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Dialogue on the Life of St John Chrysostom

Palladius, tr. Moore, 1921

7. Theophilus, the Monks, and Chrysostom

Synodical Action against the Monks

Not content with this, Theophilus sent to the neighbouring bishops, and convened a synod to condemn the monks; without calling them to defend themselves, or letting them speak a word, he declared outcast three of the most eminent of them (he was afraid to issue sentence of punishment upon the whole body at once), trumping up a charge of perversion of doctrine. The very men whom he had often honoured above bishops as teachers, for their lives, their gifts of speech, and their length of service, he was not ashamed to call impostors, for their attitude towards Isidore. Following up this declaration, he secured ¹ five mannikins from Mount Nitria itself, who never had a place in the chapter-meeting of the elders of the desert, creatures not fit, much as it pains me to say so, to keep the doors; one of them he ordained bishop, and as he had not a city at his disposal, placed him in charge of a little village. He had no scruples about revolutionary acts, as he called himself a second Moses. Another he ordained priest, and the other three deacons. These were not Egyptians, but from different countries—one from Libya, one from Alexandria, one from Pharana, one from Paralus; as they had no hope of making anything out of their native countries, they fell in with his ridiculous measures.

Appeal to the Civil Authority

Next, he persuaded them to present memorials against the three excommunicate bishops, concocting the terms of the accusation himself; their only contribution was the signature. This done, he accepted the memorials from them in the presence of the Church, and proceeded to the governor under the crown,² with whom he lodged a representation against them in his own name, as archbishop of the diocese of Egypt,³ together with the falsely incriminating memorials, demanding the expulsion of the men, with the help of the military, from every part of Egypt.

Savage Attack upon the Monasteries

Armed with the governor’s order, and taking the military with him to cover his doings, he gathered a mob of ruffians, who cared nothing about dignities, and fell upon the monasteries in the dead of night, after priming his young fellows with liquor. First, he ordered their saintly brother Dioscorus, bishop of the mountain, to be expelled from his throne, literally dragged away by Ethiopian slaves, probably unbaptized ⁴ into the bargain, and took possession of his see,⁵ which since the coming of Christ had been in the possession of the city of Dioscorus. Next, he raided the mountain, and gave the trifling property of the monks to his youths; when he had stripped the cells, he searched for the three bishops, whom they had let down into a well, putting rushes upon its mouth. As he could not find them, he set their cells on fire with faggots, burning up with them all their copies of the canonical ⁶ scriptures, and other valuable writings, as well as a boy (so eye-witnesses said), and the sacred elements.⁷

Flight of the Monks to Palestine

When he had thus relieved his senseless fury, he went down again to Alexandria, giving the saintly men an opportunity of escape; they at once took their sheepskin habits, and fled to Palestine, making their way to Aelia,⁸ accompanied by 300 of the worthy monks of the mountain, and a body of priests and deacons. The rest were scattered abroad in different places.

Theophilus pursues Them

The serpent who creeps by crooked ways could not tolerate their freedom, and again stirred up Theophilus against them; boiling with rage, he wrote letters to the bishops of Palestine, as follows: “You ought not to have received these men into your cities, contrary to my judgment; but as you did it in ignorance, I grant you pardon. Look to it then in the future, that you admit them neither into ecclesiastical, nor into private premises.” In the extravagance of his pride, he not only said, but actually imagined that he was a god.

The Monks arrive at Constantinople

The fugitives, sorely distressed by this continual movement from place to place, arrived at the capital,⁹ where Bishop John had been enthroned under the good hand of God for the spiritual care of our rulers; they fell at his feet, begging him to help souls slandered and plundered by men better accustomed to this sort of thing than to doing good.

Appeal to Chrysostom

John stood up, and saw fifty first-rate men, their habits worn grey with their holy toils. With his keen sense of brotherly love, he was deeply moved, and bursting, like Joseph, into tears, inquired what wild boar from the forests, or rogue beast, had been doing mischief to this fruitful vine. “Be seated, father,” they answered; “give us dressings for our ghastly wounds, inflicted through the frenzy of Pope Theophilus, and see if you can bind up our swelling gashes. If even you give us no attention, through respect to, or fear of, Theophilus, as the other bishops have done, there is nothing left for us to do, but to go to the king, and inform him of this man’s ill-doings, to the disrepute of the Church. If then you have any concern for the good name of the Church, receive our petition, and persuade him to allow us our home in Egypt. We have committed no offence, either against the law of the Saviour or against the Pope himself.”

Chrysostom’s Dealings with the Monks

John thought that he would have no difficulty in changing the revengeful feelings of Theophilus towards them, and gladly took the matter in hand. He instructed the men, for the love of God, to keep silence, and to tell no one why they were there, until he should send word to his brother Theophilus. He gave them sleeping-quarters in the Church of the Resurrection,¹⁰ but did not supply them with any of the necessities of life. Some godly women provided them with food, and they made their own contribution by the labours of their hands.

It happened that at that time there were some of Theophilus’ clergy in Constantinople, who had come to purchase promotion from the newly-appointed ¹¹ governors in the province ¹² of Egypt, and to secure their favour towards him, in carrying out his plans for the destruction of those who were an annoyance to him. So John called these men, and inquired if they knew the ascetics who were in the city. They frankly gave the men a good character. “We know them,” they told John; “it is true that they have been treated with great violence. If it please you, my lord, refuse them communion in the spiritual feast, so as not to annoy the Pope, but deal kindly with them in everything else. This will be expected of you, as bishop.”

Chrysostom’s Letter to Theophilus

So John did not receive them into communion,¹³ but wrote to Theophilus, courteously asking him to do him, as Theophilus’ son and brother, the favour of taking the men like little children in his arms. Theophilus refused to do John the favour, and sent to him certain persons well versed in verbal disputes —the men we have just mentioned—instructing them to present requirements, which as usual he dictated himself, containing statements admittedly false, but dressed out with all sorts of calumnies in regard to the men’s spiritual condition,¹⁴ as he had nothing to bring against their outward lives. Thus they were to be pointed at as impostors at the palace.

Theophilus Implacable

Seeing that Theophilus, so far from coming to a right mind, was all the more bitter against them, the ascetics sent a numerous deputation to him, declaring that they anathematized all false doctrine; and presented a petition to John, detailing the various forms of oppression from which they suffered, and some specific points of complaint. I am ashamed to speak of them in the presence of these young people, for fear of shaking their confidence in my veracity; perhaps, too, even more experienced Christians might not believe me.

John again, both in person and through other bishops, urged them to drop the charges against Theophilus, in view of the mischief which the suit would cause, and wrote to Theophilus: “They are reduced to such extremities, that they are filing a formal indictment against you. I leave it to you to deal with it as you think best; for I cannot persuade them to leave the capital.”

At this, Theophilus blazed with anger, and suspended the brother of the monks, Bishop Dioscorus, a man who had grown old in the service of the Church, from ministering in his own church; while he wrote to John: “I think that you are unaware of the order of the Nicene Canons, in which it is laid down that a bishop shall not exercise jurisdiction beyond his boundaries; ¹⁵ if so, now that you know it, leave these charges against me alone, if there was any need for me to be put on my trial, it should be before Egyptian judges, not before you, at the distance of a seventy-five days’ journey.”

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