Chapter I: From His Birth to His Appointment to the Office of Reader, A.D. 345 or A.D. 347 to A.D. 370
In the holy city of Antioch, renowned for its grandeur and learned schools, there was born unto a noble and devout Christian family a child blessed from heaven, who was named John. His father, Secundus, a soldier of notable rank in the imperial army, and his mother, Anthusa, a woman of great piety and steadfast faith, bestowed upon him not only the privileges of noble birth but also the richness of Christian upbringing. Yet the Lord, in His inscrutable providence, saw fit that the father should be taken from the child’s life in his earliest years, leaving young John under the tender and watchful care of his mother.
Anthusa, a woman adorned with patience and love, devoted herself fully to the raising of her son in the fear of God. From the first days of his infancy, she infused into his soul the knowledge of the Scriptures, teaching him to know and love the Almighty Lord, who made heaven and earth. The boy was frail in body, his constitution weak and delicate, and thus his days were spent mostly in quiet reflection and study rather than the noisy games of other children. Yet in this seeming frailty was concealed a spirit of rare strength, for John’s heart burned with the desire for holiness, and his mind thirsted for divine wisdom.
From a young age, John was drawn to the sacred writings. The Holy Scriptures became his closest companions; he treasured them above all earthly delights. He learned to read the sacred texts with an earnest heart, meditating upon the words of the prophets, the psalms of David, and the teachings of the apostles. His memory was sharp, his understanding keen, and his soul sought to emulate the saints and martyrs whose lives he devoured in countless volumes.
Antioch, a city bustling with merchants, philosophers, and scholars, was also a place where worldly distractions abounded. Yet John’s heart remained untouched by the temptations that surrounded him. His mother ensured that he was trained not only in piety but in the arts of rhetoric and philosophy, disciplines held in great esteem by the learned of the day. Thus he entered the famous schools of Antioch, where he studied the Greek language and the art of eloquence, laying the foundation for the powerful voice he would one day raise in defense of the faith.
