Church Fathers: St. Ignatius of Antioch

Catholic Culture ^ | Dec 2014 | Thomas Van

[RBStealth]

Tradition has it that the church at Antioch was founded by St. Peter himself, who served as its bishop for seven years before moving on to found the church at Rome. (Robert Spencer writes that “Gregory III Laham, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, has joked that if the Apostle Peter had just stayed put, he himself would be the earthly head of the Catholic Church today.”)

Only decades later, during the reign of Trajan (98-117), another bishop of Antioch would also make the journey to Rome. This was St. Ignatius, who had succeeded St. Evodius as Antioch’s third bishop. Sometime around 107 or 110, by order of Trajan, ten soldiers brought Ignatius to Rome, where he was exposed to wild beasts.

The Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch

There were multiple stops on the journey to Rome. At Smyrna, Ignatius met with the bishop there, St. Polycarp, and with representatives of several Christian communities of Asia Minor. He gave those representatives letters to bring to Ephesus, Magnesia and Tralles. Also sent from Smyrna was his letter to the Church in Rome, in which he reflected at length on his impending martyrdom.

Later, stopping at Troas, Ignatius sent letters to Philadelphia and Smyrna, as well as a personal letter to Polycarp. There seems to have been a persecution in Antioch which ended during Ignatius’s journey, for in the letters from Troas, he asked the recipients to send envoys to congratulate and rejoice with the Christians in Antioch.

These seven Epistles of Ignatius of Antioch are rich in theological and mystical content, and are significant for their consistent depiction of a monarchical episcopate. Their authenticity is attested by Eusebius, who lists them in the above order and describes the content of each, and by Origen and St. Irenaeus, who quote from them. St. Polycarp, the recipient of the seventh letter, mentions them in his own letter to the Philippians:

The Epistles of Ignatius which were sent to us by him, and others which we had by us, we send you as requested. They are enclosed herewith. You will be able to benefit greatly from them. For they are conducive to faith and patience and to every kind of edification pertaining to our Lord. [Quoted in Quasten, Patrology, Vol. I, 1950, p. 73]

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[RBStealth]

St Ignatius(Ignatius of Antioch) wrote 7 epistles, was the Bishop of Antioch(Turkey). Around 110 A.D. , he was brought to Rome and fed to the Lions--the common fate of Bishops during the persecution of the Early(Catholic) Church. He was also tutored or a student of St. John the Apostle. What he has to write is early church history and is recognizably as uniquely the Catholic Church.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_of_Antioch

St. Ignatius