Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom—Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop by J. N. D. Kelly

Abstract

296book reviews properly caUed Homoianism. Further, whUe any IUe of Ambrose of Milan mentions that he succeeded the "Arian" bishop Auxentius in 374, and in 386 kept Justina, the Arianizing mother ofValentinian,from taking over a basUica in MUan for her cause,WUUams shows that Ambrose's engagement with the Homoians involved far more than these two moments. WesternArianism,from 360 on,is"Homoianism,"which designates a set ofbeliefs accepted by the Synod ofAriminum in 360 and enshrined in a creed promulgated at Constantinople Ui 360, according to which the Son is "like the Father, who begot him, according to the Scriptures," a phrase that was meant to replace the troublesome homoousion of the Creed of Nicaea. A coda to the creed aboUshed the word ousia and forbade the use of hypostasis in regard to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."The Son is like the Father"was to be the phrase accepted by aU. WUUams undertakes to restudy the events in northern Italy from 360, when the Homoian creed was enacted, to 387, when the discovery of the reUcs of Gervasius and Protasius (386) and the invasion of Italy by Magnus Maximus (387) effectively put an end to Homoianism in theWest.WUUams treats his topic in a historical narrative. He begins with the CouncU ofAriminum, and then considers HUary of Poitiers and Eusebius ofVerceUi, early defenders of Nicaea. Most of the book is dedicated to a study ofAmbrose and his efforts to fight back Homoianism and spread Nicene Catholicism.WUUams deals with Ambrose's election and his early years as bishop, his work Defide, and the important CouncU ofAquileia (381). He also shows that Homoianism did not disappear from Italy Ui 381, but perdured for another six years or so. As is the current style, Ambrose 's halo is tarnished a bit and the heretics' horns are somewhat duUed. WUUams' interest is history rather than theology. Perhaps there is not a great deal of theology to talk about; but the theologian might wish that WUUams had dealt a little more with the question of the Homoians' thought and its inner coherence . As a study of precisely western events in the later-fourth century, WUUams' book takes these events out of the shadow of Greek and eastern theologians and conflicts, and shows them for what they were—not world-shaking events, but an important local conflict that involved several emperors and St. Ambrose ofMilan, and contributed to the distinctive shape ofwestern theology and poUtics. Joseph T. Lienhard Fordham University Golden Mouth: The Story ofJohn Chrysostom—Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. By J. N. D. KeUy. (Ithaca, New York: CorneU University Press. 1995. Pp. x, 310. $47.50.) After writing an exceUent biography ofJerome,J. N. D. KeUy the distinguished Oxford scholar of early Christian history and doctrine, has turned to the East BOOK REVIEWS297 and performed a simUar service for John Chrysostom.With the possible exception ofChrysostom Baur, whose masterful study ofJohn was written in German and translated poorly into EngUsh, no other author has delved so deeply into the Ufe and work of this complex, influential, and tragic figure ofthe fourth century and produced such a far-ranging but precise, soUdly researched, and eminently readable account. The three words attached to John's name in the title sum up the three main periods of his IUe. After chUdhood and early education John Uved for six years outside his native Antioch in Syria, first as a monk, and then as a hermit in the neighboring mountains.When his health faUed, he returned to Antioch and was incorporated into its clergy. During twelve years as a skUled and popular preacher he became an influential figure in the city. He was then brought to Constantinople, where as bishop he played a leading role in the Ufe of both the Christian Church and the recently Christianized Roman Empire, as these two entities struggled to exist on their own and Ui an increasingly complex interrelationship . John Uved during a critical period of Christian history. Arianism -was condemned at synods in Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381), but Uved on both within the Empire and outside, among the Goths and other so-caUed barbarian tribes, supported intermittently by emperors...