The Fathers of the Church, from the evangelist John
and Paul
attest to the reinstitution and sanctification of
matrimony by
Christ and its elevation to a mystical
signification.
Ignatius (Antioch, d. 110), Letter to Polycarp, MG 5, 724
Tell my sisters to love the Lord and to be satisfied with their
husbands in flesh and spirit. In the same way tell
my brothers
in the name of Jesus Christ to love their wives as
the Lord
does the Church. If anyone is able to persevere in
chastity
to the honor of the flesh of the Lord, let him do so
in all humility.
If he is boastful about it, he is lost; if he should
marry, the
union should be made with the consent of the bishop,
so that
marriages may be according to the Lord and not
merely out
of lust. Let all be done to the glory of God.