ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (NOV. 13TH)
St. John Chrysostom in the Hagia Sophia By Bp. Joseph ( Archeparchate ) St. John was born of noble Greek parentage in Antioch, Roman Syria, in 347AD. His father died soon after his birth, and it is believed that his mother was a pagan. He was raised as a member of the educated patrician class, learning logic, philosophy, law and rhetoric. As a young man, he excelled in public speaking and studied under the famous rhetorician, Libanius. It was during these years that St. John learned secular literature, Greek mythology, the Poets, and learned how to compose verse spontaneously in the meter of the great classics. St. John had a personal conversion in 367AD, due to the influence of Christian philosophers, and was baptized in 368AD. The bishop of Antioch, Meletios, saw his eloquence and love for God and tonsured him a “Reader”, and made him a deacon in 381AD. During this time, St. John practiced hard asceticism and joined the School of Antioch, where he learned the literal/histo...
