Dialogus de vita Joannis Chrysostomi
honor, but he who is called by God. Thus 5 also Aaron, he says, did not glorify himself to become high priest. For although there were six hundred
the flight of concord, most of us who are active and eager for it have become fugitives from the country, being unable to live safely and without trou
he met with us, he did not share in words, nor in prayer, nor in communion but disembarking from the ship and running past the doors of the church, h
to share in the suffering and to do everything, so as to stop these evils. For he put a stop to none of their lawlessness here, but even after this he
and lamentations and fountains of tears in the marketplaces and the houses and in the desolate places and the whole part of the city was filled with
you are exhorted to contribute zeal from yourselves. For thus you will gratify not only us, 16 but also the community of the churches, and you will re
had fled on account of the threat contained in the imperial decree, that If anyone is not in communion with Theophilus and Arsakius and Porphyry, let
of Bishop John of the Constantinopolitans and, as it seems, it has not been accomplished. Therefore, I wrote again through the bishops and presbyters
savagery. This also the Savior God did, illuminating them with various revelations, so that also to Paul, the deacon of Saint Emilius, a most gentle
He who speaks a lie is not of God, and again from David, Because the mouth of those who speak unjust things was stopped. For he who lies truly wro
by his own choice, he was trained in the discourses for the ministry of the divine oracles. From there, being in the eighteenth year of his physical a
of those who have believed in him will be bound. {THE DEACON} But where did they recognize the presence of the Savior? {THE BISHOP} When they cried ou
of the rich, cutting away the abscesses of the soul, teaching them humility, to be of a humble mind towards other people, obeying the apostolic word,
she gives one thousand gold pieces, having made him swear by the table of the Savior that he would buy clothes and clothe the poorer women of the Alex
with his own hands on his neck, and after inflicting blows on his jaws, with clenched fingers he bloodied his nostrils, shouting 38 with a loud voice:
by an excess of conceit. But those men, driven by great necessity because they were changing places from place to place, arrive at the camp, where Bis
of the church, Dioscorus the bishop, who had grown old in the church but to the bishop John he writes: I think you are not ignorant of the decree of
of John for unlawful offenses, he took advantage of their fickleness and persuades them to submit bills of accusation against John, promising them to
Elijah was taken up did not Elisha prophesy? Paul was beheaded did he not leave behind Timothy, Titus, Apollos and ten thousand others? After these
these of the council but if as accusers, set them up for the trial, so that I may know how I should contend, whether as against adversaries or as jud
(for he is impetuous by nature, and rash and bold and exceedingly contentious—for there is nothing that appears to him by sight, <towards> which he do
brother Acacius and Antiochus whom they put forward as canons of the orthodox, because We are of the faith of those who set them forth, and our doub
reading the oracles, and others baptizing the catechumens, as was fitting because of Easter. These very things the corruptors of minds and deceivers o
a proof of the diligence of teachers, unceasingly setting right the unconquerable quality of their resolve. Theodore said: {THE DEACON} You have spoke
near him to the west), but in the western part, where the gate of the church is, the mule-team, on which he was accustomed to sit, having ordered it t
of a hierophant, a man more silent than a fish and more idle than a frog (for there are times when even action speaks, especially when the good is don
terrifying, just as bogeymen do children? Alas! Those who are clothed in worldly powers and ecclesiastical wealth with authority, with command even of
on the one hand, that he ate alone but I did not wish you, most harmonious Theodore, to ask about the things of gluttonous infants. For being a man,
he says, urging us to imitation Do not forget hospitality, he says, for by this some have entertained angels unawares. But the host must have the
fell from blessing? was it not when he served his belly, deceived by the food? When did Saul fall from the kingdom? was it not when he ate the best of
to eat bread and to put on a garment, all that you give me, I will tithe a tenth of it to you -he did not say, I will consume it at tables. That sp
to give glory to God <in> persecutions. in the refutations of error, is there any mention of a table? But again to Titus, the bishop of Crete, let us
they were seeking luxury. It was absurd to squander the food of the sick or the poor on the intemperance of the healthy. And what sort of law is this,
