[Those Who Have No Children Should Adopt Orphans, and Treat Them as Their Own Children.]
I. When any Christian becomes an orphan, whether it be a young man or a maid, it is good that some one of the brethren who is without a child should take the young man, and esteem him in the place of a son; and he that has a son about the same age, and that is marriageable, should marry the maid to him: for they which do so perform a great work, and become fathers to the orphans, and shall receive the reward of this charity from the Lord God. But if any one that walks in the way of man-pleasing is rich, and therefore is ashamed of orphans, the Father of orphans and Judge of widows will make provision for the orphans, but himself shall have such an heir as will spend what he has spared; and it shall happen to him according as it is said: “What things the holy people have not eaten, those shall the Assyrians eat.” As also Isaiah says: “Your land, strangers devour it in your presence.” 1 Isa. i. 7.
[1] Ὀρφανοῦ δέ τινος γενομένου χριστιανοῦ ἤτοι παιδὸς ἢ παρθένου, καλὸν μέν, ἵνα τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν οὐκ ἔχων τέκνον προσλαβόμενος τοῦτο ἔχῃ εἰς παιδὸς τόπον, τὴν δὲ παρθένον ὁ ἔχων υἱὸν δυνάμενον αὐτῇ ταῖς τοῦ γάμου ὥραις συγχρονίσαι συζεύξῃ: τοῦτο γὰρ οἱ ποιοῦντες ἔργον μέγα ἐπιτελοῦσιν, ὀρφανῶν πατέρες ὑπάρξαντες, καὶ παρὰ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ λήψονται τὸν μισθὸν τῆς διακονίας ταύτης. Εἰ δέ τινες οὐκ εἰσὶ τοιοῦτοι ἀλλὰ κατὰ ἀνθρωπαρέσκειαν περιπατῶν ἐπαισχύνοιτο πλούσιος ὢν τὰ τῆς ὀρφανίας μέλη, τοῦ μὲν ὀρφανοῦ πρόνοιαν ποιήσεται ὁ πατὴρ τῶν ὀρφανῶν καὶ κριτὴς τῶν χηρῶν, αὐτῷ δὲ ἐμπεσεῖται τοιοῦτος, ὅστις αὐτοῦ δαπανήσει τὴν φειδώ, καὶ γενήσεται ἐπ' αὐτῷ τὸ εἰρημένον: «Ἃ οὐκ ἔφαγον ἅγιοι, ταῦτα φάγονται Ἀσσύριοι.» Καθὼς καὶ Ἡσαΐας λέγει: «Τὴν χώραν ὑμῶν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἀλλότριοι κατεσθίουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ ἠρήμωται κατεστραμμένη.»