The Christian Home

Creating a Christian Environment in the Home

Creating a Christian home begins with the icon corner. The bright corner becomes the center for every domestic church, where the family devotions take place. This is also the family’s way of declaring to visitors that this is a Christian home, where Christ is head. Because the husband is a sort of domestic priest (the priesthood of all believers), it is important that he be the one who leads the entire family in prayer.

Each member of the family should have their own patron saint’s icon. A wonderful practice from ancient times is to have a family icon written so that all their patron saints are represented in the same icon.

The family should try as best they can to have dinner together every night of the week. Watching TV while eating dinner is a very bad idea, for the meal should be the time when the parents can talk to their children about school, or other activities. In these modern times there are almost always school or work related activities that don’t always allow everyone to be together for that all important family meal, but every effort should be made to make this happen as often as possible.

The blessing of the food, with the father or mother making the sign of the cross over the meal with their fingers together as they do when blessing oneself, should never be avoided. If we always say a blessing over our food at home and give thanks to God for all He has given us, we are more likely to do so when at school or in a restaurant.

We’ve all seen those bumper stickers that read, “Kill Your TV”. Television and the overuse of the Internet are wreaking havoc on family life. Don’t allow these foreign invaders into your home to replace Christ as head of your household. Bad habits are hard to overcome, so replacing these with communal time in the living room may be hard at first, but is necessary for the basic foundation of any Christian home.

Guard your home from other invaders as well. Magazines and other reading material should be appropriate for the Christian home. If you’d not want your priest to see a magazine or book in your home, it shouldn’t be there in the first place. The music played in the home should also be uplifting and devoid of profanity and vulgarity.

Regular family meetings where everyone has an opportunity to talk about things and where the atmosphere is loving, open and safe, help create trust and a sense of security for everyone. It is natural for parents to argue on occasion, but this should never take place in front of children. They need to feel secure.

Boys need to see their fathers as icons of Christ in the home, demonstrating the biblical image of a husband and father. You men need, for the sake of your children, to give witness to the importance of prayer and church attendance. Statistically, children whose father is a church goer are far more likely to stay in church as adults. Don’t leave spiritual instruction up to your wives. You will be held accountable before the Throne of God for your children.

Men should not let their wives do all the house cleaning and cooking. In an age where both husband and wife often need to hold down jobs in order to make ends meet, a woman’s work is not just household work. She should not have to come home from work and be expected to do all the housework and cooking by herself. Men need to teach their children by example to help around the house.

Children should be given a small allowance (according to age) so they can learn to manage money, and an important part of money managing is the tithe. The biblical command to give ten percent of one’s income back to God is almost never taught in the Orthodox Church, which is why so many clergy are given such meager salaries, and parishes have to hold church festivals. When we fail to tithe we are stealing from God! A child who tithes ten percent of his allowance will grow into an adult Orthodox Christian who tithes.

These are basic suggestions for creating an Orthodox home. If you begin to implement these suggestions, the Lord will reward you with a family that stands strong and your children will grow up as spiritually healthy Christians, grounded in biblical teachings and moral fortitude. Your grandchildren will, in return, be raised with the same biblical principles and you will be the most blessed grandparents on your block!

With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Thursday March 28, 2013

Second Week of the Great Lent. Tone one.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Food without Oil
Martyrs Agapius, Publius (Pauplios), Timolaus, Romulus, two named Dionysius, and two named Alexander, at Caesarea in Palestine (303).
New Hieromartyr Demetrius priest (1938).
New Hieromartyr Michael priest (1940).
Hieromartyr Alexander of Side in Pamphylia (270-275).
Martyr Nicander of Egypt (302).
Venerable Nicander, monk, of Gorodets (Novgorod) (1603).
New Martyr Manuel of Crete (1792) (Greek).
St. Hebarestes.
St. Zachariah, pope of Rome (752).
You can read the life of the saint in green, by click on the name.
THANK YOU, to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Genesis 5:1-24

The Family of Adam

5 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. ²He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. ³And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. ⁴After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. ⁵So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
⁶Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. ⁷After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. ⁸So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
⁹Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. ¹⁰After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. ¹¹So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
¹²Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. ¹³After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. ¹⁴So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
¹⁵Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. ¹⁶After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. ¹⁷So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
¹⁸Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. ¹⁹After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²⁰So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
²¹Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. ²²After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. ²³So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. ²⁴And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

Proverbs 6:3-20

³So do this, my son, and deliver yourself;
For you have come into the hand of your friend:
Go and humble yourself;
Plead with your friend.
⁴Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids.
⁵Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

The Folly of Indolence

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
⁷Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
⁸Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
⁹How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
¹⁰A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
¹¹So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.

The Wicked Man

¹²A worthless person, a wicked man,
Walks with a perverse mouth;
¹³He winks with his eyes,
He shuffles his feet,
He points with his fingers;
¹⁴Perversity is in his heart,
He devises evil continually,
He sows discord.
¹⁵Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly;
Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

¹⁶These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
¹⁷A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
¹⁸A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
¹⁹A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

Beware of Adultery

²⁰My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.