I want all men to know that I die for God of my own freewill…Let me be given to the wild beasts, for through them I can attain to God. –Ignatius of Antioch
I continue my summer series on the heroes of the faith with one of the early Apostolic Fathers – Ignatius of Antioch. The Apostolic Fathers are the earliest Christian writers outside of the New Testament authors; they belong to what we call the “subapostolic age.” Ignatius was born somewhere in the mid-first century. The early church historian Eusebius (whom I’ll write about later this summer) records that Ignatius and his good friend Polycarp (bishop of Smyrna) were both disciples of the apostle John. Ignatius served as the bishop of Antioch (where Paul and Barnabas were commissioned for their first missionary journey) at the beginning of the second century. Tradition has it that the apostle Peter himself left directions that stated that Ignatius should be made bishop of Antioch and its surrounding churches when he reached an appropriate age. That history is unsubstantiated, but it could be true.
Ignatius, like so many other of the early heroes of our faith, suffered martyrdom in Rome. What makes Ignatius somewhat different, and somewhat strange, is that he seemed to long for that distinction. Ignatius was arrested early in the second century and condemned to die. However, at this point in the history of Roman persecution against Christians, a “notable” Christian could often be spared from execution for a price, or if a Roman nobleman or noblewoman appealed to the emperor on their behalf. Ignatius wanted none of this. On his long journey from Antioch (in modern day Turkey) to Rome, Ignatius penned seven letters – five to churches in Asia Minor, one to the church in Rome, and one to his good friend Polycarp. In these letters he gives counsel to the church leaders, warns against apostasy, and demands that his own impending martyrdom not be interfered with, since he welcomes it as the seal upon his discipleship in Christ.
We learn much about the inner workings of the early church from Ignatius’ letters. He is the first writer to clearly present a threefold pattern of ministry in the local church: one bishop (pastor) in a church with elders and deacons. He argues strongly in support of what he sees as the biblical pattern in all of his letters except his letter to Rome, which may indicate that this pattern had not yet become the norm in the newest churches in the western parts of the Roman Empire. He is conspicuously silent about a bishop in Rome, which argues against the Roman Catholic view that there was a direct line of succession from the apostle Peter to each bishop of Rome (Pope).
Ignatius’ main concern was unity in the body of Christ, particularly in a time of unrest and persecution. “Shun divisions,” he said in his letter to the church in Smyrna, “as the beginning of evil. Follow your bishop as Jesus Christ followed the Father; and the elders the apostles; and to the deacons pay respect, as to God’s commandment.” It is interesting to modern scholars how often Ignatius quotes the Scriptures in his letters, indicating that by the late first century/early second century, they had been copied and disseminated freely to the churches. His quotations however, appear to be from memory, as one would expect from a man who did not have all the Scriptures at his disposal, as we do today. He also firmly held to the deity and eternality of Jesus Christ, closing one of his thoughts in his letter to the church at Ephesus saying: “entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest.” And this to the same Ephesians: “There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God…even Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Ignatius finally became the martyr he hoped to be in the Coliseum at Rome. He left behind a legacy we can all hope to emulate. He remained faithful even unto death, and in life served Christ with all his might. I don’t advocate seeking out death, as he seemed to do. Even our heroes of the faith were men and women only, after all, not gods and goddesses, but there is much that we can learn from these brothers and sisters in Christ who went before us in life and wait for us in glory.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym