John Chrysostom Quotes

       John Chrysostom
       347-407
      
       John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, and his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders.
      
       Chrysostom is known in Christianity chiefly as a preacher, theologian and liturgist, particularly in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
      
       During a time when city clergy were subject to criticism for their high lifestyle, John was determined to reform his clergy in Constantinople. These efforts were met with resistance and limited success. He was an excellent preacher. As a theologian, he has been and continues to be very important in Eastern Christianity, and is generally considered the most prominent doctor of the Greek Church, but has been less important to Western Christianity.
      
       His writings have survived to the present day more so than any of the other Greek Fathers. He rejected the contemporary trend for allegory, instead speaking plainly and applying Bible passages and lessons to everyday life.

The angels glorify; men scrutinize: angels raise their voices in praise; men in disputation: they conceal their faces with their wings; but man with a presumptuous gaze would look into Thine unspeakable Glory."     Topics: Angels No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger.     Topics: Anger The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others.     Topics: Animals, Service A comprehended god is no god.     Topics: Atheism No one can harm the man who does himself no wrong.     Topics: Character The rich man is not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much.     Topics: Charity Charity is, indeed, a great thing, and a gift of God, and when it is rightly ordered likens us to God Himself, as far as that is possible; for it is charity which makes the man.     Topics: Charity Christ is wont to catch every man in the way of his own craft - magicians with a star, fishers with a fish.     Topics: Christ, Salvation As the Father useth this expression I AM, so also doth Christ, for it signifieth continuous being, irrespective of all time.     Topics: Christ Correct him, but not as a foe, nor as an adversary exacting a penalty, but as a physician providing medicines.     Topics: Discipline, Health As a moth gnaws a garment, so doth envy consume a man.     Topics: Envy Depart from the highway, and transplant thyself in some enclosed ground, for it is hard for a tree that stands by the wayside to keep its fruit until it be ripe.     Topics: Evangelism