{"id":5569,"date":"2016-11-08T14:01:42","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T19:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=5569"},"modified":"2016-11-08T14:01:42","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T19:01:42","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-november-8-2016-st-john-chrysostom-a-personal-call-to-holiness-helping-nami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-november-8-2016-st-john-chrysostom-a-personal-call-to-holiness-helping-nami\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter Newsletter November 8, 2016 — St. John Chrysostom, A Personal Call to Holiness, Helping NAMI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eighth Sunday of Luke Sunday
St. John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople<\/h2>\n
\"St.
St. John Chrysostom Interpreting Epistles of Paul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He was born in Antioch of noble parents: his father was a high-ranking military officer. His father died soon after his birth and so he was brought up by his mother Anthusa. He was baptized in 370 and tonsured a reader (one of the minor orders of the Church). He began his education under a pagan teacher named Libanius, but went on to study theology under Diodore of Tarsus (one of the leaders of the later Antiochian School) while practising extreme asceticism. He was not satisfied, however, and became a hermit (circa 375) and remained so until poor health forced a return to Antioch.<\/p>\n

He was then ordained a deacon in 381 by St. Meletius of Antioch, and was ordained a presbyter in 386 by Bishop Flavian I of Antioch. It seems this was the happiest period of his life. Over about twelve years, he gained much popularity for the eloquence of his public speaking. Notable are his insightful expositions of Bible passages and moral teaching. The most valuable of his works are his Homilies on various books of the Bible. He particularly emphasized almsgiving. He was also most concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He spoke out against abuse of wealth and personal property. In many respects, the following he amassed was no surprise. His straightforward understanding of the Scriptures (in contrast to the Alexandrian tendency towards allegorical interpretation) meant that the themes of his talks were eminently social, explaining the Christian’s conduct in life.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

St. John was fearless when denouncing offences in high places. An alliance was soon formed against him by Eudoxia, Theophilus and other enemies of his. They held a synod in 403 to charge John, in which the accusation of Origenism was used against him. It resulted in his deposition and banishment. He was called back by Arcadius almost immediately, however, for the people of the city were very angry about his departure. There was also a “quaking” in the Imperial bedroom (thought to be either an actual earthquake or perhaps as a stillbirth or miscarriage for the empress) which was seen as a sign of God’s anger. Peace was shortlived. A silver statue of Eudoxia was erected near the cathedral of Hagia Sophia. John denounced the dedication ceremonies. He spoke against her in harsh terms: “Again Herodias rages; again she is confounded; again she demands the head of John on a charger” (an allusion to the events surrounding the death of John the Forerunner). Once again he was banished, this time to Caucasus in Georgia.<\/p>\n

The pope in Rome (Innocent I at this time) protested at this banishment, but to no avail. John wrote letters which still held great influence in Constantinople. As a result of this, he was further exiled to Pityus (on the eastern edge of the Black Sea). However, he never reached this destination, as he died during the journey. His final words were “Glory be to God for all things!”<\/p>\n

Read the entire biography on the Orthodoxwiki<\/a> website.<\/em><\/p>\n

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St. Peter’s First Annual Christmas Lent Retreat
\nSaturday, November 12, 9am-3pm<\/h2>\n

\"personal-call-to-holiness-facebook\"<\/p>\n

All of us are called to a life of holiness through a life of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and manual labor. And, for all of us, monastic life remains for us the touchstone for what it means to live life in Christ.<\/p>\n

Asceticism and monasticism can help us live as disciples of Christ. The good will and the hunger for a deeper, more personal spiritual life is there. The challenge, for all of us, is making the connection between our heart's desire and the tradition so that we can draw close to Christ.<\/p>\n

We will discuss two very different understandings of freedom: freedom of choice and freedom from sin. Our culture emphasizes the first, the tradition of the Church the second. The personal question we must ask is what kind of freedom do we desire?<\/p>\n

Get complete information on St. Peter’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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May Their Memory Be Eternal<\/h2>\n

\"May<\/p>\n

Upcoming Memorials at St. Peter's include:<\/p>\n