from seeing evil. For many of the so-called bishops, wishing to cut off the reasonable hatred directed at them on account of their own ways and their
First, that having melted down treasures he fashioned a silver object in the name of his son second, that having taken marbles from the entrance of t
love of money is a source of evils. For he who took bribes against the innocent and thought to sell the distribution of the Holy Spirit for silver,
Antoninus dies, with whom Eusebius had the lawsuit. Again a decree comes from Asia, this one from the clergy of the church of the Ephesians, and this
to buy the priesthood. They say that the ravager and falsely-named patriarch of the Jews changes the rulers of the synagogue every year, or even more
of those who deposed him and concluded the trial. <CHAPTER 19> {THE DEACON.} Forgive me, father, such things surpass drunkenness and madness and sport
ambidextrous (for even his so-called left hand was better than the right hand of others) who at first, having served in letters, was found blameles
slandering their life, waiting to have help from God. To these things Theodore, being astonished, said: {Ο ∆ΙΑΚ.} I see the facts as contrary to the n
Or is it proper at all to cast out any disciple, much less a monk? 100 {THE DEACON} Because they provoked him or spoke ill of him. {THE BISHOP} And ou
having led them back from vice to virtue, it will be clear that their persecutor deserves not to be persecuted, but to be pitied, as one who always ab
having provoked the physician and enchanter of souls and removed his interpreter from the workshop of salvation, 105 they were handed over to the phys
imitating him who, having found the one crushed by robbers, half-dead, on the way down to Jericho, placed him on his own beast of burden, having broug
did he give? And when Optimus died in Constantinople, he closed his eyes with his own hands. In addition to these things, he also refreshed in no smal
desiring to chasten the herd of men for their various desires towards the more austere part of life, he became his own judge and lawgiver, being stren
toward the north, and each man's axe in his hand and one man in the midst of them, clothed in a full-length robe, and a sapphire belt on his loins a
in many ways Who will boast that he has a pure heart? Or who will boldly claim to be pure from sin? but yet the blessed John did not know how to us
happen to us anonymously and beneficially? sifting the reasons, not obeying him who said: Eat whatever is sold in the meat-market, asking no question
two? {THE BISHOP} Especially if it is an unprofitable and charlatan crowd such as the one who said to Jesus: Teacher, I will follow you wherever you
an intemperate old man, and an old man who loves learning above an unlearned younger man, and a poor layman above an educated lover of money, and a vi
enjoying his disease nor raging with the same desires. For this is a fitting way of life for a teacher, not to linger with the crowds, but in quiet an
having subjected his body to shameful tortures by the cruelty of judges, to the point of knocking out his teeth, as the story goes, 127 they confined
knocking, they made the two-day journey into one, arriving late in the evening and departing in the dark of dawn, so that the stomach could not even k
and that these things are done and are prolonged and are strong, and that the good are afflicted and plundered, brings me to shudder at his approachin
Why shall I not be angry? looking upon me, marvel, and lay your hand upon your jaw. For if I remember, I am troubled, and pains take hold of my flesh.
when reviled, we bless when persecuted, we endure when slandered, we entreat we have become as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all thi
sleepless or troubled in sleep, he suspects plots even from his own family, not trusting even himself, distrusting everyone as liars. Being such a per
each other, for which it was also fitting, having learned something, did you not decide to be quiet and remain still by yourselves even for the future
to his father and to his mother, I have not seen you, and his brothers he did not acknowledge he guarded your oracles, and kept your covenant. He d
foot-soldiers' machinations for the hindering of those who travel for the truth). How then do they dare to say: By God's economy John has been cast o
