CHAPTER XI

EXILE AND DEATH OF CHRYSOSTOM

Chrysostom sent to Cucusus

Deac. And where were John and the rest of the bishops, father, while this was going on?

Bish. The rest of the bishops were put in prison, or haled out of the city, or found means of concealment; John, Cyriacus, and Eulysius were carried off in bonds to Bithynia by the soldiers of the prefect, under threats of punishment for setting fire to the church. Later on, Cyriacus and Eulysius, with other clergy, were brought up for trial, but were acquitted, and set at liberty, while the holy John, outspoken as ever, sent them this last message: “You refused to give me the opportunity of defending myself on the other matters; at least let me have a hearing in regard to what happened to the church, as to whether I am guilty, as you allege, of the incendiarism.” His request for a hearing on this point was equally unsuccessful, and he was sent in charge of soldiers to a very lonely village in Armenia, called Cucusus, in the hope of getting him killed by the Isaurians, who were continually raiding the place, by night and by day.

Arsacius succeeds Chrysostom

The successor appointed in the place of John the inspired teacher was Arsacius, brother of the blessed Nectarius; a man with less power of speech than a fish, and of action than a frog. For there are times when action speaks, especially when it is for good. However, Arsacius only held on to life for fourteen months, when he died; for he had broken an oath upon the gospels. He had sworn to his brother Nectarius, that he would never accept consecration as bishop, when Nectarius reproached him for refusing to be Bishop of Tarsus, saying that he was waiting for his own death. What led to his perjury was first of all ambition, for the sake of which he wooed, so to speak, his brother’s wife; and after that, shame. His brother’s reproof was indeed prophetic.

Atticus succeeds Arsacius. Coercive Edicts against the Johnnites

A priest named Atticus, who had taken an active part in the schemes against John, was appointed as successor to Arsacius. Observing that none of the eastern bishops, or even of the laity of Constantinople, would communicate with him, because of the lawless and irregular proceedings which had taken place, in his ignorance of the divine scriptures he set to work to coerce those who would not communicate with him by means of rescripts. The edict against the bishops contained the following threat: “If any of the bishops does not communicate with Theophilus and Porphyrius and Atticus, let him be expelled from the Church, and deprived of his personal property.” Some of them, crushed by the pressure of circumstances, thereupon communicated, against their will; those who were poorer, and less firm in a sound faith, were induced by promises of gifts to communicate, while those who set no store by birth and possessions and fatherland, and perishable glory, and bodily suffering, preserved the nobility of their souls by flight, mindful of the gospel oracle, “If they persecute you in one city, flee unto another,” and repeating to themselves the words of the Proverb, “Possessions shall not benefit in the day of wrath.” Some of them reached Rome, some the mountains, and others escaped from wickedness like that of the Jews in the retreats of anchorites.

The edict against the lay-people contained the clause, “Those in high position are to be deprived of their official dignities, soldiers are to lose their girdles, the common people are to be heavily fined, and submit to banishment.” In spite of all this, the prayers of the devout were offered in the open air, amid much suffering; because they were friends of the Saviour, Who said, “I am the way and the truth,” and again, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Chrysostom Transferred to Arabissus

Meanwhile, the blessed John resided at Cucusus for a year, feeding great numbers of the poor of Armenia, where a great famine occurred at the time; not with corn, so much as with words. This again roused the malignity of the fratricides, who transferred him to Arabissus, exposing him to hardships of all sorts, in the hope of bringing about his death. Here once more the light of his virtues shone brightly (for a city set upon a hill cannot be hid, nor can a clearly burning lamp be hidden under a wooden bushel-measure); he awoke people from all the surrounding districts who were slumbering in the depths of unbelief, from the sleep of ignorance to the rays of the word.

