by St. John Chrysostom Staying till the dismissal So, you came to church and were granted to meet Christ? Don’t leave if the service hasn’t finished. If you leave before the dismissal, you are guilty as much as a fugitive. When you go to the theater, you don’t leave if the show hasn’t’ finished. You enter church, the […]

by St. John Chrysostom Attention and prayer As long as we are in the church let our conduct be proper, as befits a person who is before God. Let us not occupy ourselves with purposeless conversations, but let us stand with fear and dread, with attention and eagerness, with our gaze turned to the ground and our soul […]

by St. John Chrysostom Our coming to church So please, I beg you, let’s prefer attending church to any other occupation or care. Let’s run eagerly to church, no matter where we are. Be careful, however. Let no one enter this sacred area having earthly cares or distractions or fears. Once we have left all these outside […]

by St. John Chrysostom Churches are spiritual ports Churches resemble ports in the ocean, which God has placed in cities—spiritual ports, wherein whoever of us takes refuge finds indescribable calmness of soul, made dizzy from worldly business. And precisely as a calm and waveless port offers safety to the boats docked there, so also the Church saves from […]