THE END OF IDEAL


Chrysostom was a contemporary of Augustine and at one point, as bishop of Antioch, was a man of greater influence. He believed in the ideal of individual self government, but failed as a politician. He did not perceive the church as a ruling political p ower, and was eventually driven from his post by those who did.

What is "ideal" does not necessarily work in practice. Chrystosom pursued an agenda that favored the individual's right to self government, and failed to take into accont the forces of a growing national power, the Roman Catholic Church.