HE received his surname from his profuse alms-deeds; was nobly
descended, very rich, and a widower, at Amathus in Cyprus, where, having
buried all his children, he employed the whole income of his estate in
the {204} relief of the poor, and was no less remarkable for his great
piety. The reputation of his sanctity raised him to the patriarchal
chair of Alexandria about the year 605, at which time he was upwards of
fifty years of age. On his arrival in that city, he ordered an exact
list to be taken of his Masters. Being asked who these were, his answer
was, "The poor;" namely, on account of their great interest in the court
of heaven in behalf of their benefactors. Their number amounted to seven
thousand five hundred, whom he took under his special protection, and
furnished with all necessaries. He prepared himself, by this action, to
receive the fulness of grace in his consecration. On the same day he
published severe ordinances, but in the most humble terms, conjuring and
commanding all to use just weights and measures, in order to prevent
injustices and oppressions of the poor. He most rigorously forbade all
his officers and servants ever to receive the least presents, which are
no better than bribes, and bias the most impartial. Every Wednesday and
Friday he sat the whole day on a bench before the church, that all might
have free access to him to lay their grievances before him, and make
known their necessities. He composed all differences, comforted the
afflicted, and relieved the distressed. One of his first actions at
Alexandria was to distribute the eighty thousand pieces of gold which he
found in the treasury of his church, among hospitals and monasteries. He
consecrated to the service of the poor the great revenues of his see,
then the first in all the East, both in riches and rank. Besides these,
incredible charities flowed through his hands in continual streams,
which his example excited every one to contribute according to their
abilities. When his stewards complained that he impoverished his church,
his answer was, that God would provide for them. To vindicate his
conduct, and silence their complaints, he recounted to them a vision he
had in his youth, of a beautiful woman, brighter than the sun, with an
olive garland on her head, whom he understood to be Charity, or
compassion for the miserable; who said to him "I am the eldest daughter
of the great King. If you enjoy my favor, I will introduce you to the
great monarch of the universe. No one has so great an interest with him
as myself, who was the occasion of his coming down from heaven to become
man for the redemption of mankind." When the Persians had plundered the
East, and sacked Jerusalem, St. John entertained all that fled from
their swords into Egypt; and sent to Jerusalem, for the use of the poor
there, besides a large sum of money, one thousand sacks of corn, as many
of pulse, one thousand pounds of iron, one thousand loads of fish, one
thousand barrels of wine, and one thousand Egyptian workmen to assist in
rebuilding the churches; adding, in his letter to Modestus, the bishop,
that he wished it had been in his power to have gone in person, and
contributed the labor of his hands towards carrying on that holy work.
He also sent two bishops and an abbot to ransom captives. No number of
necessitous objects, no losses, no straits to which he saw himself often
reduced, discouraged him, or made him lose his confidence in divine
providence, and resources never failed him in the end. When a certain
person, whom he had privately relieved with a most bountiful alms,
expressed his gratitude in the strongest terms, the saint cut him short,
saying, "Brother, I have not yet spilt my blood for you, as Jesus
Christ, my master and my God, commands me." A certain merchant, who had
been thrice ruined by shipwrecks, had as often found relief from the
good patriarch, who the third time gave him a ship belonging to the
church, laden with twenty thousand measures of corn. This vessel was
driven by a storm to the British Islands, and a famine raging there, the
owners sold their cargo to great advantage, {205} and brought back a
considerable value in exchange, one half in money, the other in pewter.
The patriarch lived himself in the greatest austerity and poverty, as to
diet, apparel, and furniture. A person of distinction in the city, being
informed that our saint had but one blanket on his bed, and this a very
sorry one, sent him one of value, begging his acceptance of it, and that
he would make use of it for the sake of the donor. He accepted of it,
and put it to the intended use, but it was only for one night; and this
he passed in great uneasiness, with severe self-reproaches for being so
richly covered, while so many of his masters (his familiar term for the
poor) were so ill accommodated. The next morning he sold it, and gave
the price to the poor. The friend being informed of it, bought it for
thirty-six pieces, and gave it him a second, and a third time; for the
saint always disposed of it in the same way, saying facetiously, "We
shall see who will be tired first." He was well versed in the
scriptures, though a stranger to the pomp of profane eloquence. The
functions of his ministry, prayer, and pious reading, employed his whole
time. He studied with great circumspection to avoid the least idle word,
and never chose to speak about temporal affairs, unless compelled by
necessity, and then only in very few words. If he heard any detract from
the reputation of their neighbor, he was ingenious in turning the
discourse to some other subject, and he forbade them his house, to deter
others from that vice. Hearing that when an emperor was chosen, it was
customary for certain carvers to present to him four or five blocks of
marble, to choose one out of them for his tomb, he caused his grave to
be half dug, and appointed a man to come to him on all occasions of
pomp, and say, "My lord, your tomb is unfinished; be pleased to give
your orders to have it completed, for you know not the hour when death
will seize you." The remembrance of the rigorous account which we are to
give to God, made him often burst into the most pathetic expressions of
holy fear. But humility was his distinguishing virtue, and he always
expressed, both in words and actions, the deepest sentiments of his own
nothingness, sinfulness, miseries, and pride. He often admired how
perfectly the saints saw their own imperfections, and that they were
dust, worms, and unworthy to be ranked among men.
