Epistles of St Ignatius of Antioch, Early Church Martyr

Today we will learn and reflect on the Epistles of Ignatius
of Antioch. Ignatius was being escorted to Rome for his
eventual martyrdom, where the Romans would coax the
lions to devour the Christians in the Coliseum to
entertain the masses. But during his journey the soldiers
guarding him stopped often, allowing fellow Christians to
visit him, he wrote many epistles to the local churches to
urge them to keep the faith and not fall into heretical
beliefs.

At the end of our talk, we will discuss the sources
used for this video, and the history behind this
ancient work, like how many manuscripts have
survived.
Please, we welcome interesting questions in the
comments. Let us learn and reflect together!

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The Didache is in Volume 1
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https://amzn.to/3eRbZgK Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth,
(Andrew Louth has a similar compilation)
The Apostolic Fathers, Greek and English, Michael
Holmes, translator, Bruce Metzger’s Doctoral Student
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7
(1870’s translation), Excellent Introductions
Eusebius, Ancient Church Historian
History of Early Christian Literature, Edgar Goodspeed
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Eusebius, the ancient church historian living
during the reign of Emperor Constantine,
speaks of Ignatius: “There is evidence that
Ignatius was sent from Syria to Rome and
became food for wild animals because of his
testimony for Christ. He made the journey
through Asia under the strictest military guard,
encouraging the Christian community, by
homilies and exhortations, in every city where
he stayed. In particular, he warned them to
guard most carefully against the heresies which
were then first becoming prevalent, and
exhorted them to hold fast to the apostolic
tradition, which, as he was now on his way to
martyrdom, he thought it necessary for safety’s
sake to set down clearly in writing.”

Does this make sense? The provincial governor receives a
request from Rome to furnish Christians to feed to the
lions, so he finds the local bishop and sends him under
way, “under the strictest military guard,” but yet he is
allowed to receive many visitors, who seemingly stay as
long as they like, and he writes them epistles to send back
to their communities. In the modern world this would not
happen, but the ancient system of justice is quite different.

There are no prisons in the ancient world, only jails, and often jails are filled
simply by those who irritate the authorities. If you break a law in the ancient
world, you are either fined, exiled, or executed, there are no long prison
sentences. The state does not have the resources to run a prison, so when
you are thrown in jail awaiting a hearing the government expects you to
visit and bring food with you to feed the prisoner, and maybe the jailers
too. We see in our video on the death and execution of Socrates how his
friends were able to come and stay with Socrates for his entire last day on
earth.
How should we interpret the advice Ignatius provides in his epistles to the
various churches? Let us ponder the opinions of two leading scholars, one
Anglican, one Orthodox.

There are no prisons in the ancient world, only jails, and often jails are filled
simply by those who irritate the authorities. If you break a law in the ancient
world, you are either fined, exiled, or executed, there are no long prison
sentences. The state does not have the resources to run a prison, so when
you are thrown in jail awaiting a hearing the government expects you to
visit and bring food with you to feed the prisoner, and maybe the jailers
too. We see in our video on the death and execution of Socrates how his
friends were able to come and stay with Socrates for his entire last day on
earth.
How should we interpret his advice in his epistles to the various churches?
Let us ponder the opinions of two leading scholars, one Anglican, one
Orthodox.
https://youtu.be/Mip1vgRKH1E

St. Paul in Prison, by Rembrandt, painted 1627

Henry Chadwick, an Anglican academic, contrasts early
Christianity with the mature Christian Church “which has a
common creed, a canon of Scripture, and a recognized
ministry with definite powers, there is little scope for
deviation. But Ignatius did not have these resources,”
Ignatius could only “fall back on the personal element,” the
authority of the bishop and the clergy. Chadwick points out
that St Ignatius emphasizes “the authority of the clergy, the
hatred of heresy and schism, and the glory of martyrdom.”
In his epistles St Ignatius insists that there be unity in the
churches, that the members respect the bishops. He also
tells them that a liturgy or sacrament that is not blessed by
the bishop is not valid, that the faithful should be loyal and
obedient to their bishop.

