images of the Savior, John the Baptist and the Apostle were embroidered in gold. Pavel. The iconostasis was made of silver. Behind the throne was the throne of the patriarch, as well as the sintron, or place for the presbyters, and above them rose a silver gilded canopy. The pulpit for the reader was lined with precious marbles with mosaic images of lambs, doves, fish and peacocks. There were two sets of steps leading up to the altar, one on the west side, the other on the east side, and above them stood a magnificent canopy supported by eight columns. John was ordained by Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who was dissatisfied with the election of John because he wanted to appoint his favorite, Bishop Isidore, to the see of Constantinople. John immediately understood the enmity of Theophilus, who did not hide his hostile feelings towards the new archbishop. Sad feelings worried John. He remembered with longing the abandoned Antioch and even dreamed of the time when he spent peaceful days in the cave. With a soul full of sorrow and a heart agitated by anxiety, he delivered his opening speech. In this speech he touched on many general issues, then turned to himself, as the archbishop, and continued: – There are still pagans in Constantinople: I will try to bring them to the Church, presenting them with an example of Christian life, trying to promote the implementation of the ideal of Christian life. There are many Arians and other heretics in Constantinople: I will not use any other weapon against them except the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the word of God; I will be a bishop, not a gladiator, for I hate bitterness in theological disputes. I reject the use of violence in the work of church preaching. I am ready to submit to the ignorant slander directed at Basil the Great, that his teaching is like a river running down from the rocks to hide in the sands, than to allow irritable disagreements. Theological disputes turn out to be an incomparably weaker proof of Orthodoxy than simple selfless devotion to faith. Bees, said Vasily, fly in swarms and do not take each other’s flowers; This is not the case with us: everyone is much more concerned about satisfying his anger than about salvation, and strives to sting his neighbor. For this, the insane called Vasily a heretic. But he only responded to this: I decided not to neglect any work and not to be afraid to use any humble word and deed, and therefore I will not free myself from any journey, I will not shy away from any burden, so that only I can achieve the reward promised to the peacemakers. That's what Vasily said. As for me, with the help of God I will boldly expose vices; I will not enter into any agreements, I will not enter into any agreement with hell. To wickedness and vice I will be an unyielding enemy. But in relation to the sinners themselves, I am always ready to act in a spirit of compassion and, as far as it depends on me and is possible for me, without harming the truth and good of the Church, I will live in peace with everyone. But, beloved, man is nothing, God is all in all. Help me with your sympathy, support me with your prayer. With this sermon, Chrysostom immediately defined himself as a shepherd, and the path along which he intended to follow, serving the Church in his new rank. Nektary loved a luxurious life. The house he occupied, the so-called palace of the patriarch, was furnished with expensive furniture and richly decorated. The late patriarch kept a large staff of servants, because he often received noble guests, even the emperor himself; Patriarchal dinners were famous in the capital. Imitating the court, Nectarius surrounded himself with brilliance and inaccessibility. In the rank of patriarch, he remained the same dignitary and secular man as he had been before. This was not John, this warrior of God, a friend of the poor, the orphaned and the disadvantaged, an ascetic and the first servant of everyone. Luxury was unpleasant for him, and he considered it a sin. He was a servant of the One who was born in a manger, all his life he did not know where to lay his head, walked barefoot and loved the poor. Many said that the dignity itself requires furnishings, but Chrysostom understood that the greatness of a shepherd is not in luxurious furniture or rich clothes, but in his virtuous life. He rightly objected: “Shouldn’t the apostles have maintained their rank, their greatness? But Paul had only one garment, and none of them knew luxury. And what will I spend on the poor if I start spending a lot on myself?” Everything changed in the patriarchal house, which consisted of several large rooms, beautifully furnished and richly decorated. The Thomaita, a marble chamber, and the judicial chamber, in which church affairs were examined, were especially outstanding in their splendor. All the halls were covered with expensive carpets and decorated with silk curtains; the tables were covered with brocade fabrics. John ordered all carpets, curtains and expensive furniture to be removed. “I don’t need this,” he said, “I’m not used to it.” Yes, this is indecent for a church minister. The Patriarch settled in one spacious room, but also ordered the luxurious furniture to be taken out of it, replacing it with simple furniture, which soon arrived from Antioch along with bookcases. Nevertheless, he ordered the jewelry, carpets, and silk curtains to be sold so that with this money the grief of the poor and suffering could be assuaged. He built a charity house and two hospitals: one for the townspeople, the other for visitors. Following this, he dismissed the huge staff of servants, which were completely unnecessary for him, since he did not intend to organize feasts and dinners. He led a modest, secluded life. He saved time so that he could study the Holy Scriptures; for people who needed him, the doors of his house were always open - there was no patriarch in Constantinople more accessible than him. But he did not at all want to accept idle talkers, for whom a visit to the patriarch’s palace was a pleasant entertainment that, moreover, gave satisfaction to vanity. John visited the poor and sick, helping them financially and comforting them with conversations. Dozens of cooks turned out to be unnecessary, because even now John continued to eat only bread, vegetables and water, adding a little grape wine to it. His love for the poor extended so much that during the famine he gave away all his income and sold extra church vessels, saying that saving the poor from death by starvation was more pleasing to God than the abundance of extra utensils in churches. All these actions of the new patriarch, instead of arousing reverent respect for him, gave rise to displeasure and grumbling among the clergy and rich citizens of Constantinople. This was not what these people, spoiled by Nektarios, expected from the new patriarch. – What kind of patriarch is this! - they said about John, - he dresses poorly, like a simple monk, does not receive anyone and only bothers with the poor. The murmur grew and grew. When John, not paying attention to what was said about him, continued to go his own way and began to attack the well-fed and rich, and began to denounce them, he aroused for himself the strong hostility of the wealthy classes, the higher clergy and those close to the court; both of them began to slander him, accusing him of all sorts of crimes. They said that he fasted like this only for appearances, but, locking himself in solitude, he indulged in overeating; they said that he was greedy and sold all the jewelry and church vessels in order to appropriate the money for himself. They began to stir up the court against him. Everything low judged him by itself, measured him by its own yardstick; it did not think about the choice of means in the fight against John, wanting to destroy him. And he became more and more enemies, thanks to his denunciations and impartial attitude towards everyone. Noble people and clergy, who did not live at all like Christians, could not bear his reproaches. Then the empress herself joined them, but for now she and many of the dignitaries maintained good relations with the patriarch; hiding behind a mask of piety, Eudoxia even attracted praise from John for her participation in the spiritual procession during the transfer of the relics. At the end of 398, the relics of St. Martyr Phocas and the remains of the martyrs Sisinius, Martyrius and Alexander. John carried them solemnly at night to the church of St. Thomas, which was located 12 versts from the city. “The huge procession was accompanied by many military and civilian dignitaries, who, despite their rank, humbly walked next to the simple poor people. Moreover, Empress Eudoxia herself walked all this way. Dressed in modest clothing, she sang sacred songs with the people and held a tassel of rich silk cover, under which the relics rested. This outward piety of the queen made an extremely gratifying impression on everyone.” Even Chrysostom himself was overwhelmed with joy. He thought that the empress would truly be the patroness of the poor and the Orthodox faith. When the procession reached the church, the patriarch made an enthusiastic speech. “What should I say? - he exclaimed. “I’m overjoyed with joy.” Look what an example the queen set for us! She, like a simple servant, walked behind these relics. Blessed be you, queen! You became the patroness of relics, the mother of churches. We rank you among the pious matrons, for in the construction of churches, in the veneration of martyrs, you use your earthly royalty as a means to achieve eternal bliss.” The next day, the Church of St. Emperor Arkady also visited Thomas. John could not remain a patriarch who does nothing, does not expose vices, and does not arrange church affairs. He knew what awaited him for this, perhaps the punishment of this world, living a lie, but he was not afraid of anyone, because he feared only God, to whom he turned with fervent prayer: “I did not seek my promotion. You have placed this burden on me, so give me strength for it, teach me to do Your will.” And not caring about the condemnations of the world - the clergy, the nobility and even the court - John Chrysostom began to do what was pleasing to God. Having become the head of the Church of Constantinople, John Chrysostom first of all set about correcting the morals of his subordinates, who needed “purification.” The clergy was dissolute; its life was not distinguished by moral rigor. It taught out of duty, turning it into a formality, but it itself did not act according to the commandments of God, and deeds went contrary to words. Blessed Augustine also said: “In our time, there is nothing easier, more pleasant and more desirable than bishopric, priesthood or deaconry, if these positions are carried out frivolously, trying only to please others. But in this case, before God there is nothing more pathetic, sad and worthy of condemnation. But, on the contrary, in our time there is nothing more difficult, depressing and dangerous, and at the same time better in the eyes of God, as bishopric, priesthood or deaconry, if you fulfill the duties of this sacred service according to the commands of the heavenly Sovereign.” But the majority of the Constantinople clergy was such as to deserve condemnation. The clergy led reprehensible lives. They loved female society, were guilty of gluttony, voluptuousness, were careless about church affairs and willingly feasted with rich and noble people. Pampered, spoiled, they were not only afraid of achievement, but were burdened by fasting and understood only a life full of joy. For the most part, they were like that Roman clergyman who, according to Jerome, being born into a peasant family and fed in the village on simple porridge and millet, putting on a cassock, received the talent to recognize the taste of the fish served at the table and distinguish the Colchian pheasant from the Egyptian. If it was not possible to feast at home, then deacons and priests tried to visit the rich more often, who fed them delicious dishes and watered them with expensive wines. All these vices involuntarily caused others. “When legal income,” says Amédée Thierry, “was not enough for the needs of the clergy, they usually put their hands on church property, which they abused in front of each other. The clergy and even the bishops were little embarrassed, having become accustomed to considering church property their property. The fraudulent use of church property is followed by other misappropriations: defrauding families of their inheritances and stealing collections for the benefit of the poor.” John Chrysostom gathered representatives of the clergy and addressed them with reproof and instruction. He began by touching upon ambition and inordinate devotion to the pleasures of the world. Pastors should set an example of high morality, and not live luxuriously. “You should,” said John, “live simpler and more modest. It is sad to see how the elders of Christ are humiliated among the nobles, like parasites. Don't tell me you need to get money from them for charitable causes. Simplicity and sincerity would give you an influence ten times more legitimate and ten times more useful. How can you accuse others of excess when you yourself indulge in it more than secular people? How can you expose others to greed when you yourself are deeply infected by it? How will you reproach others for luxury when you yourself are in it? You are selfish, and the only goal of many of you is to win over some court dignitary and through him obtain a bishopric. I don't want to talk about myself, but haven't I tried to set an example in these relationships? I don't make idle treats. In the chambers of the patriarch I try to live as a hermit monk. I do not take a step into the emperor’s palace unless the great needs of the Church call me there and the good of the flock requires my intercession.” The evil was strong. It was impossible to eradicate it. It responded to John with hatred, slander and began a fight. But still he managed to do quite a lot, cleanse the Church of many unworthy servants. He reproached, corrected and expelled those who could not be corrected. Everything immoral and base rebelled against him, yet the best among the clergy took his side, recognizing in him a true shepherd and warrior of God. Always respecting true monasticism, Chrysostom decided to place him at the proper height, clearing him of those who only humiliated him and brought him down with their behavior in the eyes of the laity. He addressed the monks with the following words: “Great sorrow grips my soul when I see that you, who profess the only divine philosophy, you, who should lead an angelic life, when I see how you walk idly, anointed and curled, groveling in the hallway of the rich, whispering words of flattery into the ears of rouged women, begging for alms for dubious purposes, wallowing in dirty mud of ignorance, causing all sorts of troubles, interfering in worldly affairs, daily breaking vows - when I see all this, I feel the need to exclaim with Elijah: “Now, O Lord, take my life from me!” These monks, snooping around all the nooks and crannies of Constantinople and often amusing even the mob for a few obols, were quite a few and they outraged Chrysostom to the depths of his soul. He tried to force them to a sedentary life, to engage in crafts and to fulfill their direct duties. He had to completely abolish some monasteries. He also cared a lot about the improvement of women's monasteries. “Monasteries existed before him, but they were not so much a place of prayer and salvation as simply a refuge for people who were bored with the bustle of worldly life and were looking for a pleasant rest there, without disrupting their connection with the world. St. John subjected the monasteries to a radical transformation. He personally questioned all the nuns living there and, when he was convinced that some of them were not there to save their souls, but, following the example of their secular friends, continued to think more “about baths, incense and attire than about fasting and prayer,” he advised them to better return to the world, since monasteries should be exclusively a place of prayer, fasting and repentance. This severity led to the fact that the monasteries were truly cleansed of their unworthy members and filled with lyres who sincerely wanted to find peace for their souls from the surrounding worldly vanity and devote themselves entirely to serving God and their neighbors. Joy of St. John was even greater when holy, chosen souls began to enter the monasteries he had purified and transformed. At the voice of the saint, even noble and rich widows began to flock to them, devoting their lives and all their wealth to the service of the weak brethren. In order to be more able to serve the weary and burdened members of the Christian brotherhood, these noble widows most often entered the position of deaconesses, whose duties were, in addition, to give instructions to female catechumens, prepare them for baptism, guide their first steps in the regenerate life, and also carry out various duties and ministries in the church, mainly in relation to women and children. The service was not at all easy, and all the more honor to those pious women who, neglecting all the difficulties, took on this ministry and valiantly carried it to the end of their lives.” Among these women, four were distinguished by their virtuous life and strength of devotion to the Church: Salvina, Ampructa, Pentadia and Olympias. Salvina was the daughter of the famous tyrant Gildon, who deceived Emperor Theodosius. Salvina was brought up at the imperial court and became a zealous Christian. Widowed shortly after her marriage, she took a vow of perpetual widowhood. Having become a deaconess, she, as a rich and influential woman, became the patroness of the Eastern churches at the court of Arkady. She deeply respected Chrysostom, and her sympathies for the patriarch harmed her in the eyes of the court. Pentadia was the wife of the consul who was killed by Eutropius. Her life was in danger from the machinations of Eutropius. But the patriarch stood up for Pentadia and saved her from the malice of the courtiers. The grateful woman devoted herself to the church, where she found refuge during her persecution. Even Theodosius issued a law giving churches the right to shelter those who resorted to their protection. The most famous of the deaconesses was Olympias. She was descended on her mother's side from the famous prefect Ablavia. She married a very young prince at the court of Theodosius. Soon widowed, she decided to remain a widow forever. The emperor decided, however, to marry her off to his relative Elpidius. She refused. Theodosius, offended by her refusal, ordered her inheritance to be taken into the treasury and placed under guardianship until she reached the age of thirty. Then Olympias wrote the following letter to Theodosius: “I thank you, most august monarch, that with wisdom and goodwill worthy of the benevolence of not only a sovereign, but also a bishop, you deigned to take upon yourself the management of my estate and thereby ease the burden of earthly worries for me. Deign to crown your work by distributing this wealth to the poor and the churches, as I intended to do. Your authorized representatives will carry out this with great knowledge of the matter, and moreover, you will save me from the stings of criminal vanity that very often accompany charity.” This letter put Theodosius to shame; he removed guardianship from Olympias and returned her property to her. Nectarius accepted her into the ranks of the deaconesses and placed complete trust in her. Chrysostom had even greater confidence in her, having recognized the full strength of the devotion of this highly noble woman, her ardent love for the poor and for the Church. “There was no city, or village, or desert where they did not enjoy the favors of the Olympics. She delivered aid to churches, monasteries, hospices, prisons, and places of exile. It is impossible to count those slaves to whom she granted freedom by ransom from their masters.” Olympias looked at Chrysostom as a father. She, says Thierry, brought sweet consolation into the life of this strict and self-centered man - into a life filled with so many difficulties. Her daily concern was to soften the severity of his character. She took all the troubles around the house, because Chrysostom, who was completely incapable of base concerns about himself and carried his love of loneliness to the highest degree, could completely upset his health, already shaken by his ascetic life in previous years. The persecution that was then brought against this great, unfortunate man was for Olympias the beginning of a whole series of trials that revealed all the treasures of her soul: the deaconess did not flinch either before exile or before the martyrdom. Speaking about John’s enemies among the clergy, we must not forget his friends among the Constantinople clergy. Among his friends and admirers, who subsequently proved their devotion to him, were: the deacon Heraclides, Proclus, whose duty it was to report to the bishop about everyone who wanted to see him, the ascetic Philip, the ruler of Skoda, the presbyter Herman and the learned deacon Philip of Sida and many other persons of the Eastern Church. They must also be joined by Deacon Cassian, who labored in one of the Syrian monasteries. Captivated by the preaching of Chrysostom, whom he arrived in Constantinople to listen to, Cassian became his disciple and subsequently founded the famous monastery of St. Victor. Among those close to Chrysostom was Deacon Serapion, a stern Egyptian, deeply devoted to the patriarch, but very harsh, even somewhat rude and somewhat arrogant. In Constantinople, Chrysostom continued with the same fearlessness, with the same power of eloquence, to scourge the rich, deaf to the suffering of the poor and blind to social need. “Imbued with evangelical mercy, John indulged in involuntary impulses of feeling, outraged by social inequality. He put the vanity of wealth on the same level as hardness of heart and pursued both mercilessly.” Palladius calls this plunging a razor into the hearts of the rich in order to cut out the boil of pride. Chrysostom constantly returned to the question of the rich man and Lazarus and cursed the expenses that were lavished on celebrations in palaces and theaters and testified to the starvation of the poor. The imperial court did not represent an example of virtue, as they thought in the provinces. Rather, he was a source of temptation and had an infectious effect on the entire high society. Dignitaries resorted to predation to maintain their position. They stopped at nothing to live luxuriously. Deeply indignant, John exclaimed, turning to them: “Why, tell me, do you wear silk clothes, ride golden-bred horses and decorated mules? The hinny is decorated from below, and gold lies on its cover; dumb mules wear jewelry and have a golden bridle; the ponies are decorated, and the poor man, tormented by hunger, stands at your door, and Christ is tormented by hunger. Oh, extreme madness! what justification, what forgiveness will you receive when Christ stands before your doors in the form of a poor man, and you are not moved?” Seeing the poor, attentive to the word of God, John spoke of the rich, who rarely visited churches: “I would like to know where those are now doing what they are doing, and what better occupation could they choose than to come here, as others came, these poor people, guarding the holy place from midnight until morning, not driven out of here by either sleep or needs? I know well that those (rich) have no occupation and that their absence is a consequence of their conceit and arrogance. Tell me, I ask you, what reason do you have to be so proud and think that you greatly oblige us when you come here to listen to the truths necessary for your salvation? Why show so much arrogance? Is it because you are rich, dressed in silk? But should you not consider that these fabrics are the work of the worms who fused them, and the invention of the barbarians who wove them? But thieves and robbers have the same silk clothes as you. Descend from the false heights to which the arrogance of your heart has lifted you, and think about your baseness, about the insignificance of your nature. For all your pride, you are only slaves of sins. You are like one who, being daily beaten at home by his servants, would boast, walking around the square, that he has a crowd of servants and power over his fellow citizens.” The inequality of fortunes, which forms the basis of civil society, always aroused the ardor of the preacher, who constantly returned with dreams to the first Christian communities, where everything was common and therefore there were no disputes and the material differences among members that later appeared in Christian society. Around Constantinople there were many villages that belonged to rich and noble people. The inhabitants of these villages were deprived of any religious enlightenment, and Christians differed little from pagans. The rich owners did nothing to enlighten the villagers with the word of the Gospel, to raise their moral level. And it was to these rich owners that the patriarch addressed his words. “You create,” he said, “baths and markets and thereby spoil morals. Try best to convert the villagers to the Christian faith if they are still pagans, or lead them to the path of virtue if they have already been converted to Christianity. Build churches instead of luxurious baths that rival palaces in beauty. Let no one have an estate without a church. Don't say there is a church in another nearby suburb - it needs to be on your own property. Provide her with the necessary amount to support the clergy, give a dowry to this church, as you give it to your daughter, and the church will truly be your daughter. If the emperor asked you to build him a house for his quarters, you would obey his request. Do not act differently towards God.” The rich did not like such demands. The denunciations of rich women caused a whole storm against the patriarch, and while John had female friends in Constantinople (Olympias and others), he also had female enemies, among whom, due to the depravity of their nature and immoral life, Marsa, Kastrizia and Evgrafia stood out. All of them, no longer young, loved to dress up and resorted to all sorts of tricks to maintain their lost beauty. So, Evgrafia came to church whitewashed, rouged, with painted eyebrows, with eyes lined with antimony. John could not stand this and directly denounced them in the church. He threatened them with excommunication if they did not give money to the poor, but spent it on their own disfigurement. “I warn you,” he said, “that if you do not correct yourself, I will expel you from here, and if I hear that, expelled from my church, you will find refuge with heretics, I will abandon you.” Following the instructions of the Apostle Paul, Palladius says, “Chrysostom entered private homes to teach women an honest life,” and here he was just as harsh and strict with regard to sin. These denunciations turned many noble ladies against John, who resorted to all kinds of cosmetics to maintain their fading beauty. All his enemies gathered in the houses of Evgrafia and other women like her who hated John. Here all kinds of slander against him were composed. Evgrafia gladly attracted to herself all the laity and clergy who were dissatisfied with the archbishop. “Every dissatisfied clergyman,” says Thierry, “every dismissed priest or deacon who committed unforgivable acts, every dismissed deaconess, immediately resorted to Evgrafiya in order to multiply with their gossip this whole warehouse of slander and slander.” This unworthy union of base men and immoral women became dangerous for John when the empress herself armed herself against him. But if the sermons aroused such a storm among the rich, then these same fiery speeches attracted the poor population of the capital to the archbishop. He became the favorite of all the poor, who accompanied him in crowds as a father and friend. These poor people were his guard and more than once during times of danger they guarded his doors, saving him from death. Chrysostom repaid them with the same love and told them in a touched voice: “I love you just as you love me. You replace my father, mother, brothers, children, you are everything to me in the world. No, I have neither joy nor sorrow that is not yours, and when one of you perishes, I perish too.” Arianism still had power in Constantinople, although it was no longer as powerful as before Gregory the Theologian and during the first time of his bishopric. It was even constrained by the law of Theodosius, which forbade the Arians to have churches within the city. Under Nektarios, thanks to his weakness, Arianism became somewhat stronger. The Arians, as a form of protest, began to make processions of the cross outside the city, while singing loudly outrageous hymns in which Orthodoxy was ridiculed. These vile antics aroused justified anger in John, because he never resorted to violence and, not wanting to create unrest, always treated the Arians gently. Even now he did not resort to state force, but began to fight with “peaceful weapons.” Since, out of curiosity, Orthodox Christians also took part in the Arian processions, Chrysostom began to organize the same processions for his flock. The Empress, who had not yet completely broken off good relations with the patriarch and wanted to appear pious, presented several silver crosses to be worn in processions and herself took part in the night processions. These latter, however, led to unrest. “Having met each other, the Orthodox and Arian processions could not help but arouse mutual irritation; The Arians boldly threw stones at the Orthodox, so that in one confusion many people were injured on both sides, and the imperial courtier Bryson had his head pierced with a stone. This sad circumstance forced the government to ban such processions through the streets.” John Chrysostom, who attached great importance to night prayers, which were common among Christians in the first centuries, continued to organize night liturgical meetings in churches. Regarding night prayers, he said among other things: “The night was not created just to be spent in sleep and peace. The Church of God rises at midnight. Rise, you too, and contemplate the choir of stars, this deep silence, this boundless silence. Bow before your Lord. Believe me, it is not so much fire that usually cleanses away rust as night prayer that cleanses away the rust of our sins. Let us at least be ashamed of the night guards, if we are not ashamed of anyone else. In fulfillment of human law, they walk with a loud cry at night during the cold and walk along the streets often wet and cold; they go for you, for your safety and to save your money. The guardian cares so much about your money, but you do not care about your soul. I do not force you to walk in the open air like him, nor to shout loudly, nor to strain yourself; but at home, in the bedroom itself, kneel and call on your Master. Why did Christ himself spend his nights on the mountain? Is it not to be an example for us? Then, i.e. at night, plants come to life; then the soul, more than they, receives the dew of grace. What is scorched by the sun during the day is cooled at night. More than any dew, night tears extinguish temper and heat and prevent vicious passions. If the soul does not receive this dew, then during the day it will be scorched. May none of us be scorched by this fire. But may God cool and delight us with his love for mankind, so that we may all be freed from the burden of sins by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Chrysostom loved spiritual singing and attached high religious and moral significance to it. In order to strengthen the people's zeal for spiritual singing, he introduced the singing of sacred songs in homes, in workshops, and while working in the fields. “Nothing,” he said, “excites and inspires the soul, nothing disposes to wisdom and elevates above the everyday, like a harmonic verse and a sacred song composed according to the law of rhythm. Our nature delights in singing so much that even restless infants fall asleep to the singing. Travelers traveling on a hot afternoon relieve the burden of their journey by singing. Farmers, sailors, and women busy with their household chores sing. All these people sing in order to delight their labors, because the sound of song makes it easier for the soul to endure boredom and labor. If ordinary songs are so useful, then even more so are psalms that bring pleasure and benefit. These psalms are a source of sanctification, because the Holy Spirit descends into the souls of those who sing.” Chrysostom's efforts did not remain fruitless. The people fell in love with spiritual singing and night vigils. What rebelled most against the night vigils was the clergy themselves, who were too lazy to leave their warm beds and go to church at night. Chrysostom’s concerns for his weak flock had an impact here as well. Seeing that it was difficult for many to endure the length of the liturgy, he shortened it, composing