JOHN
457
JOHN
It is true that Chrysostom has some very strange
passages on our Blessed Lady (see Newman, "Certain
difficulties felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching",
London, 1876, pp. 130 sqq.), that he seems to ignore
private confession to a priest, that there is no clear
and direct passage in favour of the primacy of the
pope. But it must be remembered that all the re-
spective passages contain nothing positive against the
actual Catholic doctrine. On the other side Chry-
sostom explicitly acknowledges as a rule of faith
tradition (XI, 4SS), as laid down by the authoritative
teaching of the Church (I, 81.3). This Church, he
says, is but one, by the unity of her doctrine (V, 22-1;
XI, 5.54) ; she is spread over the whole world, she is
the one Bride of Christ (III, 229, 403; V, 62; VIII,
170). As to Christology, Chrysostom holds clearly
that Christ is God and man in one person, but he
never enters into deeper examination of the manner
of this union. Of great importance is his doctrine
regarding the Eucharist. There cannot be the slight-
est doubt that he teaches the Real Presence, and
his expressions on the change wrought by the words
of the priest are equivalent to the doctrine of tran-
substantiation (see Naegle, " Die Eucharistielehre des
hi. Joh. Chrys.", 74 sq.).
A complete analysis and critique of the enormous literature on Chrysostom (from the sixteenth centurj- to the twentieth) is given in Baur, S. Jean Chrt/sostome et ses auvres dans I'his- toire UtUraire (Paris and Louviin. 1907), 223-297.
( 1 ) Life OF (5hrysostom. (a) Sources. — Palladius, Dialogus cum Theodora, Ecclesice Romance Diacono, de mtd et conversalione b.Joh. Chrysostomi {written c. 408: best source; ed. Bigot. Paris, 1680; P. G., XLVII. 5-82); M.ARTTRins. Panegyricus in S. Joh. Chrysostomum (written c. 408; ed. P. G.. loo. cit., XLI-LII); Socrates, Hist. EccL, VI, 2-23, and VII, 23. 45 (P. G., LXVII, 661 sqq.); SozOMENOS. Hist. eccL, VIII, 2-28 (P. G., ibid., 1513 sqq.), more complete than Socrates, on whom he is dependent: Theodoret, Hist, eccl, V, 27-36; P. G., LXXXII, 1256-68, not always reliable; Zosimus, V, 23-4 (ed. Bekker, p. 278-80, Bonn, 1837). not trustworthy.
(b) Later .Authors. — Theodore of Thrimitus (P. G., XLVII, col. 51-SS). without value, written about the end of the seventh century; (Pseudo-) Georgius .'Vlexandrinus. ed. Savile. Chrys. opera omnia (Eton, 1612), VIII, 157-265 (8th- 9th century): Leo imperator, Laudatio Chrys. (P. G., CVII, 228 sqq.): .4nontmus (ed. Savile, loc. cit., 293-371); Stmeon Metaphrastes (P. G.. CXIV, 1045-1209).
(c) Modern Biographies. — English; Stephens, Saint John Chrysostom, his life and times, a sketch of the Church and the em- pire in the fourth century (London, 1871 : 2nd ed., London, 1880), the best English biography, but it anglicanizes the doctrine of Chrysostom ; BnsH, The Life and Times of Chrysostom (London, 1885). a popular treatise. French: Hermant, La Vie de Saint JeanChrysostome . . . rfzWsee cti /:^ iiVes (Paris, 1664; 3rd ed., Paris, 1683), the first scientific biography: de Tillemont, Memoires pour servir a Vhistoire eccUsiastique des six premiers siecles, XI, 1-405, 547-626 (important for the chronology); Stilting. De S. Jo. Chrysostomo . . . Commentarius historicus in .Acta SS., IV, Sept.. 401-700 (1st ed.. 1753). best scientific biography in Latin; Thierry, S. Jean Chrysostome et I'impera- trice Eudoiie (Paris, 1872; 3rd ed., Paris, 1SS9), "more romance than history"; Puech, Saint Jean Chrysostome (Paris, 1900; 5th ed., Paris, 1905). popular and to be read with caution. German: Neander, Der hi. Joh. Chrysostomum und die Kirche, besonders des Orients, in dessen Zeitalter, 2 vols. (Berlin. 1821- 22; 4th ed., Berlin, 1858): first vol., translated into English by Stapleton (London, 1838), gives an account of the doctrine of Chrysostom with Protestant views; Lttdwig, Der hi. Joh. Chrys. in seinem Verhaltniss zum byzantinischen Hof. (Brauns- berg, 1883), scientific. Chr>'sostom aa orator: Albert, S. Jean Chrysostome considere comme orateur populaire (Paris, 1858); AcKERMANN, Die Beredsamkcit des hi. Joh. Chrys. (Wtirzburg, 1889); cf. WiLLEY, Chrysostom: The Orator (Cincinnati, 1908), popular essay.
