St. John Chrysostom
His preaching was so good the Church renamed him Golden Mouth. It also got him exiled, twice.
John was a preacher in the city of Antioch, and people came to church the way people now go to a game. They cheered. They applauded in the middle. He kept telling them to stop clapping and start living differently, which somehow made them cheer more. The name Chrysostom came later, and it means golden mouth.
Then the emperor made him archbishop of Constantinople, the capital, where the money lived. John looked at the palace that came with the job, sold the fancy dishes, and spent the money on the poor and the hospitals. He preached the same way to everyone, including the empress, who did not care to hear it.
She had him banished. He kept writing letters. Exiled a second time and marched toward the edge of the empire, he died on the road. His last words were glory be to God for all things, and he meant all things, including how it ended.
St. John Chrysostom facts for kids
- Chrysostom is a title, not a last name. It means golden-mouthed in Greek.
- Crowds used to applaud his sermons in church, and he told them to knock it off
- Eastern churches still pray the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom most Sundays, 1,600 years on
- A Doctor of the Church, and the patron of preachers
Feast day: September 13 · Patron of preachers and public speakers
St. John Chrysostom, give me true words, and the courage to say them to anyone.