his own, which is known as the “Liturgy of John Chrysostom.” But it should be noted that the liturgy, which is now known under the name of Zlatoust, although in its main parts is similar to that which was celebrated under John, it subsequently included some additions. Thus, the song “Only Begotten Son” was introduced during the time of Justinian; The hymn “Holy God” was included in the service at St. Prokle; "Cherubic" was compiled under Emperor Justin the Younger; The "Creed" was introduced into the liturgy only by Patriarch Timothy in 510; the hymn of praise to the Mother of God “Most Honest Cherub” was borrowed after John from the Canticle of St. Kosmas on Great Heel; at the end of the liturgy, the song “Let our lips be filled with praise” was introduced under Patriarch Sergius in 620. The fight against Arianism did not prevent John from caring about the education of the pagans. Acting with his word on the pagans of the capital, sending missions for educational purposes to Phenicia, John Chrysostom also took care of the revival of the Scythians, who lived in the north and northeast of Europe, within the borders of present-day Russia, with the evangelical light. The wild nomads, who stood at the lowest level of development, were not infected with many of those vices that had already made a nest in enlightened peoples. They were barbarians, but Chrysostom understood the purity of these children of nature and wanted to introduce them to the flock of Christ, especially since they showed a desire to learn the teachings of the Risen One. It was impossible to hesitate, because the Arians-Goths could catch them in their nets. And so Chrysostom sent a mission to the Scythians to preach the Gospel. To the great joy of the patriarch, the mission was a brilliant success; thanks to Chrysostom, altars to the true God were erected in a barbarian country. “The stern warriors, almost never dismounting from their horses, bowed down before the cross of the crucified Christ.” In Constantinople there were many Goths conscripted into the service of the empire. Some of them were Arians, others were pagans. Chrysostom zealously enlightened them, and he managed to convert many to Christianity, which they accepted in its true form - Orthodoxy. The Goths did not know the Greek language, and Chrysostom ordained the Goths as priests and readers for them. At the installation of one Gothic priest, surrounded by compatriots-readers, Chrysostom exclaimed: “I would like the Hellenes to be present here and see what is happening here. It was not for nothing that Christ was crucified! The power of the cross triumphs over demons! Philosophical dogmas are dissipated. Where are the doctrines of Plato and Pythagoras now? Everything is stopped. Where are the doctrines of the fishermen and tent makers? They shine more powerfully than the light of day, not only in Judea, but also among the barbarian tribes.” Earlier it was said about the law of Theodosius, according to which churches had the right to provide refuge for the persecuted. Theodosius directly stated that everyone who hid in the church or further in buildings belonging to the church was completely safe. And the Church has never refused refuge to its children, accepting their repentance. But many did not like this law, and most of all Eutropius, a temporary worker at the court of Arkady. The emperor issued a decree that repealed the law given by Theodosius. John was against the abolition and continued to recognize the Church's right of asylum. He showed this to the same Eutropius, who, by repealing a law that was unpleasant to him, did not think that he was acting against himself. The power-hungry temporary worker thought so much about his power that he began to treat Eudoxia impudently. The Empress suffered a lot from him, but one day, greatly offended by him, she rushed to the Emperor, taking both daughters with her. Falling to her knees before the emperor, she exclaimed: “Am I your wife or not? Am I an empress or a slave? Are these your children, and does their mother really mean nothing to you? - What's the matter? - asked the emperor. “Eutropius insulted me,” said Eudoxia: “he threatens to overthrow me whenever he wants to. Tell me, who is the emperor: you or him?” The enraged Arkady, who had long been burdened by his subordination to Eutropius, immediately ordered his arrest. For Eutropius there was no salvation anywhere except the Church, from which he persuaded the emperor to take away the sacred right of mercy. But now, despite all this, he rushed through a secret passage from the palace to the church of St. Sophia, went to the altar and there fell at the foot of the throne, grabbing one of the columns with his hands. The altar was filled with his sobs. Having learned about this, John immediately appeared at the church, accompanied by priests and deacons. Eutropius, seeing the patriarch from afar, shook with his whole being; hiding his face under the throne, he cried and tore his hair, and at first he was so shocked that he was unable to utter a word. Then he rose a little, but continued to hide his face in his clothes, which were wet from tears and stained with dirt. “Fate is merciless,” said John, turning to Eutropius. – Pray to Christ, may He help you. He who stretched out his hands on the cross has a heart compassionate enough to embrace every sorrow and forgive the deepest crime if the sinner repents. Pulling back the curtain, John went out to the people. The soldiers shouted: “Give me the eunuch, he’s here!” During such events, John always rose to the heights of the greatness and unyielding generosity characteristic of his rank. The Patriarch, looking at these sparkling eyes and faces flushed with rage, was completely calm, as if he was talking in his office. Although John’s appearance was not distinguished by majesty, he stood tall in spirit at the height of his task. “Be quiet, soldiers, and be quiet, you people,” said John. - Shut up! Amazed by the fearlessness of the patriarch, the soldiers and the crowd fell silent. – Eutropius surrendered under the protection of the Church. He is inviolable here. “You must give it back,” the soldiers shouted again, “or we’ll take it ourselves!” John raised his hand and, as if blocking the movement, exclaimed: - Don't you dare! Get out of here! The soldiers referred to the emperor's decree: he ordered the capture of Eutropius. But John answered this majestically: “The order of the emperor has no meaning in the sanctuary of God.” Here the power is only His - the Almighty. We are His servants and we know His commandments. One of the soldiers stepped forward and drew his sword. - How! - John exclaimed, - do you dare to violate the sanctuary of your Savior? Come to your senses! - No way. You will enter the altar only through my corpse and through the corpses of my presbyters. The warriors became somewhat resigned. Then John went to the palace himself, taking the word from the commander of the soldiers to defend the shrine from the rebels. Arkady was embarrassed at the sight of the patriarch. “But he is guilty,” said the emperor, “he deserves punishment.” John agreed that Eutropius had indeed abused his power. “But the point is not that,” said the patriarch, “but the rights of the Church, the rights of Christ.” Arkady yielded, and the sanctuary of the church was not insulted; the church did not witness the violence. The next day many people gathered in the church. The emperor himself arrived with Eudoxia. Going out to the pulpit to preach, John ordered the curtain of the altar to be pulled back, and there “before the eyes of all those present there appeared a man who one day erupted from the pinnacle of human greatness into the deepest abyss of human misery. Eutropius again lay at the foot of the throne, presenting an extremely pitiful sight: he was pale as death and convulsively held on to one of the golden columns. If he had raised his unfortunate face even for a moment, he would have seen before him a huge mass of people, among which were the warriors who formed part of his convoy, as well as slaves, for whom his mere hint was law; citizens who spent hours enthusiastically greeting him in public places; and above, in the gilded gallery, he would have seen the empress, whom he raised from insignificance, and the emperor, whom he treated like a tame animal. But he didn’t see any of this and hung his head in horror. But in his ears, like the alarm bell of a troubled conscience, the voice of the great preacher was heard, who said: “Vanity of vanities and all is vanity. This saying is always true, even more so now. Where is the shine now, where are the decorations, where are the servile cries of the city? Everything passed, the storm rushed at the tree, uprooted it and threw it to the ground. Where are the false friends? Tables laden with dishes, bowls filled with wines? Everything disappeared like a dream. Write it down on your walls, on your clothes, on the windows of your houses, write it in your conscience and repeat it: vanity of vanities and all is vanity.” And, turning to Eutropius, John continued: “Didn’t I tell you that wealth was flying away, and you didn’t want to listen to me? Didn’t you say that fame is smoke, like the assurances of false friends? I became your enemy because I told you the truth, but I was your truer friend than those who flattered you. They went to your enemies, and I alone support you. You insulted the Church, and the Church opened its arms to you.” And, turning again to the people, he continued: “Do not think that I want to insult a fallen man. I am not here to increase the suffering of the wounded, but to preserve the health of those who are not yet wounded. I am not here to plunge the shipwrecked into the waves, but to point out the pitfalls of those whose sails are filled with a favorable wind and whose ship cuts through the choppy sea. I know that among you there will be those who reproach me for defending Eutropius. He attacked the Church and found refuge in it. Shouldn't we thank God that the enemy of the Church recognized her mercy, her power? Look at the holy throne: it is decorated with gold and precious stones, but its richest decoration is not gold and not stones, but this unfortunate fugitive who fell at the foot of the throne. Do not complain that the person who took away the right of refuge from the Church himself took advantage of this refuge. With the Church it is the same as with a monarch, who is not greatest when he sits in purple on his throne, with the diadem of majesty on his brow, but when the barbarians, with their hands tied back, lie defeated at his feet. Come now and let us perform the holy sacrament; then together we will turn to the emperor and ask for his mercy and forgiveness for Eutropius. Let us lay down the golden ears of the harvest of our compassion at his feet.” Eutropius was exiled, having escaped death, thanks to the intercession of John. Here the spiritual greatness of the patriarch as a representative of the Church of Christ was reflected in all its splendor. Shortly after the fall of Eutropius, the uprising of Gaina, a Goth who commanded the Roman cavalry and infantry, took place. Sent to pacify Tribigild, his relative, who had stirred up outrage in Phrygia, Taina allied himself with Tribigild and began to threaten the empire and Constantinople. Not having enough military forces to repel the rebels, Arkady entered into negotiations with Taina, agreeing to concessions. Taina stated that he did not want to enter into negotiations unless three dignitaries of the empire were sent to him: Prince John, Saturin and Aurelian. Arkady was forced to agree to this demand. But Taina was not content with this, but demanded that Arkady himself appear for personal negotiations. No matter how offensive such a demand was to the honor of the Roman emperor, the son of the great Theodosius, yielding to necessity, found himself forced to negotiate with the indignant military leader. The place for the meeting was Chalcedon, where Taina and Arkady arrived. Entering the church where the relics of St. Martyrs Euphemia, both - the king and the barbarian - swore an oath to each other that they would not plot one against the other. As a result of this agreement, Taina, having received from the king the authority to control the cavalry and infantry, could again safely enter Constantinople. But Mystery, feeling his strength, made a new demand. He wished that the Arians be given one church in the capital itself. “It is indecent for me, the main leader, to go and pray outside the city on the sly.” The Emperor did not know what to answer to the Secret. He was afraid to refuse the Goth and did not dare to take a step against the Orthodox Church. After thinking, he said: - I have no control over this. This is the patriarch's business, talk to him. Gaina agreed. On the appointed day, Gaina appeared at the palace, where Chrysostom arrived with his bishops. Gaina repeated his demand and concluded his words: “It is unfair that I am denied church. After all, I need to have a house of prayer.” John remarked to him that all the churches in the city were open to him. “But I don’t belong to the Orthodox,” said Gaina. “And it seems that my demand is fair, because I have done a lot for the empire.” “Your truth,” answered John, “but you are exalted and rewarded.” Remember, you came poor, and now you wear luxurious clothes. Gaina hinted that he could achieve his desire by force. “Then you will be a traitor,” said John, “and so the sovereign cannot fulfill your demand.” And, turning to Arkady, Chrysostom added: - Sovereign! It is better to lose royal power than to be unfaithful before God, who redeemed you with his blood. To give an Orthodox church to Arians who do not recognize the deity of Christ means to insult Him. You won't do this, sir. Arkady, supported by the patriarch, took courage and answered the Goth: – You see that this is not my power. Gaina submitted, although he left the palace angry. But his submission did not last long. He rebelled again, began to carry out robberies and threaten Constantinople. Arkady lost heart and did not know what to do. Nobody wanted to go to Gaina for negotiations. And then Chrysostom spoke again, voluntarily wishing to go to the rebel camp. Everyone feared for the life of the patriarch, but spiritual power turned out to be stronger than military power. Gaina, despite the fact that he was an Arian, could not help but recognize the moral virtues of the patriarch: the fearlessness and sincerity of this latter aroused reverent feelings in the Goth’s soul. Gaina despised these dignitaries, corrupt, corrupt, cowardly and servile, but respected the prophet of God, a brave warrior for the faith. When Gaina was informed about the arrival of the patriarch, he went to meet him and, approaching, took the patriarch’s hand and put it to his eyes as a sign of humility. Then he called his sons and asked the patriarch to bless them, who were kneeling before him. Respecting John, Gaina resigned himself and did not harm the capital. He soon died, pursued by troops. The Asian dioceses were in complete disorder. In the church of Ephesus, “the beloved daughter of St. John", simony was widespread. “Everything was bought and sold there: episcopacy, priesthood, deaconry, and the gifts of St. The spirits were subject to a tax, depending on what they brought. Equal depravity reigned in both the flock and the shepherds. The need for a candidate elected to the episcopal throne to buy votes gave rise to a new need on the part of the elected bishop - to sell spiritual positions under the fear of being ruined.” When Antonin of Ephesus died, tainted by many crimes in the field of simony and predation, the affairs of the diocese were in complete disorder. Parties were formed, and each wanted its chosen one to take the chair of Antoninus. There were bribes. The clergy was afraid that the new bishop would completely waste church property. And at this difficult time, the clergy of the Ephesian church turned to Chrysostom, whose fame, as a true shepherd and fearless fighter for the faith, spread throughout the Orthodox world. The Ephesian clergy wrote to John: “Holy Father! For many years we have been governed contrary to all decrees and all rights: we ask you to welcome us here, so that the Ephesian church, through your assistance, may find a structure more worthy of the Lord. Our misfortune has no equal. On the one hand, the Arians, on the other, the greed and ambition of the false Orthodox are tearing us apart with impunity. At the very time that we write to you, money is being generously given, and a pack of wolves rushes at our episcopal throne as if it