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| Saint John Chrysostom, c. early 11th century mosaic Hosios Loukas Monastery, Greece |
SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM – PREACHING ANTI-SEMITISM
Saint
John Chrysostom (347-407) is a well-known saint honored by the Roman Catholic
and Orthodox Churches, among others. “Chrysostom” is Greek for “golden-tongued,”
a title accorded him because of his outstanding oratory. He was a holy man—an ascetic
in his youth, an exemplary priest and later bishop, a renowned preacher in his prime, and a martyr
for justice. He died under the duress of traveling in exile, banished from the bishopric of Constantinople by order of the Byzantine Emperor. The saint had been the victim of intrigue
incited by his inveighing energetically against the abuses of the wealthy and
influential.
Many
sources of quality, not all religious, are available about Saint John
Chrysostom, for example, Franciscan Media:
—“Saint John Chrysostom,” franciscan
media, September 13, 2020
Encyclopedia
Britannica:
—Donald Attwater, “St. John Chrysostom,” Britannica
True
to form, Saint John Chrysostom has left us a golden heritage of spiritual
words.
“If
you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him
in the chalice.”
“Sin
is a wound; repentance is a medicine. Just as there are for the body wounds and
medicines, so for the soul are sins and repentance.”
“The
love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together. …when
harmony prevails, the children are raised well, the household is kept in order,
and neighbors, friends, and relatives praise the result. Great benefits, both
of families and states, are thus produced. When it is otherwise, however,
everything is thrown into confusion and turned upside down.”
—Philip Kosloski, “10 Quotes from Saint John (Golden-Mouthed) Chrysostom,”
Aleteia, September 13, 2016
This
historical period following the Holocaust, Saint John Chrysostom is notorious
for having preached Adversus Judaeos,
eight sermons against the Jews and Judaizing Christians, rhetoric that is
unmistakably anti-Semitic, even violently so.
It
is appropriate to place these sermons in historical context.
The
history of Jewish-Christian relations is that of bad blood, beginning with the
flogging of the apostles by the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:40) and the martyrdom of
Saint Stephen, killed by a Jewish mob (Acts 7:58-60).
However,
before the Christianization of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, relations were not always marked
by persecution and bloodshed.
Excerpts
that follow are from this link:
—Lawrence H. Schiffman, “Jewish-Christian Relations in the Early
Centuries,” My Jewish Learning, reprinted
with permission from From Text to
Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism (Ktav Publishing
House)
“The
early days of the schism were marked by questioning and debate. This is clear
from accounts in both rabbinic literature and the writings of the church
fathers. Jews and Christians discussed such matters as the interpretation of
the Hebrew Bible and the authority of their respective traditions. Even in this
literature, however, one can trace the rising tensions that would ultimately
prevail between the two groups.”
Beginning
from the time of Constantine the Great and during the fourth century, relations
took a turn for the worse. Dating from this period is Saint John Chrysostom’s Adversus Judaeos.
“At
some point, probably connected with the Christianization of the empire in the
fourth century, the Christians began to approach their Jewish neighbors with a
much greater degree of antagonism, especially in Byzantine Palestine. Physical
attacks against Jews and their houses of worship were not unknown in this
period. Whereas in earlier times, there had been coexistence and harmony, by
the fifth century much anti-Semitic legislation had been enacted.”
Schiffman
inserts an explanation (not in his book) in the website cited above: “Following the
language of contemporary scholarship, ‘anti-Jewish’ might be a more accurate
term here. Anti-Semitism, a modern term, suggests a racial aspect to the hostility
which was not present in the ancient world. The hostile feelings were
religiously, not racially, motivated.”
From Text to Tradition continues: “Jews
were forbidden to build synagogues and to study the oral law. The Jews were
said to be Christ-killers, and anti-Judaism
was the norm
in preaching.”
Because
the Roman Empire professed only one official state religion, the members of
other religions were often persecuted—the chauvinism of the state religion was
upheld for religious and political reasons, inextricably interrelated. The understanding
of the Christian clergy, including that of a man like Chrysostom, was that
Judaism was both a religious and political threat to the Empire and therefore deserving
of suppression.
“In
the very same period groups within the Christian church were persecuted for
being ‘Jewish-Christians.’ In fact they were Judaizing Christians,
gentiles who sought to observe Judaism as part of their Christianity because
they believed in the
continued authority of what they called the Old Testament. This position,
declared heretical by the church, ought not to be seen as a direct continuation
of the early Jewish-Christian church of Jerusalem. These were new groups
seeking to imitate what they thought the early church had been. They were
not Jews by the standards of Jewish law. The old form of Jewish Christianity
had disappeared.”
Although
Chrysostom’s Adversus Judaeos was
directed principally against Judaizing
Christians, his sermons inevitably inveigh against Judaism because it is necessarily
connected to Judaizers, and for this same reason he fulminates against the Jews
themselves.
Interpreted
in historical context, what our modern ears perceive today as anti-Semitic rhetoric
is simply the output of a theocratic mindset that was considered normative and legitimate at the time. On this basis and related, some would make excuses for Adversus Judaeos and even exculpate Chrysostom.
