St. John Chrysostom
Doctor of the Church
347-407

St. John Chrystostom, a fourth century Bishop of Constantinople, was greatly beloved in his time and received the name Chrysostom (KRIS-us-tum) due to his eloquent speaking voice and powerful delivery. In Greek, Chrysostom means "Golden Tongue."

St. John Chrysostom gave generously of his private means and founded hospitals for the poor. A social as well as religious activist, he spoke out fearlessly against the custom of bowing before statues of the Byzantine empress. For this defiance of authority he was banned into exile. He died in a place of refuge on the slopes of the Taurus Mountains in 407 A.D.

St. John also wrote of Jesus' call to nonviolent behavior. In his Epistle Matt. Hom 34, n.1: - Breviary, June 11th, Lesson IX, Chrysostom wrote:

That they may now understand that this is a new kind of warfare and not the usual custom of joining in battle, when He sent them with nothing He said: And so, marching on, show forth the meekness of lambs, although you are to go to wolves... for so will I best show my power, when the wolves are conquered by the lambs.

... For certainly it is a greater work and much more marvelous to change the minds of opponenets and to bring about a change of soul than to kill them... We ought to be ashamed, therefore, who act far differently when as wolves we rush upon our adversaries. For as long as we are lambs we conquer; even when a thousand wolves stand about, we ovoercome and are victors. but if we act like wolves we are conquered, for then the aid of the Good Sheherd departs from us, for He does not foster wolves but sheep.