John Chrysostom, Letters 87
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/344
Context
John Chrysostom was the archbishop of Constantinople over the turn of
the 4th to 5th centuries celebrated for his keen intellect and masterful oratory. He met
with great opposition for his theological arguments and criticism of Imperial authority,
particularly the empress Eudoxia, which led to his final expulsion from Constantinople
to exile at the remote town of Cucusus (Κουκουσός, modern Goksün) in southern
Cappadocia, from late June of 404 until his death in September of 407. This brief
epistle which John wrote in early September of 404 to Eulogius, bishop of Caesarea, is
remarkable for two reasons. First, although in substance it is vacuous, the letter
exemplifies the extravagant prose style of the virtuosic rhetor in the service of
personal praise. Second, in light of reports that Eulogius was one of the most cruel
persecutors of John’s supporters across the Eastern Church (see Related Texts), we may
interpret John’s encomiastic missive from two viewpoints, one as idealistic and one as
pragmatic. Either John overlooked the political machinations of his worldly foes from a
position of moral superiority, or he aimed to soften his detractor in hopes of
mitigating the pain of his brethren.
Text
Ἡμεῖς κἂν πρὸς
αὐτὰς ἀφικώμεθα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰς ἐσχατιὰς, ἐπιλαθέσθαι σου τῆς ἀγάπης οὐ δυνάμεθα,
ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ περιφέροντες ἄπιμεν· οὕτως ἡμᾶς εἷλες καὶ ἐχειρώσω, δέσποτά μου τιμιώτατε
καὶ εὐλαβέστατε, ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν ἐν Κουκουσῷ καθήμενοι, τῷ πάσης τῆς καθ’ ἡμᾶς οἰκουμένης
ἐρημοτάτῳ χωρίῳ, οὐ παυόμεθα διηνεκῶς τὴν χρηστότητα, τὴν γλυκύτητα, τὴν τῶν τρόπων
ἐπιείκειαν, τὸ γνήσιον τῆς διαθέσεως, τὸ πεπυρωμένον, τὸ σφοδρὸν, τὸν ζῆλον τὸν φλογὸς
σφοδρότερον, τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασάν σου ἀρετὴν ἀναλογιζόμενοι, καὶ τῶν λογισμῶν τούτων τῇ
μνήμῃ ἐντρυφῶντες, καὶ πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀνακηρύττοντες τὸ στεῤῥὸν τῆς γνώμης, τὸ
ἀπερίτρεπτον, ὅπερ ἐπεδείξω πρὸς τοὺς πολεμήσαντας ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις καὶ τοσούτων
σκανδάλων τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐμπλήσαντας· εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα τοῦτο οὐ δεῖται τῆς ἡμετέρας
γλώττης· σάλπιγγος γὰρ λαμπρότερον αὐτὸς πᾶσι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν καὶ ποῤῥωτάτω οὖσι
διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν ἀνεβόησας. Ὑπὲρ τούτων χάριτας ὁμολογοῦμεν, μακαρίζομεν, θαυμάζομεν
καὶ παρακαλοῦμεν τὸν αὐτὸν παραμεῖναι ζῆλον ἐπιδεικνύμενον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἴσον ἐστὶ, κατὰ
ῥοῦν τῶν πραγμάτων φερομένων, ὀρθότητα ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, καὶ πολλῶν ὄντων τῶν ἐπιχειρούντων
καταλῦσαι τὰς Ἐκκλησίας μηδὲν ἐκεῖθεν παραλογίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ μένειν ἀκλινῆ, τούτους
ἀποστρεφόμενον μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ἀνδρείας. Οὐ γὰρ μικρὰ αὕτη, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα μεγίστη
τῶν κακῶν διόρθωσις. Ὅτι δὲ τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας οὕτω διακειμένης πάντες οἱ κατὰ τὴν
Παλαιστίνην κύριοί μου τιμιώτατοι καὶ εὐλαβέστατοι ἐπίσκοποι ἕψονταί σου τοῖς ἴχνεσιν,
οὐδὲν οἶμαι δεῖν ἀμφιβάλλειν. Οἶδα γὰρ σαφῶς ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις κατορθώμασιν ὥσπερ
σῶμα συνεχὲς κεφαλῇ, οὕτως αὐτοὺς τῇ γλυκύτητί σου τῆς ἀγάπης συνῆψας καὶ συνδεδέσθαι
παρεσκεύασας, ὅπερ καὶ τοῦτο μέγιστον δεῖγμα τῆς σῆς ἀρετῆς.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Migne 1859Textual Note
Minor corr. (punctuation)Translation
Even if we have arrived at the outer reaches of the inhabited world,
we are unable to forget your love, carrying it around with us everywhere we go. You have
so captivated and conquered us, my most honored and most devout master, that even now,
settled in at Koukousos, the most desolate place in our whole world, I do not cease from
continuously counting up your goodness, your sweetness, the fairness of your ways, the
nobility of your disposition, your spirit on fire, your mind in force, your zeal more
potent than flame, and all your other virtues; (I do not cease from) enjoying the memory
of your evaluations; and (I do not cease from) proclaiming to everyone the solidity of
your judgement, the immovability, the very thing that I point out to those warring
against the churches and filling our community with so many outrages. Is there any need
at all for my voice? You yourself, through your very deeds, have cried out more clearly
than a trumpet to all those dwelling in the East and the furthest lands. For all this we
express gratitude, we offer blessings, we are filled with wonder, and we urge that the
same zeal you have displayed endures. For the man who exhibits rectitude when a
situation is underway is not the same as the man who makes no miscalculation when many
are attempting to destroy the Church but, ever unswayed, deflects them with his usual
courage. This is no small remedy for evil but indeed the strongest. I think we need not
doubt that, because your piety is so disposed, all my lords in Palestine, the most
honored and devote bishops, will follow in your footsteps. For I see clearly that in
these righteous acts, just like the body connected to the head, so you have united (the
bishops) by the sweetness of your love and provided for their interconnection—that is
the greatest proof of your virtue.
Translation Note
Trans. J. L. RifeWorks Cited
- 1 John Chrysostom, Epistolae S. Joannis Chrysostomi et aliquot aliae, in S. P. N. Joannis Chrysostomi, archepiscopi Constantinopolitani, opera omnia quae exstant, tomi tertii pars posterior, ed. J.-P. Migne, vol. 3.2, 13 vols., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Graeca 52 (Paris: J.-P. Migne, 1859), 527–789, letter: 87, col: 654.
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “John Chrysostom, Letters 87,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/344.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “John Chrysostom, Letters 87.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/344.About this Entry
Entry Title: John Chrysostom, Letters 87
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “John Chrysostom, Letters 87”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “John Chrysostom, Letters 87”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife