Forasmuch then as I was permitted to see you in the person of Damas, your godly bishop, and the worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and my fellow servant the deacon Zotion, whose friendship I would enjoy because he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus Christ,——
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians
Chapter 2
1 section
Ignatius of Antioch
Transcribed from a dated scan; artifacts may remain. Edition notes
Trans. Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (Loeb Classical Library), 1912. Public domain.