Letters to Olympias

John Chrysostom (c. 347-407)

Sent during Chrysostom's exile from Constantinople between 404 and 407, these five letters address Olympias, the wealthy deaconess who remained in the city while he was banished through the intrigues of the empress Eudoxia and hostile bishops. Chrysostom wrote seventeen letters to Olympias in total; this selection, translated by W.R.W. Stephens, contains the fullest of them. The letters confront her despondency directly, arguing that sin is the only real trial, that bodily suffering holds the highest rank among the virtues, and that affliction refines the soul as fire refines gold. They are among the earliest extended examples of pastoral direction under persecution, remarkable for the precision of the spiritual argument and the composure of a man addressing his own likely death.

1 hr total · 5 chapters