Saint Ignatius of Antioch was a prominent Christian leader after the time of the apostles, the men directly charged by Jesus Christ with spreading Christianity. Ignatius is considered an apostolic father along with Clement of Rome and Polycarp of Smyrna because of his leadership in the early Church and surviving writings. He was active in the early 100s and was martyred sometime before 140 CE.
Saint Ignatius of Antioch: disciple of John
Ignatius may have been a disciple of the Apostle John, author of the Gospel of John, the Revelation of John, and three epistles. He was later named bishop of Antioch, one of the earliest centers of Christianity and the city where followers of Jesus Christ were first called “Christians” according to Acts 11.
A series of letters
Ignatius wrote six letters to various churches in Europe. Several of these letters may have been written while he was being escorted to Rome to be tortured and executed for his beliefs. They were:
- The Epistle to the Ephesians (not to be confused with Paul’s letter in the New Testament), which may mention the same Onesimus that Paul writes to Philemon in the New Testament. Ignatius also addresses the need for Church unity and obedience to the bishop.
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2. The Epistle to the Magnesians – a letter of thanks to the Magnesians, which also warns against false doctrines. It also contains one of the first references to Christians meeting on Sunday rather than Saturday.
3. The Epistle to the Trallians – another letter of thanks, which also warns against false teaching. Ignatius here affirms the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as a declaration of the divinity of Christ.
4. The Epistle to the Romans (again, not to be confused with Paul’s letter) – a letter sent in advance to the church in Rome, rather than to churches he had already visited. Here Ignatius asks the Church of Rome to “let me die a martyr” as an example of Christian suffering.
5. The Epistle to the Philadelphians – a letter to the church in Philadelphia, encouraging believers to maintain unity under their leadership. He also warns against a return to Jewish customs. This epistle contains some references to how the hierarchy in the Church was evolving at this time, with bishops, elders and deacons.
6. The epistle to the Smyrnaeans – contains another reference to the physical, and not just spiritual, resurrection of Jesus. A common heresy at the time was called Docetism, which held that Jesus’ physical body was an illusion. At that time, many heresies viewed the physical world as inherently evil and could not accept that God came in physical form. This epistle is also the first known use of the term “Catholic Church”, although at this time “catholic” was used in a more common sense of “universal”.
Ignace also wrote The epistle to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna – a letter of encouragement and warning to Polycarp, and a request to encourage the church of Ignatius in Antioch which had recently resolved a problem that had caused division within that church.
Ignatius of Antioch suffered a terrible death
A work called the Martyrium Ignatii is a possible description of the death of Ignatius at the hands of the Romans which dates from 10th century. Here, Ignatius is described as being tried by the Roman emperor Trajan and thrown to be eaten by wild beasts after his conviction. His last words would have been: “Allow me to become food for wild beasts, through which it will be given to me to reach God. » However, the authenticity of this account, like that of several other letters attributed to Ignatius, is highly suspect.
Chronicles of its history
The story of Ignatius is related by the Church historian Eusebius who lived in the late 200s and early 300s, from whom we obtain much of the history of the Church primitive after the time of the New Testament. The Apostolic Father Ignatius of Antioch provides much valuable information about the life and practices of the early Christian Church after New Testament times. Although we have little information about much of his life, we do have some insight into how early the church evolved and suffered before becoming more important.
By Ryan WatsonMA History, BA HistoryRyan Watson is a husband, father, underwriter, writer and dealer. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from Louisiana Tech University in the early 2000s. He focuses on biblical, post-biblical, and medieval history with occasional touches in other areas.