were their prey.” It was bitterly cold. Chrysostom was ill. But, having learned about the danger that threatens the faith and the Church of Christ, he did not hesitate for a moment and immediately went to Ephesus, temporarily transferring control of the diocese of Constantinople to his fellow countryman Severian. Severian used to run a church in the city of Gavalah. From there he arrived in Constantinople, where he was favored by Chrysostom and had some success with his sermons, in which he pleased the highest ranks and the court. Eudoxia liked him: he did not like the harsh denunciations of Chrysostom, and liked the sweet, obsequious sermons of Severian. In the absence of the patriarch, Severian became even closer to the court, finally entered into the favor of the empress and began to act against John, carried away by ambitious dreams, the hope for the fulfillment of which was supported in him by Eudoxia herself. She had already lost interest in John, and even more so, she was hostile towards him. There were many reasons for this. The harsh denunciation of the rich who love luxury, of course, also applied to the empress herself, because she was the first to set an example for everyone to live a luxurious life. Then, intercession for Eutropius also armed Eudoxia against the patriarch, in whom she thought to see an ally in the fight against the eunuch. Having mastered the will of the emperor, Eudoxia began to arm her husband against John, who offended her even more with his sermon about the vineyard of Naboth. Greedy for gold, envious and insatiable by nature, Eudoxia widely used her power and oppressed the defenseless under the guise of state confiscation. So, she took away from the poor widow a vineyard famous for its grapes. Chrysostom's sermon coincided precisely with this outrageous violence of the empress against the poor woman. Those close to him - perhaps the same Marsa and her friends - informed Eudoxia that Chrysostom meant her by Jezebelia. It is not surprising that the patriarch, who knew the affairs of Eudoxia, acted as an accuser of the self-interested queen. He did only what many holy men did. So, Isaiah, as is known from St. Scriptures, rebuked Ahaz; Jeremiah opposed Jehoiakim and Zedokiah; Daniel stood courageously against the wrath of Belteshazzar and Darius; John the Baptist denounced Herod; St. Athanasius the Great courageously rebelled against Constantine; Basil the Great opposed Julian and Valens; Ambrose the Great valiantly fought against the autocracy of Empress Justina. Eudoxia more than once complained to the emperor about John for his denunciations and sent her close associates to John to express displeasure. Chrysostom answered the empress’s messengers: “I cannot help but hear the voices of the offended and crying; I cannot help but reprove those who have sinned: I am a bishop, and I have been entrusted with the care of souls. Therefore, I must look at everything with a vigilant eye, accepting petitions from everyone, instructing everyone and reproaching those who do not repent, for I know how dangerous it is not to expose iniquity. If I keep silent about lawlessness and untruth, then I will earn the accusation of the prophet: the priests have hidden the way of the Lord (Hos. 6:9). And the apostle teaches us: preach the word, instruct temporarily and untimely, reprove, threaten, exhort (2 Tim. 4:2). I rebuke iniquity, but not those who do iniquity; I don’t name anyone, but I teach everyone not to do evil, not to offend their neighbor. If one of my listeners is convicted by his conscience of an unrighteous deed, then he should be indignant not at me, but at himself; He should try to correct his life. If the queen does not know evil behind her, then she has nothing to be angry about; She should rather rejoice that I diligently instruct her subjects in goodness. I will not stop telling the truth, because I must please God rather than man.” Eudoxia hated John and began to patronize Severian, intending to destroy the patriarch. Having put the affairs of the Asian churches in order, deposing unworthy bishops and putting others in their place, John returned to Constantinople, where he had long been summoned by Deacon Serapion, who reported on the intrigues of Severian. The people greeted the patriarch's return with loud applause. A crowd of several thousand people gathered on the embankment and neighboring streets. The air was shaking with joyful cries. “John moved towards the bishop's house, accompanied by these masses devoted to him, or, better said, carried away in their arms. Arriving at the gates of his house, he dismissed them due to great fatigue, postponing until the next day the speech of gratitude with which he intended to address them, and appointed them to gather in his church. The next day, of course, it was full. Chrysostom made a speech. This speech has reached us, ardent and touching, which breathes with the joy of the archpastor, who again met with his church, who again returned to the homeland of his heart, who, upon his return, again found his faithful flock the way he left it when he left. But without hiding anything, far from the idea of ​​throwing a veil over what happened in his absence, over the black betrayals of persons whom he does not name, he then thanks these people, who rejected their criminal reviews. “Thank you,” he said to the crowd besieging the pulpit, “thank you for the loyalty you showed in spite of everything, despite all the temptations that surrounded you. You were a chaste wife who turned a deaf ear to all criminal proposals during the absence of her husband; you were a watchful dog who guards the flock in the absence of the shepherd; you were sailors who protected the progress of the ship abandoned by the helmsman; warriors who, having lost their commander, did not allow themselves to be defeated.” A few days later, Chrysostom, speaking another sermon, exclaimed: “Call to me these priests of misfortune who eat at Jezebel’s table, so that I tell them, as Elijah once did: how long will you limp on both legs? If Baal is a god, follow him; If Jezebel’s meal is also God’s, gorge yourself on it to the point of nausea.” These words caused great excitement in the palace. Severian was not embarrassed by the patriarch’s speeches and did not repent of his actions. He continued to behave arrogantly and, wanting to offend Deacon Serapion, rashly expressed an opinion that was blasphemous because it insulted religion. Chrysostom banned Severian from entering all churches. The people, who did not like Severian and were outraged by his impudent attitude towards the patriarch, suddenly showed such hostility towards the arrogant bishop that he considered it best to leave the capital as soon as possible. But the empress ordered him to return, which he willingly did. Then Eudoxia began to work for John to forgive Severian. Seeing the patriarch’s inflexibility, she resorted to cunning. She appeared at the church with her little son in her arms and, using the right belonging to the persons of the royal house, entered the altar, went straight to the patriarchal place and, placing her son on John’s lap, asked him on behalf of the baby to forgive Severian. “To deny her this would mean causing terrible confusion in a sacred place, and the patriarch’s eyes filled with tears. He leaned down and kissed the innocent child whom the Empress had left in his arms. Concentrating his thoughts entirely on this innocent little child, he indulged in the sacred memories of that event when the humble Ever-Virgin Mary laid the Holy Child in the arms of the aged Simeon, and his heart softened. He could not resist the woman's persistence, which did not stop even at such techniques, just to achieve her goal. “Empress,” he said, “I hardly have the right to resist these requests; “I absolve myself of responsibility by your command, which I understand as the command of the emperor, and I am ready to again admit Severian to our communication.” But Chrysostom could not forgive Severian without explaining himself to the people, who so ardently stood on the side of the patriarch in what happened in history. Therefore, the next Sunday, John addressed the people with a speech in which he said, among other things: “The head must be united with the members, and thus the Church with the shepherd, the people with the emperor. Just as a branch cannot be separated from its root or a river from its source, so sons must be in unity with their father, students with their teachers. You have often demonstrated your love for me, your obedience to me, and for my sake you are ready to sacrifice even your life. We are one in duty, one in love. As my spiritual children, I advise you to remain peaceful. There were troubles between us. Let them end, let them be forgotten - accept our brother Severian.” “The pledge of peace was established before the holy throne,” Farrar says. – The Patriarch was completely faithful to it and did not violate it in word, deed, or even with a glance. But Severian continued to plot his intrigues, and his flattering feigned smiles clearly betrayed the envy of his treacherous heart - and the horizon darkened more and more.” Accumulating clouds foreshadowed a thunderstorm. John foresaw it, but he relied in everything on God, Whom alone he feared. Among the enemies who continued their intrigues was the Alexandrian Patriarch Theophilus. He himself wanted to become the Patriarch of Constantinople, or at least to elevate his protege to this department. When this failed, he became the enemy of John, to whom he showed his unfriendliness on the day of his consecration. The successes of Chrysostom as a preacher and organizer of the Church were unpleasant to Theophilus. But he was glad when he learned that displeasure had arisen against John in the highest spheres of the capital. Theophilus, for his part, tried to harm John in secret. Here one event happened that could have destroyed Theophilus, but with his characteristic dexterity he dodged the accusations and even achieved a trial of the innocent patriarch. It all happened this way. The elderly Isidore received a lot of money from an Alexandrian widow to distribute to the poor and to buy them clothes. The widow, knowing Theophilus’ greed, asked Isidore not to talk about her contribution to the bishop and even took an oath from Isidore. But Theophilus found out and demanded money from Isidore; when he refused, Theophilus deposed Isidore, who fled into the desert where the monks lived; Among them, four brothers were famous for their piety: Ammonius, Dioscorus, Eusebius and Euthymius, nicknamed “long brothers” for their tall stature. Theophilus demanded that they make a false denunciation against Isidore. When they refused, he beat the elderly Ammonius, and then attacked their refuge in the desert, burned their cells, plundered their property, destroyed chapels, and destroyed the library. The “long brothers” fled to Jerusalem, and then to Constantinople, where they turned to the protection of Chrysostom. The Patriarch treated them with love and compassion and wrote a letter to Theophilus; but he did not answer the letter and, accusing the “long brothers” of heresy, accused Chrysostom of it. The monks turned to the emperor with a complaint against Theophilus. Things took a bad turn. He was threatened with trial, and if John had agreed to become the head of this trial, Theophilus would not have escaped punishment. But Chrysostom, fearing unrest and a schism in the Church, avoided the trial of Theophilus... This latter came to the capital and managed to slander John, accusing him of heresy. This was all the easier for him because Eudoxia was on his side, because she wanted to expel John. II, this unworthy patriarch convened a council of 23 bishops, who gathered in Duba, a suburb of Chalcedon. Most of the bishops were precisely those whom John had deprived of his bishopric and who, understandably, harbored enmity against him. This illegal council issued an indictment against Chrysostom and demanded that he himself answer. While the messengers from the council arrived at the patriarch, he talked with the bishops who remained faithful to him. Chrysostom ordered the messengers to be let in and, when they entered, he asked who they were. “We are bishops,” they answered, “and we brought a letter to you. Let me read it." Chrysostom gave permission. The assembled bishops commanded John to appear in Oak. This letter was also insulting because in it John was stripped of his title, as if he had been condemned. The bishops who remained faithful to John were outraged by the letter and wrote the following response to Theophilus: “Stop violating church decrees and dividing the Church, this daughter of heaven, for whom Christ took flesh. If, contrary to the holy decrees of the Council of Nicaea, you want to judge outside your territory, come here to the city, where there is good order, and do not try to lure Abel into the field, following the example of Cain. We must judge and condemn you first, for we have in our hands an indictment containing seventy counts of crimes committed by you, and, moreover, our council is much more populous than yours. There are only twenty-three of you and almost all from the same province; There are forty of us from different provinces and among us are 6 archbishops.” John, for his part, also dictated an answer, but not to Theophilus, but to the council: “To this day I do not know anyone who could complain about me with any kind of legality. However, if you want me to appear before your assembly, first exclude from it my obvious enemies, those who did not hide their hatred and intentions against me. Do this, and I will not dispute the place of my trial, although this place, by all rights, should be Constantinople. But if you absolutely want my enemies to be present, then order them to appear as accusers, so that their position becomes clear and I know with whom I am dealing. Under this condition I will appear to you, I will appear, if necessary, before the council of the whole world; but know that even if you send for me a thousand times, you will not receive any other answer.” When this message was received at the council, everyone went into a frenzy. The bishops jumped up from their seats, rushed at John's ambassadors, beat two of them, and grabbed the third, chained them in chains prepared for John, and the unfortunate sent bishop was thrown into a boat and pushed away from the shore. The illegal council, without waiting for John, deposed him, and the sentence was presented to Arkady for approval. The emperor signed, but did not order the use of force against the patriarch. The people, having learned about the atom, gathered in huge numbers around the church and the patriarchal house to protect their shepherd. Shouts were heard among the people: “We demand an ecumenical council!” “Besieged, so to speak, and as if in captivity among these animated walls erected around him by the devotion of the people, in whose eyes it was dangerous to resort to violence, he incessantly moved from his premises to the church and from the church to his premises. There he needed to console his ministers and several faithful priests, here he needed to console the confused crowd, which his appearance and word filled with grief and joy. The news became more ominous hour by hour. They told of deputations of bishops who came one after another from Chalcedon to beg the emperor to back up the verdict and the meaning of the council by force, and the empress joined them, testing all means of influence on her weak husband. They said that we were no longer talking about exile, but about execution; they hesitated only between an ax or a sword. The archbishop himself thought about his impending death and preached to the people about submission to Providence.” Severian forgot himself to the point that, upon entering one of the churches, he allowed himself to make a speech against Chrysostom. Severian would have had a bad time from the enraged people, but he managed to hide and swim across the strait. Chrysostom, having learned about the act of the treacherous bishop, was inflamed with just anger and made the following speech in his church before the crowd swaying around the pulpit: “Brethren, a terrible storm has overtaken us, and the waves are striking us with unprecedented force; but we are not afraid of drowning, because we lean on the rock. No matter how much the sea rages, this rock will not shake. No matter how much the waves swell and lash, the ship of Christ will not perish. Why should I be afraid? I'm asking you. Death? But I will say with the apostle: “Christ is my life, and gain is my death.” Exile? But the earth