Tarry not, I entreat, for another to teach you; you have the oracles of God. No man teaches you as they; for he indeed oft grudges much for vainglory’s sake and envy. Hearken, I entreat you, all you that are careful for this life, and procure books that will be medicines for the soul. If you will not any other, yet get you at least the New Testament, the Apostolic Epistles, the Acts, the Gospels, for your constant teachers. If grief befall you, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take thence comfort of your trouble, be it loss, or death, or bereavement of relations; or rather dive not into them merely but take them wholly to you; keep them in your mind.
This is the cause of all evils, the not knowing the Scriptures. We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come off safe? Well contented should we be if we can be safe with them, let alone without them. Throw not the whole upon us! Sheep you are, still not without reason, but rational; Paul commits much to you also. They that are under instruction, are not for ever learning; for then they are not taught. If you are for ever learning, you will never learn. Do not so come as meaning to be always learning; (for so you will never know;) but so as to finish learning, and to teach others. In the arts do not all persons continue for set times, in the sciences, and in a word, in all the arts? Thus, we all fix definitely a certain known time; but if you are ever learning, it is a certain proof that you have learned nothing.
Saint John Chrysostom – Church Father, Archbishop of Constantinople and Christian saint (c. 347–407)
From The Life, Works and Thought of Saint John Chrysostom (Fr. George Florovsky)
Chrysostom never elaborated a system of theology, and there is no point in looking for dogmatic or theological formulations in his writings. His Christology and Mariology in particular are not entirely free from the ambiguity and one-sidedness which characterize the language of Antiochene theology. Chrysostom was a witness of the faith, and this explains why his works were so significant in ancient times, especially in the West. His writings are filled with the voice of Church tradition.
Chrysostom set himself a specific task. His activity was aimed not at overcoming unorthodox opinions, but at making people who professed themselves to be Christians understand that the truths of faith are the truths and commandments of life, and that these must be put into actual practice by the individual. At that time too many people had forgotten this. Chrysostom demanded that men live according to their beliefs, and he assumed that the truths of faith were known to his audience. There was no point in trying to go further if men’s hearts were indifferent and if the seeds of faith had not yet been implanted in their souls. It is true that Chrysostom himself had no particular interest in speculative theology, but by no means was he exclusively a moralist without any interest in dogma. His own theological beliefs were primarily based on the writings of the apostle Paul, whose teaching centered on Christ and salvation, not morality. Even Chrysostom’s “evangelism” had a doctrinal significance because for him all life was connected with the image of Christ not only as a prophet but more importantly as the High Priest and the Lamb. This is related to his mystical attitude towards the sacraments.
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