The Orthodox Scholar John Anthony McGuckin
argues that St Ignatius, with other early church
leaders, begins the development of the church
hierarchy, how “Ignatius’ key text advocating the
duty of all to obey the ruling bishop implicitly and
without question became a tidal marker of the move
toward single episcopal presidency in the churches.”
Also, “the bishop is elevated as the efficient symbol,
or the sacrament of the unity of the church and is
the chief legitimator of the sacraments of baptism,
Eucharist, and marriage.” He has a chapter in his
book on how the church hierarchy evolved in early
Christianity, a potential topic for a later video.
Interior, Basilica of San Lorenzo

(REPEAT) Seven Epistles of St Ignatius of Antioch have been preserved, written
during his journey to his martyrdom in Rome:
Like St Paul, Ignatius wrote epistles to the Ephesians and to the Romans.
And also, To the Magnesians
And To the Trallians
In Revelations letters were sent to seven churches, including Ephesus, Smyrna, and
Philadelphia, these three churches are in Asia Minor, Turkey today.
Ignatius also wrote epistles
To the Philadelphians
And To the Smyrnaeans
And St Ignatius wrote an epistle To his fellow bishop, Polycarp

The Epistles of St Ignatius of Antioch:
To the Ephesians
To the Magnesians
To the Trallians
To the Romans
To the Philadelphians
To the Smyrnaeans
To Polycarp

The translator tells us that St Ignatius’ Epistle to the
Romans is the most popular and widely quoted of his
epistles, he does not warn the Romans of heresies or
chide them for disobeying their clergy or causing
dissension as he does in his other epistles, but rather
St Ignatius pines for his joyous martyrdom in the
arena of Rome.
Repeatedly St Ignatius begs the Christians in Rome
not to seek a pardon to prevent his martyrdom.

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme, late 1800’s

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer by Jean-Léon Gérôme, late 1800’s
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS: Ignatius writes his rhapsody, “in the fullness of life I
am yearning for death with all the passion of a lover. Earthly longings have been
crucified; in me there is left no spark of desire for mundane things, but only a
murmur of living water that whispers within me, ‘Come to the Father’. There is
no pleasure for me in any meats that perish, or in the delights of this life; I am
fain for the bread of God, even the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is the seed of David;
and for my drink I crave that Blood of His which is Love imperishable.” “I am His
wheat, ground fine by the lion’s teeth to be made purest bread for Christ.”

St Ignatius likens his upcoming
martyrdom as a eucharist, as a
sacramental offering, and we
should live our lives as a
sacrament to the Lord, praying
without ceasing, ever keeping
the Word of God alert in our
mind, guarding our tongues,
encouraging rather than
discouraging our neighbor.
We should pray that we long for
Christ as St Ignatius longs for
Christ. “To die in Jesus Christ is
better than to be monarch of
earth’s widest bounds. He who
died for us is all that I seek; He
who rose again for us is my
whole desire.”
Ignatius of Antioch, by possibly Cesare Fracanzano, painted early 1600's.

In later years, the church leaders wanted to temper this
enthusiasm for martyrdom, they discouraged their more
devout members from eagerly seeking martyrdom in quiet
times, especially since some enthusiasts would then lose
their nerve and deny the faith.

EPISTLE TO POLYCARP (REPEAT)
St Ignatius writes this epistle to his beloved fellow bishop Polycarp, encouraging him to greater
service to the Lord. The beloved story of the Martyrdom of Polycarp is also included the Early
Christian Writings.
We learn a lesson from his greeting to his friend, “My most cordial greetings to Polycarp, who is
bishop over the Smyrnaean church, or rather, who has God the Father for bishop over him,
together with the Lord Jesus Christ.” When we are a priest or a pastor or a teacher or a parent,
we need to see our authority as a loan from God who granted us authority, and indeed God will be
more the authority over us than we are the authority of those who look up to us. Honor your
father and mother is a commandment to their children, but it is more of a commandment to the
parents to be sure they are worthy of honor and respect in their words and deeds.
The priest, the pastor, the teacher, the parent, the employer, the judge, all these should show
their love for those whom they serve. The following long passage St Ignatius is addressed to
Polycarp as bishop. If you are a parent or a teacher or anybody else in authority, read this passage
as it would apply to you:
(REPEAT) Support and bear . . . .

