St. John Chrysostom and the Jesus Prayer

by John Chrysostom, Maximos Constas (Translator), Peter A. Chamberas (Translator)

Since the middle Byzantine period, one of the most widely read texts on the Jesus Prayer was a lengthy letter said to be written by St John Chrysostom. The letter assumed increasing authority in the late Byzantine period when it was cited approvingly by the Synodical Tome of 1341, which championed the theology of St Gregory Palamas. The letter remained canonical reading through the eighteenth century, when it was mentioned by St Nikodemos in his prologue to the Philokalia. This book studies the history of this letter and its authorship, and presents the original Greek text together with a facing-page English translation. The book concludes with an additional work on the Jesus Prayer by St Mark of Ephesus.

140 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

John Chrysostom (c. 347–407, Greek: Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος), Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic sensibilities. After his death in 407 (or, according to some sources, during his life) he was given the Greek epithet chrysostomos, meaning "golden mouthed", in English and Anglicized to Chrysostom.

The Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches honor him as a saint and count him among the Three Holy Hierarchs, together with Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzus. He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church as a saint and as a Doctor of the Church. Churches of the Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, some Anglican provinces, and parts of the Lutheran Church, commemorate him on 13 September. Some Lutheran and many Anglican provinces commemorate him on the traditional Eastern feast day of 27 January. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria also recognizes John Chrysostom as a saint (with feast days on 16 Thout and 17 Hathor).

John is known in Christianity chiefly as a preacher, theologian and liturgist. Among his homilies, eight directed against Judaizing Christians remain controversial for their impact on the development of Christian antisemitism.

Reviews

[Matthew Aravena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from being physically beautiful and supremely well made, it's a beautiful book. Concise and packed with history while never feeling like a list. Superbly written and researched, made to be read several times and I certainly will.

[Catherine]

(Review partially inspired by my recent paper on this)

This book integrates treatment on the exterior life and the interior life very beautifully. Specifically, it talks about how we should relate to other people, that we should treat others as spiritual beings. It also talks about that in all things we should remember that we do not know when we will die, and that we will answer for both our actions and our (secretly held and kept) thoughts on the Day of Judgment. It ends on a really hopeful note, though, talking of future eternal bliss if we are able to keep struggling.

The translation is good and easy to read. Having the facing Greek text is nice. To be honest, the actual text is very short, and I think the book (although beautifully bound) is overpriced for the amount of text you get. Fr Maximos’ introduction is good and reminds me of our first Philokalia lecture, so definitely worth a read.

Overall, worthwhile material, fairly easy to read, and very interesting.

No rating because I don’t rate class books.

[Steven Lazarus · Rating 5 out of 5]

What more beauty could be added to this simple but elegant book? The wonderful St. John Chrysostom elucidates the inward prayer in such a down to earth way. With the inclusion of the introduction of St. Nicodemus, sore fully missing in the Philokalia, and the short but profound letter of St. Mark on the Jesus Prayer it really connects you to the “one thing necessary”.

[Laxdaniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As others have mentioned, this is a beautiful book from Newrome Press. It was an excellent read and informative as I wanted to learn about the beginnings of The Jesus Prayer.