When we study the Reformation and later periods, we often have the privilege of learning about Christian women through their own words. The women of the church in the first few centuries, however, are more often a mystery to us, glimpsed primarily through the writings of others. One such woman is the fourth-century deaconess, Olympia (or Olympias), who carried on a lively correspondence with the prominent bishop and renowned preacher, John Chrysostom. Olympia was the bishop’s trusted confidante, and he in turn encouraged her through periods of persecution, ill health, and depression.
Olympia was born in the 360s, into a prominent family of Greek descent. Her father, a high-ranking figure in the Roman Empire, died when Olympia was young, so she was brought up by a devoutly Christian uncle, Procopius. Procopius was close friends with the famous theologian of the Trinity, Gregory of Nazianzus, who himself became a father figure to the young woman. Thus, Olympia grew up knowledgeable in the Scriptures and theology, and she enjoyed the esteem and mentorship of some of the most significant figures in the history of the church.
Widowed following a brief marriage, Olympia chose to spend the rest of her life devoting her considerable inheritance to the service of the church. She gave generous gifts of money and land to the church in Greece, Turkey, and Syria and was patroness of an orphanage and a hospital. Little is known of her later years, except that she became an ardent supporter of John Chrysostom, even when, due to complicated political intrigues, he was ousted from his church in Constantinople. After Chrysostom was exiled to the wilderness of Armenia, Olympia encouraged the bishop through her letters and tended to his needs as she could. Like many of those who supported Chrysostom, Olympia was denounced by hostile factions in the capital and even endured exile herself in 404, losing her home and finally dying of a long illness in 408.
From Chrysostom’s surviving letters to Olympia, we can glimpse an independent woman who was both openhanded with her gifts and honest about her weaknesses:
•Chrysostom encourages her to take a realistic—that is, Christ-centered—view of her struggles. He reminds her that God doesn’t often remove obstacles when we think He should, but sometimes when we aren’t expecting it, God acts “beyond all expectation, thus manifesting His own power, and training the patience of those who undergo these calamities.” Afflictions shouldn’t surprise Christians, because through them the “sinews of the soul” are strengthened. No matter what type of trial one endures, human help only goes so far: “ceasing … to run after shadows (for such are human alliances), do thou persistently call upon Jesus.” He reminds her that trials befalling the whole Church are also part of God’s inscrutable purpose: “thus … the fabric of the Church was wrought … and the ruined places were built up more firmly than before.”
• He doesn’t downplay Olympia’s physical suffering. Even as he urges patience, Chrysostom acknowledges that physical infirmity is one of the most difficult trials of faith. Being stuck in bed or homebound, he tells her, can be so wearying for the soul that it is like having “a perpetual executioner residing with you.” It’s hard for us to understand why the One who can raise the dead sometimes chooses to leave His children “in the furnace of sickness,” except that by His doing so, we “might therefrom contract a very great abundance of confidence” in God. Therefore Olympia shouldn’t consider herself idle during illness, because God is accomplishing a great work in her that may not be perceptible at the time.
• He counsels Olympia to actively fight against depression. He exhorts her to “reckon up the good things with the painful”—to balance awareness of sufferings with remembrance of God’s providence and comfort. He commends this to Olympia as a kind of spiritual homework assignment: “occupying yourself with this good employment may divert your mind from despondency.” In addition, she ought to be “making it your business to expel dejection from your soul,” rather than “[going] about collecting distressing thoughts, even inventing things … which do not exist, and tearing yourself to pieces for no purpose.”
• Chrysostom himself was inspired by Olympia’s greatness of soul. He tells her that her ability to “bear the things which befall you so bravely … is an evidence of a robust spirit, rich in the fruit of courage.” In the midst of Constantinople, she is “like a tower, a haven, and a wall of defense, speaking in the eloquent voice of example … And the wonder is that without … occupying the public centers of the city, but sitting all the while in a small house and confined chamber, you serve and anoint the combatants for the contest” (i.e., encourage fellow Christians). Through her cheerfulness and fortitude in suffering, he assures her, he receives consolation in his own exile.
• Chrysostom valued Olympia as a servant of the church, capable of exerting significant influence in the capital city during his enforced absence. In one of his letters, he entrusts her with the delivery of important correspondence to other churchmen. When the power to elect a missionary to the Goths (a Germanic tribe that had recently become Christian) fell to a hostile group of bishops, Chrysostom urged Olympia to do what was within her power to delay them, lest an ungodly appointment be made! He clearly relied on her good judgment and trusted her to act on his behalf for the greater good of the church.
It’s plain that Olympia wasn’t just a recipient of counsel, but one in whom God’s strength shone brightly. Today we can benefit not only from John Chrysostom’s pastoral wisdom, but from the reminder that Christ builds up His church through unlikely figures, overlooked and even scorned by the world.
Mrs. Sarah White
Pennsylvania (PCA)