John Chrysostom

by Pauline Allen, Wendy Mayer

This book examines John Chrysostom's role as preacher and his pastoral activites as deacon, presbyter and bishop. It also provides fresh and lively translations of a key selection of sermons and letters.

Genres: Church History, Theology, History

244 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 1999

Reviews

[Joshua Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to the life of Ol’ Johnny boy. Heavy on context, and fairly light on actual biography. The texts are a well-selected bunch to introduce people to John’s preaching, although some of the translational decisions were questionable.

[Drake Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent introduction to a key figure in the Eastern Church written by Wendy Mayer a leading scholar on John Chrysostom. The book provides an engaging introduction. Mayer and Allen write about Chrysostom's life, liturgical setting, his influence as a preacher, his audience, his caring nature, and then his daily life. This comprises about 50 pages of the book. The remainder of the book is a sampling of his writings. Not surprisingly several of the documents that are found are homilies, as these have been some of the most influential homilies in church history. The introduction also refers to the various homilies, thus bringing cohesion to the book.

This book presents a great summary of John Chrysostom's life in a short space. Wonderful!

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent little introduction to the life and thought of John Chrysostom. The translations were lively and interesting, and the introductions to each translated work were consistently helpful.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book by one of the foremost scholars on Chrysostom (Mayer). The book provides 50 pages of examination of Chrysostom's life and historical setting. This sets up the background of the numerous homilies and letters presented in the book belonging to Chrysostom. The commentary provided on each selection is quite helpful, and the bibliography of the book provides great resources for further study on Chrysostom.