John was born at Antioch towards the middle of the fourth century. His father was a military commander; his mother, left a widow at the age of twenty, was a devout Christian who gave all her attention to her son. John showed exceptional intelligence and studied to be a lawyer under the great teacher Libanius, who when dying named as his successor, ‘John, if the Christians had not stolen him from us’. John's eloquence was extraordinary; but he gradually turned from his first goal towards a life of renunciation. He could not bring himself to take a fee for arguing a false case. He was baptised and then ordained as a reader. His desire to become a monk was resisted by his mother, who pleaded that he should not make her a widow a second time. So he stayed at home; but he lived an ascetic life. He ate little, slept on bare ground, prayed, and lived in almost unbroken silence. Later, he went into the mountains south of Antioch, where he followed the guidance of an old Syrian monk. Finally he lived in isolation in a mountain cave where he slept and ate so little, that at the end of two years his health was broken and he had to return home to Antioch. These years left their mark on his body and mind. Back at Antioch he was ordained as deacon in 381, and as priest five years later.