Ignatius of Antioch
Bishop of Antioch, arrested and sent to Rome under Trajan c. 107-110, writing seven letters en route to the churches and to Polycarp. Martyred in Rome.
Why Ignatius matters
Ignatius wrote seven letters on his way to be eaten by lions in Rome. Read them and the second-century church stops being abstract. He warns against early heretics, defends the bodily resurrection, and is the first writer to describe a single bishop leading a city's church — the model that became universal. He also coined 'Catholic' (katholike, universal) as a description of the church. Everything you'll later argue about with Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants traces some root through him.
Chain to Jesus
Loading…
Common questions
- Who was Ignatius of Antioch?
- Ignatius of Antioch (35–108) — Bishop of Antioch, arrested and sent to Rome under Trajan c. 107-110, writing seven letters en route to the churches and to Polycarp. Martyred in Rome.
- Who taught Ignatius of Antioch?
- John the Apostle.
- Who did Ignatius of Antioch correspond with?
- Polycarp of Smyrna and Onesimus.
- Who did Ignatius of Antioch succeed as bishop of Antioch?
- Evodius of Antioch.
Works
- Seven Lettersc. 107
Letters written en route to martyrdom in Rome, the earliest evidence for monoepiscopacy.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Sources for biography
- Ignatius, Letters (Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrnaeans, To Polycarp) primary
- Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.22, 3.36 primary
- Polycarp, Phil. 9, 13 primary
documented connections(3)
- corresponded Polycarp of SmyrnaIgnatius wrote a personal letter to Polycarp en route to Rome; Polycarp in turn forwarded the corpus of Ignatian letters to the Philippians (Phil 13).Ignatius, To Polycarp · Polycarp, To the Philippians 13
- corresponded (incoming) Polycarp of SmyrnaPolycarp, To the Philippians 9, 13 · Ignatius, To Polycarp
- cited Paul of TarsusIgnatius alludes repeatedly to Pauline letters (esp. 1 Cor, Eph) and explicitly praises Paul (Eph. 12.2; Rom. 4.3).Ignatius, To the Ephesians 12.2 · Ignatius, To the Romans 4.3
tradition connections(3)
- taught by John the ApostleLater tradition (e.g. the Martyrium Ignatii and John Chrysostom) makes Ignatius a disciple of John alongside Polycarp; not attested by Ignatius himself or by Irenaeus.Martyrium Ignatii (later acta) · Chrysostom, Hom. on Ignatius
- succeeded in see Evodius of AntiochAntiochene episcopal succession is preserved only by Eusebius writing c. 320; no 1st-c Antiochene source survives to confirm.Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. 3.22, 3.36
- corresponded OnesimusIgnatius greets a Bishop Onesimus of Ephesus in his Letter to the Ephesians; the identification with Paul's freed slave Onesimus is traditional and not certain.Ignatius, To the Ephesians 1.3, 6.2