continued ... "All About Antioch" - 3
The Patristic Age
No less a sophisticated thinker than either Ignatius or Theophilus and other Antiochian theologians, but certainly more well known, is the universally recognized Father of the Church, Saint John Chrysostom, the brilliant preacher and pastor of Antioch during the late fourth century. For John, called the "Golden-mouthed" for his power in oratory, Christianity was a practical affair. His deeply religious mind, his sensitive knowledge of the human soul and psychology, his scriptural learning, and his passionate devotion to the ethical and moral implications of the Faith, have made him universally known and loved. Eschewing speculative theology, John preached a truly pastoral theology. After serving as a priest in Antioch, he was elected and consecrated to the Patriarchal Throne of the See of Constantinople, where he continued to preach moral purity, social mutuality, and self-denial amidst the wealth and pleasure of the capital of the Empire and richest city in the world. He ended his life as a martyr to his social and moral concerns. It is Saint John Chrysostom who is credited with having edited the Divine Liturgy as it is most commonly celebrated throughout the Orthodox world today. To this list of outstanding personalities must be added the famous eighth century Antiochian scholastic theologian, Saint John of Damascus.
The See of Antioch also revealed its Christian vitality in another respect, that is in the harvest of martyrs who through Roman, Persian, Ottoman and other violent persecutions bore witness to the life that was theirs only in Jesus Christ.
