Chapter 8. Let nothing be done without the bishop
See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.
St. Ignatius of Antioch Letter to the Smyrneans 105 A.D.
You don’t answer my specific point. “Let nothing be done without the bishop” doesn’t mean that congregations can’t be involved in managing their finances, and in helping to select their pastor (with the bishop agreeing on the final choice). It doesn’t say that the bishop has to rule them like a dictator and impose a priest on them without their having any say in the matter, or any knowledge of the priest’s background.