St. John Chrysostom

Introduction

St. John Chrysostom was born in 347 at Antioch. His father, a prestigious military officer, died when John was an infant. Wendy Mayer commented that, “It was customary for Christian women of independent means to avoid a second marriage." As a result, his mother who was a devout Christian decided to forgo a second marriage. Instead, she devoted her life to the religious and academic education of John and his elder sister. When he was eighteen, John entered the school of Libanius where he studied Greek authors and prepared for a career in law. Consequently, his speaking abilities would later become ammunition in the fight against paganism. John later built a successful law practice and became involved in politics. However, because of his Christian mother, and the urging of his spiritual friend Basil, John outgrew his worldly endeavors. Spiritual friendship according to Aelred of Rievaulx is
Directed by prudence, ruled by justice, guarded by fortitude, and moderated by temperance, spiritual friends resemble each other in the way they live, in the values they hold, and in the goals they pursue.
Successively, at the age of twenty-three John abandoned the world and dedicated his life to serving Christ. Shortly afterwards, he joined his friend Basil in the monastic life. Later Basil was elected to the Priesthood. This paper evaluates St. John’s work entitled On the Priesthood a dialog with his friend Basil.
Friendship & Ascetic Life
John and Basil were lifetime friends. Both were born in Antioch, belonged to the same social class, enjoyed the same studies and the same interest. John and Basil seemed to share the same mind. However, the journey to a monastic life tested the stability of the frie...

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...fe and domestic matters." He also mentioned the deceit used by Saul’s daughter to save David from Saul (Samuel 19:13 NRSV). Basil did not believe any of the examples pertained to him because he was not John’s enemy. John continued the argument trying to convince Basil of the usefulness of deceit. In the next example, he noted that St. Paul won over thousands of Jews when he circumcised Timothy. Galatians five verse two says, “Christ would be of no benefit for those who are circumcised” (Gal. 5:2 NRSV). John truly believed that deceit is great when used with good intentions. Further, he believed that he should not be labeled a deceiver because his intentions were good. John ended his argument believing that he had proved that his intentions were good. He told Basil it was his responsibility to prove that his intentions were not meant for his advantage.