This book is a treasure trove of the distilled counsels of St. John Chrysostom—distilled from his thorough knowledge of and love for the Holy Scriptures and his profound respect for and obedience to the mind of the Church—concerning matters of great interest and importance for people of all ages and circumstances: virginity, chastity, celibacy, marriage, contraception, parenting, family life, sexual practices, divorce, remarriage, and widowhood. You will find that this great fourth-century preacher and pastor of the Church still has an urgent (and salvific!) message to proclaim to people of the twenty-first century and beyond—the soul-profiting message of the beauty of consecrated virginity and the blessedness of marriage. I trust that after receiving his inspired counsel you will marvel at the beauty of the Scripture-based teachings so as to be lifted to the clouds in appreciation of and admiration for the God Who fashioned and sanctifies both states for His glory. May it be so!
—From the Foreword by His Grace Basil, Bishop of Wichita and Mid-America, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
****
Saint John Chrysostom still speaks, today even louder than in the fourth century. Not all will wish to hear him, as not all wished to hear him then.… But those who have humility will find in him an able instructor, and will find a place of confidence in these confusing times. He radiates amidst the Holy Fathers of the Church as the great defender and sanctifier of the Christian home and city. Adherence to his teaching has produced innumerable saints in the Church, spiritually born both in the monastery and in the Christian home, and is capable of producing the same today.
—from the Afterword by Fr. Josiah Trenham
