They protected the sanctity of marriage and the marriage bed, opposed divorce, held husbands accountable to the same moral standard as wives, and honored women—virgins and widows—who chose not to marry or marry again. They condemned abortion and infanticide, and they rescued infants who had been abandoned and left to die. They supported orphans, widows, and prisoners, cared for the sick and buried the dead, not just their own but their neighbors’, too. They welcomed people into their homes and gave sacrificially to those in need.
