REMOVAL OF THE HOLY RELICS OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
January
27th
Η
Ανακομιδή του Λειψάνου του εν Αγίοις Πατρός ημών Ιωάννου Αρχιεπισκόπου
Κωνσταντινουπόλεως του Χρυσοστόμου
This great ecumenical teacher and hierarch died
in the city of Comana in the year 407 on his way to a place of exile. He had
been condemned by the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia because of his daring
denunciation of the vices ruling over Constantinople. The transfer of his
venerable relics was made in the year 438, thirty years after the death of the
saint during the reign of Eudoxia's son emperor Theodosius II (408-450).
St. John Chrysostom had the warm love and deep
respect of the people, and grief over his untimely death lived on in the hearts
of Christians. St. John's disciple, St. Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople
(434-447), during services in the Church of Hagia Sophia, preached a sermon
praising St. John. He said, "O John, your life was filled with sorrow, but your
death was glorious. Your grave is blessed and reward is great, by the grace and
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. O graced one, having conquered the bounds of
time and place! Love has conquered space, unforgetting memory has annihilated
the limits, and place does not hinder the miracles of the saint."
Those who were present in church, deeply touched
by the words of St. Proclus, did not allow him even to finish his sermon. With
one accord they began to entreat the Patriarch to intercede with the emperor, so
that the relics of St. John might be brought back to Constantinople.
The emperor, overwhelmed by St. Proclus, gave his
consent and gave the order to transfer the relics of St. John. But those he sent
were unable to lift the holy relics until the emperor realized that he had sent
men to take the saint's relics from Comana with an edict, instead of with a
prayer. He wrote a letter to St. John, humbly asking him to forgive his
audacity, and to return to Constantinople. After the message was read at the
grave of St. John, they easily took up the relics, carried them onto a ship and
arrived at Constantinople.
The coffin with the relics was placed in the
Church of Holy Peace (Hagia Eirene). When Patriarch Proclus opened the coffin,
the body of St. John was found to be incorrupt. The emperor approached the
coffin with tears, asking forgiveness for his mother, who had banished St. John.
All day and night people did not leave the coffin.
In the morning the coffin was brought to the
Church of the Holy Apostles. The people cried out, "Father, take up your
throne." Then Patriarch Proclus and the clergy standing by the relics saw St.
John open his mouth and say, "Peace be to all." Many of the sick were healed at
his tomb.
The celebration of the transfer of the relics of
St. John Chrysostom was established in the ninth century.
Source:
OCA
