n addition, St John Chrysostom (347-407), wrote a letter to a hermit named Maroun, and asked him for his prayers, as St John was then suffering in exile. It is more probable that this was addressed to St Maroun than to someone else of that name. That he enjoyed the confidence of Chrysostom would tell us how impressive a figure he was. The letter reads:
The bonds of affection and good will tie me to you and I can see you as if you were right here beside me. No distance can weaken the look of love. I would like to write to you more often, very pious Sir, but that is not easy due to all the obstacles in my way here. Nevertheless, I send you my greetings each chance that I have and I want you to know that I never forget you and that I always carry you in my heart wherever I may be. Be gracious enough to inform me about the state of your health as often as you can. Even if we are separated in body, I always receive great consolation when I hear from you, even in my solitude. It is a delight for me each time I learn that you are doing well. But what I ask most of all, is that you pray to God on my behalf.
One of the most extraordinary aspects of this letter is that we know so little else about St John Chrysostom’s relationship with St Maroun. How can it possibly be that someone so significant in Chrysostom’s life appears only here in this one short letter? It should be a reminder to us that although very many of St John’s works survive, not all do, and that these mostly deal with what he wished to say to his congregation from the pulpit. Clearly there was more in his life than we could otherwise guess at.
It also follows from this letter that if Chrysostom and Maroun had met, then they must have met in or near Antioch, for that is where Chrysostom spent all his life before he was made Bishop of Constantinople.
But, I think the most important part of this letter is the simple statement: “I always receive great consolation when I hear from you, even in my solitude”. This means that:
1. St Maroun heard news of St John and his fate.
2. He was able to write to him.
3. The letters must have been in Greek.
Now although there is a possibility that St Maroun did not speak Greek, but had someone write his letters to St John, the natural way to take this is to read it as meaning that St Maroun and he could correspond in the Greek language. This is more reason, then for seeing St Maroun as having been a bridge between the Syriac speaking people of the countryside and the Greek Christianity of the city of Antioch.
Therefore, two good witnesses to St Maroun have survived: one from another saint who knew him personally, and one from Theodoret, an important bishop and writer who knew him at one remove, i.e. from the hermit James, and possibly others, who themselves had personally known St Maroun.