10. Either St John Chrysostom had four heads, or at least three people are lying…
John Chrysostom (347-407) was originally a hermit, but his self-inflicted living conditions and diet were so appalling that he nearly died. Forced to change career, John made the most of his new, healthier lifestyle to throw himself into preaching, writing theological tracts, and helping the sick and needy. He was so popular in Antioch that when he was elected Archbishop of Constantinople he had to be snuck out of the city under the cover of night, in fear of rioting. Political machinations saw him exiled, however, and he died whilst on a forced march to Pontus in bad weather.
In the West, John is revered as one of the Four Great Doctors, along with Athanasius, Basil, and Gregory Nazianzus, for his great learning. What, therefore, could be a better relic of the great scholar than his very head? Crusaders pinched his skull and other relics from Constantinople in 1204, and brought them to Rome, but here things get murky. One skull, after all, looks a lot like another, and so there are no fewer than four skulls on display as the genuine head of John Chrysostom: two in Tuscany, one in Russia, and the other in Greece.