The saint regarded injuries as his greatest gain and happiness. He
always disarmed his enemies of their rancor by meekness, and frequently
fell at the feet of those who insulted him, to beg their pardon.
Nicetas, the governor, had formed a project of a new tax, very
prejudicial to the poor. The patriarch modestly spoke in their defence.
The governor in a passion left him abruptly. St. John sent him this
message towards evening: "The sun is going to set:" putting him in mind
of the advice of the apostle: _Let not the sun go down upon your anger_.
This admonition had its intended effect on the governor, and pierced him
to the quick. He arose, and went to the patriarch, bathed in tears,
asked his pardon, and by way of atonement, promised never more to give
ear to informers and tale-bearers. St. John confirmed him in that
resolution, adding, that he never believed any man whatever against
another, till he himself had examined the party accused; and that he
punished all calumniators and tale-bearers in a manner which might deter
others from so fatal a vice. Having in vain exhorted a certain nobleman
to forgive one with whom he was at variance, he soon after invited him
to his private chapel to assist at his mass, and there desired him to
recite with him the Lord's prayer. The saint stopped at that petition;
_Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against
us_. When the nobleman had recited it alone, he conjured him to reflect
on what he had been saying to God at the hour of the tremendous
mysteries, {206} begging to be pardoned in the same manner as he forgave
others. The other, feeling himself struck to the heart, fell at his
feet, and from that moment was sincerely reconciled with his adversary.
The saint often exhorted men against rash judgment, saying,
"Circumstances easily deceive us; magistrates are bound to examine and
judge criminals; but what have private persons to do with others, unless
it be to vindicate them?" He used to relate many examples of persons who
were found innocent and eminent saints, though they had been condemned
by the world upon circumstances; as that of a certain monk, who brought
to that city a Jewess whom he had converted, but was accused as guilty
of lewdness with her, and cruelly scourged; for he said nothing to
justify himself, out of a desire of humiliation and suffering. But his
innocence and sanctity were soon after brought to light. St. John
employed Sophronius and John Moschus in reducing to the faith the
Severians and other heretics. Observing that many amused themselves
without the church, during part of the divine office, which was then of
a very considerable length, he followed them out, and seated himself
among them, saying, "My children, the shepherd must be with his flock."
This action, which covered them with confusion, prevented their being
guilty of that irreverence any more. As he was one day going to church,
he was accosted on the way by a woman who demanded justice against her
son-in-law that had injured her. The woman being ordered by some
standers-by to wait the patriarch's return from church, he overhearing
them, said, "How can I hope that God will hear my prayer, if I put off
the petition of this woman?" Nor did he stir from the place till he had
redressed the grievance complained of.
Nicetas, the governor, persuaded the saint to accompany him to
Constantinople, to pay a visit to the emperor. St. John was admonished
from heaven, while he was on his way, at Rhodes, that his death drew
near, and said to Nicetas, "You invite me to the emperor of the earth;
but the King of heaven calls me to himself." He therefore sailed for
Cyprus, and soon after died happily at Amathus, about the year of our
Lord 619, in the sixty-fourth of his age, and tenth of his patriarchal
dignity. His body was afterwards carried to Constantinople, where it was
kept a long time. The Turkish emperor made a present of it to Matthias,
king of Hungary, which he deposited in his chapel at Buda. In 1530 it
was translated to Tall, near Presbourg; and, in 1632, to the cathedral
itself of Presbourg, where, according to Bollandus, it still remains.
The Greeks honor this saint on the 11th of November, the day of his
death; but the Roman Martyrology on the 23d of January, the day marked
for the translation of his relics. His life, written by his two vicars,
Sophronius and Moschus, is lost; but we have that by Leontius, bishop of
Naplouse in Cyprus, from the relation of the saint's clergy, commended
in the seventh general council. It is published more correct by Rosweide
and Bollandus. We have another life of this saint, conformable to the
former, given us by Metaphrastes. See Le Quien, Oriens Christi, t. 2, p.
446.