John of the golden mouth

Front matter

Google to make the world's books discoverable online.

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books

Preface

COMPELLED by the state of his health to retire for a couple of years to a quiet country-house, where he was subject to fewer interruptions than usual, the writer of the following pages was led to renew his acquaintance with a branch of study which has always possessed special attractions for him, and to which he has at different periods of his life paid some attention — namely, the History of the Early Church.

Among the crowd of ' mighty men, and men of renown,' who came before him in the course of his reading, the man whose character awoke the deepest interest in his mind was John of the 'Golden Mouth,' the famous preacher of the patristic age, and prohafcly the greatest pulpit orator who has appeared since the days of the apostles. There is certainly no other whose career is so remarkable, or whose fame has continued so fresh. While nearly all *the burning and shining lights ' of these remote times are reduced to mere specks, resembling the brilliant dust of the milky way, it may be said of him, that

* His soul was like a star, and dwelt apart.*

Finding that there was no single volume in our language which contained anything like a complete or satisfactory account of this illustrious Father, and feeling at the same time that his life, otherwise so fviW o^ t i

• • vi Preface.

' moving accidents ' and memorable events, reflected, as in a luminous mirror, all the lights and shadows which 'marked so portentously the last days of the Roman * world, the author was impelled — rashly perhaps, but yet irresistibly — to begin the work which he now ventures to offer to the public. Whatever its merits or defects may be, he cannot say that it is an offering

^ which has ' cost him nothing,* as it has occupied, in one way or another, all the spare time at his disposal for several years.

Having thus resolved to make the attempt, there was one painful but powerful consideration which helped to

. confirm him in the resolution to which he came : it is the use made by certain parties of the authority of the Fathers for the purpose of * unprotestantizing,' as they call it, the Evangelical Churches of this kingdom, and that Church in particular at whose altar many of them are still serving, and whose bread they are not ashamed to eat — the ' Reformed Church of England.' Regretting the existence of those ecclesiasical ties by which the old alliance between Rome and Canterbury is kept up, the author is yet very sensible of the invaluable services which the English Church has rendered to the cause of Christ in these Islands — the varied and splendid contributions she has made to the Christian literature of Europe, as well as the noble army of martyrs, confessors, and faithful labourers she has trained for service at home, or sent forth to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

But while expressing frankly what he holds to be wrong and unscriptural in the case of other Churches, he is far from imagining that all is right with that Church

. to which he himself belongs. While he did not grudge to pay his share of the ransom at which her freedom was bought, and while he has sacrificed as much as any, and more perhaps than most, for his attachment to her prin-

Preface. ^ vii

ciples, he is not blind to those blemishes by which her inner life has always been more or less disturbed, and her influence for good diminished No intelligent reado" of these pages can fail to perceive the lessons and allusions which apply to her as well as to other bodies similarly constituted. If the councils of the early Church — ^the cabals of the bishops, the intrigues of the rulers, the trivial contentions and mutual recriminations of the sects — if these historical warnings are overlooked by the members of our religious communities, then all the author can say is, * Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird/

The author is hopeful that this work may be welcome, not only to the intelligent laity in general, but to all aspirants to the holy ministry in particular. He has sought truly to record the life of a man who was the foremost preacher of his day, and the secret of whose strength it is supposed they will wish to learn; that they may mark those rare gifts which met in him, and conspired to make him not only the most eloquent instructor of his own time, but a guiding load-star to all after ages. Robertson of Brighton has said very justly, that 'high thoughts, and aims, and feelings are caught by contact with the loftiest minds, far more than by any didactic discourses.* The author believes that hardly any one can peruse the biography of this incomparable Father — can read his passionate and powerful utterances — can witness his stedfast faith amid all the changes of fortune — without having his ' thoughts, and aims, and feelings ' raised to higher ends and finer issues than before.

