Olympias the Deaconess
Olympias diaconissa
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All letters (17)
The most reverend and divinely favored deaconess Olympias, I John, Bishop, send greeting in the Lord.
Do not be anxious on my behalf, nor rack yourself with solicitude, on account of the severity of the winter, and the...
Having risen from the very gates of death I address this letter to the discreet lady; and I am very glad that your...
Why do you lament? Why do you belabour yourself, and demand of yourself a punishment which your enemies were not...
Nothing strange or unnatural has befallen your Piety, but only what is quite natural and consonant to reason, that...
Chrysostom tells Olympias not to despair over the church's storm, arguing that only sin can truly harm the soul and that God often waits until disaster seems complete before revealing deliverance.
Chrysostom urges Olympias not to be anxious about his winter exile or her illness, argues that bodily sickness bravely endured wins greater crowns than other trials, and asks her to prove her recovery from despondency by recovering her health.
Chrysostom rebukes Olympias for surrendering to grief, recounts his illness, violent expulsion from Caesarea, and dangerous flight, then asks her to keep working quietly on Maruthas, the Gothic bishopric, and Hilary's letters.
Chrysostom tells Olympias that despondency is a harsher trial than death, argues that patiently endured suffering wins crowns like Job, Lazarus, Paul, and Joseph, and urges her to scatter grief like smoke.
Chrysostom tells Olympias that intensified attacks prove her victory, compares her endurance to Job's, and urges her to encourage others.
Chrysostom writes after a severe winter illness, rejoices in Olympias's recovery and courage, and praises her as a steadying force for the city.
Chrysostom insists that Olympias has already won a public victory, turns slander and exile into crowns of patience, and says her enemies are punished by conscience even before judgment.
Chrysostom urges Olympias to stop measuring her troubles only by their pain and to see them as brief trials that produce lasting reward.
Chrysostom tells Olympias that a life of virtue necessarily brings conflict, reports his own illness and shortages, and asks her not to send anyone through dangerous roads solely for him.
Chrysostom praises Olympias's endurance under repeated trials, compares affliction to fire refining gold, and sends news that his health has improved for now.
Chrysostom reports on winter, illness, medicine, and danger in Armenia, then urges Olympias to treat her body and resist wishing for death under the weight of sickness and grief.
The deaconess Olympias to whom seventeen of Chrysostom's extant letters are addressed was the most eminent of his...