On the Priesthood (De Sacerdotio)
St. John Chrysostom’s six-book treatise On the Priesthood (Peri hierosynes; Latin De Sacerdotio), composed around 390, is the most influential work ever written on the pastoral office in the Christian East — and, through its Latin and vernacular afterlife, in the West as well. Cast as a dialogue between the young John and his friend Basil, it weds a vivid personal apologia to a sustained theology of the priesthood as a ministry “discharged on earth” that yet “ranks among heavenly ordinances.”
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Church Father)
This section treats On the Priesthood in two passes. The first file reconstructs its literary frame — the celebrated story of how John and Basil were both proposed for the episcopate, how John concealed himself and let his friend be ordained, and how the treatise stages itself as his defense of that “deception” — and lays out the six-book structure, the dating, and the work’s reception as the classic of priestly formation East and West. The second file draws out the theology: the awesome character of the eucharistic office, preaching as the priest’s chief instrument, pastoral discernment, and the searing standard of personal holiness Chrysostom sets for the man who would stand at the altar.
The treatise belongs to Chrysostom’s Antioch period (ordained deacon by Meletius in 381, priest by Flavian in 386). It is the self-examination of a man who fled the office, watched it claim his friend, and then spent his life proving he understood exactly what he had tried to escape.
Navigation
| File | Subject |
|---|---|
| On the Priesthood (De Sacerdotio) | The literary frame and the Basil story, the six-book structure, the famous Book III passage, and the work’s history as the classic of priestly formation |
| The Theology of the Priesthood | The eucharistic office, preaching as the priest’s weapon, pastoral discernment, the standard of purity, and the work’s place in Orthodox ordination |
See Also
- Foundations: St. John Chrysostom — the asceticism and ordination that stand behind the treatise
- Holy Orders (The Mystery of Ordination) — the dogmatic framework of the priesthood Chrysostom describes
- The Church Fathers — Chrysostom’s authority in the patristic tradition
References
- Chrysostom, John. Six Books on the Priesthood. Trans. Graham Neville. Popular Patristics Series. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1984 (Graded reprint).
- Chrysostom, John. On the Priesthood. Trans. W. R. W. Stephens. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 9. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1889.
- Kelly, J. N. D. Golden Mouth: The Story of John Chrysostom — Ascetic, Preacher, Bishop. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995.
- Quasten, Johannes. Patrology, vol. 3. Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1960.