Chrysologus (gold orator) – this honorary name was the program for today’s saint. Peter Chrysologus (around 380-451) became bishop of the up-and-coming ancient city of Ravenna between 424 and 431. Under him, the city rose to become an official metropolis and Peter was given the office of metropolitan. He was friends with Pope Leo the Great and maintained contacts as far as the imperial court, where he criticized the heresies rampant there. Peter was particularly famous for his charismatic sermons, 183 of which have survived to this day. His recipe for a good sermon has lost none of its topicality: firstly, scholarly content in understandable language, secondly, never longer than 15 minutes, and thirdly, no speech at too high a temperature. Peter died on July 31st after 451 and was elevated to Doctor of the Church in 1729.
