Epistles of Ignatius

"Honor widows who are truly widows." Be a friend to orphans, for God is "the Father of the fatherless, and the Judge of the widows." Do nothing without the bishops, for they are priests, and you are a servant of the priests. They baptize, offer sacrifice, ordain, and lay on hands, but you minister to them, as the holy Stephen did at Jerusalem to James and the elders. Do not neglect the sacred meetings of the saints; inquire after each one by name. "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers, both in word and behavior."