It only remains to add, that the writer is indebted for much kind assistance, in the way of extracts, suggestions, and new translations, to the Rev. Alexander Davidson, of Cleator, Cumberland, and the Rev. Harry Nicoll, of Auchendoir, Aberdeenshire, — the first, one of the ripest viii Preface.

scholars, and the second, one of the most learned and accomplished country ministers, in the kingdom. Besides these, there is yet another — a very old and very dear friend — ^to whom he can apply the words of Paul concerning Timothy, that ' as a son with the father he has served with him ' in this case ; not only going over all the proof-sheets and furnishing many valuable notes, but completing and crowning the volume by his very striking chapter on Chrysostom as a Christian orator, — the Rev. David Neilson, Free Church, Renfrew.

THE AUTHOR.

Torquay, Devon, 2^h March 1871.

I. The Angel Of The House

The apostles — Their successors inferior to them intellectually and spiritually — ^The appearance of more distinguished Fathers — Chrysostom*s position among them — The great preacher of the early Church — His parentage — His widowed mother — Her character — Notices of some of the Christian females of the fourth century — Monica, Nonna, Emmelia — Their influence in favour of Christianity — The exclamation of Libanius : * See what wives these Christians have !' i

II. Schools Of The Rhetoricians

Chrysostom designed for the bar — ^Trained by Libanius the Sophist — Character of Libanius — The high estimation in which he was held by the Emperors and statesmen of the time — Branches taught by the rhetoricians — Their special attention to the art of public speaking — Neglect of this in our modem systems of ecclesiastical training, with its influence on the cause of religion and the state of the Church, 14

in.

LIFE IN THE DESERT.

Chrysostom, under spiritual concern, quits the bar and withdraws to the desert — Monks of Antioch, their character, habits, and manner of living — ^The veneration with which they were regarded — ^John of Lycopolis — Their supposed prophetic powers — Way of accounting

Contents

for their foresight — Edict against them by the Emperor Valens — Chrysostom's first work in their justification — Theodoras — Defence of Monachism by Chateaubriand and Montalembert — Their arguments examined, 25

IV. Student Of The Wilderness

Chrysostom's studies — His carefiil examination of the Scriptures — The benefit he derived from this — Its effect on his ministry afterwards — His exegetical training under Diodorus — School of Antioch — Its distinctive characteristics — Importance attached by the Fathers to the study of the Scriptures — Picture of Chrysostom and his friend Theodoras going in from the desert to attend the Bible class at Antioch — No theological seminaries at this period — School of Alexandria, 41

V. The Gate Of The East

Chrysostom's illness and return to the city — Description of Antioch — One of the three great capitals of the East — Its geographical position — Local situation — Architectural features — Crowned female. Daphne, etc. — Inhabitants, a mixture of Greeks and Jews — Its early connection with the Apostolic Church — Headquarters of Gentile Missions — Notorious for its luxury and social corraptions — Chrysostom's altered character and views — Appointment to the office of deacon — Treatises on Contrition and the Priesthood — His elevation to the rank of presbyter — First public sermon at Antioch, 52

VI. The Old Church Of Antioch

Its name, site, and general aspect — ^No decorations and no images — Manner in which divine service was conducted up to this period — Ex{empore prayers — People standing — Congregational choirs and vocal music — Complaints of the introduction of a theatrical style of singing — Times and seasons of public worship— Applauding the preachers — Practice borrowed firom the schools of the rhetoricians — Chrysostom's disapproval of it — His arduous labours as the chief preacher of the city, 66

Contents. xi

VII. The Religion Of The Gold Ring

Christ anointed to preach the gospel to the poor — ^Was the first who devoted His ministry to that class — Appreciated by them, while rejected by the priests and rulers — Those who resisted Christianity and adhered to paganism longest were the Roman aristocracy — The main cause, their being educated in the schools of the Sophists — Distinguished exceptions to this rule — Emperors, statesmen, and leading nobles, members of the Church — Chrysostom*s chief difficulty arose from the influence of the pagan aristocracy on the upper class of professed Christians — The * last days' of the Roman world, 77

VIII. Pastoral Difficulties

Work of preaching — Congregational rivalries — Two recognised bishops at Antioch — Chrysostom's efforts to heal existing divisions — His controversies with the Eunomians, Protopaschites, and Pagans — Remonstrances with the formalists — His pulpit preparations — Impromptu addresses — ^Their effect — Highest efforts of oratorical genius lost to the world, 88

