Ignatius of Antioch: successor of the apostles and witness to the Gospel

Summary:

Ignatius of Antioch was the second known leader of the Church of Syria after the apostles. According to tradition, he succeeded Evodius, who presided over the Church of Antioch at the end of the apostolic era.

Eventually, he was arrested by the Romans for his faith and taken to Rome under escort, where he died a martyr. The exact year of his martyrdom is not known, but we do know that it happened under the emperor Trajan, who reigned from 98 to 117. Historians favour a date between 107 and 117. The date of his birth is not known either, but it appears that at the time of his death he was already a mature man, which could place it between 40 and 60 A.D. He was therefore part of the very first generation of Christians after the apostles.

During his final journey to Rome, Ignatius wrote several letters. Six were addressed to Christian communities (the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Trallians, the Romans, the Philadelphians and the Smyrniotes), and one to a particular Christian, Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. These letters are important, because they show that the foundations of Christianity - the death of Jesus, his resurrection, his divinity, the work of salvation and all its consequences - were already well believed and taught by the Christians of that generation: "Be deaf, therefore, when anyone speaks to you of anything other than Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, born of Mary, who was truly born, who ate and drank, who was truly crucified and died, in the sight of heaven and earth and hell, and who was also truly raised from the dead. It was his Father who raised him from the dead, and it is he also the Father, who similarly will raise us up in Jesus Christ, we who believe in him, apart from whom we have no true life." (Letter to the Trallians, IX).

Saint Ignatius of Antioch is considered one of the three most important of the Apostolic Fathers, and his letters also serve as an example of early Christian theology, and address important topics including ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops. These essential doctrines are not, therefore, late interpretations or misunderstandings of apostolic teaching, as some claim. This point is all the more important as these letters are recognised as authentic by all historians today.

Moreover, Ignatius' teaching was confirmed - sealed, we might say - by his life and, above all, by his death. For him, these doctrines were not just intellectual speculations. On the contrary, they were certainties for which he accepted to die. In his letters, he insists that he is ready to die for Christ, because he sees this death as a gain. To the Romans, he asked to not try to save him. He himself presented his martyrdom as proof of the truth of Christianity (Letter to the Trallians, X).

At the time, simply being a Christian could lead to death. However, the Romans did not ask the Christians for much in order to let them go free. It was "enough" for them to agree to sacrifice to the deities of the Empire. Without the hope of resurrection, such a deal might have seemed very advantageous. Only the certainty of eternal salvation enabled Christians to refuse to compromise with idolatry and to overcome their fear of death and suffering.

Indeed, believing in the resurrection of Jesus - which he proclaimed - and the resurrection of those who put their faith in Jesus, Ignatius showed that he had no fear of death. This certainty is not irrational or hypothetical, as in other religions, but is based on the testimony of the apostles, who announced that they had met the risen Jesus, and who confirmed their testimony by their martyrdom. The next generation, including Ignatius, took up the apostles' teaching and confirmed it by their own martyrdom. The fact that the witnesses accepted to die for what they said they had seen, guarantees that their testimony was true, and not motivated by earthly gain. 

Going further:

Letters to the Churches by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Beloved Publishing LLC (September 3, 2015)

More information:

• Bearing God: The Life and Works of St. Ignatius of Antioch the God-Bearer by Andrew Stephen Damick, Ancient Faith Publishing (November 16, 2017) 

• Learning Christ: Ignatius of Antioch and the Mystery of Redemption by Gregory Vall,  The Catholic University of America Press; Reprint edition (September 3, 2021)