St. John Chrysostom and the Responsibility of a free Conscience

Abstract

St. John Chrysostom was a free man, free from prejudices, convinced that there must be a perfect balance between word and deed, and because he was a righteous man, he had a clear conscience, in which there was no place for lies, duplicity, imposture, cowardice, or contempt. He believed that the power of personal example could change people for better or worse. That is why he asked everyone who held high positions in society and the church to behave responsibly because the evolution or involution of society largely depended on them. For these reasons, he never changed his principles of life, not even when he reached the highest ecclesiastical position in the Eastern Church, Archbishop and Patriarch of Constantinople. This is a remarkable fact, knowing that the higher the role, the greater the responsibilities and the temptation to compromise oneself.