CHRYSOSTOM (c. 354–407), bishop of Constantinople (397–404), father of the Eastern church, biblical commentator, and orator. Born John, he was given the name Chrysostom ("golden mouth") in the sixth century. Though probably the most popular of the Eastern church fathers, John Chrysostom is not the most accurately documented, and much remains to be elucidated concerning both his life and the number and authenticity of his works.

John was born at Antioch at an unknown date; 354 is the most likely. The only period of his life for which we have reliable information is that of his tenure as bishop of Constantinople and his trial and exile. The currently accepted version of his story is based on a seventh- or eighth-century biography ascribed to the patriarch George of Alexandria (c. 620–c. 630), which largely draws upon two sources: an apologetic dialogue (c. 408) by Palladius, bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia and a friend of...