Serapion, Olympias, and the Monks

The hostility of the clergy toward John was much increased by Serapion, his archdeacon. He was an Egyptian, quick to anger by nature and always ready to insult his opponents. The ill will was further fed by the advice Olympias received from John. Olympias was of the most illustrious birth. Although she had been widowed young and was zealously given to the exercises of monastic philosophy according to the laws of the church, Nectarius had ordained her a deaconess. John saw that she gave her goods freely to anyone who asked for them, and that she cared for nothing but the service of God, and he said to her: “I applaud your intentions. But I would have you know that those who aim at the perfection of virtue according to God ought to distribute their wealth carefully. You, however, have been giving wealth to the wealthy, which is as useless as throwing it into the sea. Do you not know that you have of your own free will, for God’s sake, devoted all your possessions to relieving the poor? You ought, then, to regard your wealth as belonging to your Master, and to remember that you must give an account of how it is distributed. If you will take my advice, from now on you will measure your gifts by the needs of those who ask for help. In this way you will be able to widen the reach of your kindness, and your mercy and earnest care will receive their reward from God.” [a]

John had disputes with many of the monks, especially with Isaac. He highly praised those who stayed quietly in the monasteries and practiced philosophy there. He protected them from every injustice and took care to supply whatever they needed. But the monks who went out of doors and showed themselves in the cities he rebuked, and he regarded them as bringing disgrace on philosophy. For these reasons he earned the hatred of the clergy and of many of the monks, who called him a hard, hot-tempered, sullen and arrogant man. So they tried to bring his life into public disrepute by stating confidently, as if it were true, that he would eat with no one and turned down every invitation to a meal. I know of no ground for this claim except that, as a man of unquestioned truthfulness has assured me, John had brought on himself pains in the head and stomach by severe ascetic discipline, and so was kept from attending some of the finest banquets. From this, however, arose the greatest accusation ever devised against him. [d]