Nov. 13 is an auspicious day for 220 million Eastern Orthodox Christians. It’s the feast day of St. John Chrysostom, a 4th-century Church Father renowned for his powerful preaching. Chrysostom, whose name means “golden-mouthed,” is recognized as a Doctor of the Church for his inspired sermons and moral fortitude. He frequently inveighed against the wealthy and powerful, calling them to account for their pretended piety.

But Chrysostom was no mere class warrior or rabble-rouser. His perspective on markets and wealth contains a great deal of practical wisdom, something today’s economic populists on both the Right and the Left sorely need.