EPISTLE TO POLYCARP
St Ignatius’ Greeting: “My most cordial greetings to
Polycarp, who is bishop over the Smyrnaean church, or
rather, who has God the Father for bishop over him,
together with the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Support and bear lovingly with those whom you serve.
“Spend your time in constant prayer,
beg for ever larger gifts of wisdom.
Be watchful and unsleeping in spirit.
Address yourself to people personally,
as is the way of God Himself,
and carry the infirmities of them all on your own
shoulders,
as a good champion of Christ ought to do.
The heavier the labor, the richer the reward.”

Never tire of doing good, never tire of
encouraging, never tire of service, always
love your neighbor and those close to you
and in your care. As St Ignatius teaches
us, “Be strict with yourself, like a good
athlete of God. The prize is immorality
and eternal life.”
St Ignatius offers pastoral advice to
Polycarp. “When men and women marry,
it is best that they ask for the bishop’s
consent, so their wedding may be a
tribute to the Lord and not to their carnal
desire. The honor of God should be the
aim in everything.”
The Marriage at Cana by Maerten de Vos, c. 1596

We are reminded of Tobias in
the Scriptures who kneeled at
his wedding bed, asking God to
bless his marriage:
“I now am taking this
kinswoman of mine,
not because of lust,
but with sincerity.
Grant that she and I
may find mercy
and that we may grow old
together.”
Tobias and Sarah, Nikolaus Knüpfer, painted 1654

St Ignatius also has pastoral advice regarding slaves. The
translator notes that many churches could use church funds to
emancipate Christian slaves. We can profitably read the
passages in the Church Fathers and in Scriptures regarding slaves
when we remember they were the employees of the ancient
worlds, employees who rarely were able to exchange a bad
master for a kinder master.

St Ignatius teaches us,
“It should be the aim of
slaves to be better slaves,”
and for employees to be
better employees,
“for the glory of God, so they
may earn a richer freedom at
His hands.
They are not to set their
hearts on gaining their liberty
at the church’s expense,
for then they only become
slaves to their own longings.”
Rebecca Quenching Thirst of Eliezer at the Well, by Nicolas Poussin, 1629

Likewise, employees are not wise to obsessively set their hearts on a
raise they know they earned, or a promotion they know they deserve,
lest they kill the desire to be dutiful and conscientious employees.
This reminds me of a former colleague who was angry at the
boss who delayed giving him his review and his five percent
raise for months and months and months. His anger boiled
over such that he threatened to shoot his boss, and his seething
resentment caused an incident that cost his job. He was out of
work for over a year. Resentment over a delayed five percent
pay raise for a few months caused him to suffer a hundred
percent pay cut for much, much longer.

Near the end of his epistle St Ignatius, like St
Paul, leads us Onward as Christian Soldiers:
“For a shield take your baptism,
for a helmet your faith,
for a spear your love,
for body armor your patient endurance,
and lay up a store of good works
as a soldier deposits his savings,
so that one day you may draw the credits
due to you.
Be patient and gentle with one another, As
God is with you.”

Compare this to St Paul’s Ephesians 6:
“Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth
around your waist, putting on the breastplate
of righteousness.
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will
make you ready to proclaim the gospel of
peace.
With all of these, take the shield of faith, with
which you will be able to quench all the
flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Conversion of Saint Paul on Way to Damascus
(1889), by José Ferraz de Almeida Júnior

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS (REPEAT)
St Ignatius starts his Epistle to the Ephesians encouraging the parishioners to respect their clergy,
for the clergy to respect their bishop, and for all to respect the community, not failing to come
together for worship, as St Paul puts it in Hebrews, to encourage one another. St Ignatius teaches
us, “A man who excludes himself from the sanctuary is depriving himself of the bread of God, for if
the prayers of one or two have power, how much more powerful are the prayers of the bishop with
his whole church! Anyone who refuses to attend church shows to the world his arrogance, he is
excommunicating himself.”
He elaborates on the Beatitude, Blessed are you when men persecute you. St Ignatius shows us
how we can all be martyrs in our daily lives, when we return good for evil, when we return
compassion for scorn, when we return love for hate. Regarding the unfaithful, “pray for them
unceasingly, hope that they may repent and find their way to God. Give them a change to learn
from you and your actions. Meet their animosity with mildness, their high words with humility,
and their abuse with your prayers. But stand firm against their errors, and if they become violent,
be gentle, do not retaliate. Let us show by our restraint we are their brothers, and try to imitate
the Lord by seeing which of us can put up with the most ill-usage or privation or contempt.”

EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS
St Ignatius teaches us, “A man who excludes himself from
the sanctuary is depriving himself of the bread of God, for
if the prayers of one or two have power, how much more
powerful are the prayers of the bishop with his whole
church! Anyone who refuses to attend church shows to
the world his arrogance, he is excommunicating himself.”
Regarding the unfaithful, “pray for them unceasingly,
hope that they may repent and find their way to
God. Give them a change to learn from you and your
actions. Meet their animosity with mildness, their high
words with humility, and their abuse with your
prayers. But stand firm against their errors, and if they
become violent, be gentle, do not retaliate. Let us show
by our restraint we are their brothers, and try to imitate
the Lord by seeing which of us can put up with the most
ill-usage or privation or contempt.”

We lives as martyrs every day when
we live selflessly in faith and love for
Jesus Christ, “for life begins and ends
with faith and love. Faith is the
beginning, and love is the end, and
their union is God, perfecting our
soul. Nobody who professes faith
can easily commit sin, nobody who
possesses love can feel hatred.”

The translator tells us this passage was frequently
quoted by the Church Fathers, “Mary’s virginity
was hidden from the prince of this world, so was
her child-bearing, and so was the death of the
Lord. All these three trumpet-tongued secrets
were brought to pass in the deep silence of
God. How were they made known to the
world? Up in the heavens a star gleamed out,
more brilliant than all the rest, no words could
describe its luster, it’s strangeness bewildered
men. The other stars and the sun and the moon
gathered round it in chorus, but this star
outshone them all.” The translator tells us, “the
devil was completely hoodwinked by the secrecy
of the Incarnation.” How resounding is the
overwhelming silence of God, the still quiet voice
that Elisha heard in the midst of the tempest.
Madonna and Child with St Ignatius of Antioch and St
Onophrius (not shown), by Lorenzo Lotto, painted 1508

EPISTLE TO THE MAGNESIANS (REPEAT)
Even in the midst of persecution the early church experienced the same sort of pettiness we see
today. This epistle was written to church where some splintered into their own group because they
didn’t like the new young bishop that was appointed. St Ignatius warns them, “be as submissive to
the bishop and to one another as Jesus Christ was to His Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ
and the Father; so there may be complete unity in the flesh as well as in the spirit.”
Nobody likes the word submit. Many women dislike and many men like the admonition by St Paul
to the Ephesians that a wife should submit to her husband, but both men and women overlook the
preceding verse that exhorts all Christians to submit to one another. It is a matter of respect,
without respect there can be no love, if we do not honor our father and our mother and those in
authority we cannot truly love our neighbor, if we do not honor God’s name and God’s Sabbath we
cannot truly Love God.
We must be considerate to one another. As St Ignatius urges us, “you must show every
consideration for one another, never letting your attitude to a neighbor be affected by your human
feelings, but simply loving each other consistently in the spirit of Jesus Christ.” As the Stoic
Philosophers note, if someone imagines they are harming you they are mistaken, they are really
harming themselves, because when they act hatefully they are murdering their own soul, and if
you forgive you become a better person, climbing the ladder of the Beatitudes ever higher.

EPISTLE TO THE MAGNESIANS
St Ignatius teaches us, “be as
submissive to the bishop and to one
another as Jesus Christ was to His
Father, and as the Apostles were to
Christ and the Father; so there may
be complete unity in the flesh as
well as in the spirit.”
We must be considerate to one
another. As St Ignatius urges us,
“you must show every consideration
for one another, never letting your
attitude to a neighbor be affect by
your human feelings, but simply
loving each other consistently in the
spirit of Jesus Christ.”