IX. Insurrection At Antioch

Oppressive act of the Government — Rising of the people — Statues of the Imperial Family pulled down and dragged through the streets — Antioch in the hands of the mob — Insurrection quelled — Panic and flight of the principal inhabitants — Chr3rsostom's premonitions of danger — His exhortations to restrain and punish blasphemers — Flavian sent to intercede with the Emperor — Public executions — Interposition of the monks — Their courage, independence, and great public influence at this period, 102

X. The City Preacher

Success of Flavian's mission — Spirit and speech of Theodosius — Great rejoicings at Antioch — Public meetings at the Church — Chrysostom's position at this time — His daily addresses — Influence of xii Contents.

trouble on the state of the inhabitants — Chrysostom*s services as a guide and comforter — How such services are generally appreciated — Homilies on the statues, Ii8

XL

RURAL BISHOPS OF SYRIA.

Chrysostom's sickness — Services conducted by the bishop in commemoration of the martyrs — Chrysostom's views on the subject of saints* -days — Gibbon's account of the origin and growth of relic -worship — Rural bishops — Their social and ecclesiastical standing — Prelatical episcopacy, how introduced — Jerome's opinion on the subject, and the views of the leading Fathers — The manner in which the teaching elders were deprived of the right of ordination, and subjected to the authority of the metropolitan bishops, 135

XII. Call To Constantinople

How Chrysostom laboured at Antioch — The estimation in which he was held — The general effect of his character and ministry there — His appointment to the imperial see of Constantinople — ^The state of the diocese — His immediate predecessors — Gregory of Nazianzen — His labours, writings, and personal qualities — Church leaders — Council of Constantinople — Gregory deprived of his office — Succeeded by Nectarius, a senator of the city, who had to be baptized in order to qualify him for entering on the episcopal office, . . .154

XIII. City And Court Of Byzantium

Description of Constantinople — Its situation, architectural features, public monuments, institutions, and inhabitants — Court of Arcadius — His marriage to Eudoxia — Her birth, education, early character — Rufinus and Eutropius — The origin, ambition, and extraordinary career of the latter — Influence over the Emperor — Sale of Government offices to the highest bidder — Beggar on horseback — Statement of the poet Claudian, . . . .172

XIV. The Faithful Ambassador

Chrysostom's prospects — ^Theophilus of Alexandria appointed to officiate at his installation — Refuses till compelled by Eutropius —

Contents. xiii

The bishop's style of teachmg — Example m parable of the talents — Human learning depreciated by monks and sacerdotalists — Mass-priests and extemporized bishops — Chrjrsostom's faith in the Scriptures the source of his freedom from priestly errors, and the secret of his success as a preacher, 1 86

XV

Our Lord's relation to the world — Warnings to, and by. His disciples regarding this point — * All that is in the world ' — Pentecostal Church — Views of the ascetics — Chrysostom's mode of life at Constantinople — False position, and difficulties arising therefrom — Milton's views on that subject — Offence taken by wandering bishops at Chr3rsostom's style of living, and alleged want of hospitality — Explanatory note, 200

XVI. Troubled Waters

Relations with the society of the metropolis — Chrysostom's actions more guarded than his words — Scandals and depositions among his clergy — Charges brought by Eusebius against the Bishop of Ephesus — Investigation, with deposition of Eusebius — Death of Antoninus — Competition for the vacant see — Chrysostom sent for to restore order — Case of Eusebius re-opened, his charges proved, and six bishops deprived for simony — Archbishop returns tlirough Nicomedia — Deposes Gerontius — Novatians, their views, and controversies concerning them — Sisinnius and the other sectaries joining Chrysostom's enemies — The gross bribery which prevailed in the 'Church Primitive and Catholic' — Milton's statements r^[arding the condition of the Church and the cause of its corruptions ; with his quotations from Dante, Petrarch, and Ariosto, . 215