By St. John Chrysostom
"You may hear my living voice through my letters" (Letter 8.11.b)
In these letters—available in English in their entirety for the first time—St John Chrysostom guides, comforts, and instructs his spiritual daughter, St Olympia. Written at the end of Chrysostom’s life, while he was in his final exile, we see in these pages the unshaken faith of a saint who triumphed over persecution. We also find the words of a concerned spiritual father, who gives St Olympia the tools to overcome her temptation to despondency and despair.
Chrysostom’s Letters to St Olympia are an indispensable resource for those who are interested in the final days of his life, and they continue to be a source of consolation and edification for readers who seek instruction from St John’s “golden mouth.”
David C. Ford, Professor of Church History at Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, is author of Women & Men in the Early Church: The Vision of St. John Chrysostom (STS Press), and co-editor of Glory & Honor (SVS Press).
