Prayer And Vanity

Σὺ δὲ ὅταν προσεύχῃ, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμεῖόν σου καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν σου πρόσευξαι τῷ Πατρί σου τῷ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ: καὶ ὁ Πατήρ σου ὁ βλέπων ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀποδώσει σοι. Τί οὖν; ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ μή προσεύξωμαι; Καὶ πάνυ· ἀλλὰ μετὰ γνώμης ὀρθῆς, καὶ ὥστε μὴ ἐπιδείκνυσθαι, ἐπεὶ ὁ τόπος οὐ βλάπτει, ἀλλ' ὁ τρόπος καὶ ὁ σκοπός. Πολλοὶ γοῦν ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ εὐχόμενοι, πρὸς ἀνθρωπαρεσκίαν τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν. Θεοφύλακτος Αχρίδος, Ἑρμηνεία Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον, Κεφαλὴ Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 123.204b

And you, when you pray, go into your inner room and close the door and pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 1 What then? Shall I not pray in church? Certainly, but with an upright soul, and without ostentation. The harm is not in the place, but in the manner and the intention. Many pray unseen, yet do so to please men. Theophylact of Ochrid, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint Matthew, Chapter 6 1 Mt 6.6