Apart from Him, let nothing attract you, for whom I bear about these bonds, these spiritual jewels, by which may I arise through your prayers , of which I entreat I may always be a partaker, that I may be found in the lot of the Christians of Ephesus , who have always been of the same mind with the apostles through the power of Jesus Christ.
I know both who I am, and to whom I write. I am a condemned man, you have been the objects of mercy; I am subject to danger, you are established in safety. You are the persons through whom those pass that are cut off for the sake of God. You are initiated into the mysteries of the Gospel with Paul , the holy , the martyred , the deservedly most happy , at whose feet may I be found, when I shall attain to God ; who in all his Epistles makes mention of you in Christ Jesus.
Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God , and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith. Nothing is more precious than peace, by which all war , both in heaven and earth, is brought to an end.
None of these things is hid from you, if you perfectly possess that faith and love towards Christ Jesus 1 Timothy which are the beginning and the end of life. For the beginning is faith , and the end is love. No man [ truly ] making a profession of faith sins ; 1 John nor does he that possesses love hate any one.
The tree is made manifest by its fruit; Matthew so those that profess themselves to be Christians shall be recognised by their conduct.
For there is not now a demand for mere profession, but that a man be found continuing in the power of faith to the end. It is better for a man to be silent and be [a Christian ], than to talk and not to be one. It is good to teach, if he who speaks also acts. There is then one Teacher , who spoke and it was done; while even those things which He did in silence are worthy of the Father.
He who possesses the word of Jesus , is truly able to hear even His very silence , that he may be perfect , and may both act as he speaks, and be recognised by his silence.
There is nothing which is hid from God , but our very secrets are near to Him. Let us therefore do all things as those who have Him dwelling in us, that we may be His temples, 1 Corinthians and He may be in us as our God , which indeed He is, and will manifest Himself before our faces.
Wherefore we justly love Him. Do not err , my brethren. James Those that corrupt families shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Such an one becoming defiled [in this way], shall go away into everlasting fire , and so shall every one that hearkens unto him. For this end did the Lord allow the ointment to be poured upon His head, John that He might breathe immortality into His Church.
Be not anointed with the bad odour of the doctrine of the prince of this world ; let him not lead you away captive from the life which is set before you. And why are we not all prudent , since we have received the knowledge of God , which is Jesus Christ?
Why do we foolishly perish, not recognising the gift which the Lord has of a truth sent to us? Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the sake of the cross , which is a stumbling-block 1 Corinthians to those that do not believe , but to us salvation and life eternal. Where is the wise man? Where the disputer? He was born and baptized , that by His passion He might purify the water. Now the virginity of Mary was hidden from the prince of this world , as was also her offspring, and the death of the Lord ; three mysteries of renown, which were wrought in silence by God.
How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light of which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment. And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, formed a chorus to this star, and its light was exceedingly great above them all.
For those that commend me scourge me. For the envy of the wicked one is not visible to many, but it wars against me. I therefore have need of meekness, by which the devil, the prince of this world, is brought to nought. Am I not able to write to you of heavenly things? But I fear to do so, lest I should inflict injury on you who are but babes [in Christ]. Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive [such doctrines], ye should be strangled by them. For even I, though I am bound [for Christ], yet am not on that account able to understand heavenly things, and the places 4 of the angels, and their gatherings under their respective princes, things visible and invisible.
Without reference to such abstruse subjects, I am still but a learner [in other respects 5 ]; for many things are wanting to us, that we come not short of God. For might 1 not I write to you things more full of mystery? Pardon me in this respect, lest, as not being able to receive their weighty import, 2 ye should be strangled by them.
For many things are yet wanting to me, that I may not fall short of God. I therefore, yet not I, but the love of Jesus Christ, entreat you that ye use Christian nourishment only, and abstain from herbage of a different kind; I mean heresy. For those 7 [that are given to this] mix 11 up Jesus Christ with their own poison, speaking things which are unworthy of credit, like those who administer a deadly drug in sweet wine, which he who is ignorant of does greedily 13 take, with a fatal pleasure 14 leading to his own death.
