Christian tradition often seems to give only grudging approval to the married life, particularly its sexual aspect. In these sermons of St John Chrysostom we find an important corrective to this view. Although himself a monk, Chrysostom had a profound understanding of the needs of his congregation. Inspired by the epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians, he discusses the reasons God instituted marriage: primarily to promote holiness of the husband and wife, and only secondarily to produce children. Chrysostom goes on to discuss sexual relations, the mutual responsibilities of marriage, and parenting. While parts of Chrysostom's sermons may seem limited to his own time, the vast majority of his advice has timeless relevance for the Christian family.
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more. |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Language Notes
Text: English, Greek
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really mean what I said in the title, this should be manditory by law to read for anyone even considering marriage. If people seriously weighed Chrysostom's words on marriage, divorce would probably be cut by half.
St. John, as always, lays forth an eloquent (yet simple & easy to understand) convincing argument for his views on marriage. He doesn't advocate marrying for money or looks or social position (something I'm sure is way more common than most people would want to admit) he advocates marrying for virtue. St. John argues that virtuous and poor is a million times better than excess gaeity & wealth.
He lays out criteria for selecting a wife, as well as traits that husbands and wifes should display. Not only does he discuss the institution of marriage, but he also talks about wedding celebrations themselves. Other topics such as sex are discussed as well (he doesn't hold negative view of it.)
He greatly stresses EQUALITY OF RESPONSIBILITY of both partners to make a marriage work. Children are also discussed in great detail. St. John Chrysostom is not only a great writer, but a holy man whose words we should try to incorporate into our lifestyles.
Highly recommended book.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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 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.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Mel
Format:Paperback
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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old time religion in the bedroom and the bank
Want old time religion, say, 398AD? Want wisdom in the bedroom and in the bank? Read this book.
Goldenmouth (Chrysostom) John remains one of the most sex positive, pro... Read more
Goldenmouth (Chrysostom) John remains one of the most sex positive, pro... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dan E. Nicholas
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fantastic Translation of an Incredibly Important Book
I can't express enough how important Saint John's homilies are, and how important it is to have a beautiful, flowing translation. St. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Matt Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best marriage book I've read
I'm neither Roman Catholic or of the Orthodox Church, yet I absolutely love this book! I've read many books on marriage and family, yet none of them cut to the heart of the issue... Read more
Published on October 29, 2010 by Revive Me
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gem of Christian Wisdom
A. Overview
This treasure of wisdom brings together the homilies of John Chrysostom, a great apologist for Christian marriage. Read more
This treasure of wisdom brings together the homilies of John Chrysostom, a great apologist for Christian marriage. Read more
Published on December 5, 2009 by John M. Balouziyeh
5.0 out of 5 stars
What Christian Marriage Looked Like Before Feminism
Yes, these homilies by St. John Chrysostom were written many centuries ago, but they were revolutionary then and they are revolutionary now. Read more
Published on October 27, 2008 by Webfoot
5.0 out of 5 stars
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. Read more
Published on January 29, 2008 by Stratiotes Doxha Theon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still relevant!
St. John's On Marriage and Family Life is so biblical and still relevant for the 21st century. There are only a very few things in these writings that might be considered more... Read more
Published on December 28, 2007 by Joel J. Perry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful advice!
This text is easy to read and understand, I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they are considering marriage. Read more
Published on June 13, 2002
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chrysostom doing what he does best
This book gets 4 stars only because I reserve 5 stars for something really extraordinary. Chrysostom is a top-shelf preacher, and even though I may not agree with all of his... Read more
Published on July 20, 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
On Marrriage and Family Life
that book is awanderful book for a christian persone wants to know what God meant for a christian couples how they start them life and how to stay in purity through the merrage.
Published on April 8, 2000
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
