ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE PARISH BULLETIN (July 19) 5457 Trafalgar Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6N 1C1 Chromatius preached on the Gospel T604-266-8800 email: [email protected] Chromatius was born in Aquileia in about 345. He was a friend and correspondent of St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, Rufinus, www.sjaparish.ca and most of the chief ecclesiastics of the age. Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that Chrometius learnt at home to know and love Christ. The Holy Father said, “Jerome himself spoke of this in terms full of admiration and compared Chromatius’ mother to the Prophetess Anna, his two sisters to the Wise Virgins of the Gospel Parable, and Chromatius himself and his brother Eusebius to the young Samuel.”

Chromatius became Bishop of Aquileia in about 388. He was one of the most influential of the Western prelates of his day. When St John Chrysostom was exiled from Constantinople, he wrote three letters to those he considered the most important Bishops of the West seeking to obtain their support with the Emperors: he wrote one letter to the Bishop of Rome, the second to the Bishop of Milan and the third to the Bishop of Aquileia, Chromatius. Chromatius was a warm defender of Chrysostom, he sent Chrysostom a letter of brotherly sympathy, and Chrysostom wrote him a letter of thanks. Chromatius died in 407, the same year when Chrysostom also died.

Pope Benedict said, “Chromatius was a wise teacher and a zealous pastor. His first and main commitment was to listen to the Word, to be able to subsequently proclaim it: he always bases his teaching on the Word of God and constantly returns to it.” The Holy Father pointed out that certain subjects are particularly dear to Chromatius: “First of all, the Trinitarian mystery, which he contemplated in its revelation throughout the history of salvation. Then, the theme of the Holy Spirit: Chromatius constantly reminds the faithful of the presence and action in the life of the Church of the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity….”

“But the holy Bishop returns with special insistence to the mystery of Christ… The heavy emphasis on Christ’s human nature led Chromatius to speak of the Virgin Mary…. The Bishop of Aquileia often compares the Virgin with the Church: both, in fact, are ‘virgins’ and ‘mothers’. Chromatius developed his ecclesiology above all in his commentary on Matthew.”

The written deposit of Chromatius’ preaching, which came to light only in 1975, includes more than 40 sermons and 61 treatises of commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. One of Chromatius’ favorite images of the Church is the boat in Matthew 8:23-27. Commenting on this passage, Chromatius wrote, “There is no doubt that the ship is a figure of the Church, as the Holy Spirit speaks through Solomon about it, saying, ‘She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from afar.’ That is, it is the Church that runs everywhere by the word of preaching as the apostles sail, the Lord directs the rudder and the Holy Spirit fills the sails. The Church carries with it a great and countless treasure, by which it has purchased the whole human race or rather the whole world by the blood of Christ.”

Chromatius continued to comment on this passage allegorically: “The sea is understood to be this age, which swells with various sins and temptations as by waves…… The fact that the Lord slept in this boat is then understood to be when he allows his Church to be tested by the oppressions and persecutions of that world in order to test its faith. The prayer of the disciples who roused the Lord and implored his help to be saved are shown to be the prayers of all the saints who with devout faith and constant prayer stir up the patience of the Lord as from sleep whenever the storm of persecution has arisen and the devil and his angels rage violently. As a result he deigns to help by the aid of his mercy those who are in danger owing to the fear of human weakness.”