About this work
Homily 20 on Ephesians is one of John Chrysostom’s fullest sermons on Christian marriage. Drawing on Paul’s image of Christ and the Church, Chrysostom calls husbands and wives to a life shaped by love, faithfulness, prayer, self-control, and care for one another. The sermon moves easily between Scripture and practical advice, showing how ordinary household life can become a place of Christian growth.
Historical context
Chrysostom preached these homilies on Ephesians in the late fourth century, probably at Antioch and before 392. His congregation lived in a world where marriage, family, wealth, servants, and household authority were understood differently from today. In this setting, Chrysostom applies Paul’s teaching to the practical concerns of married Christians and repeatedly points to Christ’s love for the Church as the model for life within the home.
Contents
Chrysostom begins with the relationship between husband and wife and Paul’s comparison of marriage with Christ and the Church. He then turns to beauty, wealth, love, authority, and life within the household. Much of the second half is practical, with advice about speech, weddings, money, prayer, church attendance, Scripture, and raising a Christian family. The sermon ends by calling married Christians to seek virtue rather than luxury or social display.
Text & translation
The Greek text follows the text printed in Migne’s Patrologia Graeca. The Voices of the Fathers Modern English translation was made from the Greek and is presented alongside the older public-domain NPNF translation. A few passages are absent from the surviving NPNF text and therefore have no historical-English parallel.
Text & source details
Editions
- Edition
- Original Greek
- Reader label
- Ancient Greek
- Publication
- Patrologia Graeca 62 (Migne), represented by University of the Aegean Digital Patrology / Greek Patrology mirror
- Rights
- Free use is permitted with attribution to the source (Greek notice printed on every page).
- Edition
- Voices of the Fathers Modern English
- Reader label
- Modern English — VOTF
- Translator
- Voices of the Fathers editorial project
- Publication
- Voices of the Fathers
- Date
- 2026
- Rights
- Voices of the Fathers Modern English is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), to the extent copyright and related rights subsist in the translation and associated editorial material. Commercial reuse requires separate permission from Voices of the Fathers. The underlying ancient text and identified public-domain source editions retain their respective status.
- Edition
- NPNF (Alexander), 1889
- Reader label
- English — Alexander (1889)
- Translator
- Oxford translation, revised by Gross Alexander
- Publication
- Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 13 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1889)
- Date
- 1889
- Rights
- Public domain; CCEL source header states “Rights: Public Domain.”
Text and edition sources
John Chrysostom, Homilies on Ephesians; PG 62:135–150; Patrologia Graeca (Migne), Digital Patrology representation.
Applies to: Ancient Greek Source websiteHomily 20 on Ephesians, Voices of the Fathers Modern English, Voices of the Fathers, 2026, CC BY-NC 4.0.
Applies to: Modern English — VOTF Voices of the Fathers Modern English is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 for noncommercial reuse with attribution, to the extent copyright and related rights subsist in the translation/editorial contribution. Underlying ancient texts and identified public-domain sources retain their own status. Source websiteHomily 20 on Ephesians, Voices of the Fathers Modern English, Voices of the Fathers, 2026, CC BY-NC 4.0.
Applies to: Modern English — VOTF Source websiteNicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 13 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1889)
Applies to: English — Alexander (1889) CCEL source header: Rights: Public Domain. Source websiteOverview research
BiblIndex, John Chrysostom, In epistulam ad Ephesios homiliae 1–24, CPG 4431, PG 62.
Source websitePhilip Schaff, ed., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, vol. 13, Preface to Chrysostom’s Homilies on Ephesians (1889).
Source websiteHoly Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, “On Marriage.”
Source website
