John Chrysostom

John the Golden-mouthed

Lived

c. 347–407

Era

The fathers

Where

Antioch and Constantinople

Tradition

The apostolic communities

Preaching that got him exiled twice

A preacher at Antioch of such reputation that he was made archbishop of Constantinople by an imperial official who had him effectively abducted for the purpose. He preached against luxury in a court built on it, was deposed twice, and died being marched to a remoter exile.

Why it matters

More of his preaching survives than of any other Greek father, most of it verse-by-verse exposition, and the liturgy used in the Orthodox churches on most days of the year carries his name. He gave church revenues to hospitals and told the rich their surplus was stolen from the poor, which is what actually cost him the see. His sermons against Judaising also contain the ugliest anti-Jewish rhetoric in the Greek fathers, quoted heavily in the twentieth century by people he would have loathed; recording that is part of recording him.

All the figures, from the apostolic age to the present, or the timeline they stand in.