Occasionally books emerge that in addition to contributing to knowledge change paradigms. In both respects this is one of the most exciting books on John Chrysostom to appear since Margaret Mitchell's The heavenly trumpet (Tübingen 2000). It began as a doctoral dissertation that was ten years ahead of its time. As a book, now substantially revised, it sits at the forefront of a new wave of scholarship concerning the contribution of John Chrysostom to theology. As Rylaarsdam persuasively argues, yes, he is a theologian, but not in the mode of the Cappadocians or other ‘Antiochene’ theologians of his time. This is a book that comprehensively lays to rest the pejorative view of Chrysostom's theological acumen that has led to the persistent refrain that, because he neither deals with theological matters systematically nor weighs in on the Christological debates at the heart of the fourth century, he is, at best, a moral theologian. In the twentieth century within patristic scholarship that privileged the theology of the Fathers before all else, that label consigned him to the very bottom of the scale. This problem, ably summarised by Rylaarsdam (pp. 2–3), along with the conflicting admiration accorded Chrysostom in earlier centuries (especially by Calvin) and the magisterial study by Mitchell of Chrysostom's debt to Paul, provide the impetus for Rylaarsdam's own approach. Chrysostom is, on the one hand, sui generis, on the other far closer to Augustine than scholars have otherwise supposed. The key lies in Chrysostom's appeal to the principle of accommodation or adaptability (synkatabasis), which is central not just to psychagogic and pedagogical systems long established within classical paideia, but to the way in which God instructs human beings, as does, according to Chrysostom, his own hero and model, the Apostle Paul. The book is thus about how Chrysostom brings together in a holistic educational programme Greek philosophy and pedagogy, the Scriptures and tenets of the Christian faith, and the shaping of the ideal citizen, with divine pedagogy as the model which all priests are to follow and Paul as the supreme exemplar of this transformed paideia. For Chrysostom preaching (Christian instruction) and theology (the content and impetus of that instruction) are part of a coherent whole and the one cannot be separated from the other.

The book and its argument are divided into two parts, each with three chapters, in which Rylaarsdam, first, delineates Chrysostom's theology of divine pedagogy, and, second, shows how Chrysostom demonstrates the imitation of this in Paul, argues for it as informing the role of priests, and then exemplifies it within his own preaching. Chapter i, which adduces the aim of classical paideia (‘educating humans into their true form, their ideal nature’) in which the purpose of rhetoric is to serve philosophy, demonstrates that the dominant image of God that emerges in Chrysostom's works is ‘that of a persuasive teacher of the true philosophy’ (p. 13). Chapter ii then shows how Chrysostom likewise situates God's teaching style – that of an adaptable guide of souls – within the framework of classical education. Here it is argued that Chrysostom attributes to God a number of features characteristic of the philosopher and psychagogue, the chief of which are the use of corporeal images, variation and progression. Whereas this chapter provides a detailed taxonomy of the features of each of these three pedagogical techniques, Chapter iii proceeds to expand on these theologically and to demonstrate their centrality in Chrysostom's own coherent theology. In this regard, while all six chapters are essential to the thesis set out in this book, Chapter iii is the one that rehabilitates Chrysostom as a theologian and will be of greatest interest to most readers. It is Rylaarsdam's argument here that the theme of divine pedagogy (God as an adaptable guide of souls) is integral to every major area of Chrysostom's thought: ‘his understanding of divine attributes, revelation, creation, history, hermeneutics, Christology, soteriology, ethics, sacramental theology, ecclesiastical leadership and pastoral care’ (p. 101). This recognition explains satisfactorily for the first time why large parts of Chrysostom's thought do not align with that of the ‘Antiochene school’, and why his Christology seems ‘Alexandrian’. When the theme of divine adaptability is applied as a guide, not only do these seeming inconsistencies disappear and the system become self-referentially coherent, but other troubling characteristics of his preaching can also be explained, most notably his harsh rhetoric concerning the Jews and the seeming inconsistencies in his ethical discussions. Just as importantly Chrysostom's extensive exegesis of Scripture can now be read within this framework. Chapter iv contributes further to Mitchell's delineation of Chrysostom's love of Paul (now substantially supplemented by Andreas Heiser's Die Paulusinszenierung des Johannes Chrysostomus, Tübingen 2012) by showing how he situates Paul amongst other biblical exemplars as the imitator par excellence of God's adaptive pedagogy. Chapters v and vi take the thesis that Chrysostom's vision for the transformation of the human person synthesised the reading and explanation of Scripture and classical paideia in regard to the production of virtue, and explore how this is manifest in his theology of the formational ministry of priests in general and in his own homiletical methods in particular. Ultimately, Rylaarsdam reminds us, the book is about understanding a late-antique Christian author within his own context and in light of his intentions. When careful attention is paid to these, as is done here, suddenly everything clicks into place.

This is a landmark work. A different approach to Chrysostom's theology (that understands it on its own terms and within its historical context) has long been awaited and with great sensitivity Rylaarsdam provides the most holistic explanation of this to date.