My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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ON NOVEMBER 15th OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN CHURCH COMMEMORATES THE FEAST OF OUR HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE (Part II)
The blessed one was elevated to the Patriarchal throne in the year 398 A.D., on the 26th of February. The Emperor and all his princes and nobles went to receive the blessing of the newly-consecrated Patriarch, who prayed for the ruler and the people, blessing them all. The Saint then gave a most edifying homily, exhorting the Emperor to adhere firmly to the Orthodox Christian faith, to shun heretics, to attend the divine services of the Church frequently, and to govern in a righteous and compassionate manner. "May Your Piety know," he said, "that I shall not fail to reprove and correct you when necessary, even as the Prophet Nathan did not hesitate to upbraid King David for his transgressions."
Saint John likewise admonished all the spiritual and secular authorities and their subordinates to fulfill their duties in an honorable way.
The most holy Patriarch John assumed the administration of the Church and began to shepherd Christ's rational flock. He zealously sought to root out evil habits from among those of every station in life but especially among the clergy, striving to do away with incontinence, envy, injustice, and other unseemly deeds. Everywhere he sowed seeds of chastity, love, justice, and mercy, and with the eloquent tongue exhorted all to repent. He had great concern for the salvation of the souls of men, and this care did not end with the inhabitants of the Imperial City of Constantinople but extended to the surrounding cities and other lands. He sent out tried and God-fearing members of his clergy, holy men, to preach the word of God, to confirm the people in Orthodoxy, to do away with impiety and heresy, and to guide the erring back to the path of salvation.
The Saint also had great compassion for the poor and the sick, and he saw that the hungry were fed, the naked clothed, and orphans and widows cared for at the Church's expense. Many were the hospitals that the blessed one erected, where the ailing and strangers could lay their heads. They were given whatever they needed and had servants and physicians to watch over them. Moreover, two God-fearing priests were appointed to care for their spiritual needs.
Saint John guided the Church diligently, strengthening the good in a spirit of love and chastising the wicked. Because of this, he was loved greatly by the virtuous but hated by the evil. He was especially detested by certain of his clergymen whom he condemned for their wicked deeds and excommunicated.
He was especially quick to denounce with his eloquent tongue that sharp sword of the Word of God, he sins of avarice and greed which were rooted in the hearts of the powerful an wealthy, for the mighty were accustomed to defraud the weak and were ever ready to take the possessions they were censured by their consciences but were hardened, and they could endure to hear Saint John's words, harboring as they did much malice against him. They plotted to do him evil and began to spread false rumors about him. The Empress Evdoxia (Eudoxia) became especially angry with him, because she interpreted all that Saint Chrysostom said in his sermons concerning the avaricious and the unjust as pertaining to her. She assumed that his words were intended to reproach or condemn her alone, as she was consumed with an insatiable passion for wealth and had taken the possessions of many by force. Whenever Saint John spoke of avarice as the root of all evil, threatening with God's judgment those who defrauded others, her conscience condemned her, and the Empress laid plans to remove him from the Patriarchal throne.
The Empress continued to resent the blessed John, and day by day the wrath and malice in her heart against God's righteous and guileless favorite grew greater. A short time after this, the Empress sent her servants to Saint John with a message intended both to flatter and to threaten him. It read: "Cease your opposition to us, and do not interfere in matters of state, for we do not concern ourselves with the affairs of the Church but rather permit you to deal with them according to your own judgment. Cease to denounce me and to present me as an example of an evildoer when you speak in church. Until now, I have regarded you as a father and have accorded you due respect, but know that if you do not correct yourself from this time forth and begin to treat me as you ought, I shall suffer you no longer."
When Saint John heard the Empress' message, he was grieved and sighing deeply, told the servants, "The Empress desires that I should be like a corpse, which sees no evil and neither hears the voices of the wronged, their weeping and sighs, nor says anything to accuse those who sin. But since I am a bishop the care of souls has been entrusted to me, I must watch over all with a never-sleeping eye and hear the petitions of all, instructing and upbraiding those who do not wish to repent...In my sermons I do not denounce the iniquitous, but iniquity. I have not spoken directly concerning anyone in particular, nor have I ridiculed anyone, nor have I made mention of the Empress' name to reproach her...If the Empress is not aware that she has committed some evil or offended someone, why is she angry with me for teaching the people to turn away from all unrighteousness? "...But if she is guilty of the sins which I seek to uproot from the hearts of men by my words of instruction, then let her know that it is not I who condemn her and that I have no desire to besmirch her honor. Her own works serve as her condemnation, bringing upon her soul great dishonor. Let the Empress rage if she so wishes, but I will not cease to speak the truth. It is better for me to please God than man, "for if I yet pleased men, I should not be a servant of Christ" (Galatians, Chapter 1).
After the Saint had said this and much else to the messengers, he dismissed them. They returned to the Empress Evdoxia and told her everything they had heard, but the Empress became still angrier with the blessed John and began to hate him greatly.
The Empress was not alone in her enmity toward the Saint. There were many others who lived in a sinful manner and without repentance who counted themselves the enemies of the blessed one. (Source: The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints)
(To be continued)
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George