I therefore, yet not I, out the love of Jesus Christ, "entreat you that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.
One of the ancients gives us this advice, "Let no man be called good who mixes good with evil. For they alienate Christ from the Father, and the law from Christ. They also calumniate His being born of the Virgin; they are ashamed of His cross; they deny His passion; and they do not believe His resurrection.
They introduce God as a Being unknown; they suppose Christ to be unbegotten; and as to the Spirit, they do not admit that He exists. Some of them say that the Son is a mere man, and that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are but the same person, and that the creation is the work of God, not by Christ, but by some other strange power.
Be on your guard, therefore, against such persons. And this will be the case with you if you are not puffed up, and continue in intimate union with 17 Jesus Christ our God, and the bishop, and the enactments of the apostles. He that is within the altar is pure, but 2 he that is without is not pure; that is, he who does anything apart from the bishop, and presbytery, and deacons, 4 such a man is not pure in his conscience.
Be on your guard, therefore, against such persons, that ye admit not of a snare for your own souls. And act so that your life shall be without offence to all men, lest ye become as "a snare upon a watch-tower, and as a net which is spread out. He that is within the altar is pure, wherefore also he is obedient to the bishop and presbyters: but he that is without is one that does anything apart from the bishop, the presbyters, and the deacons.
Such a person is defiled in his conscience, and is worse than an infidel. For what is the bishop but one who beyond all others possesses all power and authority, so far as it is possible for a man to possess it, who according to his ability has been made an imitator of the Christ Of God?
And what are the deacons but imitators of the angelic powers, 7 fulfilling a pure and blameless ministry unto him, as the holy Stephen did to the blessed James, Timothy and Linus to Paul, Anencletus and Clement to Peter? He, therefore, that will not yield obedience to such, must needs be one utterly without God, an impious man who despises Christ, and depreciates His appointments.
Not that I Know there is anything of this kind among you; but I put you on your guard, inasmuch as I love you greatly, and foresee the snares of the devil. Wherefore, clothing 11 yourselves with meekness, be ye renewed 12 in faith, that is the flesh of the Lord, and in love, that is the blood of Jesus Christ. Let no one of you cherish any grudge against his neighbour.
Give no occasion to the Gentiles, lest by means of a few foolish men the whole multitude [of those that believe] in God be evil spoken of. For, "Woe to him by whose vanity my name is blasphemed among any. Do ye therefore, clothing 11 yourselves with meekness, become the imitators of His sufferings, and of His love, wherewith 13 He loved us when He gave Himself a ransom 14 for us, that He might cleanse us by His blood from our old ungodliness, and bestow life on us when we were almost on the point of perishing through the depravity that was in us.
Let no one of you, therefore, cherish any grudge against his neighbour. For says our Lord, "Forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you. Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with 18 Jesus Christ, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly born, and did eat and drink.
He was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate; He was truly crucified, and [truly] died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. He was also truly raised from the dead, His Father quickening Him, even as after the same manner His Father will so raise up us who believe in Him by Christ Jesus, apart from whom we do not possess the true life.
Stop your ears, therefore, when any one speaks to you at variance with 18 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was descended from David, and was also of Mary; who was truly begotten of God and of the Virgin, but not after the same manner.
For indeed God and man are not the same. He truly assumed a body; for "the Word was made flesh," 1 and lived upon earth without sin. For says He, "Which of you convicteth me of sin?
He was crucified and died under Pontius Pilate. He really, and not merely in appearance, was crucified, and died, in the sight of beings in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth. By those in heaven I mean such as are possessed of incorporeal natures; by those on earth, the Jews and Romans, and such persons as were present at that time when the Lord was crucified; and by those under the earth, the multitude that arose along with the Lord.
