Great preacher and defender of the truth. Reforming bishop with a big pastoral heart

Today we celebrate the feast of St. John of Antioch, popularly called “Chrysostom”, that is, “Golden Mouth”. He soon became famous for his preaching. He was elected as Bishop of Constantinople (397), the capital of the Roman Empire. The Chrysostom was firm in defending Catholic teaching against the doctrinal errors of his time, fundamentally Arianism (which denied the divinity of Christ). But, above all, John wrote, preached and ruled thinking about the good of the souls. They called him “beggar” for his great help to the poor. He denounced the excesses of the Empress and the political class (and even a part of the clergy). As it happened to Jesus, for defending the truth, the Chrysostom had many adversaries, to the point that he was twice condemned to exile, that is, living far from his homeland. He died during the trip of the second exile. —«Not many words would be necessary, if our works gave authentic testimony» (St. John Chrysostom).