love of money is a source of evils." For he who "took bribes against the innocent" and thought to sell the distribution of the Holy Spirit for silver, how will he still spare the treasures or stones or lands of the church?" Then John begins the examination, saying to Antoninus: "What do you say to these things, brother Antoninus?" He denied it out of necessity (for how was it possible from the very beginning to confess his own shame?). Those who had given were questioned; they also denied it. Upon these things, the examination being diligently conducted until the eighth hour, the case was taking shape from certain pieces of evidence. In the end, it comes down, as is likely, to witnesses, in whose presence they both gave and he received. The witnesses were not present; there is need for their appearance. Seeing the difficulty of their appearance, John is eager, for the purification of the church and to spare the witnesses, to go himself to Asia to conclude the examination. Antoninus, seeing John's tirelessness and incorruptibility, since he was conscious of his own guilt, went secretly to one of the powerful men whose estates in Asia he managed, and begged him to have John detained, so that he would not go to Asia, promising the appearance of the witnesses. This man immediately arranges for the following to be declared from the palace to Bishop John: "It is an unseemly thing for you, being a bishop and guardian of our souls, in such anticipation of a disturbance, to leave the city and undertake a journey to 87 Asia, when the witnesses could easily be brought over." -And the anticipated disturbance was Gainas, the barbarian. And what then? Not to be long-winded, he is persuaded to remain, being concerned at the same time for the trial and for the weariness of the witnesses. But for the accused the delay concerning the witnesses was a godsend, for he could cause them to flee either by money or by power. John, foreseeing these things, considers with the present synod sending some of the bishops present to Asia for the questioning of the witnesses. Therefore, three bishops were immediately appointed to go down: Synclitius, metropolitan of Trajanopolis, <and> Hesychius of Parium, and Palladius of Helenopolis, the synod having declared in the minutes that anyone who did not appear within two months and stand by his rights at Hypaepa, a city of Asia (because both the accused and the rest of the bishops who were obligated to sit in judgment with Synclitius and his colleagues were from neighboring regions), would be excommunicated. In addition to this, the appointed Synclitius and Palladius went down to Smyrna; for Hesychius, being a friend of Antoninus, pretended to be ill. And immediately writing, they signified their arrival to both parties, so that coming together to the designated city they might fulfill their promises. But they, having persuaded each other, the one with gold, the other with an oath, became friends before the arrival of the judges. And coming together in pretense at Hypaepa, they thought to trifle with the judges by another postponement of the witnesses, alleging that they were away on various business. At this, the judges ask the accuser: "Within how many days, then, will you bring them? We will wait." Thinking that they were impatient to leave because of the oppressiveness of the weather (for it was the height of the summer season), he promised, 88 in writing, within forty days either to bring the witnesses or to submit to the canons. Having been released, therefore, to search for the witnesses, he abandoned the matter and went to Constantinople, hiding there. The judges waited for the forty days, as was reasonable; and when he did not appear anywhere, they write to the bishops everywhere in Asia, making him excommunicate, either as a deserter or as a slanderer. And after this they waited another thirty days and, when he did not appear anywhere, they departed and came to Constantinople; and there, happening upon him, they charged him with what he had dared to do. But he, again pleading bodily illness, promised the witnesses. While these things were being thus delayed,
κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία." ὁ γὰρ "ἐπ' ἀθῴοις δῶρα λαβὼν" καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος διανο μὴν ἀργυρίῳ ἀπεμπολῆσαι νομίσας,
πῶς φείσεται ἔτι κειμηλίων ἢ λίθων ἢ χωρίων τῆς ἐκκλησίας;" τότε ὁ Ἰωάννης ἄρχεται τῆς ἐξετάσεως, φήσας τῷ Ἀντωνίνῳ· "Τί λέγεις
πρὸς ταῦτα, ἀδελφὲ Ἀντωνῖνε;" ἠρνήσατο ἐξ ἀνάγκης (πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε ἐκ προοιμίων αὐτῶν τὴν ἰδίαν αἰσχύνην ὁμολογῆσαι). ἠρωτή
θησαν οἱ δεδωκότες, ἠρνήσαντο κἀκεῖνοι. ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐπιμελῶς τῆς ἐξετάσεως γιγνομένης μέχρις ὥρας ὀγδόης, ἐκ τεκμηρίων τινῶν
ἐμορφοῦτο ἡ δίκη. καταλήγει τὰ τελευταῖα, ὡς εἰκός, εἰς μάρτυρας, ἐφ' ὧν καὶ δεδώκασι καὶ εἴληφεν. οὐ παρῆσαν οἱ μάρτυρες·
χρεία γίνεται τῆς τούτων παραστάσεως. ἀποβλέψας εἰς τὸ ἐργῶδες τῆς παραστάσεως ὁ Ἰωάννης προθυμεῖται ἐπὶ καθαρισμῷ τῆς ἐκκλησίας
καὶ φειδοῖ τῶν μαρτύρων, δι' ἑαυτοῦ παραγενόμενος εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν, τὴν ἐξέτασιν συμπεραιῶσαι. θεασάμενος ὁ Ἀντωνῖνος τὸ ἄοκνον
Ἰωάννου καὶ τὸ ἀδέκαστον, ὡς ἅτε συνειδὼς ἑαυτῷ, ὑπεισελθὼν εἰς ἕνα τῶν κρατούντων, οὗ καὶ τῶν γῃδίων ἐφρόντιζε τῶν ἐν τῇ
Ἀσίᾳ, παρακαλεῖ αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι ἐπισχεθῆναι τὸν Ἰωάννην, ἵνα μὴ ἀπέλθῃ εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν, ὑποσχόμενος τὴν τῶν μαρτύρων παράστασιν.