belongs to the Lord, and with all that it contains. Deprivation of property? I brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it with me. Anything that can make a person tremble, I despise. I laugh at wealth, I laugh at the honors that others so covet. Wealth for me is nothing more than poverty, and if I want to live, it is only to be with you, to work on your spiritual improvement. I tell you as I act, and I appeal to your love, may this love be trusting. No no! Churches are not cut into pieces and will not be mutilated: the Church is indivisible. It does not separate the heads from the members: they remain in unity, no matter what. Tell me, what happened to the tyrants who once tried to suppress the Church? Tell me, where are their dungeons, their fires, where are the teeth of their wild beasts and the sharpened swords of their executioners? They wanted to act, but did nothing. The same silence and the same oblivion always cover tyrants and the arsenal of their crimes. What about the Church? It shines brighter than the sun throughout the universe, and if tyrants could not strangle faith when Christians barely existed, how can they hope to do so now when Christians cover the entire earth? How do they want to frighten a whole people?.. Oh, they don’t know us at all! Christ is with me! What am I afraid of? His gospel is in my hands—the staff on which I lean. This is where my refuge is, this is the peaceful haven of my soul. The storms raised against me, the sea thrown down upon me, the furies of sovereigns and the mighty of the world - all this is for me nothing more than a web, and if our mutual love had not kept me in these places, I would not have resisted leaving here... Do you know, beloved brethren, why they want to destroy me? Because I did not order rich carpets to be laid out before me, that I never wanted to dress in gold and silk clothes, that I did not stoop to satisfy the greed of these people, and did not keep a table open for them. The asp tribe always dominates; Jezebel has offspring left, but grace also struggles with Elijah. Herodias is also here; Herodias is still dancing, demanding the head of John, and they will give her the head of John, because she is dancing.” The next day after delivering this sermon, an imperial official appeared to the patriarch and announced that in the name of the sovereign he demanded that he immediately leave the city, otherwise he would be taken and taken away by force. “The Emperor,” the official concluded, “does not allow any more delay; the ship is ready to take you to your place of exile.” Fearing bloodshed between the soldiers and the people who would rush to defend the patriarch, Chrysostom secretly left the house and surrendered into the hands of the government. He was put on a ship and taken to Prenet. It happened at night. When the next morning it became known in the city that the patriarch had been taken away, indignation arose in Constantinople. “Fights and riots broke out in the streets, during which many were maimed and even killed, and various disasters threatened the city. The people became agitated, like an angry sea, and everywhere - both in churches and in squares - all they could talk about was the blatant untruth of the trial that took place over John. There were even noisy voices among the crowd, demanding that the main culprit of this event, Theophilus, be stoned, and this would have happened if he, having learned about the danger that threatened him, had not secretly left the capital. Then, unable to vent their rage on Theophilus, the people in a huge mass moved to the palace and there, with shouts and sobs, they asked that Saint John be returned to him. Hearing these threatening screams, Eudoxia was frightened, but continued to insist on her own, hoping that the people's cries would sweep through and fall silent like the wind. Nevertheless, her heart trembled, and in the recesses of her soul she already began to repent of everything that had happened. As she hesitated in this way, a terrible earthquake suddenly occurred. The tremors grew more and more, and finally the walls of the palace were shaken. The frightened empress, who thought that the walls of her bedchamber were about to collapse, threw on her clothes and rushed to the emperor. - This is for our sin! - she exclaimed. - Oh, bring back John quickly! The emperor willingly complied with his wife’s demand, because in his soul he no longer respected John, and if he agreed to his expulsion, it was only out of weak will. Eudoxia herself wrote a letter to John and sent it with a messenger. She wrote: “Let your Holiness not think that I am responsible for what happened to you. I am innocent of your blood: bishops and evil people have formed this conspiracy against you. God, Whom I serve, is a witness to the tears that I shed for you." She further begged John to return to the capital as soon as possible. “The great saint,” says Lopukhin, “forgetting about all the insults inflicted on him, with the forgiveness of the righteous, returned to the city, where countless masses of people, and on the shore of the strait and on numerous boats and vessels that covered the entire Bosphorus, prepared to meet their beloved archpastor. John at first did not want to enter the city itself, wanting a council of bishops to be convened first, which would cancel the condemnation of the Pridub cathedral that had taken place over him. But the people did not want to hear about such formalities and took John almost by force.” It's already evening. Masses of people accompanied John with torches in their hands, and “the procession took the form of a river of fire,” as Farrar put it. The Empress herself walked ahead. The people sang hymns. Arriving at the church, the people raised John to the pulpit, and everyone, as one person, knelt down, asking for blessings. The Patriarch blessed the people with tears in his eyes and praised the Lord: “Blessed is God who removed me! Blessed is He who brought me back! Blessed be God who let the storm come upon me! Blessed is He who removed it!” Then he told everyone gathered that he would talk with them the next day, and now he asks them to give him peace. That same evening, Chrysostom received a second letter from the Empress, in which she wrote: “My prayer was heard and achieved its goal. This is for me a richer decoration than my diadem, and again I returned the high priest to myself, I returned his head to the body, the helmsman to the ship, the groom to the bridal chamber.” The next day the patriarch spoke a word, pouring out his soul before his beloved people. John's triumph was complete. “At this time,” Farrar rightly notes, “the emperor himself was hardly as powerful in his capital as Patriarch John. He immediately, with his usual rigor, began to fulfill the numerous duties of his ministry. The first necessity was to cleanse the clergy from various traitors, and he did this with a firm hand.” A new council, held in Constantinople of 60 bishops, abolished the decisions of the council in Duba. The peace that followed did not last, however. John remained the same fearless fighter for the faith, a righteous man who feared only God, and the Empress remained the same proud, unbridled woman who wanted to rule and enjoy life, not coping with the decrees of the Church. Superstitious and cowardly, she was afraid only of signs; religious outwardly, but in her soul far removed from religion at all, she limited her piety to the performance of rituals alone. With such a difference, a clash between Eudoxia and the patriarch could happen at any moment, and it soon happened, thanks to the insatiable vanity and lust for power of the empress. She wanted a statue erected in her honor in the best square of the city. The obsequious Senate hastened to fulfill her will. The statue was erected on Augustova Square, between the royal palace and the church in Sofia, very close to the church. On the massive foundation, praises of Eudoxia were carved in verse and prose. On the pedestal stood a column, and on it was a silver statue of the empress, who, with her commanding gesture, seemed to threaten the church, the Senate, the people and the entire capital. The opening of the statue took place in a solemn ceremony. The people gathered in huge numbers, and the celebration took place at the very time when the liturgy was being celebrated in the church. Music, the screams of comedians, the roar of the crowd, dances and songs - all this disrupted the service, drowning out not only the words of the shepherd, but also the singing itself. John expressed his displeasure to the prefect. An obsequious servant of Eudoxia and a pagan at heart, the prefect coldly listened to the archbishop. The next day the festivities resumed, and the screams, reaching the point of chaos, again interfered with the church service. John realized that this was being done on purpose. He addressed the people with a speech. “From the height of the pulpit, he thundered against those who took part in these unholy games, against the prefect who arranged them, against the one in whose honor they were celebrated and who, in her pride, allowed the holy place to be desecrated with obscene shouts, as if placing herself above God himself. History testifies that never before has his word been more harsh than now.” By evening the whole city was in commotion. The offended empress decided to take revenge on John. Having not received agreement from Arkady to immediately expel the patriarch, she turned to her supporters for help, and they agreed to convene a new council to try John. The summoned bishops hastened to Constantinople. Most of them consisted of John's enemies. Only a few, including the noble Theodotus of Tyana, immediately returned to their dioceses as soon as they learned that they had been called not for an impartial trial, but for a conspiracy against the patriarch. John was not, of course, against the council. He even desired it. They announced to him: “according to the decrees of the Council of Antioch in 341, a bishop deposed by the council was forbidden to return to the see until he was returned by another council.” John responded to this: “The Council of Pridub was illegal; he violated all church laws, common law, he was composed of supporters of Theophilus. Then, if the Pridub cathedral had been legal, then its decisions were canceled by the sixties bishops, almost double the number of bishops who cast votes under Duba. Thirdly, the patriarch returned, but of his own free will, to the capital, but was returned by his people and, moreover, with the consent of the emperor. And, fourthly, the Council of Antioch itself, which issued the well-known canon, was an Arian council, which means heretical, and its decisions were rejected by the Orthodox Church.” Meanwhile, the time was already approaching Easter. The Patriarch remained in his place; the council did not come to any conclusion! Then the bishops began to insist that the emperor expel John by his own authority, because he would still be condemned. Arkady sent an order to Chrysostom to immediately leave the city. “I cannot do this,” John answered calmly. “I accepted this church from God himself, my Savior, in order to care for the salvation of the people, and I will not leave it.” When the official insisted, he added; “If the emperor wants this, let him force me to do it, for the city belongs to him. Violence will be my justification before Heaven, but I will never leave here voluntarily.” This was conveyed to Arkady. What was left to do? Take away by force? Arkady remembered the earthquake and did not dare. And so he declared that John should not leave his house; the patriarch was subjected to, so to speak, house arrest. Chrysostom obeyed. “But then,” says Thierry, “he felt remorse. Holy Week, during which preparations were made for St. Easter imposed special duties on bishops, especially on Holy Saturday, which in the ancient Church, like the eve of Pentecost, was designated for the baptism of catechumens. The bishop himself usually performed this sanctification of converts to the Christian life, preparing them with instructions throughout the year. Chrysostom knew that more than 3,000 converts must appear on Holy Saturday at the fonts of the archbishop's church in order to receive holy baptism there. As the solemn moment approached, he reproached himself more and more for violating his sacred duty, for running away from his flock, for which a good shepherd should lay down his life, and, finally, for evading evil, in which he brought upon himself evil, perhaps even greater. After mature discussion, he decided to be in his church on Saturday and fulfill the duties of a bishop there. And indeed, on Holy Saturday, in the morning, the archbishop broke his captivity and went to the church, where thousands of converts, sitting under the galleries, awaited the hour of baptism. When he appeared, mass began." This was reported to Arkady, who sent for the bishops. They insisted on leaving and, in order to calm the emperor, told him, like the Jewish high priests who demanded the death of Jesus and Pilate; “Don't be afraid, sir. We take the blame upon ourselves. Let his condemnation be on our heads.” After this, Arkady ordered the patriarch to be taken by force to his premises. There was a service in the church. Baptism took place; Some of the catechumens were already in the font, while others in white robes were waiting for the sacrament of baptism to take place. At that very moment, soldiers burst into the church. They grabbed Chrysostom and dragged him along the corridors to the apartment. “There was a terrible commotion. Rough warriors rushed at those being baptized. Many of them were women, there were quite a few boys and girls, most of them were already undressed, preparing to plunge into the font - and now, frightened by this unexpected attack, they were forced to hastily flee, not even having time to take with them the most necessary clothes. The priests and deacons who performed the sacrament were seized and their sacred garments were torn; many of them were seriously wounded, and the clear water of the font was stained with the terrible color of blood. Meanwhile, the soldiers, indulging in robbery, desecrated the holy altar, and the armor of the legionnaires became stained with wine spilled from the overturned cup of holy communion.” As evening fell, the fleeing believers gathered in public baths to complete the sacrament of baptism and celebrate Easter. Let us convey further in the words of Archimandrite Agapit. “The bishops hostile to Chrysostom, having learned about this, asked the military commander to disperse this meeting. But the commander refused, saying that it was night now, the people were very irritated and confusion might occur. One of the bishops told him: “The churches are empty, and we are afraid that the emperor, coming to the church and not seeing anyone there, would think that the people did not come out of love for John and hatred of us.” - The military leader, yielding to their intense requests, gave them one of his subordinate commanders, a pagan named Lucius, with a detachment of warriors under his command; but, releasing him, he ordered him not to use violence, but to meekly persuade the people to go to church. Lucius went there with the intention of carrying out exactly the orders of the commander and meekly persuaded the people to go to church; but the people did not listen to him. Then the soldiers burst into the middle of the meeting and began to disperse the people, waving their naked swords in all directions. Lucius himself approached the baptismal sanctuary to prevent the sacrament from being performed, and pushed the deacon with such force that he spilled the sacred myrrh. The presbyters, standing in vestments, were beaten and driven out, forgetting about the respect that their dignity and old age inspired; In the baptismal chapel itself, blood was shed again. Women who were preparing to receive baptism, fearing to be killed, fled half-naked from the daring villains; some were badly injured. Screams and screams are heard everywhere; priests and deacons, forcibly expelled, fled in their sacred vestments. The same thing that happened earlier in the church was repeated.” The churches were empty, no one wanted to go there; Many of the faithful went outside the city to perform Easter Matins there, in the field. The emperor, who also went outside the city to one of the churches, noticed a crowd of people in white clothes. “What kind of people are these?” he asked. They answered him: “These are followers of one sect who have gathered here to insult the church.” “Then drive them out,” said the