Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius of Antioch (Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιο- Epistles attributed to Ignatius report his arrest by the au-
χείας, Ignátios Antiokheías; AD c. 35 or 50 – 98 to thorities and travel to Rome:
117[1] ), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (Ιγνάτιος
ὁ Θεοφόρος, Ignátios ho Theophóros, lit. “the God- From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild
bearing”), was a student of John the Apostle, and was the beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, be-
third bishop of Antioch.[2][3] En route to Rome, where ing bound amidst ten leopards, even a company
according to Christian tradition he met his martyrdom of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are
by being fed to wild beasts, he wrote a series of letters kindly treated. — Ignatius to the Romans, 5.
which have been preserved as an example of very early
Christian theology. Important topics addressed in these
Along the route he wrote six letters to the churches in the
letters include ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role
region and one to a fellow bishop. He was sentenced to
of bishops.
die at the Colosseum.[8] In his Chronicle, Eusebius gives
the date of Ignatius’s death as AA 2124 (2124 years after
Adam), which would amount to the 11th year of Trajan’s
1 Life reign; i.e., AD 108.[9]
After Ignatius’ martyrdom in the Colosseum his remains
Ignatius converted to Christianity at a young age.[4] Later were carried back to Antioch by his companions and were
in his life he was chosen to serve as a Bishop of Antioch, interred outside the city gates. The reputed remains of Ig-
succeeding Saint Peter and St. Evodius (who died around natius were moved by the Emperor Theodosius II to the
AD 67). The 4th-century Church historian Eusebius Tychaeum, or Temple of Tyche, which had been con-
records that Ignatius succeeded Evodius.[5] Making his verted into a church dedicated to Ignatius. In 637 the
apostolic succession even more immediate, Theodoret of relics were transferred to the Basilica di San Clemente in
Cyrrhus reported that St. Peter himself appointed Ig- Rome.
natius to the episcopal see of Antioch.[6] Ignatius called
himself Theophorus (God Bearer). A tradition arose that
he was one of the children whom Jesus took in his arms
and blessed.[2] 2 Veneration
Ignatius’ feast day was kept in his own Antioch on 17
October, the day on which he is now celebrated in the
Catholic Church and generally in western Christianity, al-
though from the 12th century until 1969 it was put at 1
February in the General Roman Calendar.[10][11]
In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is observed on 20
December.[12] The Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox
Church of Alexandria places it on the 24th of the Cop-
tic Month of Koiak, corresponding in three years out of
every four to 20 December in the Julian Calendar, which
currently falls on 2 January of the Gregorian Calendar.

Painting of Ignatius of Antioch from the Menologion of Basil II

(c. 1000 AD) 3 Letters
Ignatius is one of the five Apostolic Fathers (the earliest The following seven letters preserved under the name of
authoritative group of the Church Fathers). He based his Ignatius:
authority on being a bishop of the Church, living his life
in the imitation of Christ. It is believed that St. Ignatius, • The Letter to the Ephesians,
along with his friend Polycarp, with great probability were
disciples of the Apostle St. John.[7] • The Letter to the Magnesians,

