St. John Chrysostom's Homilies On Marriage and Family Life

by John Chrysostom

Book Overview

St. John Chrysostom (347 - 407), was one of the most important Early Church Fathers, who served first as priest in Antioch and then as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his sharp preaching, and his denunciation of the moral shortcomings of authority in the church and the state, which ultimate led to his untimely death. He is also famous for the Liturgy used by the Eastern Orthodox church in almost every service, which bears his name: the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1034477455
• ISBN13: 9781034477457
• Release Date: March 2024
• Publisher: Blurb
• Length: 36 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Practical and profound

This great work, from the great pastor known for his practical yet profound preaching, contains the remedy for the crisis in Christian marriages today. We would do well to return again and again to these core lessons of faith applied to the practical living out of our marriage vows. It would not be a stretch to assert that all subsequent works on marriage are mere commentary to St. John's tried and tested 1600+ year old advice. Do not suppose you are ready for marriage or a good spouse unless you tackle this most challenging of works on the subject. It is a difficult teaching of sacrificial love that is all too uncommon in marriages today. It is a challenge that most will find difficult and abandon. But it is truth that cannot easily be dismissed. A true remedy for the self-serving so-called "self-help" platitudes that fill the marriage advice shelves of bookstores today. Not for the faint-hearted, but then, neither should marriage be. Get it and make it a book you return to again and again in examining your conscience and reinvigorating your marriage. The cost of applying the advice is far greater than the cost of the book, but the payoff in your marriage is beyond measure.

How to be a good husband

St. John Chrysostom's homilies on marriage and family life are refreshingly free of political correctness. He teaches that women have the duty to obey their husbands, and that both men and women should be chaste before and after marriage. And yet, this book seems to be aimed more at men then at women; they are taught to love their wives as Christ loved His bride, the Church, which was not obedient or beautiful or good until He offered His life to make it clean. The teaching in the book is timeless, but sometimes seems particularly relevant to our age. For instance, "Let them shun the immodest music and dancing that are currently so fashionable....Remove from your lives shameful, immodest, and Satanic music, and don't associate with people who enjoy such profligate entertainment.... Will this sort of life be distasteful for a young bride? Only perhaps for the shortest time, and soon she will discover how delightful it is to live this way. She will retain her modesty if you retain yours." (page 60) This seems more relevant to our day than to his until you remember that he was murdered for denouncing the empress for promoting these entertainments. If you want to be a good, Christian husband, this book will speed you on your way. I would especially recommend it to men who are engaged, so that they can enter into the married state with the right intentions.

The Advice Is Great

The Advice given it this short work is great. Please, though, don't think that this is an entire work that Saint John wrote on marriage and family life, rather, it is just a compilation of modern times of a few seperate sermons which Saint John gave on days in which the Scriptural readings were dealing with marriage. Many would consider it chauvanistic, but others, like myself, know it's not so much chauvanistic as realistic. A must read and a must take-to-heart.

Wonderful advice!

This text is easy to read and understand, I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they are considering marriage. The book is most definitely appropriate for High School age and up. However, the lessons that are taught in "On Marriage and Family Life" should be taught to children from birth.