(2) Chrysostom's Writings, (a) Chronology. — See Tille- mont, Stilting, Montfaucon, Chrys. Opera omma.- Usener, Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuehungen, I (Bonn, 1889), 514-40; Rauschen, Jahrbiicher der christl. Kirche unter dem Kaiser Theodosius dem Grossen (Freiburg im Br., 1897), 251-3, 277-9, 49.5-9; Batiffol, Revue bibl., VIII, 566-72; Pargoire, Echos d'Orient, III, 151-2; E. Schwartz, Jiidische und christl. Oster- tafeln (Berlin, 1905), 169-84.
(b) Authenticity. — Haidacher. Zdtschr. fur Kath. Theologie, XVIII-XXXII; Idem, Des hi. Joh. Chrys. Buchlein uberHoffart u. Kindererziehung (Frieburg im Br., 1907).
(3) Chrysostom's Doctrine. — Materus, Chrysostomus Lutheranus (Grimma, 1680: Wittenberg, 16.S6): HAcki, D.Jo Chrysostomus ... a Lutheranismo . . . vindicatus (Oliva. 1683): FoRSTER, Chrysostomus in seinem Verhaltniss zur an- tiochen. Schule (Gotha, 1869); Chase, Chrysostom, a Study in the History of Biblical Interpretation (London. 1887); Haid- acher. Die Lehre des hi. Joh. Chrys. iiber die Srhriflinspiration (Salzburg, 1897); Chapman. SI. Chrysostom on St. Peter m
Dublin Rci-iew (1903), 1-27: Naegle, Die Eucharistielehre de»
hi. Johannes Chrysostojnus, des Doctor Eucharistiae (Freiburg im
Br., 1900).
(4) Editions, (a) Compirff.— Savile (Eton. 1612), 8 volumes (the best text); Dnc.EDS (Paris, 1609-1636), 12 vols.; de Mont- faucon (Paris, 1718-1738), 13 vols.; Migne, P. G., XLVII- LXIII.
(b) Partial. — Field, Homiliw in Matth. (Cambridge, 1839), 3 vols., best actual text reprinted in Migne, LVII-LVIII; Idem, HomilicE in omnes epislolas Pauli (Oxford, 1845-62), VII. The last critical edition of the De Saccrdotio was edited by Nairn (Cambridge, 1906). There exist about 54 complete editions (in five languages), 86 special editions of De Sacerdotio (in twelve languages), and the whole number of all (complete and special) editions is greatly over 1000. The oldest editionsare tne Latin; of which forty-six different incunabula editions (before the year 1500) exist. See Diodorus or Tarsus, Me- letius op Antioch, Origenists, Palladius, Theodore of mopsuestla.
Chrys. Baur.
John Climacus, Saint, also sumamed Scholas- Ticu.s, and The Sin.^ita, b. doubtlessly in Syria, about 525; d. on Mount Sinai, 30 March, probably in 606, according to the accredited opinion — others say 605. Although his education and learning fitted him to live in an intellectual environment, he chose, while still young, to abandon the world for a life of solitude. The region of Mount Sinai was then celebrated for the holiness of the monks who inhabited it; he betook himself thither and trained himself to the practice of the Christian virtues under the direction of a monk named Martyrius. After the death of Marty- rius John, wishing to practise greater mortifications, withdrew to a hermitage at the foot of the mountain. In this isolation he lived for some twenty years, con- stantly studying the Hves of the saints and thus becoming one of the most learned doctors of the Church.
In 600, when he was about seventy-five years of age, the monks of Sinai persuaded him to put himself at their head. He acquitted himself of his functions as abbot with the greatest wisdom, and his reputation spread so far that the pope (St. Gregory the Great) wrote to recommend himself to his prayers, and sent him a sum of money for the hospital of Sinai, in which the pilgrims were wont to lodge. Four years later he resigned liis charge and returned to his hermitage to prepare for death.
St. John Climacus has left us two important works: the "Scala [KXi/xal] Paradisi", from which his sur- name comes, composed at the request of John, Ab- bot of Raithu, a monastery situated on the shores of the Red Sea; and the "Liber ad Pastorem". The "Scala", which obtained an immense popularity and has made its author famous in the Church, is ad- dressed to anchorites and cenobites, and treats of the means by which the highest degree of religious per- fection may be attained. Divided into thirty parts, or "steps", in memory of the thirty years of the hidden life of Christ, the Divine model of the re- ligious, it presents a picture of all the virtues and contains a great many parables and historical touches, drawn principally from the monastic life, and exhib- iting the practical application of the precepts. At the same time, as the work is mostly written in a concise, sententious form, with the aid of aphorisms, and as the reasonings are not sufficiently closely connected, it is at times somewhat obscure. This explains its having been the subject of various com- mentaries, even in very early times. The most ancient of the manuscripts containing the "Scala" is found in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and was probably brought from Florence by Catharine de' Medici. In some of these manuscripts the work bears the title of " Spiritual Tables " (YVK&kcs Trfevfian- Kal). It was translated into Latin by Ambrogio the Camaldolese (AmbrosiusCamaldulensis) (Venice, 1531 and 1569; Cologne, 1583, 1593, ^N-ith a commentary by Denis the Carthusian; and 1601, 8vo). The Greek of the "Scala", with the scholia of Elias, Archbishop of Crete, and also the text of the " Liber ad Pas-
