A pagan writer famous in his time, professor Libanius, amazed by the mothers of the Christians and especially of saint John Chrysostom`s mother exclaimed:
`Oh what mothers have the Christians!` What special mothers are in the Church of the Christians!`
So how should the Christian mother and woman be?` By sapience and by all the gifts she was adorned with by God she should know how to reach and attract the beautiful living, the high living in Christ!
In the parental home the mother was the one who always urged the others to fast and she drew their attention saying: `man or child see that the candle light went out. Light it `And if there was no one else in the house she lit it. Thus the Christian woman, the Christian mother has a special role in the life of our Church, society and people. And you see my dears that today there are these so-called probation marriages which are nothing else than sins over sins, debauchery added over debauchery. And so many things of this kind appeared.
`Well, but what would you like to do with the others ? Do you want to kill them?`
And you see the mother of nowadays is not anymore that saint Christian mother of yore. It is noticed a decline. The mothers don’t give birth to babies at the right time. It was said that lady Maria Brancoveanu had 11 children. We know families with 16-17 children. Someone will say: `Oh, God, so many?` But what would you like to do with the others? Do you want to kill them? Don’t they have the same right to live as you have it? They have this right too. That is why happy is the mother who knows how to give and spread around herself light and joy. Happy is the Christian family! Let us thank to the Most Kind God for this gift: that we were born Orthodox Christians. And take care with all our might of the holy Christian family. And compel those who lead us to protect the holy Christian family. Let us spare no effort and do everything is in our might by word, by deed by prayer.
Archimandrite Melchisedec Velnic, the abbot of Putna Monastery
