St Peter Chrysologus: Doctor of the Church, Feast, Prayer

St Peter Chrysologus was archbishop of Ravenna in the fifth century, when that city was the residence of the Western emperors, and a preacher so esteemed that he was surnamed "Chrysologus", the man of golden words. His short sermons, on prayer, fasting and mercy, on the Creed, the Our Father and the Eucharist, led Pope Benedict XIII to declare him a Doctor of the Church in 1729. In the Missal of 1962 his feast falls on 4 December, a feast of the third class; here are his life, his teaching in his own words, and the full prayers of his Mass in Latin and English.

Who was St Peter Chrysologus?

Peter was a native of Imola, a town of eastern Emilia, in northern Italy. He was taught the sacred sciences and ordained deacon by Cornelius, bishop of Imola, of whom he always spoke with veneration and gratitude. Under his direction, Butler writes, the young cleric learned that "to command his passions and govern himself was true greatness".

Around the year 433 the archbishop of Ravenna, John, died. The clergy and people chose a successor and asked Bishop Cornelius to lead their deputation to Rome to obtain the confirmation of Pope St Sixtus III. Cornelius took his deacon Peter with him. According to his legend, the Pope had seen in a vision the night before St Peter and St Apollinaris, the martyr and first bishop of Ravenna, who showed him the man to be chosen; he set aside the election already made and named the deacon Peter, and after some resistance the deputies agreed.

Butler judges it "very unlikely" that Peter became archbishop in quite that way, and we give the story as the legend it is. It left its mark on the liturgy all the same: the Collect of his feast calls him a doctor "divinely pointed out beforehand".

Archbishop of Ravenna

Ravenna was then the seat of the Western court. The Emperor Valentinian III and his mother, Galla Placidia, lived there, and both held the new archbishop in regard and confidence; so did the successor of Sixtus, Pope St Leo the Great.

Peter found in his diocese large remains of paganism and many abuses among the faithful, and he spent his episcopate rooting out the one and reforming the other. At Classis, the port of Ravenna, he built a baptistery and a church in honour of St Andrew. Above all he fed his people with the word of God. His sermons are very short, because he was afraid of tiring his hearers; and he is said to have preached with such force that he sometimes lost his voice from emotion.

Why is he called Chrysologus?

Chrysologus is Greek for "golden-worded". The name was given to him for his preaching, and it stuck so firmly that it became part of his name in the Missal and the Martyrology. Alban Butler, writing in the eighteenth century, found the sermons more instructive than moving, while praising elsewhere his words as "fit, simple and natural". The Church judged their matter: in 1729 Pope Benedict XIII declared St Peter Chrysologus a Doctor of the Church.

The sermons of St Peter Chrysologus

Many of his sermons survive, all of them short. Three groups are especially loved.

On prayer, fasting and mercy. In his Sermon 43 he binds together the three works of penance that the Church still sets before us each Lent: "There are three things, brethren, three, by which faith stands, devotion endures, virtue abides: prayer, fasting, mercy. What prayer knocks for, fasting obtains, mercy receives." The one who prays, he goes on, must fast, and the one who fasts must show mercy, for these three are one and cannot be separated.

On the Creed and the Our Father. A series of his sermons explains the Creed (the Symbol, in the language of the Fathers) to the catechumens preparing for Baptism, article by article, and another series explains the Lord's Prayer to them in the same way. They are among the best witnesses to how the ancient Church taught the faith; you will find the Creed itself in our page on the Apostles' Creed.

On the Eucharist. He strongly recommended frequent Communion, so that the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, might be the daily bread of our souls.

St Peter Chrysologus and Eutyches

In 448 the archimandrite Eutyches, who confused the two natures of Christ, was condemned at Constantinople by its bishop, St Flavian. He wrote a circular letter in his own defence to the most eminent bishops of the Church, and St Peter Chrysologus was among them. His answer survives: he had read the letter with sorrow, for if the peace of the Church gives joy in heaven, its divisions bring grief; the mystery of the Incarnation is beyond our explanation, but it is revealed by God and must be believed in simplicity of faith. He urged Eutyches to submit humbly and not to dispute, and to abide by the judgment of the Bishop of Rome, without whose consent, he wrote, matters of faith cannot be heard. The letter is preserved among the acts of the Council of Chalcedon (451).

Around the same time St Peter received with great honour St Germanus of Auxerre, who had come to Ravenna and died there; he presided at his funeral and kept his hood and his hair shirt as relics.

