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John Chrysostom is remembered by Western Christians (if he is remembered) mostly as a great preacher. But to 215 million Orthodox believers, John is much more. To discover why, Christian History talked to Bishop Kallistos Ware, lecturer in Eastern Orthodox studies at the University of Oxford. Bishop Ware is author of two popular introductions: The Orthodox Church (Penguin, 1963), and The Orthodox Way (Mowbray, 1979).

Christian History:

Why is John Chrysostom so well remembered by Eastern Orthodox Christians today?

Kallistos Ware:

He is familiar to every Orthodox believer because we hear his name each Sunday in worship. The liturgy celebrated nearly every week is attributed to St. John Chrysostom. At the end of the service, in the final blessing, we hear the words, " … the prayers of our holy father, John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, whose liturgy we have celebrated."

In addition, we see him in church: his icon, along with others, is displayed at the front of the church. He is pictured in bishop's vestments, standing with head bowed, holding a scroll of the divine liturgy associated with his name.

Did John actually write this service?

The service has been evolving from before John, but the nucleus of it likely goes back to Chrysostom's time. The service at Antioch that John used contained at least some of the elements we use today.

What is unique about John's understanding of worship?

John bequeathed a very strong sense of the unity between the worship of the earthly congregation and the worship that goes on unceasingly in heaven. "When the priest invokes the Holy Spirit," he once said, "angels attend him, and the whole sanctuary is thronged with heavenly power." Put simply, John thought of worship as "heaven on earth."

When we celebrate the Eucharist, John explained, we are taken up into an action much greater than ourselves: "When you see the Lord's sacrifice lying before you … and all who partake marked with the precious blood, can you imagine that you are still among humans and still standing on earth? Are you not at once transported to heaven? Do you not gaze around upon heavenly things?"

We're surprised that you didn't mention preaching as the first thing you appreciate about John.

His preaching is, naturally, central, yet the sermon for John was part of the liturgy. Chrysostom was a liturgical preacher. His sermons were normally delivered during the divine liturgy.

What to you is most impressive about John's preaching?

His deep love for holy Scripture. He can be truly called an evangelical. He likes to keep close to the literal sense of the Scripture.

Another thing is John's emphasis on love for others. In one sense, we cannot be saved without others: our sanctification is found in them and theirs in us as we love and serve one another. That's the main way we "work out our salvation" (Phil. 2:12).

Is this why John was so concerned about the poor?

Partly, but this also is connected with his view of worship. Worship as heaven on earth goes hand in hand with a strong social conscience. "You honor the altar at church, because the body of Christ rests upon it," he once said, "but those who are themselves the very body of Christ you treat with contempt and you remain indifferent when you see them perishing." Upon this living altar—which can be seen lying in the streets and the marketplaces, he said—one can also offer a sacrifice to God.

The body of Christ received in the sacrament is vital, but there's also the living body of Christ, which to Chrysostom means all human beings. Not that everyone is saved and a member of the church. But every human being, made in the image of God, reflects the image of Christ. Christ himself, in fact, identified himself specifically with the poor and needy (Matt. 25).

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