ὃς ἐξαυ τῆς παρασκευάζει δηλωθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ παλατίου τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Ἰωάννῃ τάδε· "Ἄτοπόν ἐστι πρᾶγμα, ἐπίσκοπόν σε ὄντα καὶ τῶν
ψυχῶν ἡμῶν προστάτην, ἐν τοσαύτῃ προσδοκίᾳ θορύβου καταλείψαντα τὴν πόλιν, στείλασθαι τὴν ἀποδημίαν τὴν εἰς 87 τὴν Ἀσίαν,
εὐχερῶς τῶν μαρτύρων διαγομένων." -ἦν δὲ ὁ Γαϊνᾶς, ὁ βάρβαρος, ὁ προσδοκώμενος θόρυβος. καὶ τί γάρ; ἵνα μὴ μακρηγορήσω, πείθεται
ἀπομεῖναι, φροντίζων ὁμοῦ καὶ τῆς δίκης καὶ τῆς συντριβῆς τῶν μαρτύρων. ἑρμαῖον δὲ τῷ κατηγορηθέντι ὑπῆρχεν ἡ εἰς τοὺς μάρτυρας
ἀναβολή, οὓς ἐδύνατο φυγαδεῦσαι ἢ ἀργυρίῳ ἢ δυναστείᾳ. ταῦτα προεορακὼς ὁ Ἰωάννης σκέπτεται μετὰ τῆς παρούσης συνόδου τινὰς
τῶν παρόντων ἐπισκόπων ἀποσταλῆναι εἰς τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐπὶ ἐρω τήσει τῶν μαρτύρων. ἐξαυτῆς οὖν ὡρίσθησαν τρεῖς ἐπίσκοποι κατελθεῖν,
Συγκλήτιος μητροπολίτης Τραϊανουπόλεως <καὶ> Ἡσύχιος ὁ Παρίου καὶ Παλλάδιος ὁ Ἑλενουπόλεως, διαλαλησάσης τῆς συνόδου ἐν τοῖς
ὑπομνήμασιν, ὡς τὸν ἐντὸς δύο μηνῶν μὴ ἀπαντήσαντα καὶ συστάντα τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ δικαίοις ἐν Ὑπαί ποις τῇ Ἀσιανῶν πόλει (διὰ τὸ
ἐκ γειτόνων εἶναι καὶ τοὺς ἐλεγχομένους καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς τῶν ἐπισκόπων τοὺς ὀφείλοντας συνδικάσαι τοῖς περὶ Συγκλήτιον), τοῦτον
ἀκοινώνητον γίνεσθαι. πρὸς τούτοις κατῆλθον οἱ τυπωθέντες Συγκλήτιος καὶ Παλλάδιος ἐν Σμύρνῃ· ὁ γὰρ Ἡσύχιος φίλος ὢν τοῦ Ἀντωνίνου
προσεποιήσατο κεκακῶσθαι. ἐξαυτῆς δὲ γράψαντες ἐσήμαναν ἀμφο τέροις τοῖς μέρεσιν τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐνδημίαν, ἵνα συνδραμόντες εἰς
τὴν ὡρισμένην πόλιν ἐκπληρώσωσι τὰς ὑποσχέσεις. οἱ δὲ πείσαντες ἀλλήλους, ὁ μὲν χρυσίῳ, ὁ δὲ ὅρκῳ, φίλοι γεγόνασι πρὸ τῆς
τῶν δικαστῶν παρουσίας. συνδραμόντες δὲ σχήματι ἐν τῇ Ὑπαιπινῶν ἐνόμιζον τοὺς κριτὰς διαπαίζειν ἐπὶ ὑπερ θέσει πάλιν τῶν μαρτύρων,
ὡς ἐκδημούντων εἰς διαφόρους χρείας. πρὸς τούτοις ἐπερωτῶσιν οἱ δικασταὶ τὸν κατήγορον· " ̓Εντὸς οὖν ποσῶν ἡμερῶν διάγεις
αὐτούς; καὶ ἐκδεχόμεθα." νομίσας αὐτοὺς δυσφοροῦντας πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀέρων ἐπάχθειαν ἀποχωρεῖν (ἦν γὰρ τὸ ἀκραιφνὲς τῆς θερινῆς
ὥρας) ὑπέσχετο, 88 ἐντὸς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν ἐγγράφως ἢ ἄγειν τοὺς μάρτυρας ἢ ὑφίστασθαι τὰ τῶν κανόνων. ἀφεθεὶς οὖν εἰς ἐπιζήτησιν
τῶν μαρτύρων, καταλιπὼν τὸ πρᾶγμα, καταλαμβάνει τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν, ἐκεῖσε διαλανθάνων. ἐξεδέξαντο οἱ κριταὶ τὰς τεσσαράκοντα
ἡμέρας, ὡς εἰκός· καὶ ὡς οὐδαμοῦ ἐφάνη, ἐπι στέλλουσι τοῖς πανταχοῦ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπισκόποις, ποιήσαντες αὐτὸν ἀκοινώνητον, ἢ
ὡς λιποτάκτην ἢ ὡς συκοφάντην. μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο προσεκαρτέρησαν ἄλλας τριάκοντα ἡμέρας καί, ὡς οὐδαμοῦ ἐφάνη, ἀναχωρήσαντες ἦλθον
εἰς τὴν Κωνσταντινού πολιν· κἀκεῖ περιτυχόντες αὐτῷ ἐνεκάλουν ἐπὶ τῷ τετολμημένῳ. ὁ δὲ πάλιν ἀῤῥωστίαν σώματος προφασισάμενος
ὑπισχνεῖτο τοὺς μάρτυρας. τούτων οὕτω χρονοτριβούντων,
