The Ecclesial Family: John Chrysostom on Parenthood and

Children

By Vigen Guroian

About John Chrysostom

• Father among the saints• Archbishop of Constantinople• Notable Christian bishop• Preacher from the fourth and fifth centuries in Syria

and Constantinople• Famous for eloquence in public speaking• After his death he was named “Chrysostom” which

means “Golden-Mouthed”• He recognized by Catholic Church which considers

him a saint and doctor of the church• Born in Antioch• He was ordained a Presbyter in 386 by

Bishop Flavian I of Antioch

About Vigen Guroian• An Orthodox Christian theologian and teacher

• A member of the faculty of a number of colleges

and universities

• an author of a number of books, many on

morality and ethics based on Orthodox

Christian teachings

• He has served on many editorial boards

• An Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at

the University of Virginia at Charlottesville

• Graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970

• Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theology 1978

Ontological Individualism

Wom

an’s

Decisi

on

No to Abortion

The Christian Faith

• In Christian Education habits are reflected in the strict divisions of instruction by age group and the dominance of developmental models of child psychology that over emphasize autonomy and cognitive capabilities.

• The latter has led to a neglect of effective socialization of Children into the Community of Believers using the church’s own resources of narrative and sacramental theology

For St. John Chrysostom

• He emphasized the solidarity of human community, the need for socialization of the young into the church, and the powerful unitive and communicative love that the parent – child nexus infuses into human society.

• Chrysostom proposes that the Christian Family is itself an ecclesial (or churchly) entity wherein adults and children rehearse for membership in the kingdom of heaven

The Context of John Chrysostom’s Ministry

• He applied what he had learned of the monastic discipline to the secular realm and insisted that even the highest Christian virtues embodied in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 – 7) are binding upon ail Christians and not reserved solely for monks.

• He was especially troubled, even outraged, by the eagerness of some Christian parents to propel their children into the secular professions, while neglecting their spiritual and moral formation.

• Thus, he felt especially moved to speak about the role and responsibilities of parents

Communal Christianity and the Ecclesial Family

• John Chrysostom’s understanding of Parenthood was biblically inspired and deeply grounded in the Trinitarian and Christological teaching of the Church

• Human parenthood and childhood mirror the life of the Divine Persons of the Trinity

• Likewise, the Godly family is an image of the Church

The image of God, Original Sin, and the Divine Model of Parenthood

• According to Chrysostom, the character of the ecclesial family is decided largely to the relationship of husband and the wife as father and mother to their children.

• Ephesians 6:1-4 “1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is

right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3 “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”“4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Baptism

Baptism

• Chrysostom’s ideas about sin and the image of God are also reflected in his understanding of Baptism

• Chrysostom understands original sin not in terms of inherited or personal guilt, but in terms of an inherited mortality that causes human beings to sin

• Infants may belong to a corporate human nature

Salvation, Parenting and Children“We can’t be saved through individual righteousness”

-John ChrysostomEphesians 6:1 – 4

•The implications for parenthood are striking

•Chrysostom’s view Love, however, is free of sentimentalism and romanticism•Chrysostom’s view the Love of God is correlative with the fear of God, the respect and honor due to God because God is Holy

John Chrysostom

• He believed that the relative weakness and dependency of children set certain conditions for the salvation of both them and their parents

• The value of children is so great in God’s estimate and their weakness equally evident, parental neglect ranks among the gravest evils and injustices

Parental Responsibility for the Christian Formation of Children

Parental Responsibility for the Christian Formation of Children

• Chrysostom did not believe that the image of God is destroyed or that has been so radically distorted by sin that we are forbidden to think about how it might be humanly repaired or refurbished

• Chrysostom exhort parents unremittingly to take up their responsibility to influence and shape the lives of their children by example and through common worship, discipline, and religious education

La Conclusión

Conclusion

• Education of Character by John Chrysostom• He employs to exhort parents to seize responsibility for

the religious and moral education of their Children have to do with Leaving an “impression” on the soul or person of a child

• Vigen Guroian said that parents are fellow workers with Christ (1 Cor. 3:9) in the garden of childhood

• Chrysostom addresses the education of boys – but we may apply his advice to our daughters also

• First, train his soul and then take thought for his reputation

References

• Bunge, Marcia J. The Child in Christian Thought. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001

• Ginott, Haim G. Ginott, Alice and Goddard, H. Wallace Between Parent and child. New York: Three Rivers Press of Random House, Inc., 2003

Godbless ^_^ ♥♥♥