Posted on 10/17/2015 2:05:16 PM PDT by NYer
If it weren’t for St. Ignatius of Antioch, I might not be a Catholic today. How could a first century bishop so influence an American guy two thousand years later? Well, I first learned of this saint at my Baptist university where, in addition to my program’s coursework, we were required to read books from a list of the Western Canon. The list covered everything from ancient to modern so I started my reading at the beginning. I wandered from the Fertile Crescent to Ancient Greece and Rome. I moved through the New Testament and soon found myself in the Early Church Fathers, reading a little blue book with the collected letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch. He wrote these letters on his way from Antioch to Rome, a journey he made in chains, fully aware of his impending martyrdom.
As a committed Protestant, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this first century saint (Ignatius was born near 35 AD and died sometime around the turn of the century). At first, St. Ignatius’ writing seemed familiar. The greetings with which he begins his letters are very similar to the way St. Paul often introduces his epistles. And many of his phrases along with some of his style is reminiscent of other New Testament books I’d read many times. He also exhorts his readers to remain strong in faith and charity and to imitate Jesus Christ. But, soon, he began to use language I wasn’t quite sure of.
I had always believed early Christianity was probably a lot like my Evangelical Christianity and that Catholic beliefs in Church authority and transubstantiation were later inventions. But, very quickly, I saw that St. Ignatius not only accepted these two points of doctrine but that he believed passionately in their essential role in the life of the Christian.
Growing up Baptist, we’d always spoken of communion as “the Lord’s Supper,” simply a memorial where we remembered Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Communion was, at most, a symbol. Yet St. Ignatius, in his Letter to the Ephesians, describes the Eucharist as “the medicine of immortality, the antidote against death, and everlasting life in Jesus Christ.” At first, I guessed that Ignatius was speaking metaphorically and that something was being lost in translation. But, in his Letter to the Romans, he emphasizes the point again, declaring, “Bread of God is what I desire; that is, the Flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for my drink I desire His Blood, that is; incorruptible love.” I know these passages aren’t proof enough to convince all Protestants of the truth of Transubstantiation. And I certainly wasn’t convinced yet either. However, the description caught me so off guard that I found myself reevaluating what communion might mean.
Yet, to me, more strange than Ignatius’ words on communion were his instructions on hierarchy and unity in the Church. In his Letter to the Magnesians, Ignatius encourages his fellow Christians, “Let there be nothing among you tending to divide you, but be united with the bishop and those who preside – serving at once as a pattern and a lesson of incorruptibility.” To the Ephesians, Ignatius writes, “Surely, Jesus Christ, our inseparable life, for His part is the mind of the Father, just as the bishops, though appointed throughout the vast, wide earth, represent for their part the mind of Jesus Christ.” Then he goes on to say, “Certain it is that your presbytery, which is a credit to its name, is a credit to God; for it harmonizes with the bishop as completely as strings with a harp.” In all of his other letters – to the Philadelphians, the Trallians, the Smyrnaeans – Ignatius stresses the importance of allegiance to the bishops as well as the tradition handed down from the Apostles.
As a Baptist, the foundation of my faith was individuality. Salvation depended only on a personal relationship with Jesus. All Scripture could be understood and correctly interpreted by every individual Christian. The “Church” was simply a kind of collective noun for Christians so there was no need for an institution – much less a hierarchy. Yet, here was a first century Christian telling me that submission to someone else’s authority was absolutely crucial for the life of the Church. So important, in fact, that he would spend his last days pleading this point.
Of course, for St. Ignatius, the Eucharist and ecclesiology were not just dry doctrinal points with which to wrestle or speculate on. They were a matter of life and death. During the terrible persecution of his time, Ignatius could clearly see how both were inseparable from a life in Christ; Jesus fully present in the bread of the altar and truly active in his bride, the Church.
As Ignatius stresses these points in his multiple letters, there is certainly a sense of urgency. Afterall, he knew he would be killed soon. However, Ignatius never falls into panic or worry. In fact, he writes with fondness of his pending death, even asking the recipients of his letters not to interfere. In his Letter to the Romans, Ignatius writes, “I am the wheat of God and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ.”
St. Ignatius did become this bread of Christ and was torn apart in the Roman Colosseum. He was a martyr for Jesus and he remains a martyr in the original sense of the word. Martyr means “witness” and, even today, St. Ignatius of Antioch is a witness to the vital nature of the Eucharist and the Church. So much so that he can convince a Baptist who happens upon his words.
St Ignatius was Bishop of Antioch, which today is located in Turkey. Here in Antioch, as we know from the Acts of the Apostles, a flourishing Christian community developed. Its first Bishop was the Apostle Peter – or so tradition claims – and it was there that the disciples were “for the first time called Christians” (Acts 11: 26). Eusebius of Caesarea, a fourth-century historian, dedicated an entire chapter of his Church History to the life and literary works of Ignatius (cf. 3: 36).
