The Holy Father’s Letter on the occasion of the 16th Centenary of the death of St. John Chrysostom
Posted by JohnG (November 13, 2007 at 3:40 pm)
The Holy Father’s Letter on the occasion of the 16th Centenary of the death of St. John Chrysostom
The Holy Father Benedict XVI addressed bishops and all the faithful with a letter on the occasion of the 16th Centenary of the death of St. John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church. The Letter was released for the opening of the International Conference on St. John Chrysostom 1600th anniversary of his death, which took place at the Patristic Institute “Augustinianum” in Rome, from 8-10 November 2007.
Venerable brothers in the episcopate and priesthood, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
I. Introduction
The sixteenth centenary of the death of St John Chrysostom, the great Father of the Church whom Christians of all times venerate, is being observed this year. John Chrysostom is distinguished in the ancient Church for having promoted that “fruitful encounter between the Christian message and Hellenic culture” which “made a lasting impact on both Eastern and Western Churches”. The life and magisterial teachings of this Holy Bishop and Teacher resound in every century and even today elicit universal admiration. The Roman Pontiffs have always recognized in him a living source of wisdom for the Church, and their attention to his teaching has become even more acute in the last century. One hundred years ago, St Pius X commemorated the fifteenth centenary of the death of St John by inviting the Church to imitate his virtues. Pope Pius XII brought attention to the great value of St John’s contribution to the history of the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures with his theory of “condescension” or synkatábasis. Through it Chrysostom recognized that “the words of God, expressed in human language, become similar to human speech.” The Second Vatican Council incorporated this observation into the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum on Divine Revelation. Blessed John XXIII underscored Chrysostom’s deep understanding of the intimate connection between the eucharistic liturgy and solicitude for the universal Church.
A group of Byzantine Catholic men (and sometimes even a few women) have been gathering for over a year now to read and discuss the Fathers of the Church. The idea was born in 2004 during a 
God has a sense of humor. Whenever there is an attack against the Church, there always seems to be a feast day on the liturgical calendar that directly addresses the attack. Such is the case today. On the weekend when The Da Vinci Code is released, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Constantine, the emperor who issued the Edict of Milan in 313AD ending the persecution of Christians, convened the Council of Nicea, endowed many churches, and received baptism worthily on his deathbed.