emperor, “and capture their teachers.” And so the mounted soldiers rushed at the defenseless crowd. Horses trampled men, women, children, priests, and soldiers chopped them with swords and robbed the rich of their clothes; soldiers, tearing off women's earrings, tore off part of their ears. Such massacres occurred in many places outside the city. Chrysostom's position became more and more difficult every day. He was imprisoned in his house. His followers and friends, who received the nickname of St. John, were persecuted, arrested on the first denunciation, tortured, and imprisoned. They bravely endured suffering, sang psalms, and if a priest happened to be among them, the service began immediately. Prisons were then, says Palladius, the true churches of God, and churches were places of lawlessness and blasphemy. And John himself was unsafe in his home. One morning, near the patriarchal palace, a man, pretending to be possessed, tried to slip through the gate. He failed; when they grabbed him and began to search him, they found a dagger on him. The crowd took him to the prefect, but Chrysostom, having learned about this, sent to the prefect to ask that this man be pardoned. A few days later, another person made another attempt to get to the patriarch. He was already on the threshold of the hallway when they grabbed him. With a blow of the knife he knocked down the servant. A crowd came running to the screams and grabbed the criminal. He was dragged to the judge. During the search, three sharp knives were found on the villain. He confessed his intention to kill Chrysostom and said that he had received 50 gold pieces in advance from the priest Elpidius. He was put in prison, but he disappeared to an unknown location that same night. This irritated the people. A guard was formed from the people around the patriarchal house, which guarded the archpastor day and night. “We ourselves will protect our father,” the people said, “if the authorities do not care about him and release killers.” John, maintaining calm of spirit, addressed letters to Pope Innocent and to some Western archbishops, because he had nothing to expect from the Eastern bishops. Western bishops sympathized with Chrysostom, surprised at the malice of his enemies, but could not help him in any way. Meanwhile, the enemy continued to take measures to expel him from the city. They finally persuaded Arkady, and he agreed to expel the archbishop. And so, at dawn of a June day, an official of the emperor appeared to John and announced: “Entrust your business to God and leave here without delay.” Chrysostom went to the church to pray there for the last time. Troops gathered and surrounded the Church of St. Sophia. The people also gathered in huge numbers around the church. John, fearing bloodshed, wanted to leave secretly and ordered his horse to be saddled and blanketed and kept ready at the western doors. Seeing the horse, the crowd patiently began to wait for the patriarch to emerge, who meanwhile said goodbye to his friends and devoted bishops. Having kissed two of them and turning away in tears, he said to the others: “I kiss you all in the faces of these. Stay in the holy church so that I can calm down a little before I leave.” Then he went to the baptismal church, where the deaconesses were gathered. Calling them over, he said to them: “Listen to me carefully, my daughters. I feel that it's all over. My path is complete. Perhaps we won't see each other again. Do not violate respect for the Church. Whoever is elevated by common consent to my place, submit to him as to me. Don't forget me in your prayers." The deaconesses rushed to his feet, kissed them, shedding tears. Having said goodbye to everyone, he quickly walked through the church through the eastern doors and surrendered into the hands of the soldiers. They took him to the sea. In order not to be recognized, Chrysostom covered his face with the folds of his clothes. But on the way they still recognized him. A huge crowd of people formed who wanted to free the patriarch. But John made a request to the people not to violate the king’s order. “I submit,” he said, “and I don’t want blood to be shed. This will make me sad." The crowd obeyed, He blessed them and continued on. But blood was still shed. The people waiting at the church guessed that the patriarch had been taken away. Then the entire crowd rushed to the church, guarded by soldiers. The battle began again, in which many casualties fell. The battle was not yet over when a storm arose with a strong thunderstorm. Lightning struck the church of St. Sofia, and the church caught fire. The wind fanned the flames, the fire moved from the church to the senate and turned into a whole sea. Many buildings burned down, and the palace itself barely survived. All that remained of the Great Church was the chapel, in which the sacristy of the patriarch was located. Taking advantage of the fire, John's enemies accused his friends of arson. Persecution and torture began again. Many of Chrysostom's friends died during torture. Olympias was also called to trial; she spoke boldly in court. However, she was not tortured, but only subjected to a large fine and sentenced to exile; but they were not in a hurry to leave, thanks to some connections at court. The brother of the late Nektarios, the elderly Arsakios, was elevated to the patriarchal see. Chrysostom was struck. Eudoxia was triumphant. All this is par for the course on earth, where evil often celebrates its victory over good and sinners rejoice over the death of the righteous. Christ also said: “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you too, and if the world hated Me, then it will hate you too.” And this world hated Chrysostom, achieved his defeat and now temporarily triumphed. The way of the cross began for the suffering patriarch. He was taken to Nicaea. Several people devoted to him also went with him; there were bishops, priests and deacons. Along the road they were overtaken by an officer from Constantinople, sent with an order to arrest Chrysostom's companions. They were suspected of arson. John demanded that he too be arrested and imprisoned with them. But the officer had orders to take only his companions, whom he chained and sent to Chalcedon. John was taken /further. Sending him from Constantinople, Eudoxia ordered the soldiers to treat the “prisoner” as roughly as possible. And at first he was indeed treated cruelly, but the heart of the hardened soldiers still turned out to be more compassionate than the heart of the empress. Chrysostom's guards, seeing his suffering, took pity on him, and this pity later turned into love for him. “During rest, they tried to get him food better than their own and give him several hours of rest. When the suffocating heat caused stomach pains to intensify his suffering to the highest degree, he felt attacks of quadruple fever, for which there was only one remedy - baths; Meanwhile, the convoy was forbidden to stop in cities where a bathhouse could be found. When a severe attack was approaching, John had to use a piece of barrel instead of a bath; the guards helped him on these occasions with touching zeal. The convoy was commanded by two young officers from Constantinople, who, without at all condemning the services of their soldiers, themselves surrounded the exile with respectful care. Their names were Anatoly and Theodore; they had a good surname and good upbringing. Chrysostom mentions them with praise in his letters. Thanks to their tolerance, the prisoner could see the priests who were close to him on the way, who brought him news, and could write and receive letters. All this was a great consolation for a man who could not bear a complete deprivation of freedom.” In the last days of July, Chrysostom arrived in Nicaea, where he was scheduled to stop until the place of his exile was known. Here John rested and recovered from his painful fever. The imperial order was not long in coming. The place of exile for John was the town of Kukuz, in Lesser Armenia. Chrysostom's friends worked hard for him to be settled in Sebast, a large city, where there were conveniences of life and where it was more convenient to communicate with loved ones. Arkady had nothing against this, but Eudoxia continued her revenge to the end and insisted that Chrysostom be exiled to Kukuz. From Nicaea, Chrysostom wrote to Olympias: “Do not worry that my friends could not choose another place of exile for me. Thank God for everything. I will never stop repeating this." From Nicaea, John wrote to his fellow exiles, priests, bishops and deacons, captured on the road and then taken to Constantinople: “I have no doubt at all that your sufferings will even increase your value before God, who will give you even more strength to endure them... The apostles, burdened with chains, always remembered their mission in the depths of the prisons, extending their care to the whole world; your concern will also extend to the suffering of our churches. Take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself to you to realize your zeal and zeal, both through your own strength and through others who have greater freedom of action; neglect nothing, neither in your behavior nor in your words, in order to tame the fierce storm. This zeal will bear good fruit, that is certain; if it were otherwise, God would reward you no less for your intentions and efforts.” In Nicaea, Chrysostom received very disappointing news about Phenicia, where he tried so hard to spread Christianity. There it was again drowned out by paganism, thanks to the inaction of many and the obstacles that were created for the cause immediately, as soon as the patriarch fell under the disgrace of the court. Christian churches were destroyed, missionary monks were driven out, pagan temples were restored. John's heart was excited by this news. The energetic exile decided to resume his missionary enterprise, taking advantage of the days he spent in Nicaea. He convinced the priests with whom he had to talk, and also wrote letters to many, encouraging them to undertake missionary activities. Thus, he wrote to his friend, the priest Constantius, whom he asked to support the cause and find worthy executors of it. In the vicinity of Nicaea, a monk, a man of high life, was fleeing. He did not leave his cell, wanting to die in seclusion, without communicating with the world. Chrysostom decided to elect this hermit as a leader in the fight against paganism. He addressed him with a letter in which he urged him to leave his cell. “Leave your mountains,” wrote Chrysostom, “and leave there your inclination, which cannot serve people. Take the staff and go to Antioch and find the priest Constantius. Enter into an agreement with him to overthrow the idols of Phenicia.” The monk hesitated. Chrysostom's second letter convinced the hermit, and he left his cell, setting off on a missionary feat. Having neither obol nor power, but overcome by heat, Chrysostom acted as a powerful patriarch. His only power was a fiery word; His only power is the charm of his personality, the halo of his righteousness. He promised the missionaries support, and it was found: the wallets of many rich people came to the services of Chrysostom, and he gave all the gold to the fight against paganism. In mid-July, Chrysostom left Nicaea with a convoy to proceed to Kukuz. The road again had a bad influence on Chrysostom. It was hot, the sufferer was tormented by insomnia, which resulted in such a strong fever that he arrived in Caesarea almost half dead. But here he was met with deep sympathy. This is how Chrysostom himself describes in detail to Olympias his stay in Caesarea and his further conclusions, thanks to the machinations of his enemy Faretrius, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. “Do not be upset by what I tell you,” wrote Chrysostom, “on the contrary, rejoice in the Lord. All the sorrows and persecutions that I had to endure from those from whom I could least expect it, give me the opportunity to earn forgiveness of sins; I will say even more: this is my victorious palms, my crowns, my countless riches, my immortal treasure. I was preparing to enter the borders of Cappadocia, but on the road many met me and said that Bishop Faretrius was waiting for me impatiently, looking for me on all paths in order to have the pleasure of embracing Me and showing all the signs of all possible respect and love, and with this intention he sent many monks and nuns to meet me. Knowing well what feelings Faretrius had for me, I was extremely surprised by this; however, he did not express his distrust of the words of those who spoke to anyone. Finally, I reached Caesarea, but I was extremely tired and exhausted to the point of exhaustion by the length of the journey, the unbearable heat of the sun's rays; the unbearable heat of the fever, which had reached its highest stage of development, burned me so much that I experienced the pangs of death. I stopped at the end of the city, hurried to find some help, asked a doctor who could extinguish this furnace that was scorching me, but I could not find it. Finally, God took pity on me; Soon the whole clergy, people, monks, nuns, doctors surrounded me, everyone was in a hurry to help me, everyone tried to provide me with some kind of service. The heat of the fever, which burned me and brought me to extreme exhaustion, finally, with the assistance of doctors and the gratifying participation of those around me, little by little began to subside and weaken. But Faretri did not appear, but was impatiently waiting only for my exit, and I could not understand the reason for this. When I felt that my illness began to pass, I began to think about a further journey to Kukuz. I wanted to arrive there as soon as possible in order to enjoy the necessary rest after the worries and anxieties of my difficult journey. While I was busy with such thoughts, a rumor suddenly spread that armed Isaurians were plundering the outskirts of Caesarea and had already destroyed one important place, consigning everything to fire and sword. The tribune, taking the soldiers he had, left Caesarea to protect it from enemy attacks. All residents were in extreme fear. Young people joined the armed warriors, while the old men remained to guard the walls. The night passed in fear and trembling. However, I was at peace, surrendering in everything to the will of God; but thinking only about the attack of the Isaurians, I did not expect a blow from the opposite side. Imagine my surprise when, at dawn, many monks surrounded my house, shouting with rage and threatening that they would burn it, turn it into ashes and cause all kinds of harm to me if I did not leave the city. In vain they told them about the pitiful state of my disordered health, about the danger of falling into the hands of enemies: nothing could calm them down. My frightened Praetorians ran to me and begged me to leave the city, just to avoid the wrath of these wild beasts, despite the fact that we were in danger of falling into the hands of the Isaurians. When rumors of this reached the governor, he hurried to my apartment, wanting to help me. But his convictions did not move them either; After this, not finding any means to establish peace, he sent to Faretrius and convinced him to give me at least a few days’ time, both for the sake of my illness and for the sake of the surrounding dangers. But his request remained unanswered; the next day the monks began with even greater fury, with greater rage. From that moment on, I no longer saw a single priest. Everyone openly said that this was being done according to the thoughts of Bishop Faretrius, and the bravest of the presbyters disappeared, not daring to visit me anymore: no one later wanted to give me this consolation, despite my humble requests. So, I decided to set off, and although I was convinced that I was going to obvious death, however, at midday I threw myself on a stretcher and left the city. The whole people cried, sobbed, and cursed the culprit of my misfortunes. Everyone was sad and shed tears. Soon after I left the city, some of the clergy came out secretly and walked with me, expressing signs of the most sincere and tender love. I heard some of them talking among themselves about me: “Where are you taking him to obvious death?” But one cleric, who loved me most of all, came up to me and said: “Go, I beg you; If you get caught by the Isaurians, just get rid of us: for wherever you end up, you will be safer everywhere if you only get away from our hands.” Meanwhile, among the many who knew me, there was one noble person, Seleucia, the wife of the minister Rufinus, whom I knew and who