Apologetics
aside, however, we observe that Adversus
Judaeos contributed mightily to the centuries-long tradition of European anti-Semitism
that culminated hideously in the Holocaust.
“By
the end of the [Talmudic] period,
Christianity had taken up the classical anti-Semitic
views that were to inform its relations with the Jews in the Middle Ages.
Jews were able to resist only by comforting themselves with the belief that
they were correct and that their suffering would end with the messianic
redemption. It was not until the Middle Ages, however, that the violence we
have come to associate with anti-Judaism
became a significant factor.”
The Talmudic period has been dated
from 70 to 640 CE.
See related, from another source:
“Anti-Semitism
is deeply and peculiarly rooted in Christianity, both in its theology and its
history. No amount of qualifying or rationalizing can alter the basic
contention of numerous Jewish and Christian scholars alike that anti-Semitism
is inextricably intertwined with empirical Christianity.”
—James E. Wood, Jr., “Editorial: Jewish-Christian
Relations in Historical Perspective,” Journal
of Church and State (Spring 1971) 13(2):193-208
Chrysostom’s invective in Adversus Judaeos speaks for itself.
In the first homily in the series, he reviles the synagogue as a “brothel” and the “dwelling of demons”:
In the first homily in the series, he reviles the synagogue as a “brothel” and the “dwelling of demons”:
“Many,
I know, respect the Jews and think that their present way of life is a
venerable one. This is why I hasten to uproot and tear out this deadly opinion.
…the synagogue is not only a brothel and a theater; it also is a den of robbers
and lodging for wild beasts. …When God forsakes a place, that place becomes the
dwelling of demons.” (Homily 1)
He
presents arguments that the Jews are accursed by God:
“The
Jews will say: ‘Where is the evidence that God has turned away front us?’ Does
this still need proof in words? Tell me this. Do not the facts themselves shout
it out? Do they not send forth a sound clearer than the trumpet’s call? Do you
still ask for proof in words when you see the destruction of your city, the
desolation of your temple, and all the other misfortunes which have come upon
you? ‘But men brought these things upon us, not God.’ …If you attribute them to
men, then you must consider that, even if men were to have the boldness, they
would not have had the power to bring these things to accomplishment, unless it
were by God's decree.” (Homily 6)
In
this passage he exclaims that the Jews are “dogs,” while the Christians, in contrast,
are “children of God”:
“Do
not be surprised that I called the Jews pitiable. They really are pitiable and
miserable. When so many blessings from heaven came into their hands, they
thrust them aside and were at great pains to reject them. …Although the
Jews had been called to the adoption of sons, they fell to kinship with dogs;
we who were dogs received the strength, through God’s grace…to rise to the
honor of sons. How do I prove this? Christ said: ‘It is not fair to take the
children’s bread and to cast it to the dogs.’ Christ was speaking to the
Canaanite woman when He called the Jews children and the Gentiles dogs.
“But
see how thereafter the order was changed about: they became dogs, and we became
the children. …Do you wish to find out how we, who at first were dogs, became
children? ‘But to as many as received him, he gave the power of becoming sons
of God.’” (Homily 1)
He
calls the Jews “drunkards” because they hold fast to their religion and reject Christianity:
“Yes,
it is possible to be drunk without wine; it is possible for a sober man to act
as if he is drunk…if
the man in the grip of passion or anger is drunk, this is all more true of the
impious man who blasphemes God, who goes against his laws and never is willing
to renounce his untimely obstinacy. This man is drunk, mad, and much worse than
insane revelers, even if he does not seem aware of his condition. …So, too, the
Jews are drunk but do not know they are drunk.” (Homily 8)
Repeatedly,
he castigates the Jews by citing condemnatory Biblical accounts:
“Isaiah
called the Jews dogs and Jeremiah called them mare-mad horses. This was not
because they suddenly changed natures with those beasts but because they were
pursuing the lustful habits of those animals.” (Homily 4)
He
parades the charge—which transforms into a fixture of European anti-Semitism—that
the Jews are the killers of Christ:
“Is
it not foolish…to enter into fellowship with those who have committed outrages
against God himself? Is it not strange that those who worship the Crucified
keep common festival with those who crucified him? Is it not a sign of folly
and the worst madness?” (Homily 1)
“You did slay Christ; you did lift violent
hands against the Master; you did spill his precious blood. This is why you
have no chance for atonement, excuse, or defense.” (Homily 6)
English translation of Adversus Judaeos, see:
—John Chrysostom, “‘Eight Orations Against Judaizing Christians’
(387-388),” Council of Centers on
Jewish-Christian Relations, text courtesy of the Medieval Sourcebook
Even
in historical context, Chrysostom’s golden words against the Jews cannot be
redeemed. They are plainly reprehensible.
“Saint Augustine of Hippo – Condoning Slavery,” second in the series:
“Saint Augustine of Hippo – Condoning Slavery,” second in the series:
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