Peter Chrysologus

Peter Chrysologus (c. 380–450), bishop of Ravenna, was named “golden-worded” for his short, vivid sermons on the Gospels and the creed. A Doctor of the Church, his homilies are quoted in later Gospel compilations.

Named "golden-worded" for the warmth and brevity of his preaching, Peter Chrysologus left some 180 short sermons that expound the Gospels, the parables, and the Apostles' Creed with vivid pastoral application. Widely excerpted in later collections, they model the early church's art of bringing the biblical text home to ordinary hearers.

Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1729, he remains a model of the short, memorable homily that fixes a single Gospel scene or saying in the hearer's mind.