Saint of the day: Peter Chrysologus

St. Peter Chrysologus was born in Italy in around the late 4th-early 5th century. He studied theology and was ordained to the diaconate, and lived as a monk for many years. After Archbishop John of Ravenna died in 430, Peter was ordained as his successor by Pope Sixtus III.

Peter fought against the heresy of monophysitism, which taught that Christ did not have a human nature in union with his divine nature. He gave many reflections on Christ’s true nature — his title, “Chrysologus,” means “golden speech” in Greek, and refers to his skill in speaking.

St. Peter died in 450. He is the author of 176 surviving homilies, and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1729.