Eusebius writes: “The Report says that he [Ignatius] was sent from Syria to Rome, and became food for wild beasts on account of his testimony to Christ. And as he made the journey through Asia under the strictest military surveillance” (he called the guards “ten leopards” in his Letter to the Romans, 5: 1), “he fortified the parishes in the various cities where he stopped by homilies and exhortations, and warned them above all to be especially on their guard against the heresies that were then beginning to prevail, and exhorted them to hold fast to the tradition of the Apostles”.
Catholic ping!
Apparently, this baptist doesn’t know history.
To be deep in history is to correctly rule out most of Ignatius.
Still, if he prefers to worship God in the Catholic denomination, I support whatever reason he finds compelling.
Rather Ignatius is part of the history of early Christianity.
The Ecclesiology of St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius of Antioch - One, Holy, Catholic & Apostolic: The Early Church Was The Catholic Church
Ignatius of Antioch: Epistle to the Philadelphians
Two Fathers [Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna]
St. Ignatius of Antioch and the Early Church
St. Ignatius of Antioch and the Early Church [Ecumenical]
The Mysticism of Saint Ignatius of Antioch
Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr 17 October 107
Saint Ignatius Of Antioch Bishop, Martyr
St.Ignatius Of Antioch (A.D.110)
I still have the book FOUR WITNESSES, the early Church in her own words, by Rod Bennett. The appendix is forty pages, no surprise.
*The first chapter is Clememt of Rome--"A man named Clement, pastor of the church at Rome during the decade of the 90s A.D."
**second chapter is Ignatius of Antioch--"Today is December 20, A.D. 107."
***third chapter is Justin Martyr--"Justin of Neapolis, a man who was not far separated from the apostles either in age or excellence."
****fourth chapter is Irenaeus of Smyrna, then Lyons--"Our young evangelist notices that he has begun to think in his native Greek again, rather than in the strange local tongue [French] he learned to speak for the sake of his mission here."
It is an outstanding book of our own Catholic Church, written in the words of the very men who witnessed her beginning. Well worth a trip to the local library.
“Rather Ignatius is part of the history of early Christianity.”
Parts are. Most is not, and was created in the 300s.
A book for you to read and delve into the REAL history of the Catholic Church.
“A book for you to read and delve into the REAL history of the Catholic Church.”
Thank you, but I prefer to delve into the REAL history of the Christian Church. I commend 66 books of the Bible to you to read - starting with “In the beginning God...” And ending with God’s revelation about eternity to come.
In between is everything necessary for salvation and Christian maturity and a faithful life. Best of all, it was all written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Study to show yourself approved by God.
Me too! Outstanding book. Recommend it whenever possible.
For over 1500 years before the scourge of Protestantism that let loose a thousand contradictory doctrines of shallow interpretations, the entire galaxy of theologians, historians, saints, scholars and thousands of converts accepted then, as they do today in the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The rest are are like scattered wild mushrooms that in time wither and die and is of inconsequential import except as mere curiosity.
Steel fish!
You’re finally back, swimming the shallow waters of platitudes and assertions. Welcome back!
You may want to take a few moments out to handle the current scourge occurring at your church synod, where they aren’t all agreeing.
After you straighten all your wild mushrooms and contradictory doctrines out, let’s talk.
Best.
“The rest are are like scattered wild mushrooms that in time wither and die and is of inconsequential import except as mere curiosity.”
Worth noting that tens of millions of Hispanics seem quite curious... And their swimming the Tiber has practically paved it!
Not "most", but some.
Seven genuine, six spurious letters.
I can say I do enjoy your humor.
God Bless
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."…(1 Corinthians 11:23-25)
If one reads John 6 in context one would see Jesus was telling the Jews they had to believe in Him for salvation.....not eat or drink Him.
If one cannot see that in John 6, then the entire context of John points to belief in Jesus for salvation.
Dude should have been reading the NT a bit more it sounds like.
You might want to retract that statement as the ECFs were not in 100% agreement on anything except that they were not 100% in agreement on anything.
And in Catholicism we continue to see the exultation of Mary to where she is slowly replacing the Holy Spirit. This will be complete when the Fifth Marian dogma is approved.
So please, spare us the catholic arrogance.
Not sure what type of wild mushrooms he’s referring to.......
That's nonsense...The bible was compiled into the bible with the apostles...Those Jewish apostles wouldn't have touched those uninspired additions to scripture and they didn't...
Catholic deceivers have convinced you guys that those extra books belong in the bible...Do you have any idea what Jesus says about it???
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