Tuesday, September 1, 2009

John Chrysostom: Man (not Woman) in the Image of God

Why, then, is the man referred to as God's image, but no longer the woman? Because he is not using image in terms of form, but image in respect of government, which the man alone has, but no longer the woman as well. After all, he is subject to no one, whereas she is under him, as God said, "Your turning will be towards your husband, and he will lord it over you." Hence the man is the image of God, since he has no one over him, just as the is no one above God, who governs everything; the woman, on the other hand, is the man's glory, since she is subject to the man.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Sermon 2 on Genesis, in St. John Chrysostom, Eight Sermons on the Book of Genesis, pp. 48-49 (2004), Robert C. Hill translator.