1
2 3 LETTERS

• The Letter to the Trallians, the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the
Father from the beginning and is at last made
• The Letter to the Romans,
manifest — Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6:1
• The Letter to the Philadelphians,
Ignatius is known to have taught the deity of Christ:
• The Letter to the Smyrnaeans,
• The Letter to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna. There is one Physician who is possessed
both of flesh and spirit; both made and not
By the 5th century, this collection had been enlarged made; God existing in flesh; true life in death;
by spurious letters, and some of the original letters both of Mary and of God; first passible and
were, at one point, believed to had been changed with then impassible, even Jesus Christ our Lord.
interpolations,[13] created to posthumously enlist Ignatius —Letter to the Ephesians, ch. 7, shorter ver-
as an unwitting witness in theological disputes of that age, sion, Roberts-Donaldson translation
but that position «was vigorously combated by several
British and German critics, including the Catholics Den- He stressed the value of the Eucharist, calling it a
zinger and Hefele, who defended the genuineness of the “medicine of immortality” (Ignatius to the Ephesians
entire seven epistles».[14] At the same time, the purported 20:2). The very strong desire for bloody martyrdom in
eye-witness account of his martyrdom is also thought to the arena, which Ignatius expresses rather graphically in
be a forgery from around the same time. A detailed but places, may seem quite odd to the modern reader. An
spurious account of Ignatius’ arrest and his travails and examination of his theology of soteriology shows that he
martyrdom is the material of the Martyrium Ignatii which regarded salvation as one being free from the powerful
is presented as being an eyewitness account for the church fear of death and thus to bravely face martyrdom.[15]
of Antioch, and attributed to Ignatius’ companions, Philo Ignatius is claimed to be the first known Christian writer
of Cilicia, deacon at Tarsus, and Rheus Agathopus, a Syr- to argue in favor of Christianity’s replacement of the
ian. Sabbath with the Lord’s Day:
Although James Ussher regarded it as genuine, if there
is any genuine nucleus of the Martyrium, it has been Be not seduced by strange doctrines nor by
so greatly expanded with interpolations that no part of antiquated fables, which are profitless. For if
it is without questions. Its most reliable manuscript even unto this day we live after the manner of
is the 10th-century Codex Colbertinus (Paris), in which Judaism, we avow that we have not received
the Martyrium closes the collection. The Martyrium grace ... If then those who had walked in an-
presents the confrontation of the bishop Ignatius with cient practices attained unto newness of hope,
Trajan at Antioch, a familiar trope of Acta of the mar- no longer observing Sabbaths but fashioning
tyrs, and many details of the long, partly overland voy- their lives after the Lord’s day, on which our
age to Rome. The Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox life also arose through Him and through His
Church of Alexandria says that he was thrown to the wild death which some men deny ... how shall we be
beasts that devoured him and rent him to pieces.[3] able to live apart from Him? ... It is monstrous
to talk of Jesus Christ and to practise Judaism.
Ignatius’s letters proved to be important testimony to the For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but
development of Christian theology, since the number of Judaism in Christianity — Ignatius to the Mag-
extant writings from this period of Church history is very nesians 8:1, 9:1-2, 10:3, Lightfoot translation.
small. They bear signs of being written in great haste and
without a proper plan, such as run-on sentences and an He is also responsible for the first known use of the
unsystematic succession of thought. Ignatius is the earli- Greek word katholikos (καθολικός), meaning “univer-
est known Christian writer to emphasize loyalty to a sin- sal”, “complete” and “whole” to describe the church, writ-
gle bishop in each city (or diocese) who is assisted by both ing:
presbyters (possibly elders) and deacons. Earlier writings
only mention either bishops or presbyters, and give the Wherever the bishop appears, there let the
impression that there was usually more than one bishop people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is
per congregation. Philippians 1:1 the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize
For instance, his writings on bishops, presbyters and dea- or give communion without the consent of the
cons: bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his
approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever
Take care to do all things in harmony with is done will be safe and valid. — Letter to the
God, with the bishop presiding in the place of Smyrnaeans 8, J.R. Willis translation.
God, and with the presbyters in the place of
the council of the apostles, and with the dea- It is from the word katholikos (“according to the whole”)
cons, who are most dear to me, entrusted with that the word catholic comes. When Ignatius wrote the
 3

Letter to the Smyrnaeans in about the year 107 and used • The Epistle of Maria the Proselyte to Ignatius;
the word catholic, he used it as if it were a word already
in use to describe the Church. This has led many scholars • Epistle to Mary at Neapolis, Zarbus;
to conclude that the appellation Catholic Church with its • First Epistle to St. John;
ecclesial connotation may have been in use as early as the
last quarter of the 1st century. On the Eucharist, he wrote • Second Epistle to St. John;
in his letter to the Smyrnaeans:
• The Epistle of Ignatius to the Virgin Mary.

Take note of those who hold heterodox

opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has 5 References
come to us, and see how contrary their opinions
are to the mind of God ... They abstain from
[1] See “Ignatius” in The Westminster Dictionary of Church
the Eucharist and from prayer because they do History, ed. Jerald Brauer (Philadelphia: Westminster,
not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of 1971) and also David Hugh Farmer, “Ignatius of Anti-
our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered och” in The Oxford Dictionary of the Saints (New York:
for our sins and which that Father, in his good- Oxford University Press, 1987).
ness, raised up again. They who deny the gift
of God are perishing in their disputes. — Let- [2] The Martyrdom of Ignatius
ter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [3] Synaxarium: The Martyrdom of St. Ignatius, Patriarch of
Antioch
Ignatius modeled his writings after Paul, Peter, and John, [4] “St. Ignatius of Antioch
and even quoted or paraphrased their own works freely,
such as when he quoted 1 Cor 1:18, in his letter to the [5] Historia Ecclesiastica, II.iii.22.
Ephesians:[16] [6] Dial. Immutab., I, iv, 33a.