had already rendered me many services. Touched by compassion at the sight of the disasters that surrounded me and the dangers that threatened me, she invited me to retire for a while to one of her houses, located in her village, five miles from Caesarea; gave me faithful guides, and I retired there with the soldiers accompanying me. But my misfortunes did not end there; the persecution of enemies pursued me even in this humble solitude. As soon as Faretrius found out about my whereabouts, he began to make terrible threats to this pious wife, who brought me peace. But I knew nothing: Seleucia did not tell me about this; on the contrary, she ordered her servants to take all means to calm me down; I even ordered my steward to gather villagers from other villages in case they came to disturb my peace, and to repel them by force of arms. On the third day after this, Seleucia, caring for my well-being, while I knew nothing, asked me to retire to one of her villages, in which there was a fortified castle, adding that this place would be more decent for my quarters and convenient for peace; but since I did not have a proper understanding of what was happening outside my home, and yet was satisfied with my premises, I refused the offer she made. Meanwhile, my persecutors were not content with their rage against me. Faretrius, with terrible threats, began to demand from Seleucia that she throw me out of her house. This reverent wife, no longer having the strength to resist him, decided to let me go to my fate. But, not daring to reveal this shameful secret to me, as she told me later, she decided to send me away under the pretext of a barbarian raid. At midnight, according to her instructions, Presbyter Eusebius came running to me, woke me up and shouted to me loudly: “Get up, I beg you! The barbarians have begun, they are close here! You, of course, can understand how terrified I was then. At a loss as to what to do, I asked his opinion, and he told me that he advised me to set off rather than return to the city. But it was midnight: impenetrable darkness covered the entire earth; we had no one to help us or show us the way - everyone left us. Tormented by fear, exhausted by illness, completely exhausted, barely alive, I finally stood up and ordered the torches to be lit. But the presbyter extinguished them first, fearing that the barbarians, attracted by the light, would attack us. We set off without lamps along a narrow, rocky, rough road. We had barely gone half a mile when my mule tripped and fell to its knees. The stretcher fell down with me, and I received such a strong blow that I almost died. Somehow I got up and walked, holding on to Presbyter Eusebius; I was dragged because it was impossible to walk in such an uncomfortable place, over these difficult mountains. I cannot tell you all the inconveniences, all the hardships that I had to endure. But thanks be to God for everything that happened. I remember all this and, turning over in my mind all the troubles of the journey, I rejoice as a person possessing enormous wealth, and I beg you to rejoice and glorify God, who has deigned me to endure so much.” Having passed through Bethany, Galatia, and Cappadocia, John arrived in Kukuz in September 404. The road was difficult. John was not without consolation, being met in many places by bishops and people who showed him respect and love. In one place, the ascetics met him with loud crying and exclamation: “It would be better if the sun went out than John’s lips fell silent!” Meanwhile, Pope Innocent, having learned all the details of the case, wrote a letter to Arkady. “The blood of my brother John,” wrote Innocent, “cries out to God against you, sir, as in ancient times the blood of Abel cried out against Cain, and it will be avenged, because during the time of peace you raised a persecution against the Church of God, expelled its true shepherd, expelling at the same time Christ, and handed His flock over to mercenaries.” Arkady was dismissive of this letter, as well as the letter of his brother Honorius, who ruled the western part of the empire. But God's wrath finally began to take its toll, and John's enemies received their retribution. The Empress died in unspeakable suffering, and after her death struck many of her accomplices. One of the bishops, who especially strongly attacked John in the assembly, was killed by falling from his horse; another fell ill with purulent dropsy; the third was eaten alive by worms; the fourth fell ill with malignant erysipelas and died suffering from terrible itching; one of the slanderers was struck by a tumor on his tongue, so that he could not breathe; he left behind a note in which he confessed to his crime. Theophilus went mad and died suddenly from paralysis. Thus the saying was fulfilled: “Those who hate the righteous will perish.” Kukuz was such an insignificant town that it could rather be called a village than a city. It was located in the deep valley of the Taurus and was characterized by an unhealthy climate: after a sultry, suffocating summer, a harsh, windy winter came. In Kukuza, Chrysostom was met with sympathy and love. A wealthy resident, a certain Dioscorus, offered him his house for accommodation, and then the bishop offered him his apartment; the governor also paid attention to the exile. Following them, many citizens who owned neighboring estates showed their cordial affection to Chrysostom, who settled with Dioscorus, because he was the first to offer his shelter. All the landowners vied with each other and offered Chrysostom various things necessary for the establishment; its doors were besieged either by the owners themselves or by their managers. He meekly refused all offers. When it became known that Chrysostom had settled in Kukuza, his fans and friends immediately began to flock there. Antioch did not forget its shepherd, and from this city a mass of people headed to Kukuz. There were lay people and clergy. Soon Chrysostom's aunt (on his father's side), deaconess Sabinian, arrived from Antioch. Her presence was especially valuable for the exile, abandoned far from his female friends in Constantinople, to whose care the patriarch, who was not at all able to take care of himself in terms of home improvement, was accustomed. The coming cold winter locked Chrysostom in a room in which he had to maintain a constant fire. But this did not help, John caught a cold and fell ill. He developed a severe cough, accompanied by bloody vomiting. He lay in bed all day, tightly wrapped. His appetite disappeared and he began to suffer from insomnia. Meanwhile, people of different positions and conditions continued to come to Kukuz, who respected John and wanted to see him. Those who could not come wrote to Chrysostom, who received a lot of letters from all sides. Full of love, these letters were however filled with sad news about the state of the Church and life in the capital. John answered letters by dictating to someone around him, and when he felt better, he wrote himself. He corresponded especially actively with the deaconess Olympias, who lost heart and indulged in deep sorrow. Chrysostom consoled her and supported her cheerfulness with his instructions. “Believe me, dear and venerable wife,” he wrote, “there is only one evil - sin, and there is no other good except virtue, everything else, happiness or misfortune, no matter what it is called, is just smoke, a ghost and a dream. In other words, evil is within us, we produce it, we ourselves create it through our own fall: what is outside of us cannot prevail over us if we remain firm in trusting in the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty. You are embarrassed by the strife that besets us, your friends suffer from them, and you suffer and cry from them. True, the Church is tormented, its leaders have been expelled, wolves have invaded the sheepfold, but what? Has anything like this ever happened in the world? Did not the Church of Christ grow amidst turmoil, and Christ himself was not surrounded by reproach from cradle to grave? And if this is so, then why complain? and what are we, with all our miserable sufferings, when the Son of God and His apostles brought us the truth only in the midst of torment and persecution? Advising Olympias not to give in to despair and to believe in the revival of truth and goodness, Chrysostom writes: “After destruction, death and temptation, order is restored and silence is established, and truth resumes its path. You want to explore the dictates of Providence. Better bow before His law, for: “the depth of God’s intentions, who can comprehend you!” said the apostle." And then Chrysostom explains his thought further: “If we imagine a person who has never seen the sun rise or set, would he not be tempted at the sight of the daylight disappearing from the sky and night covering the earth? He would have thought that God was abandoning him. And the one who saw only spring, would he not be tempted when he saw the onset of winter, this death of nature? He would have thought that God, by renouncing His creation, was abandoning the world He created. And the one who sees how they sow seed into the ground and how this seed rots under the earth and frost, will he not be tempted, asking: why did this seed perish? But later he will see its rebirth in the yellowing fields; another will see the sun rising again in the sky, and spring again replacing winter. These people will later repent of their blindness and bow with reverence to the order established by Providence. So it is in the moral world and in the events of life: it is enough to observe them to soon become convinced with sorrow that such doubt is simply blasphemy.” Olympias objected that through persecution many were being tempted. John objected to her: “Do you think that there were no disciples who were tempted at the sight of the cross? When the enemies took possession of Christ, many were tempted at the sight of His humiliation. Christ is abandoned by his disciples. “If you are the Son of God,” they shouted to Him at the foot of the cross, “then come down and we will believe in You!” But the height of the insult was the robber's preference. “Whom do you want to let go – Christ or Barabbas?” “Barabbas, and crucify Christ!” Has there ever been a more shameful death? Never have all the temptations taken together been able to compare with such a temptation. This is how the truth sent down from heaven received its beginning on earth. She fulfilled the Divine word spoken to her: woe to him who is tempted. Oh, if only my letter, - exclaimed Chrysostom, - could bring you comfort and strengthen your health! I want to shake up these sad ashes that covered you.” And the teacher’s word little by little softened the grief and sorrow of the Olympics. Despite his illness, John continued the work of spreading Orthodoxy. He again sent money to Phenicia to support the missionary monks who began to be in need. He recruited new missionaries and included among them a certain priest Rufinus, who was distinguished by his fearless heart. In the end, John's persistent efforts achieved their goal. Christianity began to gain the upper hand, and several churches were erected. It took, of course, a long time to complete the work, but in the end the whole country became Christian. This happened after Chrysostom, but undoubtedly the conversion of Phenicia to Christianity is inextricably linked with the energetic efforts of the exiled patriarch. In addition, Chrysostom, while in Kukuza, conceived a broad and bold task: to convert Persia to Christianity, and so, as soon as this thought arose in him, he immediately turned to Bishop Marutas, one of those bishops who declared himself his enemy in Duba. But why did Chrysostom turn to him? Thierry gives the following explanation for this: “Persia was not completely closed to attempts at Christian preaching, and (without mentioning the times of the apostles) some success was acquired during the life of Constantine by the courageous initiative of one hermit, named Simeon of Nizib; but the fire worshipers soon gained the upper hand again, and the persecution of Sapor destroyed these beginnings of the Christian faith for half a century. A chance circumstance called them back to life. Emperor Theodosius needed to negotiate with the king of Persia on some matter, and for this he chose a priest from the province of Sophene. He was a simple but shrewd man. Observing the religious life of the Persians, he noticed that the seeds of Christianity were not so dead that they could no longer be resurrected. He entered into the trust of the king and founded a church on the Nymphaeum River. Houses were built around this church and a town called Martyropol was formed. This city elected a priest as its bishop, to whom it owed its foundation. This priest was Marutas.” But Marutas did not respond to Chrysostom’s call, and the patriarch’s desire remained unfulfilled. In captivity, Chrysostom did not forget the Orthodox Goths, for whom he built a church in Constantinople, installed several priests from the Goths, and himself preached several times in their church. Living in Kukuza, Chrysostom was worried about the state of the Gothic church, lived by its interests and helped its organization. Needless to say, he did not leave his Constantinople flock, for whom he had a loving heart. Having learned from letters that the Constantinople presbyters, Sallust and Theophilus, were carelessly preaching in the church, he wrote them a fiery letter of exhortation with the following content: “I learned with extreme regret that you are careless about fulfilling your duties; Since my departure you have not gone to church services and have not preached the word of God; no news in my exile could bring me as much grief as this. Do not upset your friend with laziness, unworthy of the priesthood. Innumerable rewards are assigned for works of pious zeal; but also what punishment should await you for neglect of your duties! How dare you indulge in criminal inaction, while some of the other bishops and presbyters are persecuted, others are expelled, and some are imprisoned in exile? Comfort my saddened soul with your zealous activity. Support this poor mourning people, this persecuted flock of Jesus Christ, and try to earn through your labors the reward that the Master of the House promised to faithful and diligent workers.” Insignificant Kukuz became the center of spiritual life, people flocked here from all sides, and light emanated from here. The exiled patriarch was not a living corpse; he acted and attracted the attention of the entire Orthodox world: not only Eastern, but also Western bishops and the best people were interested in Chrysostom, wrote to him and sharply condemned the actions of his enemies. These latter became even more embittered, alarmed by this state of affairs. They exclaimed: “All Antioch is in Kukuza! This dead guy is getting dangerous!” He seemed especially dangerous to them at the moment when Arsakios died. They were afraid that Arkady, having lost his wife and her influence, who in his soul respected the archbishop, might remember him and, succumbing to the admonitions of his friends, would want to return him to the capital. Low in soul, they judged Chrysostom by themselves and were afraid of his vengeance. They used all means and managed to influence the weak-willed Arkady so much that he agreed to transfer Chrysostom from Kukuz to Piount - a dilapidated town lying on the shores of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus, on the far borders of the empire. An order was given to immediately take Chrysostom and send him to a new place of exile, and a secret order was given to treat John on the road without any compassion, without giving him rest. Officers who were not favorable to Chrysostom were sent on purpose, and at the same time they were promised a promotion in rank if they turned out to be zealous executors of the order. They carried out the order with precision. They deliberately increased the prisoner's suffering. “Whether it was raining like buckets, they chose exactly this time to set off on their journey, and continued until the exile’s clothes were wet, and streams flowed down his chest and back. Whether they drove out into some burnt plain under a cloudless sky, they led the prisoner with his naked head through the sun into the very depths of the heat. Chrysostom's head was deprived of hair, and this torment was fatal for him. If they happened to pass through a city where an exile could rest and take a bath, which he needed because the fever was burning his insides, the escort refused to allow him to stop; halts were made in insignificant villages