Saint John Chrysostom (+407) is a model bishop, a doctor of the Church, an ascetic and contemplative monk who wanted only to retreat from the turmoil of life in the Eastern empire, was chosen first as a priest in Antioch, where he became renowned for his eloquent yet forthright and clear preaching (hence, his ‘surname’, Chrysostom, ‘golden mouth’). In 397, without his knowledge or consent, he was nominated as Patriarch of Constantinople, taking on the thankless task as the will of God.
John quickly antagonized both the Patriarch of Alexandria, in Egypt, a certain Theophilus, who coveted John’s more exalted position