For says the Scripture, "Many bodies of the saints that slept arose," 3 their graves being opened. He descended, indeed, into Hades alone, but He arose accompanied by a multitude; and rent asunder that means 4 of separation which had existed from the beginning of the world, and cast down its partition-wall. He also rose again in three days, the Father raising Him up; and after spending forty days with the apostles, He was received up to the Father, and "sat down at His right hand, expecting till His enemies are placed under His feet.
At the dawning of the Lord's day He arose from the dead, according to what was spoken by Himself, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of man also be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
But if, as some that are without God, that is, the unbelieving, say, that He only seemed to suffer they themselves only seeming to exist , then why am I in bonds? Why do I long to be exposed to s the wild beasts? Do I therefore die in vain? But if, as some that are without God, that is, the unbelieving, say, He became man in appearance [only], that He did not in reality take unto Him a body, that He died in appearance [merely], and did not in very deed suffer, then for what reason am I now in bonds, and long to be exposed to 8 the wild beasts?
In such a case, I die in vain, and am guilty of falsehood 10 against the cross of the Lord. Then also does the prophet in vain declare, "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced, and mourn over themselves as over one beloved. But as for me, I do not place my hopes in one who died for me in appearance, but in reality. For that which is false is quite abhorrent to the truth. Mary then did truly conceive a body which had God inhabiting it.
And God the Word was truly born of the Virgin, having clothed Himself with a body of like passions with our own. He who forms all men in the womb, was Himself really in the womb, and made for Himself a body of the seed of the Virgin, but without any intercourse of man. He was carried in the womb, even as we are, for the usual period of time; and was really born, as we also are; and was in reality nourished with milk, and partook of common meat and drink, even as we do.
And when He had lived among men for thirty years, He was baptized by John, really and not in appearance; and when He had preached the Gospel three years, and done signs and wonders, He who was Himself the Judge was judged by the Jews, falsely so called, and by Pilate the governor; was scourged, was smitten on the cheek, was spit upon; He wore a crown of thorns and a purple robe; He was condemned: He was crucified in reality, and not in appearance, not in imagination, not in deceit.
He really died, and was buried, and rose from the dead, even as He prayed in a certain place, saying, "But do Thou, O Lord, raise me up again, and I shall recompense them.
For says He, "I am the life; he that believeth in me, even though he die, shall live: and every one that liveth and believeth in me, even though he die, shall live for ever. Flee, therefore, those evil offshoots [of Satan], which produce death- bearing fruit, whereof if any one tastes, he instantly dies. For these men are not the planting of the Father. For if they were, they would appear as branches of the cross, and their fruit would be incorruptible.
By it 9 He calls you through His passion, as being His members. The head, therefore, cannot be born by itself, without its members; God, who is [the Saviour] Himself, having promised their union. Avoid also the children of the evil one, Theodotus and Cleobulus, who produce death- bearing fruit, whereof if any one tastes, he instantly dies, and that not a mere temporary death, but one that shall endure for ever.
These men are not the planting of the Father, but are an accursed brood. And says the Lord, "Let every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted be rooted up. But Christ invites you to [share in] His immortality, by His passion and resurrection, inasmuch as ye are His members. I salute you from Smyrna, together with the Churches of God which are with me, who have refreshed me in all things, both in the flesh and in the spirit. My bonds, which I carry about with me for the sake of Jesus Christ praying that I may attain to God , exhort you.
Continue in harmony among yourselves, and in prayer with one another; for it becomes every one of you, and especially the presbyters, to refresh the bishop, to the hon-our of the Father, of Jesus Christ, and of the apostles. I entreat you in love to hear me, that I may not, by having written, be a testimony against you. And do ye also pray for me, who have need of your love, along with the mercy of God, that I may be worthy of the lot for which I am destined, and that I may not be found reprobate.
I salute you from Smyrna, together with the Churches of God which are with me, whose rulers have refreshed me in every respect, both in the flesh and in the spirit. Continue in harmony among yourselves, and in supplication; for it becomes every one of you, and especially the presbyters, to refresh the bishop, to the honour of the Father, and to the honour of Jesus Christ and of the apostles.
I entreat you in love to hear me, that I may not, by having thus written, be a testimony against you. And do ye also pray for me, who have need of your love, along with the mercy of God, that I may be thought worthy to attain the lot for which I am now designed, and that I may not be found reprobate. The love of the Smymaeans and Ephesians salutes you.
Remember in your prayers the Church which is in Syria, from which also I am not worthy to receive my appellation, being the last 1 of them.
Fare ye well in Jesus Christ, while ye continue subject to the bishop, as to the command [of God], and in like manner to the presbytery. And do ye, every man, love one another with an undivided heart. Let my spirit be sanctified 2 by yours, not only now, but also when I shall attain to God. For I am as yet exposed to danger. But the Father is faithful in Jesus Christ to fulfil both mine and your petitions: in whom may ye be found unblameable.
The love of the Smyrnaeans and Ephesians salutes you. Remember our Church which is in Syria, from which I am not worthy to receive my appellation, being the last 1 of those of that place. Fare ye well in the Lord Jesus Christ, while ye continue subject to the bishop, and in like manner to the presbyters and to the deacons.
My spirit salutes you, 2 not only now, but also when I shall have attained to God; for I am as yet exposed to danger. But the Father of Jesus Christ is faithful to fulfil both mine and your petitions: in whom may we be found without spot. May I have joy of you in the Lord. The Epistle Of Ignatius To The Romans Shorter And Longer Versions Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which has obtained mercy, through the majesty of the Mast High Father, and Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son; the Church which is beloved and enlightened by the will of Him that willeth all things which are according to the love of Jesus Christ our God, which also presides in the place of the report of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of the highest happiness, worthy of praise, worthy of obtaining her every desire, worthy of being deemed holy, 2 and which presides over love, is named from Christ, and from the Father, which I also salute in the name of Jesus Christ, the San of the Father: to those who are united, both according ta the flesh and spirit, to every one of His commandments; who are filled inseparably with the grace of God, and are purified from every strange taint, [I wish] abundance of happiness unblameably, in Jesus Christ our God.
Through prayer 3 to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your most worthy faces, 4 and have even 5 been granted more than I requested; for I hope as a prisoner in Christ Jesus to salute you, if indeed it be the will of God that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the beginning has been well or dered, if I may obtain grace to cling to 1 my lot without hindrance unto the end.
For I am afraid of your love, 3 lest it should do me an injury. For it is easy for you to accomplish what you please; but it is difficult for me to attain to God, if ye spare me. Through prayer to God I have obtained the privilege of seeing your most worthy faces, 4 even as I earnestly begged might be granted me; for as a prisoner in Christ Jesus I hope to salute you, if indeed it be the will [of God] that I be thought worthy of attaining unto the end. For the beginning has been well ordered, if I may obtain grace to cling to 6 my lot without hindrance unto the end.
For I am afraid of your love, 7 lest it should do me an injury. For it is easy for you to accomplish what you please; but it is difficult for me to attain to God, if ye do not spare me, 2 under the pretence of carnal affection. For it is not my desire to act towards you as a man-pleaser, 4 but as pleasing God, even as also ye please Him. For neither shall I ever have such [another] opportunity of attaining to God; nor will ye, if ye shall now be silent, ever be entitled to 5 the honour of a better work.
For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall become God's; but if you show your love to my flesh, I shall again have to run my race. Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than that I be sacrificed to God while the altar is still prepared; that, being gathered together in love, ye may sing praise to the Father, through Christ Jesus, that God has deemed me, the bishop of Syria, worthy to be sent for 6 from the east unto the west.
It is good to set from the world unto God, that I may rise again to Him. For it is not my desire that ye should please men, Out God, even as also ye do please Him. For neither shall I ever hereafter have such an opportunity of attaining to God; nor will ye, if ye shall now be silent, ever be entitled to s the honour of a better work.
For if ye are silent concerning me, I shall become God's; but if ye show your love to my flesh, I shall again have to run my race.
Pray, then, do not seek to confer any greater favour upon me than that I be sacrificed to God, while the altar is still prepared; that, being gathered together in love, ye may sing praise to the Father, through Christ Jesus, that God has deemed me, the bishop of Syria, worthy to be sent for 6 from the east unto the west, and to become a martyr 7 in behalf of His own precious 8 sufferings, so as to pass from the world to God, that I may rise again unto Him.
Ye have never envied any one; ye have taught others. Now I desire that those things may be confirmed [by your conduct], which in your instructions ye enjoin [on others]. Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, that I may not only speak, but [truly] will; and that I may not merely be called a Christian, but really be found to be one. For if I be truly found [a Christian], I may also be called one, and be then deemed faithful, when I shall no longer appear to the world.
Nothing visible is eternal. Christianity is not a thing 1 of silence only, but also of [manifest] greatness. Only request in my behalf both inward and outward strength, that I may not only speak, but [truly] will, so that I may not merely be called a Christian, but really found to be one.
For says [the Scripture], "If ye were of this world, the world would love its own; but now ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it: continue in fellowship with me. I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me. I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable good-will towards me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God.
I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments 2 I may be found a sacrifice [to God].
I do not, as Peter and Paul, issue commandments unto you. They were apostles; I am but a condemned man: they were free, 3 while I am, even until now, a servant. But when I suffer, I shall be the freedman of Jesus, and shall rise again emancipated in Him. And now, being a prisoner, I learn not to desire anything worldly or vain. I write to all the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless ye hinder me.
I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable goodwill towards me. 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 God. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep [in death], I may not be found troublesome to any one. Then shall I be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body.
Entreat the Lord for me, that by these instruments 2 I may be found a sacrifice to God. They were apostles of Jesus Christ, but I am the very least [of believers]: they were free, 3 as the servants of God; while I am, even until now, a servant. And now, being in bonds for Him, I learn not to desire anything worldly or vain. From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts, 4 both by land and sea, both by night and day, being bound to ten leopards, I mean a band of soldiers, who, even when they receive benefits, 5 show themselves all the worse.
But I am the more instructed by their injuries [to act as a disciple of Christ]; "yet am I not thereby justified. But if they be unwilling to assail me, I will compel them to do so. Pardon me [in this]: I know what is for my benefit. Now I begin to be a disciple.
And let no one, of things visible or invisible, envy 2 me that I should attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, 2 breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful 3 torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ. Pardon me [in this] I know what is for my benefit. Now I begin to be a disciple, and have 7 no desire after anything visible or invisible, that I may attain to Jesus Christ.
Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let breakings, tearings, and separations of bones; let cutting off of members; let bruising to pieces of the whole body; and let the very torment of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ. All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, 4 shall profit me nothing.
It is better for me to die in behalf of 5 Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. This is the gain which is laid up for me. Pardon me, brethren: do not hinder me from living, do not wish to keep me in a state of death; 7 and while I desire to belong to God, do not ye give me over to the world.
Suffer me to obtain pure light: when I have gone thither, I shall indeed be a man of God. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. If any one has Him within himself, let him consider what I desire, and let him have sympathy with me, as knowing how I am straitened. All the ends of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, 4 shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die for the sake of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth.
Him I seek, who died for us and rose again. Pardon me, brethren: do not hinder me in attaining to life; for Jesus is the life of believers. Do not wish to keep me in a state of death, 7 for life without Christ is death.
While I desire to belong to God, do not ye give me over to the world. Permit me to be an imitator of the passion of Christ, my God. The prince of this world would fain carry me away, and corrupt my disposition towards God. Let none of you, therefore, who are [in Rome] help him; rather be ye on my side, that is, on the side of God. Do not speak of Jesus Christ, and yet set your desires on the world.
Let not envy find a dwelling-place among you; nor even should I, when present with you, exhort you to it, be ye persuaded to listen to me, but rather give credit to those things which I now write to you. For though I am alive while I write to you, yet I am eager to die.
My love 8 has been crucified, and there is nofire in me desiring to be fed; 1 but there is within me a water that liveth and speaketh, 2 saying to me inwardly, Come to the Father. I have no delight in corruptible food, nor in the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; and I desire the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.
Do not speak of Jesus Christ, and yet prefer this world to Him. Let not envy find a dwelling-place among you; nor even should I, when present with you, exhort you to it, be ye persuaded, but rather give credit to those things which I now write to you.
For though I am alive while I write to you, yet I am eager to die for the sake of Christ. My love s has been crucified, and there is no fire in me that loves anything; but there is living water springing up in me, 9 and which says to me inwardly, Come to the Father.
I desire the bread of God, the heavenly bread, the bread of life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; and I desire the drink, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.
I no longer wish to live after the manner of men, and my desire shall be fulfilled if ye consent. Be ye willing, then, that ye also may have your desires fulfilled. I entreat you in this brief letter; do ye give credit to me. Jesus Christ will reveal these things to you, [so that ye shall know] that I speak truly.
He 5 is the mouth altogether free from falsehood, by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray ye for me, that I may attain [the object of my desire]. I have not written to you according to the flesh, but according to the will of God.
If I shall suffer, ye have wished [well] to me; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me. And do ye pray along with me, that I may attain my aim in the Holy Spirit. If I shall suffer, ye have loved me; but if I am rejected, ye have hated me.
Remember in your prayers the Church in Syria, which now has God for its shepherd, instead of me. Jesus Christ alone will oversee it, and your love [will also regard it]. But as for me, I am ashamed to be counted one of them; for indeed I am not worthy, as being the very last of them, and one born out of due time.
My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches that have received me in the name of Jesus Christ, and not as a mere passer-by. For even those Churches which were not 7 near to me in the way, I mean according to the flesh, 8 have gone before me, 9 city by city, [to meet me. But as for me, I am ashamed to be counted one of them; for I am not worthy, as being the very last of them, and one born out of due time.
But I have obtained mercy to be somebody, if I shall attain to God. My spirit salutes you, and the love of the Churches which have received me in the name of Jesus Christ, and not as a mere passerby.
For even those Churches which were not near to me in the way, have brought me forward, city by city. Now I write these things to you from Smyrna by the Ephesians, who are deservedly most happy. There is also with me, along with many others, Crocus, one dearly beloved by me.
For they are all worthy, both of God and of you; and it is becoming that you should refresh them in all things. I have written these things unto you, on the day before the ninth of the Kalends of September that 2 is, on the twenty-third day of August. Fare ye well to the end, in the patience of Jesus Christ. I have written these things unto you on the day before the ninth of the Kalends of September. The Epistle Of Ignatius To The Philadelphians Shorter And Longer Versions Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, in Asia, which has obtained mercy, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoiceth unceasingly 1 in the passion of our Lord, and is filled with all mercy through his resurrection; which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially if [men] are in unity with the bishop, the presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom He has established in security, after His own will, and by His Holy Spirit.
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church of God the Father, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, which has obtained mercy through love, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoiceth unceasingly, 1 in the passion of our Lord Jesus, and is filled with all mercy through His resurrection; which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ, who is our eternal and enduring jay, especialty to those who are in unity with the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons, who have been appointed by the will of God the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to His own will, has firmly established His Church upon a rock, by a spiritual building, not made with hands, against which the winds and the floods have beaten, yet have not been able to overthrow it: 2 yea, and may spiritual wickedness never be able to do so, but be thoroughly weakened by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which bishop, 3 I know, obtained the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], not of himself, neither by men, 4 nor through vainglory, but by the love of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by his silence is able to accomplish more than those who vainly talk.
For he is in harmony with the commandments [of God], even as the harp is with its strings. Wherefore my soul declares his mind towards God a happy one, knowing it to be virtuous and perfect, and that his stability as well as freedom from all anger is after the example of the infinite 6 meekness of the living God.
