Pastor has been reading up on the life of Saint John Chrysostom written by Donald Attwater, St John Chrysostom in the last three weeks. He is the archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father and well loved for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek surname chrysostomos, meaning “golden mouthed”, rendered in English as Chrysostom.
Clearly behaviors in church have not changed much and John Chrysostom returns frequently to preach on the topic of unseemingly behavior in church which is still relevant today. Below are some excerpts* from his powerful preaching:
On praying at home instead of coming to church: “Certainly you can pray at home, but not in the better fashion as at church, together with the assembly of the faithful wherein the cry of the worshippers goes up with one accord, where the clergy preside and unite the weaker and the stronger supplications into one great prayer to Heaven.”
On inattention and chattering: “It is disgraceful! When an imperial decree is read you do not dare to utter a word, hardly to move, lest you be charged with sedition. But you are not afraid of doing worse and incurring a greater danger by showing disrespect to the Word of God.”
On disorder at Holy Communion: “Don’t make confusion, pushing and hustling one another, but draw near with lowliness and fear, with prayer and fasting. Remember what sacrificial gift it is that you are about to handle – you are dust and ashes, and you are receiving the body and blood of Christ.
On leaving before the end of the Liturgy, or even absenting oneself altogether: “When Christ is present, and the angels, and the table is spread – then you go away… When you entertained to dinner do you leave directly after you have eaten, without waiting for your fellow guests to finish?” “How can you learn about immortality and the judgment and the kingdom of Heaven and God’s mercy and other things necessary for your soul if you come to church only once or twice a year?”
On the one thing that matters to God: “a religious heart, purity of soul.”
Mull over his exhortations and make the necessary changes in the way you “work” at worship each week for the sake of His glory!
~ Rev Tan-Yeo Lay Suan
*Donald Attwater, John Chrysostom. (London: The Catholic Book Club, 1960), 182.