Divorce & St. John Chrysostom

[Frater2010]

I was reading about the Eastern Orthodox teaching on divorce and re-marriage and found a quote supposedly from St. John Chrysostom. I was hoping someone knowledgeable could weigh in on it:

“better to break the covenant than to lose one’s soul”

Here is the Eastern Orthodox website I was reading:

orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/liturgics/athenagoras_remarriage.htm

 

[mardukm]

St. John explained it in his Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew.

“But these things were done by reason of another, a far greater wickedness; I mean, had He made it necessary to keep in the house her even that was hated, the husband, hating, would have killed her. For such was the race of the Jews…For this cause He allowed the less[er evil], to remove the greater evil.”

One thing you will notice in St. John’s explanation of the matter is that even though he allows for a writ of divorcement, he does not permit re-marriage. He plainly states a few paragraphs later: “for when cast out she continues to be the wife of him that expelled her.”

IMO, the OO have a better teaching on divorce and remarriage than the EO. The OO only permit divorce for one reason - adultery, as Scripture states (some OO cite apostasy, with adultery being a subset of apostasy) and permits remarriage for two reasons - adultery/apostasy and death of one of the spouses. By far, I believe the Catholic Church has the most perfect, most patristic, and most biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[JohnVIII]

From the standpoint of the law there is “concession”, which if done for the correct reason prevents a greater sin and is not only allowed because it is according to love, but the church has in early times even cut off those who refused to communion with those who have undergone such concessions.

 

[nickj]

It seems like a hot new trend, but yoga actually began more than 3,000 years ago in India. The word yoga is Sanskrit (one of the ancient languages of the East). It means to “yoke,” or unite, the mind, body, and spirit.

Although yoga includes physical exercise, it is also a lifestyle practice for which exercise is just one component. Training your mind, body, and breath, as well as connecting with your spirituality, are the main goals of the yoga lifestyle.

The physical part of the yoga lifestyle is called hatha yoga. Hatha yoga focuses on asanas, or poses. A person who practices yoga goes through a series of specific poses while controlling his or her breathing. Some types of yoga also involve meditation and chanting.