John Chrysostom & the Ten Commandments
In 387 CE [AD] in Syrian Antioch, now southeast Turkey, John Chrysostom preached a series of sermons to his fellow Antiochenes who had been charged with sedition for rioting against new taxes. Bishop Flavian of Antioch traveled to Constantinople to persuade Emperor Theodosius to pardon the city. On the Last Sunday of Epiphany, which was February 3rd that year, Chrysostom remarks upon the rioters' toppling of the city's statues of the emperor and his wife Flacilla. Here I've paired excerpts drawn from that sermon, known as Homily 3 on the Statues, with the Ten Commandments.
Thanks to Church of the Incarnation in Harrisonburg, Virginia, for their 2026 Lenten devotional which pointed me to Homily 3.
Note: By teacher in I and by father in V below, Chrysostom refers to Bishop Flavius.
I
I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods but me.
We rely upon the mercy of God much more than upon the fidelity of our Teacher and the humanity of the Emper-or. The community of the church can do much if — with a sorrowful soul and with a contrite spirit — we offer up our prayers. It is unnecessary to cross the ocean or to undertake a long journey. Let every man and woman among us — whether meeting together at church or re-maining at home — call upon God with much earnestness.
II
You shall not make for yourself any idol.
God is insulted every day — actually, every hour: by the rich, by the poor, by those who are at ease, by the afflicted. We provoke God every day, and we show no signs of returning to Him. And yet, He endures it all with long-suffering. Do you now see how great the mildness of the Lord is?
III
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
You have caused the glory of God to be blasphemed. For as His name is glorified when neighbors have a good report about us, so when we sin, His name is blasphemed and insulted.
IV
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
I speak of real fasting, not merely an abstinence from meats but from sins too. A fast does not suffice to deliver those who practice it unless it is done according to righteousness.
V
Honor your father and your mother.
I weep because our father is not with us, but I rejoice that he has set out to snatch a great multitude from the wrath of the Emperor. Risking his own life for us all, he has disregarded his old age, frailty, the severity of the season, and the toils of the journey; preferring you and your safety above all things. His concern is not for one city only, but for the entire Eastern region, for our city is the head and mother of all that lie towards the East.
VI
You shall not murder.
When you drag away a debtor, you trample God’s image under foot. But for the sake of a little gold, you trample them under foot.
VII
You shall not commit adultery.
Let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the parts of our bodies. Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves upon handsome faces nor busy themselves with extraordinary beauties. For ‘looking’ is the food of the eyes. Feed not upon lust by means of the eyes.
VIII
You shall not steal.
Let the hands fast by being pure from plunder and greed.
IX
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Let the ear fast also. The fasting of the ear consists in refusing to receive evil talk and malice. Let the mouth also fast from disgraceful and abusive speech. For what profit is there if we abstain from fowl and fish, and yet bite and devour our brethren? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brother, and bites the body of his neighbor. You have fixed slander in the soul and inflicted the wound of evil suspicion. In slandering a neighbor, you have made him who listens to the slander worse; for he is lifted to arrogance and puffed up.
X
You shall not covet.
If you see a friend gaining honor, envy him not.
