Letters to Saint Olympia

THE GREATEST preacher in the history of Christianity is not nicknamed “Golden Mouth” ( Chrysostomos ) for nothing. The melodic eloquence of his homilies is well known, as is the beauty of his biblical exegesis. Indeed, a good argument could be made that he is also one of Christianity’s greatest biblical commentators, thereby also deserving the epithet “Golden Pen” ( Chrysostylos ). His letters provide even more evidence for this suggestion. Of the 236 extant letters from the last three years of his life in exile (A.D. 404-407), the great patrologist Johannes Quasten says these seventeen are the “longest and most cordial.” And rightfully so, as they are written to Chrysostom’s dear friend and spiritual daughter, the widow, abbess, and deaconess Olympia (to learn more about St. Olympia and her friendship with Chrysostom, in addition to this volume’s introduction, see Carolinne White’s Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century and Palladius’s Lausiac History and Dialogue on the Life of St. John Chrysostom ). Olympia’s battle with despondency, especially deep during Chrysostom’s exile, provoked the prominent theme in these letters: how to overcome hopelessness and despair. Instead of spoiling Chrysostom’s message, we’ll just encourage you to read his letters and learn how a “golden tongued” and “golden penned” archbishop in exile—a four-hundred mile forced march that took his life—could joyfully exclaim in his correspondence to St. Olympia, “Glory to God for all things.”

Translated with an Introduction by David Ford
168 pp. paper $18.00

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