Letter 193: Theodore Studite, Letter 193; Greek heading: Σπαθαρέᾳ.

Your house is a house of piety, a house of hospitality, a house of refuge for those withdrawing from trials and persecutions; for this reason you are blessed and glorified by the Lord. In apostolic fashion your good deeds have been made manifest: whether you have brought up children, whether you have given lodging to strangers, whether you have washed the feet of the saints, whether you have given aid to the afflicted, whether you have followed after every good work [an echo of 1 Timothy 5:10, on the qualifications of the true widow] -- thus delineating and exhibiting the widow indeed. Such a lady [kyria] the Lord has shown you to be, renowned among many; but may He yet show you forth still further, guarding and surrounding you with His care for the glory of the widows' church and choir here, and in the age to come may He lead you into the bridal chamber of immortality together with the holy virgins.