[Rank] S. Joannis Chrysostomi Episcopi Confessoris Ecclaesiae Doctoris;;Duplex;;3;;vide C4a [Name] John Chrysostom [Rule] vide C4a;mtv 9 lectiones [Oratio] May heavenly grace, we beseech thee, O Lord, prosper thy Church, which thou~ mercifully enlightened by the blessed virtues and teachings of glorious and~ blessed John Chrysostom, thy Confessor and Bishop. $Per Dominum [Lectio4] John of Antioch, who, on account of the golden stream of his eloquence, is~ called by the Greeks Chrysostomos, or, the golden-mouthed, was a lawyer and man~ of the world of much eminence, before he turned his great intellect and~ wonderful industry to the study of things sacred. He took orders, and was~ ordained a priest of the Church of Antioch, (in the year of our Lord 386,) and~ after the death of Nectarius, was forced by the Emperor Arcadius to accept,~ though sorely against his own will, the Archbishopric of Constantinople. Having~ received the burden of a shepherd's office, (upon the 26th day of February,) in~ the year 398, he set himself zealously to do his duty, struggling against the~ degradation of public morality and the loose lives of the nobility, and thereby~ drew upon himself the ill-will of many enemies, especially the Empress Eudoxia,~ whom he had rebuked on account of the money of the widow Callitropa, and the~ land of another widow. [Lectio5] Come Bishops being assembled in a Council at Chalcedon, which Council~ the Saint held to be neither lawful, nor public, although he was commanded to go~ there, he refused. Whereupon Eudoxia, striving earnestly against him, caused him~ to be sent into exile. Soon after, however, the people of the city rose, and~ demanded his recall, and he was then brought back again amid great public~ rejoicings. Nevertheless he ceased not to war against vice, and absolutely~ forbade the celebration of public games round the silver statue of Eudoxia in~ the square outside the Church of the Eternal Wisdom. Upon this, a party of~ Bishops, who were enemies to him, banded together, and obtained that he should~ be banished again, which was done accordingly, (on the 20th day of June, 404,)~ amid the lamentations of widows and the poor, who felt as if they were being~ deprived of a common father. During this exile, it almost passeth belief how~ much Chrysostom suffered, and how many souls he turned to the faith which is in~ Christ Jesus. [Lectio6] At this time a Council was assembled at Rome, wherein Chrysostom's restoration~ to his See was decreed by Pope Innocent I., but meanwhile, he was suffering~ great hardships and cruelties on his journey at the hands of the soldiers who~ had him in charge. As he passed through Armenia he prayed in the Church of the~ holy martyr Basiliscus, and the same night that blessed conqueror appeared to~ him in a vision and said Brother John, to-morrow thou shalt be with me. On~ the next day, therefore, he received the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and, arming~ himself with the sign of the cross, resigned his soul to God, it being the 14th~ of September, (in the year of salvation, 407.) As soon as he was dead a furious~ hailstorm took place at Constantinople, and after four days the Empress died.~ The Emperor Theodosius, the son of Arcadius, brought the body of John Chrysostom~ to Constantinople with great state, and numerously attended, and on the 27th of~ January, (438,) laid it with magnificent honours in the grave, beside which he~ prayed for the forgiveness of his own father and mother. The holy body was~ afterwards taken to Rome, and is now buried in the Vatican Basilica. The number,~ devoutness, and brilliance of St. John Chrysostom's sermons and other writings,~ his acuteness in exposition, and the close aptness of his explanations of Holy~ Scripture, have been and are the object of universal wonder and admiration, and~ often seem not unworthy to have been dictated to him by the Apostle Paul, for~ whom he entertained a wonderful devotion. [Lectio94] John came from Antioch and was called "Chrysostom" because of the golden flood~ of his eloquence. Ordained a priest of the Church of Antioch, he was later,~ against his will made archbishop of Constantinople to succeed Nectarius, through~ the influence of Arcadius the emperor. In this office, since he spoke out~ strongly against the degradation of public morals and the licentious lives~ of the nobility, he drew down on himself the hatred of many persons. He gravely~ offended Empress Eudoxia also, because he reprehended her for taking the money~ of the widow Callitropa and the land of another widow. For all these reasons he~ was forced into exile, while all the widows and the needy mourned at being~ deprived of their common father. It is beyond belief how many hardships he~ suffered in his exile and how many people he converted to the faith of Jesus~ Christ. The number, warmth and brilliance of his sermons and other writings are~ universally admired. He gave up his soul to God on September 14, and his body~ was buried in the Vatican basilica. This outstanding Doctor of the universal~ Church was appointed the heavenly patron of preachers by Pope Pius X. &teDeum