Joint prayer is of great importance – it unites the whole family, brings it closer. The Lord Himself said: "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them." Therefore, it is good to establish a custom for the whole family to gather together in a room in front of the icons in order to begin and end the day with prayer. During common family prayer, you can distribute the reading of the prayer among family members.

It is also good to include the Jesus Prayer in our prayer rule. One should approach prayer with a sense of one's unworthiness: "I am unworthy, O Lord, to speak before Thee, because I am very sinful." How can children be taught the Divine? Children should be taught the Gospel with affection, in the form of stories, and thus sow the word of God in their hearts.

Is it possible to leave an inheritance to children? "Children should leave wealth with consideration, for it has ruined many spiritually and physically, and has led many to an early grave" (Elder Arsenius of Athos) [109]. What is harmful to the blind love of parents for children? Many parents, having blind love for their children, feel sorry for punishing them for their crimes, but they themselves will learn their mistake after they grow up and become defective.

In addition, children should be strictly forbidden to be associated and make friends with evil ones, since malice will change even a good mind, and parents themselves should be careful not to give temptation to their children in anything (see St. Tikhon of Zadonsk). How does the Church view the illegitimate? St. John Chrysostom says that descent from legitimate or illegitimate parents in the Orthodox Church has no significance, since each person is evaluated here exclusively according to his moral dignity.

Is it permissible to inflict corporal punishment in front of others? Corporal punishment should not be performed in front of others; This is an indispensable rule. Is everything allowed in a church marriage? "Marriage is blessed by the Church, but those who are married are also tormented in hell if they have lived lustfully" (Archimandrite Methodius Peshnoshsky). What should be the most important thing for parents?

Everything for parents should be secondary in comparison with the care of raising children. How should a Christian relate to a civil marriage? We recognize a church marriage. Civil registration is necessary, but spiritually insufficient. Should a wife forgive everything? When Christ spoke about marriage and his wife, He urged her to forgive her every sin except one – adultery.

At what age should children fast? There is no rule; But in every true Christian family, this question is resolved very simply: parents fast, and children fast, and even if they are healthy, from a very early age. What should you pay attention to when choosing a spouse: wealth, beauty or her nobility?

Neither the first, nor the second, nor the third, but one should pay special attention to the mind and heart, as evidenced by the following sacred story: "When the Greek emperor Theodosius II was twenty years old, his elder sister and co-ruler St. Pulcheria considered it her first duty to choose for him a wife worthy of the royal rank.

But since she did not consider the wealth and nobility of the family to be among the virtues, she could not find a spouse for her brother, the king, for a long time. At last an unforeseen accident satisfied the desire of her heart. The maiden Athenaida, the daughter of the Athenian philosopher Leontius, came to Constantinople, beautiful, sensible and meek. The reason for her arrival in the capital was quite remarkable: Athenaida's father, dying, divided all his inheritance among his sons, leaving nothing to his daughter, except for a few pieces of gold.

When his relatives asked him why he left his daughter without anything, he only said: "Beauty and intelligence are sufficient for her," and with this word he died. Athenaida's brothers were so hard-hearted that they did not want to violate their father's will in any way. Torn apart by grief, the maiden, honoring the memory of her father, could not forgive such an incomprehensible indifference of the brothers and decided to seek justice at the altar, bringing a complaint to St. John. Pulcheria.

The princess, seeing the beauty of Athenaida, her mind and innocence of heart, intended to make this orphan maiden a participant in the throne; she herself was a mother at her font and soon married the king, her brother" (see the Life of St. Pulcheria, September 10). What are the responsibilities of a Christian spouse? The all-wise king of Israel points out the following duties of a Christian wife (among other duties)

She recompenses him with good, and not with evil, all the days of her life. He gets wool and flax and willingly works with his own hands. Like merchant ships, it earns its bread from afar. She rises at night, and distributes the food in her house, and the servants, to her maidservants. She thinks of a field and buys it; from the fruit of his hands he plants a vineyard.

He girds his loins with strength, and strengthens his muscles. She feels that her occupation is good, and her lamp does not go out even at night. She stretches out her hands to the spinning wheel, and her fingers take hold of the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor, and gives her hand to the needy. She is not afraid of the cold for her family, because her whole family is dressed in double clothes...

Strength and beauty are her clothes, and she looks merrily at the future... The children rise up and praise her, the husband, and praises her: "There were many virtuous women, but you have surpassed them all" (Proverbs 31:12-21, 25, 28-29). How to pray to a woman who is preparing to become a mother? You are pregnant, and therefore pray to the Lord God as follows: "Thank you, my Creator, that You have brought me to such a state in which I recognize myself as a mother!