nst the
Anthropomorphites, and his other virtues. He died in 412, wishing that
he had lived always in a desert, honoring the name of the holy
Chrysostom, whose picture he caused to be brought to his bedside, and by
reverencing it, showed his desire to make atonement for his past ill
conduct towards our saint.[29] This turbulent man had driven from their
retreat four abbots of Nitria, called the tall brothers, on a groundless
suspicion of Origenism, as appears from Palladius, though it was
believed by St. Jerom, which is maintained by Baronius. St. Chrysostom
admitted them to communion, but not till they had juridically cleared
themselves of it in an ample manner.[30] This however was grievously
resented by Theophilus: but the empress Eudoxia, who, after the disgrace
of Eutropius, governed her husband and the empire, was the main spring
which moved the whole conspiracy against the saint. Zozimus, a heathen
historian, says, that her flagrant avarice, her extortions and
injustices, knew no bounds, and that the court was filled with
informers, calumniators, and harpies, who, being always on the watch for
prey, found means to seize the estates of such as died rich, and to
disinherit their children or other heirs. No wonder that a saint should
displease such a court while he discharged his duty to God. He had
preached a sermon against the extravagance and vanity of women in dress
and pomp. This was pretended by some to have been levelled at the
empress; and Severianus was not wanting to blow the coals. Knowing
Theophilus was no friend to the saint, the empress, to be revenged of
the supposed affront, sent to desire his presence at Constantinople, in
order to depose him. He obeyed the summons with pleasure, and landed at
Constantinople in June, 403, with several Egyptian bishops his
creatures, refused to see or lodge with John, and got together a packed
cabal of thirty-six bishops, the saint's enemies, in a church at
Chalcedon, calling themselves the synod at the Oak, from a great tree
which gave name to that quarter of the town. The heads of the
impeachment drawn up against the holy bishop were: that he had deposed a
deacon for beating a servant; that he had called several of his clergy
base men; had deposed bishops out of his province; had ordained priests
in his domestic chapel, instead of the cathedral; had sold things
belonging to the church; that nobody knew what became of his revenues;
that he ate alone; and that he gave