Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom-Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop

John N. D. Kelly

Cornell University Press, Nov 5, 1998 - Biography & Autobiography - 310 pages

John Chrysostom, or "Golden Mouth," was a famous ascetic and preacher of the fourth/fifth century, a controversial bishop of Constantinople, and a brilliant orator - hence the epithet. This is the first comprehensive study of him in the English language in over a century. In the early chapters John Kelly highlights Chrysostom's youthful experiments with asceticism at Antioch in Syria, his six years as a monk and then a recluse in the nearby mountains, and his influential role as Antioch's leading preacher. The central section of the book shows him as a fearlessly outspoken populist bishop of the capital. Kelly focuses on his authoritarian style, his interventions in political crises, and his clashes with the Empress Eudoxia, as well as his efforts to promote the primacy of the see of Constantinople in the east. The final chapters reconstruct the plots that led to Chrysostom's downfall, the drama of his trial, and his exile and death.

What people are saying

Review: Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop

User Review  - Peter - Goodreads

Best biography I have read. Very good language and style of writing. Also very professional and unbiasedly written, however sympathy for St. John Chrysostom is felt nevertheless.

Review: Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop

User Review  - Michael Taouk - Goodreads

Reading this book was like accompanying John Chrysostom through his life from Antioch to Constantinople into exile in Armenia. By the end of it John and I became good friends. I now know why he is known as "Golden Mouth". Kelly writes history at its best.

Contents

• The Early Years: 1
• The Young Ascetic: 14
• Retreat to the Mountains: 24
• Deacon and Pamphleteer: 36
• Preachers First Year: 55
• An Anxious Lent: 72
• Decade of Development: 83
• Unexpected Promotion: 104
• Diplomat and Rough Reformer: 115
• The Bishop at Work: 128
• Crises in the Capital: 145
• Intervention in Asia: 163
• Dispute with Severian: 181
• The Affair of the Long Brothers: 191
• Epiphanios to the Rescue: 205
• The Oak: 211
• Between Two Exiles: 228
• Final Exile: 250
• Last Journey: 272
• Triumphal Return: 286
• Appendix A Some Ancient Sources: 291
• Appendix B The Chronology of Johns Earlier Life: 296
• Charges Brought against John at The Oak: 299
• Town Plans of Constantinople and Antioch: 302
• Index: 304

About the author

J.N.D. Kelly is Principal of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, England. He is acknowledged internationally as an authority on patristic Christian thought. Dr. Kelly is also the author of "Jerome, "which "Library Journal ""highly recommended for every serious religious collection.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom-Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop; Cornell paperbacks : Biography / Religion; G - Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series
• Author: John N. D. Kelly
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cornell University Press, 1998
• ISBN: 0801485738, 9780801485732
• Length: 310 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical; Biography & Autobiography / Religious