“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Proverbs 25:11)

In the Antioch Church, from which the Paul and Barnabus were sent forth as missionaries, a woman called Anthusa gave birth to a son whom she called John. She instilled Christian virtues into her son, to such an extent that even his tutor, the famous Pagan philosopher Libanius, bemoaned the Christians carrying John away because he would have been a worthy successor. From his mother John gained Christianity and Biblical knowledge while from Libanius he acquired the skills of rhetoric and argument. These two influences, united by the power of the Holy Ghost, would make John one of the brightest lights for Christ in an age when Christianity was giving way to ritual and formalism.

John served initially as a Lector, or Scripture reader, in Antioch before progressing to being Patriarch of Constantinople. His preaching earned him the name Chrysostom – golden mouth. People would travel hundreds of miles to hear the great orator expound the Scriptures. John followed the Antiochan tradition of simply expounding and applying the key teachings of the Bible. He was a Bible man through and through. His prodigious writings bear witness to a preacher who loved the Book.

He was a preacher with golden words which didn’t merely tickle ears. He fearlessly preached against sin and called the people to holiness of life. For this he suffered. When the worldly and extravagant Empress Eudoxia felt the force of John’s withering denunciations as he compared her to Herodias, who had thirsted after the blood of John the Baptist, he could not stay. Forced into exile John, died in 407AD.

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy Word
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory”
(Stuart Townend, Keith Getty)