Methodius, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. VI, Banquet of the Ten Virgins… (1885)
“ Chapter VII.—The Virgins, [1] the Righteous Ancients; The Church, the One Only Spouse, More Excellent Than the Others.Now he calls by the name of virgins, who belong to a countless assembly, those who, being inferior to the better ones, have practised righteousness, and have striven against sin with youthful and noble energy. But of these, neither the queens, nor the concubines, nor the virgins, are compared to the Church. ”
