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

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 Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom. His epithet Chrysostom means "golden-mouthed" in Greek and denotes his famous eloquence for which people would flock to hear him. Chrysostom was an extremely prolific author, exceeded only by St. Augustine of Hippo in the quantity of his surviving writings. He is held in great honor as a saint in the Orthodox and Catholic world. The Eastern Orthodox church regards him as one of the Three Holy Hierarchs (alongside Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus). As such it is fascinating to hear the great master of preaching expound upon marriage and family life, a particularly controversial subject as the roles of men and women having been changing in modern society. The four homilies presented here are expositions on the following scriptures: 1) 1 Cor. vii. 1 - 36, 2) Ephesians v. 22-35, 3) Ephesians vi. 1-4, and 4) Colossians 3:18-25. They are taken from: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vols. 13, 14. Edited by Philip Schaff (1819-1893) (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.)