Having beheld your bishop, I know that he was not selected to undertake the ministry which pertains to the common [weal], either by himself or by men, 4 or out of vainglory, but by the love of Jesus Christ, and of God the Father, who raised Him from the dead; at whose meekness I am struck with admiration, and who by His silence is able to accomplish more than they who talk a great deal.
For he is in harmony with the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, even as the strings are with the harp, and is no less blameless than was Zacharias the priest. Wherefore, as children of light and truth, flee from division and wicked doctrines; but where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow.
For there are many wolves that appear worthy of credit, who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captives those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place. Wherefore, as children of light and truth, avoid the dividing of your unity, and the wicked doctrine of the heretics, from whom "a defiling influence has gone forth into all the earth.
For there are many wolves in sheep's clothing, 2 who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive 3 those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place. Keep yourselves from those evil plants which Jesus Christ does not tend, because they are not the planting of the Father. Not that I have found any division among you, but exceeding purity. For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop.
And as many as shall, in the exercise of repentance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ. If any man follows him that makes a schism in the Church, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Let us therefore do all things as those who have Him dwelling in us, that we may be His temples, and He may be in us as our God, which indeed He is, and will manifest Himself before our faces. Wherefore we justly love Him.
Do not err, my brethren. Those that corrupt families shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If, then, those who do this as respects the flesh have suffered death, how much more shall this be the case with any one who corrupts by wicked doctrine the faith of God, for which Jesus Christ was crucified!
Such an one becoming defiled [in this way], shall go away into everlasting fire, and so shall every one that hearkens unto him. For this end did the Lord suffer the ointment to be poured upon His head, that He might breathe immortality into His Church.
Be not ye anointed with the bad odour of the doctrine of the prince of this world; let him not lead you away captive from the life which is set before you. And why are we not all prudent, since we have received the knowledge of God, which is Jesus Christ?
Why do we foolishly perish, not recognising the gift which the Lord has of a truth sent to us? Let my spirit be counted as nothing for the sake of the cross, which is a stumbling-block to those that do not believe, but to us salvation and life eternal.
He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might purify the water. Now the virginity of Mary was hidden from the prince of this world, as was also her offspring, and the death of the Lord; three mysteries of renown, which were wrought in silence by God. How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light of which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment.
And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, formed a chorus to this star, and its light was exceedingly great above them all.
And there was agitation felt as to whence this new spectacle came, so unlike to everything else [in the heavens]. Hence every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom abolished, God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life.
And now that took a beginning which had been prepared by God. Henceforth all things were in a state of tumult, because He meditated the abolition of death. If Jesus Christ shall graciously permit me through your prayers, and if it be His will, I shall, in a second little work which I will write to you, make further manifest to you [the nature of] the dispensation of which I have begun [to treat], with respect to the new man, Jesus Christ, in His faith and in His love, in His suffering and in His resurrection.
Especially [will I do this] if the Lord make known to me that ye come together man by man in common through grace, individually, in one faith, and in Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, being both the Son of man and the Son of God, so that ye obey the bishop and the presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but [which causes] that we should live for ever in Jesus Christ.
My soul be for yours and theirs whom, for the honour of God, ye have sent to Smyrna; whence also I write to you, giving thanks unto the Lord, and loving Polycarp even as I do you. Remember me, as Jesus Christ also remembered you. Pray ye for the Church which is in Syria, whence I am led bound to Rome, being the last of the faithful who are there, even as I have been thought worthy to be chosen to show forth the honour of God. Farewell in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ, our common hope.
Conciliar Post reads and records the Writings of the Church Fathers in order to promote familiarity with early Christian writings. Chapter I. Chapter II. Chapter III. Chapter IV. Chapter V. Chapter VI. Chapter VII. Chapter VIII. Chapter IX. Chapter X. Chapter XI. Chapter XII. Chapter XIII.
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