John Chrysostom's ("golden mouth") reputation for preaching prompted the emperor to elevate him to the position of patriarch ("chief bishop") of Constantinople, the imperial capital. His scathing denunciations of the greed and injustice of Constantinople's wealthy later prompted the emperor to send him into exile.
Synopsis
Was monasticism a good thing for Christianity? Like any movement, it had its strengths and weaknesses but I argue that on the whole, it was good for the church and that its ultimate legacy was the quality of the leaders it produced. We spend most of the lesson profiling the first of two 5th-century leaders (one Eastern and one Western) who were influenced by monasticism: John Chrysostom.
Key Quotes
- "Perhaps the single greatest weakness of monasticism was that it promoted a two-tier system within the church. Ordinary laypeople who lived in the 'secular world' were seen as less spiritual than monks who devoted their entire lives to God and followed the 'higher calling' of chastity, poverty, and obedience."
- "Perhaps the monastic movement’s most remarkable achievement, however, was the tremendous number of quality church leaders it produced. Nearly all of the major church leaders of the Constantinian and medieval eras were monks at some point in their lives."
- “The gold bit on your horse, the gold circlet on the wrist of your slave, the gilding on your shoes, mean that you are robbing the orphan and starving the widow. When you have passed away, each passer-by who looks upon your great mansion will say, ‘How many tears did it take to build that mansion; how many orphans were stripped; how many widows wronged; how many laborers deprived of their honest wages? Even death itself will not deliver you from your accusers.’” (John Chrysostom)
- How was monasticism a good (or a bad) thing for the church?
- How did John's method of interpreting Scripture differ from others in his own day?
- Have you ever heard a sermon in your local church like the one excerpted above? How would people in your local church be likely to react to it if it were preached to them?
John Chrysostom's first sermon
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