or in deserts, where no help could be obtained. The chief became furious when the residents he met felt sorry for the exile and addressed him with a few consoling words.” Three months passed, says Palladius, as the prisoner and the convoy moved in this way through the mountains, valleys, and reached Koman. John’s face, according to the same Palladius, was as if burned, his head bowed on his chest. Chrysostom's strength completely fell; he could not walk, but the soldiers roughly pulled him forward. They reached the Church of St. The basilisk in which the relics of this martyr rested. Here the guards took some pity on Chrysostom and allowed him to spend the night in the priest’s house. At night, the martyr Basilisk appeared to Chrysostom in a dream and said: “Do not be discouraged, brother John. Take heart: tomorrow we will be together.” In vain the next morning the patriarch asked the guards to leave him in the priest’s house until noon. The soldiers roughly pulled him forward. But after walking several miles, he was completely exhausted. He had a severe attack of fever, and he could not take a single step further. I had to go back. Chrysostom was picked up and carried to the church. Here he asked the priest to give him clean white clothes. Having clothed himself with them, he received St. communion from the hands of the priest, prayed and said: “Glory to God for everything!” He crossed himself, lay down on the slabs of the church, stretched out to the full length of his body and went to God, Whom he served, Whom alone he feared and for whose Church he suffered. This happened on September 14, 407; John was 60 years old. 3 The news of Chrysostom's death quickly spread throughout the surrounding area. Many people gathered for his burial. Many priests, deaconesses, hermits and laymen came to pay their last respects to the patriarch. The suffering patriarch was buried with triumph in the church of St. Basilisk, next to his relics. When the sad news reached Constantinople, the people greeted it with tears and sobs. Nine months after the death of Chrysostom, Arkady died, and Theodosius ascended the throne. Chrysostom's life's journey ended. His beloved deaconess Olympias was amazed at the death of her teacher, but at the same time she seemed to be comforted by the thought that his martyrdom was over, and he had now found his peace in the kingdom of Christ. The inextricable friendship of Olympias with Chrysostom obliges us to complete the story of this noble woman. She left the capital, moved from exile to exile, and then settled in Nicomedia. Here she was visited by her friends, who were friends of Chrysostom, and showed her deep respect. Palladius says that she continued the same life, wearing simple clothes, exhausting her body and doing good to the poor as best she could, because her material means had become very small. Her house was like a church, because only prayers were heard in it. She faded away into the wilderness, forgotten by the courtyard. Before her death, she told the bishop that her ashes should be placed in a coffin and thrown into the sea: “God will make sure that I am not left without a burial,” she added. Her will was done. The sea carried her coffin along its waves for a long time and finally washed ashore in a place called Brokhti, near Constantinople, but on the opposite side. Residents of the town came running to meet them, removed the coffin from the water and placed it in the church of St. Thomas. In 618, Patriarch Sergius transferred the incorrupt body of Olympias to the capital and laid it in the convent she founded during the years of Chrysostom’s patriarchate. Thirty years have passed. On the imperial throne sat the son of Arkady Theodosius the second, the same one who, as a child, was placed by his mother on the knees of the patriarch in the altar. The Patriarch of Constantinople was now Proclus, one of Chrysostom’s most devoted friends. Sacredly preserving the memory of the ruler, Proclus constantly spoke to the people about him, about his life and deeds. And so in 137, on the day of John’s memory, Proclus pronounced a word of praise to Chrysostom and among other things said the following: “Oh, John! Your life was difficult, but your death is glorious, your tomb is blessed, and your reward is abundant according to the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. O grace that overcomes limit, place and time! Love conquered the place, the limit was destroyed by unforgettable memory, and the miracles of the saint were not limited to the place. He lies in Pontus, and is praised throughout the world! The people interrupted the patriarch’s speech with shouts: “We demand that John be returned to us! We want our father's body!" The Patriarch conveyed this desire to the Emperor. Theodosius, thanks to the care of his elder sister, who was raised in love for Chrysostom, revered his memory. He immediately agreed to the requests of the people and, wanting to transfer the relics with triumph, he sent an embassy to Comana, consisting of the highest state dignitaries. Those sent began to open the grave. They opened it, but, says the legend, despite all possible efforts, they could not move the coffin from its place. They reported this to Theodosius, who immediately called the patriarch to consult with him. The Patriarch expressed the opinion that Theodosius should ask the saint, expelled with dishonor by Arcadius and Eudoxia, to return to Constantinople. The emperor wrote a letter to Chrysostom, as if alive, and in this letter he begged John to return to his flock, to forget all the insults inflicted on him by the emperor’s parents. As soon as, the legend continues, this letter was placed on St. Percy. exile and performed prayer, as the tomb was lifted without difficulty. The priests lifted the coffin with the relics of the saint onto their shoulders and, accompanied by dignitaries and people, set off on their journey. The news of the transfer of the relics spread throughout the empire. Elders, hermits and laity of all ages and conditions flocked to the road along which the procession was moving, joined it and moved on, carrying lighted torches in their hands and singing psalms and hymns. The imperial trireme, magnificently decorated, was waiting in Chalcedon and received the remains of Chrysostom. The whole city came out to meet him: the emperor, the senate, military and civil officials and the mass of the people. The sea was covered with many ships and boats, so that, in a picture expression, “the sea from the mouth of the Pontus Euxine to the Propontis seemed like dry land.” Then the relics were transferred from the imperial ship to the royal chariot and taken to the church of St. apostles The people cried with joy. The Emperor and his sister knelt. Theodosius, having taken off all the signs of royal dignity, approached the sacred tomb, covered it with his purple and turned to the saint with a prayer, interceding with him on behalf of his father and mother, who had done him a lot of evil. When the emperor departed from the tomb, Proclus placed it in the patriarchal place, and the people exclaimed: “Holy Father! Take your former throne again!” Chrysostom’s lips opened, says the legend, and said out loud: “Peace be with you!” 4. After some time, the Orthodox Church canonized John Chrysostom and honors his memory with the following hymns: “Thou hast received Divine grace from heaven, and through thy lips taught us all to worship the One God in the Trinity, John Chrysostom, all-given, reverend, we worthily praise thee; You are a mentor, as if you are the Divine.” (Kondak.) “Thy lips are like the light of fire, shining grace, enlighten the universe; not the love of money and the treasures of the world, showing us the height of humility; but punishing with your words, Father John Chrysostom, pray to the Words of Christ God, that our souls may be saved.” (Troparion.) Life of St. John Chrysostom and his activities are before the eyes of readers. Despite all my efforts, of course, I missed a lot and could not help but miss it, but even under these conditions the picture came out bright and strong - not in terms of the presentation, which depended on me, but in the very richness of the content. With this content in mind and wanting to present the image of Chrysostom as clearly as possible, his activity as clearly as possible, I illustrated my story with the words of Chrysostom himself, so precious in depicting his religious ideal, and used those passages from sources that are so eloquent and powerful that any transfer of them would only harm the goal. Anyone who reads the essay carefully will be filled with reverence for the great fighter for the faith, who knew no fear when it came to the Church, who did not understand flattery to gain personal benefits, for he only thought about one thing, how to fulfill his duty to Christ. And he walked steadily on his thorny path, ending it with “martyrdom without shedding blood.” Preacher of mercy, love, St. John Chrysostom appears before us as a whole person, whose word comes from the heart. The truly apostolic Church was always his ideal. He put his ideal into practice and reached such a height that in him we have a model for shepherds. He, according to Pusha’s correct definition, possessed those qualities that were wonderfully united in the Divine Teacher, that is, the zeal of daring people who delighted heaven, and the holy meekness of the humble. Humble when it came to himself, Chrysostom became bold to the point of denying all fear if he fought for Christ's truth. He did not change this struggle either during the years of power or in exile, where, deprived of all power, he retained it within himself. Strong in spirit, he remained a fighter in exile, lifted a heavy burden on his shoulders and, with the power of his spirit, conquered others, forcing them to serve God. His word burned like fire and stirred hearts. And this word, which passed from the lips of Chrysostom onto paper and has been preserved to this day, has not lost its power. It is impossible to determine with certainty how much he wrote. Much has disappeared forever, but enough is what has survived and become the property of the entire Christian world. As a teacher of morality, he remained a teacher for everyone even now, and only crazy people can reject this, those crazy people who seek light in false knowledge, forgetting that the true light is the light of Divine teaching: “In Your light we will see light.” Chrysostom carried this light everywhere. With this light he enlightened all lands and peoples. Chrysostom longed for one thing, for the love of God to penetrate into all hearts, and he said: “Whoever is inflamed with love for God no longer wants to look at objects that are subject to bodily vision, but, having other eyes, the eyes of faith, constantly directs his mind to heavenly objects, contemplates them and, walking on earth, does everything as if he lived in heaven, not encountering any human obstacles to the exploits of virtue.” Whoever wants to get acquainted with the thoughts of Chrysostom in detail, his creations are open to him. But on the first day of Easter, after Matins, in all churches the priest addresses the believers with the words of Chrysostom. It is as if the great patriarch himself is again talking with the flock, teaching whom it was such a pleasure for him, such a heartfelt need. Yes, this is what Chrysostom himself says, for this is his bright and ardent language, his burning verbs: “Whoever is pious and God-loving will enjoy this good and bright celebration! If anyone is a prudent servant, let him enter rejoicing into the joy of his Lord! If anyone has labored by fasting, let him now receive a denarius. If anyone did anything to eat the first hour, let him accept his righteous duty today. If anyone comes after the third hour, let him celebrate with thanks. If anyone has reached the sixth hour, he will doubt nothing, for he will gain nothing. If anyone has lost even the ninth hour, let him approach without hesitation, without fear. If anyone has reached the point even at the eleventh hour, let him not be afraid of delay: the godly Master is loving and accepts the last as he did the first; He gives rest at the eleventh hour to him who has come, as he did from the first hour. He has mercy on the last and pleases the first; and to this he gives, and to this he bestows; He accepts deeds and kisses intentions; He honors the deed and praises the proposal. Therefore, let all of you enter into the joy of your Lord! accept both the first and the second bribe, the rich and the poor rejoice with each other; Honor the day of abstinence and laziness; those who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice today! The meal is complete, enjoy it all; a well-fed calf, let no one come forth hungry: you all will enjoy the feast of faith, you all will receive the riches of goodness! Let no one weep in misery, for the common kingdom has appeared; Let no one weep for sins, for forgiveness has risen from the grave; Let no one fear death, for the death of Savior will set us free. Extinguish those who are kept from her; captivity of hell, descended into hell; grieve him, having tasted His flesh. And Isaiah, when he was undertaking this, cried out: hell, he says, grieve, let thee be damned. Be grieved, for you have been undone; be upset, for you have been insulted; Be grieved, for you have died; Be grieved, for you have been cast down; be upset, for you are connected. Accept the body and admire it to God; accept the earth and wipe out the sky; it is acceptable to see more, and to fall into darkness when one does not see. Where is your sting, death? Where the hell is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are cast down; Christ is risen, and the demons have fallen; Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice; Christ is risen, and life abides; Christ is risen, and not one of the dead is in the tomb: for Christ, having risen from the dead, has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. To him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen". Amen, we repeat, together with Saint John Chrysostom, who offers Christians a spiritual meal on his own behalf, so that everyone can be satisfied with it. Sources and aids for writing an essay 1) The work of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. St. Petersburg, 1895. Ed. St. Petersburg spirit. academy. 2) A collection of teachings selected from the works of St. our father John Chrysostom by Stefan Deryabin. 1896 3) Lives of saints revered by the Orthodox Church, comp. Reverend Filaret (Gumilevsky), Archbishop. Chernigov 1892 4) Life and works of St. John Chrysostom. Article by A. Lopukhin (collected in the first volume, the works of John Chrysostom). 5) Life of St. John Chrysostom, arch. of Constantinople, and his pastoral activity, op. archim. Agapita. 1874 6) St. John Chrysostom. Comp. Hieromonk Theodosius. 1897 7) St. John Chrysostom with the rank of reader and presbyter. (Proceedings of the Kiev Theological Academy, 1890–92). 8) St. John Chrysostom and Empress Eudoxia. Op. Amedee Thierry. Translation from French. 1884 9) Life and works of St. fathers and teachers of the Church. Essays on Church History by F. Farrar. Translation from English by A. Lopukhin. 1891 10) The power of darkness in the kingdom of light. A story from the book of John Chrysostom. Op. F. Farrar. Per. Lopukhina. 1897 11) St. John Chrysostom and the customs of his time. Eme Pusha. Per. from French A. Izmailov. 1897 12) History of the Orthodox Church before the beginning of the division of churches. St. Petersburg 1895 13) Ecumenical teacher St. John Chrysostom. Compiled by priest Alexey Mirolyubov. 1899 14) Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church. Filaret (Gumilevsky). St. Petersburg 1882 15) Lives of Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. Prot. Debolsky. 16) Tableau de l’eloquence chretienne au IV siècle, par M. Villemain. Paris, 1855 (Saint Jean Chrysostome, pp. 149–211). Due to frequent military expeditions against the Persians, emperors lived in Antioch for a long time. At this time, Aneusa's mother was no longer alive. “For the sake of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Life-Giving Cross, the Church celebrates the day of the death of John Chrysostom instead of September 14. “November 13, and the transfer of the relics on that very day: January 27.” (Bishop Filaret Gumilevsky: “Lives of the Saints revered by the Orthodox Church.”) “Now the relics of St. John Chrysostom rests in Rome, to which they were transferred during the destruction of Constantinople by the Latins.” (Jer. Theodosius: “John Chrysostom.”)