Today is the feast day of St John Chrysostom (above) in the Eastern Orthodox Church. John, who lived in the late 4th century, became Patriarch of Constantinople, but before that, he was a superstar preacher in Antioch, famous for his captivating oratory. He was given the nickname chrysostomos, which means ‘golden mouth’, in tribute to his golden eloquence. Many of his sermons survive, and one of the briefest of them is read every year in Orthodox chuches at the beginning of Easter. He is best known for the liturgy which bears his name, which is used most weeks of the year in the Byzantine tradition.
Christ is risen, and you are cast down!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life is set free!
Paschal homily of John Chrysostom
Fantasia, the Walt Disney animation set to eight pieces of classical music, was released today in 1940 in the Broadway Theatre, New York. The film closes with a procession of robed monks entering a ruined church as a choir sings a glutinous rendition of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’.
It is the birthday of St Augustine of Hippo, who was born in the Roman town of Thagaste, in what is now Algeria, today in the year 354. His family were Berbers, and his mother Monica, a devout Christian, left him to be baptized when he came of age, which is a matter of some irony for the man who later argued for infant baptism as the universal practice of the Church. Latin was his mother tongue, but he hated Greek lessons at school and failed to learn the language. This had big consequences for Augustine and for the Church. He was the only Latin philosopher of his time with no Greek, and he failed to understand the Greek Fathers’ teaching on the Trinity.
St Homobonus died today in 1197, while attending Mass at the Church of St Giles in Cremona, Italy. He was a tailor, and now deals with petitions from his former colleagues.
Born today in 1572 was one of the truly curious figures in theological history, the Orthodox prelate Cyril Lucaris. Even though he got to the top of the Orthodox food chain by becoming Ecumenical Patriarch, he really liked Calvinism, so much so that he attempted to reform the Orthodox Church with Calvinistic theology. His views were hugely controversial among his fellow Orthodox, who condemned him as a heretic as soon as they possibly could – i.e. immediately after he died. Theologians still argue with each other about whether or not he was a Calvinist.
‘Having been convinced, through the grace of God, that the cause of the Reformers was more correct and more in accord with the doctrine of Christ, I embraced it.’ Cyril Lucaris, 1618
Image: Ted under CC BY-SA 2.0