Sunday, September 14, 2014

On St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor

September 13th: Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. 
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“SO then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word, or by Epistle of ours” (2 Thes 2:15). Hence it is manifest, that they did not deliver all things by Epistle, but many things also unwritten, and in like manner both the one and the other are worthy of credit. Therefore let us think the tradition of the Church also worthy of credit. It is a tradition, seek no farther. Here he shows that there were many who were shaken."

~St. John Chrysostom: Homily 4 on Second Thessalonians.


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"Chrysostom is among the most prolific of the Fathers: 17 treatises, more than 700 authentic homilies, commentaries on Matthew and on Paul (Letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Hebrews) and 241 letters are extant. He was not a speculative theologian. 

"Nevertheless, he passed on the Church's tradition and reliable doctrine in an age of theological controversies, sparked above all by Arianism or, in other words, the denial of Christ's divinity. He is therefore a trustworthy witness of the dogmatic development achieved by the Church from the fourth to the fifth centuries." ~Benedict XVI.

St. John Chrysostom, by Benedict XVI

St. John Chrysostom, Catholic Encyclopedia

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom


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