[7] St. Ignatius in Antioch profile at NewAdvent.org

Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the
sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block [8] Though see the comments of Timothy B. Sailors, “Bryn
to those that do not believe, but to us salvation Mawr Classical Review: Review of The Apostolic Fathers:
and life eternal. - Letter to the Ephesians 18, Greek Texts and English Translations". Retrieved 2013-
Roberts and Donaldson translation 01-08.

[9] Chronicle, from the Latin translation of Jerome, p. 276.

Saint Ignatius’s most famous quotation, however, comes
from his letter to the Romans: [10] David Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford
University Press 2011 ISBN 978-0-19959660-7), p. 220

I am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin [11] Calendarium Romanum (Vatican City, 1969), p. 106
all, that I am dying willingly for God’s sake, [12] Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North
if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do America, Synaxarion, December
not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to
be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of [13] “Catholic Encyclopedia”. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
reaching to God. I am God’s wheat, and I am to [14] “Catholic Encyclopedia”. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I
may become the pure bread of Christ. — Letter [15] L. Stephanie Cobb, Dying To Be Men: Gender and Lan-
to the Romans guage in Early Christian Martyr Texts, page 3 (Columbia
University Press, 2008); ISBN 978-0-231-14498-8

[16] Byfield, Ted, ed. A Pinch on Incense, pg 50

4 Letters of Pseudo-Ignatius [17] “Spurious Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch” at NewAd-
vent.org
Epistles attributed to Saint Ignatius but of spurious origin
include[17]
6 Sources
• Epistle to the Tarsians;
• Holy Letters and Syllables, the function and charac-
• Epistle to the Antiochians;
ter of Scripture Authority in the writings of St Ig-
• Epistle to Hero, a Deacon of Antioch; natius (Contains biography of Ignatius as well. Doc-
toral thesis University of the Orange Free State 1997,
• Epistle to the Philippians; Dutch, pdf)
4 8 EXTERNAL LINKS

7 Further reading • 2012 Translation & Audio Version (Authentic Seven

Letters and Martyrdom of Ignatius)
• Brent, Allen (2006). Ignatius of Antioch and the Sec-
• Saint Ignatius of Antioch at the Christian Iconogra-
ond Sophistic: a study of an early Christian transfor-
phy web site
mation of Pagan culture. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
ISBN 3-16-148794-X. • Here Followeth the Life of St. Ignatius, Bishop from
Caxton’s translation of the Golden Legend
• De Ste. Croix, G.E.M. (November 1963). “Why
Were the Early Christians Persecuted?". Past and
Present 26.

• Ignatius of Antioch (2003). “The Letters of Ig-

natius”. The Apostolic Fathers. Bart D. Ehrman,
trans. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

• Frend, W.H. (1965). Martyrdom and Persecution

in the Early Church: A Study of a Conflict from the
Maccabees to Donatus. Oxford: Blackwell.

• Ignatius of Antioch (1912–1913). “The Epistles of

St. Ignatius”. The Apostolic Fathers. Kirsopp Lake,
trans. London: Heinemann.

• Ignatius of Antioch (1946). The Epistles of St.

Clement of Rome and St. Ignatius of Antioch. James
E. Kleist, trans. Westminster, MD: Newman Book-
shop.

• Lane Fox, Robin (2006). Pagans and Christians.

London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-102295-7.

• Löhr, Hermut (2010). “The Epistles of Ignatius of

Antioch”. The Apostolic Fathers. An Introduction.
Wilhelm Pratscher, ed. Waco (TX): Baylor Univer-
sity Press. pp. 91–115. ISBN 978-1-60258-308-5.

• Thurston, Herbert; Attwater, Donald, eds. (1956).

Butler’s Lives of the Saints. Westminster, MD:
Christian Classics.

8 External links
• Early Christian writings: On-line texts of St. Ignatius’
letters (archived) (non-archived link)

• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Ignatius of Antioch

• The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of Antioch by Fr.

John S. Romanides

• Saint Ignatius

• Opera Omnia by J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca

with analytical indexes

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Spurious Epistles of St. Ig-

natius of Antioch

• Ignatius writings in the Ante-Nicene Fathers

• Greek text of Ignatius writings

 5

9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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