On Saint Eustathius of Antioch · §5 · John Chrysostom

Why God permits the faithful to be attacked

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Chrysostom is explaining why God allowed Eustathius to be expelled from Antioch, and he turns to Paul's experience of the thorn in the flesh to show that God permits attacks on true faith to reveal its strength.

And what happened in Stephen’s case happened in his as well. Just as the Jews, unable to withstand Stephen’s wisdom, were stoning that holy man, so these men, unable to withstand his wisdom and seeing the strongholds secured, finally cast the herald out of the city. But the voice did not fall silent: the man was cast out, but the word of his teaching was not cast out. Paul was in chains, and the word of God was not in chains (2 Timothy 2:9); so too this man was in a foreign land, and his teaching remained among us. So they banded together and swept in like a violent torrent—but they neither swept away the plants nor buried the seeds nor harmed the cultivation, so well and skillfully had they been rooted by his wisdom. But it is worth saying why God permitted him to be driven away from here. The church had recently recovered its breath; his oversight was no small comfort to it. He was walling it around on every side and beating back the assaults of its enemies. Why then was he cast out, and why did God permit those who were taking him away? Why? Do not think that what I am about to say resolves only this difficulty; even if you are debating with pagans or with other heretics about such matters, what will be said is enough to resolve the whole difficulty. God allows his true and apostolic faith to be fought against in many ways, but he lets the heresies and paganism enjoy freedom from disturbance. Why is that? So that you may learn the weakness of the latter from the fact that they collapse on their own even when no one troubles them, and so that you may recognize the strength of the faith from the fact that it is fought against and yet grows through those who try to hinder it. And to show that this is not my own conjecture but a divine oracle sent from above, let us hear what Paul says about these things—for he too once suffered something human. Even if he was Paul, he still shared our nature. What was it he suffered? He was driven out, fought against, scourged, plotted against in countless ways—from outside, from inside, by those who seemed to be his own and by strangers. Why need I say how many afflictions he endured? So, growing weary and no longer bearing the assaults of enemies who were constantly cutting short his teaching and opposing his word, he falls before the Master and pleads with him, saying: “A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to strike me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, and he said to me: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). I know that some think this weakness is bodily—but it is not, it is not. He calls the opposing human beings a messenger of Satan. For “Satan” is a Hebrew word, and “Satan” means “the one who opposes.” So he calls the instruments of the devil, the human beings who serve him, his messengers. Why then, he says, is it attached to the flesh? Because the flesh was being scourged, while the soul was being lifted up, raised high by hope in the things to come. For it did not touch the soul, nor did it trip up the reasoning within; the devices and the war stopped at the flesh, unable to pass inside.

