Hierarch Asterius of Amasea

Hierarch Asterius, Bishop of Amasea in Pontus (Asia Minor), was a well-known church preacher, writer, and contemporary of St. John Chrysostom. He was educated in Antioch; before receiving holy orders and monastic tonsure he worked as a lawyer. He took the episcopal see of Amasea between 378 and 395. He became renowned for his profound and eloquent sermons on Gospel themes and church feasts, which denounced the vices of the society of his time, including the cruelty of public spectacles and social injustice. Sixteen authentic sermons and homilies of Hierarch Asterius survive to this day, providing a valuable source on the church life and art of the 4th century (in particular, containing descriptions of early Christian works of art). He died at a great age in the early 5th century. His memory is kept on October 30/November 12.