How does Holy Scripture speak of the duties of husband and wife?
Married spouses should take care not to become an occasion of sin to one another, as St Paul wisely teaches:
The husband must fulfill his conjugal duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another [of marital intercourse], except by agreement and for a time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; and come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control… each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. (1Co 7:1–7)
Commenting on this mutual and equal authority, St John Chrysostom marvels at the honor of the married state: when husband and wife are one in love, their home is “a little church” (ekklesia mikra), and “when harmony prevails, the children are raised well, the household is kept in order, and neighbors, friends, and relatives enjoy the fragrance” (St John Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Ephesians; see Q011, Q017).
In marriage above all, the Lord’s command is to be pondered and applied with great diligence: “in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you: for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate… for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mat 7:12–14).