His death

Forewarned that his end was near, he went back to Imola, his own country, gave precious altar vessels to the church of St Cassian, and urged great care in the choice of his successor. He died at Imola, probably in 450, and was buried in St Cassian's church. Butler and the lessons of the Breviary give the day as 2 December (quarto Nonas Decembris).

The prayer of St Peter Chrysologus (Missal of 1962)

The Introit, Epistle and Gospel of his Mass come from the Common of Doctors (In medio Ecclesiae), with the Gospel "You are the salt of the earth" (St Matthew v. 13-19). The Collect, Secret and Postcommunion name him.

Collect, 4 December

Deus, qui beátum Petrum Chrysólogum Doctórem egrégium, divínitus præmonstrátum, ad regéndam et instruéndam Ecclésiam tuam éligi voluísti: præsta, quǽsumus; ut, quem Doctórem vitæ habúimus in terris, intercessórem habére mereámur in cœlis. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

O God, who didst will that blessed Peter Chrysologus, the illustrious Doctor, divinely pointed out beforehand, should be chosen to govern and instruct Thy Church: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who had him as a teacher of life on earth may deserve to have him as our intercessor in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Secret

Sancti Petri Chrysólogi Pontíficis tui atque Doctóris nobis, Dómine, pia non desit orátio: quæ et múnera nostra concíliet; et tuam nobis indulgéntiam semper obtíneat. Per Dóminum nostrum.

Let not the holy prayer of Thy Bishop and Doctor, Saint Peter Chrysologus, be wanting to us, O Lord: may it make our gifts acceptable to Thee and ever obtain for us Thy pardon. Through our Lord.

Postcommunion

Ut nobis, Dómine, tua sacrifícia dent salútem: beátus Petrus Chrysólogus Póntifex tuus et Doctor egrégius, quǽsumus, precátor accédat. Per Dóminum nostrum.

That Thy sacrifices, O Lord, may bring us salvation, may blessed Peter Chrysologus, Thy Bishop and illustrious Doctor, we beseech Thee, draw near as our intercessor. Through our Lord.

The Collect is the best prayer to St Peter Chrysologus for any day of the year: a petition to have as intercessor in heaven the one the Church had as teacher on earth. It suits a preacher, a catechist, or anyone who must speak of God to others.

When is the feast day of St Peter Chrysologus?

In the Roman calendar of 1962 his feast falls on 4 December, a feast of the third class, in white vestments. On the same day the Church keeps St Barbara by a commemoration, and since 4 December always falls in Advent, the Advent weekday is commemorated too. The day is marked in our traditional Catholic calendar of 1962, and his Mass is in the Roman Missal of 1962.

In the calendar of 1969 his memorial was moved to 30 July. The 1962 books, which we follow, keep 4 December.

Three days later comes another Doctor of the Church who was also an Italian bishop of a great imperial city, St Ambrose of Milan, on 7 December. To see where both stand among the saints of the year, see our guide to the Catholic saints, listed by feast day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is St Peter Chrysologus the patron saint of?

The traditional books give him no special patronage. He is honoured above all at Imola, his birthplace and the place of his burial, and at Ravenna, whose church he governed. As a Doctor whose sermons explained the Creed and the Our Father to catechumens, he is a fitting patron for preachers and catechists.

When was St Peter Chrysologus canonized?

He was never canonized by a formal process, which did not yet exist: like the other bishops of the early Church he was venerated as a saint by the custom of the Church. In 1729 Pope Benedict XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.

What does "Chrysologus" mean?

It is Greek for "golden-worded", a surname given him for the excellence of his preaching.

What is St Peter Chrysologus best known for?

For his short and dense sermons, especially those on prayer, fasting and mercy, on the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, and on frequent Communion; and for his letter to Eutyches urging him to submit to the judgment of the Bishop of Rome.

Where is St Peter Chrysologus buried?

At Imola, in the church of St Cassian, where he died.

What is the most famous quote of St Peter Chrysologus?

Probably the line from his Sermon 43: "Prayer knocks, fasting obtains, mercy receives." The three works, he teaches, stand or fall together.

The Iter Fidei app carries the Roman Missal of 1962 with the Mass of St Peter Chrysologus, the Breviary, and the traditional calendar in Latin and English. Join early access here.

Sources. Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints, 4 December (St Peter Chrysologus, Archbishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church). Roman Missal (1962), Proper of Saints, 4 December, and Common of Doctors. Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims version, St Matthew v. 13-19.