LA PERSONNALITÉ DE SAINT JEAN CHRYSOSTOME
SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM’ PERSONALITY

Summary/Abstract: Saint John Chrysostom’ personality. As any other great personality and as a Church Father, he does not allow his whole personality to be depicted in a few sentences, no matter how much they would strive to compose a synthesis. With the passing of the time, his stature but increases. There is no other Father that left a vaster literary heritage. As it regards Saint John Chrysostom’ work, we may say that he leaves posterity a great work, unequalled both in size and in contents, comprising 18 volumes in Migne edition (vol. 47-64), comparable only with that of Origen or of Blessed Augustine. In his exegesis, he first tries to find the literal sense and is not afraid to make, whenever the case, grammatical or linguistic considerations to explain a difficult passage, but this signifies nothing else but a preparation to infer the typical sense or the moral teaching of the text. The only aim that he always wants to gain is a utility for his auditory. As a preacher, Saint John Chrysostom was considered the first. The word was his vocation and his ardent desire and the purest grandeur. His contemporary already enjoyed saying: And out of his mouth did words as sweet as honey come out. All Christian centuries confirmed this eulogy. He was called Homer of the orators. He was both a great orator and a great Shepard of souls. Saint John Chrysostom redounded rectory as a deacon, a priest and a bishop. Rectory principles are well traced by his master hand in his treaty On Rectory. His attitudes, teachings, interpretations, guidings, explanations are still valid today. Saint John Chrysostom remains the most known among the Greek Fathers and one of the most fascinating figures of Christian Antiquity. We remember him with vivid veneration, we call him in all the Liturgies and we want him our protector.

• Details
• Contents