“Christianity demands that the family be a small church…Our home is a little church, and creating the right sort of context and atmosphere is of great importance here…” (St. Seraphim Chichagov, Andrew Williams)
“We need Christ in our homes because it is here where we learn about life and relationships. We learn how to love, how to be patient, and how to forgive. In our homes we learn what to expect from others and what to do when people don’t meet our expectations. We learn what to value in the world and how to live in it. Our homes are where our souls are shaped in the day-to-day activities of life. The light of Christ needs to be in that place as that is happening—illuminating all.” (Philip Mamalakis)
“As we endeavor to create and maintain the church of the home, the Church has given us many aids. We have our daily rhythms of prayer, Bible reading, readings about the Saints, feasts, and fasts. We have our icon corners and the smell of incense that permeates our homes. And, we might have liturgical music playing from our stereos. But the most important hallmark of our Christian faith, and the foundation of our church of the home, is love. It is by love that our Christianity is visible to the world. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus clearly demonstrates the preeminence of love when He instructs: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) The love to which Christ refers is an active love. It is not some romantic notion, but a Divine movement from God to the world. The Love poured out by He who is Love is extended to all, and we respond to it by being God’s hands of service and the pencils being used to write His love letters.” (Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Clapsis)
“…what goes on in the home and what goes on in the church building are always connected. Our Church makes the distinction between personal prayer (home alone) and liturgical prayer (in church all-together). The two go together, they feed each other according to this teaching and both are absolutely necessary. Similarly, the life in the church is fed by the life in the home (the kat’oikon ecclesia). The whole Orthodox life and ethos demands that we have a good foundation from the home. And when we go to church, we bring that good foundation with us so that everything falls naturally into place. If this is not taught in the home, going to church is going to become a mere duty and not something necessary for true life.” (Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris)
“You could argue that the Church has four parts to it – the narthex, the nave, the alter, and the home. The liturgy in that sense never ends, as many teach, and that what we do from when we leave Church on Sunday to when we come back is still our life of worship and prayer in Christ. The home should be like a little church. Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally love each other, so should the father, mother, and child/children do the same in their home. This is Christianity. It’s not just Church on Sunday’s. It’s all of life. God is always present. We experience Him in and through love, especially love within family.” (Sacramental Living Ministries)
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