EPISTLE TO THE SMYRNAEANS
St Ignatius greets the Smyrnaeans, “Glory be to Jesus Christ, the Divine
One who has gifted you with such wisdom. I have seen how immovably
settled in faith you are; nailed body and soul to the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ, rooted and grounded in Love by His Blood.” Living a godly
life is crucial, but belief does matter, belief in Christ allows the Holy Spirit
to enable us to live a godly life boldly with confidence and assurance,
eager to suffer for our faith and for the good as did Christ and the
martyrs. “Jesus submitted to suffering for our sake, that salvation might
be ours. Suffer He did, just as He raised Himself.”
St Ignatius asks, “to what end have I given myself up to perish by fire or
sword or savage beasts?” The translator notes that he would suffer all
three torments in his martyrdom. St Ignatius continues, “when I am
surrounded by lions I am surrounded by God. It is only in the name of
Jesus Christ, and for the sake of sharing His sufferings, that I could face
my impending martyrdom; for He, the perfect man, gives me strength.”
….

This recalls when the prophet Daniel was
thrown into the lion’s den for worshiping
God when a royal decree forbade it, and God
shut the mouths of the lions. This also
recalls the three young men and the angel
who walked and sung praises to God in the
midst of a flaming furnace. These three men
said to the King of Babylon, before he threw
them into the furnace, “If our God whom we
serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of
blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let
him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you,
O king, that we will not serve your gods and
we will not worship the golden statue that
you have set up.”
Fiery furnace by Toros Roslin, Mashtots, 1266

St Ignatius reminds us
that we should have
faith in God. “Faith
and love are
everything, faith and
love must come before
all else. But some men
have perverted notions
about the grace of
Jesus Christ contrary to
the mind of God. They
have no care for love,
no thought for the
widow and orphan,
none at all for the
afflicted, the captive,
the hungry or the
thirsty.”
Painting of Ignatius of Antioch from Menologion of Basil II, painted around 1000 AD

SOURCES: In his lecture on St Ignatius, Bart Ehrman shares that when he first read his Epistle to
the Smyrnaeans in the original Greek that it literally told them that the bishop should be present
when they baptize and make love, and he was thinking, this must have been an interesting
congregation. After further thought he realized that what St Ignatius meant was that the bishop
should be present for baptisms and love feasts, which is how they referred to the Lord’s Supper.
Bart Ehrman has been translating the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, the problem he faced
when translating the Ignatius Epistles was that our saint was in such a rush in writing these
Epistles, he made numerous grammatical and linguistic errors. The dilemma is if the translator
corrects these errors, the reader loses the sense of how rushed he was when writing these
epistles, but if he preserved the errors in English, then the reader would fault the translator. He
chose to try to retain the original rushed nature of the epistles, with explanations in the footnotes.
There are several manuscripts of Ignatius in Greek, Latin, and other languages, of varying lengths.
The Greek manuscripts of the middle length are preferred, since the longer manuscript is newer.
As Pelikan notes, scholars sometimes prefer the manuscripts that more closely match their
theological beliefs, and there are differences between the longer and shorter manuscripts.

NOTE: Bart Ehrman is one of the foremost textual critics of the New
Testament, which means his academic specialty is analyzing the original
Greek manuscripts to determine as accurately as possible what the
original text said. Unfortunately, he has lost his faith, he is now an
agnostic. He is also the leading Historical Jesus scholar, we also have a
video on this topic.

https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/after-the-new-testament-the-writings-of-the-apostolic-fathers
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https://amzn.to/36S0UHV
www.christianbook.com
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The Didache is in Volume 1
of the Ante-Nicene Fathers.
https://amzn.to/3eRbZgK Early Christian Writings, Maxwell Staniforth,
(Andrew Louth has a similar compilation)
The Apostolic Fathers, Greek and English, Michael
Holmes, translator, Bruce Metzger’s Doctoral Student
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 7
(1870’s translation), Excellent Introductions
Eusebius, Ancient Church Historian
History of Early Christian Literature, Edgar Goodspeed
The Early Church, Henry Chadwick
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