Renewed Malevolence

Then the flames of malignity blazed yet more fiercely in Severianus and Porphyrius and other bishops of Syria, and they set to work to get him again transferred elsewhere; for he was obnoxious to them not only in his days of what men call prosperity, but also, and much more, in his adversities. They were dunces in knowledge of the nature of temptations, and forgot the divine message to the apostle when tribulations befell him, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is perfected in weakness.” So when they saw the Church of Antioch migrating to the Church of Armenia, and the gracious philosophy of John chanted from there back again to the Church of Antioch, they longed to cut short his life. The accounts they heard tortured them like blows of a whip—such is the power of malice, which hates the good—until their clerical followers saw what was going on, and said in astonishment, Here is a formidable dead man, who frightens living men, and men in authority too, as bogies frighten children. The wonder of it! Men supported by the powers of the world and by the wealth of the Church, men with authority and control of affairs in their hands, turning pale and writhing in fear of a priest, alone, disfranchised, infirm, exiled!

The Terrible Journey to Pityus

At last they could hide the serpent in their tent no longer; so they sent to the capital, and again produced a rescript, more severe than the last, prescribing a narrow limit of time, within which, under penalty of a fine, John was to be transferred to Pityus, a desolate spot in Tzane, situated on the shore of the Black Sea. The soldiers of the prætorian prefect who formed his escort accordingly hurried him over the ground at forced speed. They said that such were their instructions; if he died by the roadside, the higher the promotion they would earn. One of them, who thought less of service in the present world, showed him by stealth a certain amount of kindness; the other was so savage and ill-tempered, that he took as insults the courteous requests made to him by persons who fell in with them, that he would spare the saint. The only thing he cared about was, that John should die a miserable death. For instance, he started out regardless of a heavy shower of rain which was falling, so that the water ran in streams down his neck and chest. Another time, an unusually hot sun gave him great delight, as he knew that the head of the blessed bishop, which was like Elisha’s, ached under it. When they reached a city or village where the refreshment of a bath was available, the wretch would not allow a moment’s delay. This most distressing journey took three months; yet the saint among all these annoyances was always the same shining star, his poor body like an apple reddening in the sun at the tip of a branch.

Chrysostom’s Last Hours and Death

They approached Comana, but passed through the town as men cross a river by a bridge, and lodged outside the wall in the shrine of a martyr, five or six miles from the town. The name of the martyr of the place was Basiliscus, who was Bishop of Comana, martyred under Maximian at Nicomedia, at the same time as Lucianus, priest of the Church of Antioch in Bithynia. That night the martyr stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, brother; to-morrow we shall be together.” It is said that he had first called to the priest who shared his abode, “Get ready the place for our brother John; he is coming.” John took this as a sure warning, and next day begged them to stay where they were till eleven o’ clock. They refused, and pushed on; but when they had covered about thirty furlongs, he had such a sharp attack of illness, that they had to return to the shrine from which they had started. On his arrival, he asked for white clothes—clothes befitting his life—and taking off those he was wearing, he put these on, deliberately changing everything down to his shoes. All but these he distributed among those present. Then he partook of the symbols of the Lord’s appointment, and offered his last prayer, in the presence of those who stood by, using his customary formula, “Glory to God for all things;” and signing himself at the last Amen, he raised his feet, which were so beautiful as they sped for the salvation of those who chose repentance, and the reproof of those who persistently cultivate the fields of sin. If reproof did not benefit the wicked, it was not from the carelessness of him who had spoken out so fearlessly, but from the recklessness of those who would not accept them.

His Burial

Thus was he gathered to his fathers, shaking off the dust from his feet, and passing over to Christ, as it is written, “Thou shalt come to thy grave, as ripe corn gathered in its season; but the souls of the transgressors shall die before their time.” Such a concourse of virgins and ascetics and men renowned for their devout lives came together from Syria, and Cilicia, and Pontus, and Armenia, that many supposed that they had been summoned by signal. The rites of internment and the funeral gathering took place; and so his poor body, like a victorious athlete’s, was buried in the same shrine as Basiliscus.