Sep. 13 Memorial of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Memorial

The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. John Chrysostom (347-407). St. John was born in Antioch. His powerful eloquence earned him the surname of Chrysostom, or golden mouthed. With St. Athanasius, St. Gregory Nazianzen and St. Basil, he forms the group of the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. As Archbishop of Constantinople, his courageous stance against the vices of even the wealthy caused him to be exiled several times. As a result he died in 407, still in exile. In 1204 his relics were brought to St. Peter's in Rome. Some of the relics were returned to the Orthodox on November 27, 2004 by Pope Saint John Paul II. His silver and jewel-encrusted skull is now kept in the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos in northern Greece, and is credited by Christians with miraculous healings. His right hand is also preserved on Mount Athos, and numerous smaller relics are scattered throughout the world.