While parishioners formerly cared for the poor, they now relied upon the emperor who “provided substantial sums of money and property to insure the prosperity and increase of faith, and gave lavishly to those whom the church traditionally supported: the poor, the sick, widows, and orphans.” 2 Thanks to Constantine’s positive relationship with the Church Christians, once persecuted, were now favoured by the Roman Empire. John Chrysostom: The Bishop The Wealth of the ChurchĬhrysostom lived at a turning point in Church history. But lessons learned about poverty in a humble cave would forever season his ministry. He was appointed Bishop of Constantinople in 397. In the end, Chrysostom (meaning “golden mouth,” so called for his preaching) would not elude the prominence he had sought to avoid. Lack of food and heat did permanent damage to his stomach and kidneys, forcing him to resume his post as a reader in the Antiochene church. He sought holiness and spent two years in a cave, pushing his body and mind to the very limit, “continually standing, scarcely sleeping, and learning the Old and New Testaments by heart,” as was the practice of the desert monks. There, John apprenticed for four years to an elderly, Syrian ascetic. John obliged, but after his mother’s death, he moved to the country to become a monk. But when he said he wanted to become a monk, she made him promise not to leave her as long as she lived.

When John Chrysostom looked toward baptism in the local church, his mother was delighted. Let's discover a bit more about John Chrysostom, who he was, and his message to the Church.

He is the noted as being the writer of the Divine Liturgy that we celebrate most weeks. He had humble beginnings, and is well-known for his beautiful writings and his perspective on the meaning of true wealth. Saint John Chrysostom was the Bishop of Constantinople, one of the largest and wealthiest cities of his day.

John chrysostom on wealth and poverty