THE BREAD OF THE HERETICS

Year 400, Constantinople

Saint John Chrysostom, a brilliant light of his age, was called “golden mouth” because of the torrents of sacred eloquence that flowed from his lips, and “hammer of heresy” for the force and clarity of his powerful arguments. Through his preaching, he converted countless Macedonian heretics. Among them was one whose wife, stubbornly attached to the sectarians, experienced a marvelous event permitted by the Lord, which ultimately led to her complete conversion.

The Catholic truths presented by Chrysostom appeared so evident to the husband that he felt he could no longer tolerate his wife’s profession of the pernicious errors of heresy. He urged her to renounce them and embrace the orthodox faith. Yet, none of his admonitions or lengthy discussions bore fruit, as she clung tenaciously to the heretical way of thinking.

Having exhausted every means to bring her back to the right path, he finally threatened to separate from her unless she would soon follow his good example.

The woman, wanting only to appear obedient to her husband while persisting in her obstinacy, told him she would do as he wished. First, she conspired with her servant, went to a heretical temple, took the bread that was falsely consecrated and distributed to their followers, and handed it to the servant to keep.

Then she went with her husband to the Catholic church to receive Communion and convince him that she was now Catholic. Upon receiving the consecrated Host, she pretended to bow in prayer and gave the Host to the servant at her side, while secretly taking from her the bread of the heretics. But this bread was miraculously transformed into stone.

The unfortunate woman, stunned and terrified, went to tell Saint John Chrysostom what had happened. He brought her into the Catholic faith and made the miracle publicly known. The stone into which the heretical bread had turned was preserved in Constantinople as a perpetual memorial of the event.

(Sozomen, Life of Saint John Chrysostom, Book 8, Chapter 5. — Baronius, Annales Ecclesiastici, vol. 5, p. 126, letters c, d.)