Claim to fame: St. John Chrysostom, early Church Father, biblical interpreter, and archbishop of Constantinople. The zeal and clarity of his preaching, which appealed especially to the common people, earned him the Greek surname meaning “golden-mouthed.” His tenure as archbishop was stormy, and he died in exile. His relics were brought back to Constantinople about 438, and he was later declared a doctor (teacher) of the church.

On the resurrection of the flesh he says: “If God had not intended to raise up us again, if it was His desire that we should all be dissolved and blotted out in annihilation, He would not have wrought so many things for us. He would have not spread the heavens above, or stretched out the earth beneath. He would have not fashioned this whole universe, if it were only for the short span of our lives. The heavens and the earth and the sees and the rivers are more enduring than we are; ravens and elephants live longer, and they are more free from griefs and cares. What then? you ask. Has God made the slaves better than the masters? I beseech you, do not thus reason, O man; nor be so ignorant of the riches God spread out before you. From the beginning God desired to make thee immortal. Ah, but thou wert unwilling!”