Greek

Καὶ ὅπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Στεφάνου γέγονε, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνου συνέβαινεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἰσχύοντες ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ τῇ τοῦ Στεφάνου, οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐλίθαζον τὸν ἅγιον ἐκεῖνον· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι οὐκ ἰσχύοντες ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ τῇ τούτου, καὶ ὁρῶντες ἠσφαλισμένα τὰ ὀχυρώματα, ἐκβάλλουσι τῆς πόλεως λοιπὸν τὸν κήρυκα. Ἀλλ' ἡ φωνὴ οὐκ ἐσίγα, ἀλλ' ἐξεβάλλετο μὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὁ δὲ λόγος τῆς διδασκαλίας οὐκ ἐξεβάλλετο. Καὶ γὰρ Παῦλος ἐδέδετο, καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἐδέδετο· καὶ οὗτος ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ, καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία αὐτοῦ παρ' ἡμῖν. Ἐκ βάλλοντες τοίνυν ἐπεισῄεσαν συμφραξάμενοι, καθά περ χείμαῤῥος σφοδρός· ἀλλ' οὔτε τὰ φυτὰ παρέσυραν, οὔτε τὰ σπέρματα κατέχωσαν, οὔτε τὴν γεωργίαν ἐλυμήναντο· οὕτω καλῶς καὶ μετ' ἐπιστήμης ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκείνου γεωργηθέντα σοφίας ἐῤῥίζωτο. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἄξιον εἰπεῖν, τίνος ἕνεκεν συνεχώρησεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς ἀπελαθῆναι ἐντεῦθεν. Προσφάτως ἦν ἀναπνεύσασα ἡ Ἐκκλησία· εἶχε παραμυθίαν οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν τὴν ἐπιστασίαν τὴν ἐκείνου· πανταχόθεν αὐτὴν ἐτείχιζεν, καὶ τῶν πολεμίων τὰς προσβολὰς ἀπεκρούετο. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐξεβάλλετο, καὶ συνεχώρει τοῖς ἀπάγουσιν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός; τίνος ἕνεκεν; Καὶ μή τοι νομίσητε ταύτης τῆς ἀπορίας λύσιν εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον μόνης· ἀλλὰ κἂν πρὸς Ἕλληνας, κἂν πρὸς αἱρε τικοὺς ἄλλους ὑμῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων γίνηται λόγος, ἱκανὸν τὸ ῥηθησόμενον ἅπασαν λῦσαι τὴν ἀπορίαν. Ὁ Θεὸς τὴν μὲν πίστιν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀληθῆ καὶ ἀποστο λικὴν ἐν πολλοῖς συγχωρεῖ πολεμεῖσθαι, τὰς δὲ αἱρέ σεις καὶ τὸν ἑλληνισμὸν ἀφίησιν ἀδείας ἀπο λαύειν. Τί δήποτε; Ἵνα ἐκείνων μὲν τὴν ἀσθένειαν μάθῃς οὐκ ἐνοχλουμένων, καὶ αὐτομάτως καταλυο μένων· τῆς δὲ πίστεως τὴν ἰσχὺν γνωρίσῃς πολεμου μένης, καὶ διὰ τῶν κωλυόντων αὐξανομένης. Καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐμός ἐστιν οὗτος στοχασμὸς, ἀλλὰ θεῖος χρησμὸς ἄνωθεν ἐνεχθεὶς, ἀκούσωμεν Παύλου τί περὶ τούτων φησί· καὶ γὰρ ἔπαθέ τί ποτε ἀνθρώπινον καὶ οὗτος· εἰ γὰρ καὶ Παῦλος ἦν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας μετέσχε φύσεως. Τί δέ ἐστιν, ὅπερ ἔπαθεν; Ἠλαύνετο, ἐπολεμεῖτο, ἐμαστίζετο, μυρίοις ἐπεβουλεύετο τρόποις, ἔξωθεν, ἔσωθεν, ὑπὸ τῶν δοκούντων οἰκείων εἶναι, ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων. Καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν, ὅσας ὑπέμεινε θλίψεις; Κάμνων τοίνυν, καὶ μηκέτι φέρων τὰς προσ βολὰς τῶν πολεμίων ἀεὶ διακοπτόντων αὐτοῦ τὴν δι δασκαλίαν, καὶ ἐναντιουμένων αὐτοῦ τῷ λόγῳ, προσ πίπτει τῷ Δεσπότῃ, καὶ παρακαλεῖ αὐτὸν, καὶ λέγει· Ἐδόθη μοι σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκὶ ἄγγελος Σατᾶν, ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ· ὑπὲρ τούτου τρὶς τὸν Κύριον παρεκάλεσα, καὶ εἴρηκέ μοι· Ἀρκεῖ σοι ἡ χάρις μου· ἡ γὰρ δύναμίς μου ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται. Καὶ οἶδα μὲν ὅτι τινὲς ἀσθένειαν εἶναι νομίζουσι σωμα τικήν· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀλλ' ἄγγελον Σατᾶν τοὺς ἀντικειμένους ἀνθρώπους καλεῖ· τὸ γὰρ Σατᾶν τοῦτο Ἑβραϊκὴ λέξις ἐστί· Σατᾶν δὲ ὁ ἀντικείμενος λέγεται. Τὰ οὖν σκεύη τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνῳ διακονουμένους ἀνθρώπους ἀγγέλους αὐ τοῦ καλεῖ. Διὰ τί οὖν, φησὶ, πρόσκειται τῇ σαρκί; Ὅτι ἡ σὰρξ ἐμαστίζετο, ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ἐκουφίζετο τῇ ἐλπίδι τῶν μελλόντων ἐπαιρομένη· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἥπτετο τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐδὲ ὑπεσκέλιζε τοὺς ἔνδον λογισμοὺς, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τῆς σαρκὸς εἱστήκει τὰ μηχανήματα καὶ ὁ πόλεμος, εἴσω διαβῆναι μὴ δυνάμενος.

About this text

Chrysostom praises Eustathius, Antioch's exiled bishop, as worthy of a martyr's honor though he died in exile.

John Chrysostom (c. 349–407) delivered this encomium to the congregation at Antioch. He spoke on a festal occasion when the Antiochene church annually honored the memory of Eustathius, the city's former bishop, whose body lay buried in Thrace. Chrysostom's purpose was to show that Eustathius deserved the honor of a martyr even though he died in exile rather than by violence.

The occasion was a public celebration in Antioch, where the church gathered to remember Eustathius. Chrysostom presents him as a vigilant shepherd who defended the church of Antioch against the Arian heresy, was expelled by his enemies, and continued to care for his flock even from exile. A reader will meet Abraham, Paul, Stephen, Moses, Aaron, Solomon, and Meletius, whose words and examples Chrysostom uses to support his argument.

Chrysostom argues that martyrdom is determined by intention and readiness, not only by the manner of death. He quotes Solomon from Ecclesiastes, Paul from his epistles and Acts, God from Genesis, Moses from Exodus, and the Lord speaking to Paul. 'Exile' is the specific suffering Eustathius endured for Christ. 'Wolves' refers to heretics who threaten the flock of the church. 'Flock' is the congregation entrusted to a bishop's care. 'Heresy' is the Arian heresy spreading from Egypt that Eustathius opposed. 'Paganism' is the earlier external enemy of the church, contrasted with the internal threat of heresy. 'Messenger of Satan' is Paul's phrase for the human opponents and persecutors who afflicted him, understood as agents of Satan. 'Thorn in the flesh' is Paul's phrase interpreted by Chrysostom as the persecutions and opponents that afflicted Paul's body but could not touch his soul. 'Virtuous life' is the disciplined, virtuous way of life proper to Christians, especially in enduring suffering. 'Luxury' is self-indulgence, which Chrysostom contrasts with the life of virtue and martyrdom. 'Crown' is the crown of martyrdom or victory awarded by God to those who endure for Christ.

No published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Migne PG text (Aegean University Digital Patrology, via (Greek)
Also checked Migne PG 50, archive.org scan patrologiae_cursus_completus_gr_vol_050 (Greek machine-read text) (Greek · check (same print; machine-read text compared word by word))

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