Ignatius, also called Theophorus, to the Church of God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia in Asia; a church which has
found mercy and is irrevocably of one mind with God; which unwaveringly
exults in the Passion of Our Lord, and firmly believes in His Resurrection
through sheer mercy. This Church I salute in the Blood of Jesus Christ. She
is a source of everlasting joy, especially when the members are at one with
the bishop and his assistants, the presbyters and deacons, that have been
appointed in accordance with the wish of Jesus Christ, and whom He has, by
His own will, through the operation of His Holy Spirit, confirmed in
loyalty.
1. Regarding this bishop I am informed that he holds the supreme office in
the community not by his own efforts, or by men's doing, or for personal
glory. No, he holds it by the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. I am charmed with his sweetness of manner. He accomplishes more by
his silence than others that talk to no purpose. No wonder; he is as
perfectly in accord with the commandments as strings are with a harp. With
all my heart, therefore, I laud his disposition to please God, a
disposition virtuous and perfect, as I am very well aware; his unshaken
constancy, too, and his passionless temper, modeled on the transcendent
gentleness of the living God.
2. Being born, then, of the light of truth, shun division and bad
doctrines. Where the shepherd is, there you, being sheep, must follow. For,
many wolves there are, apparently worthy of confidence, who with the bait
of baneful pleasure seek to capture the runners in God's race; but if you
stand united, they will have no success.
3. Avoid the noxious weeds. Their gardener is not Jesus Christ, because
they are not the planting of the Father. Not that I found any division in
your midst; but I did find that there had been a purge. Surely, all those
that belong to God and Jesus Christ are the very ones that side with the
bishop; and all those that may yet change their mind and return to the
unity of the Church, will likewise belong to God, and thus lead a life
acceptable to Jesus Christ. Do not be deceived, my brethren: if a man runs
after a schismatic, he will not inherit the kingdom of God; if a man
chooses to be a dissenter, he severs all connection with the Passion.
4. Take care, then, to partake of one Eucharist; for, one is the Flesh of
Our Lord Jesus Christ, and one the cup to unite us with His Blood, and one
altar, just as there is one bishop assisted by the presbytery and the
deacons, my fellow servants. Thus you will conform in all your actions to
the will of God.
5. My brethren, my love for you overflows all bounds, and it is my supreme
delight to provide you with safeguards, though it is really not I that do
it, but Jesus Christ. Being in chains for His sake, I am all the more
apprehensive, since I am not yet perfected. But then, your prayer will make
me perfect in the sight of God, so that I may win the lot which, through
mercy, has fallen to me. I take refuge in the Gospel, which to me is Jesus
in the flesh, and in the Apostles, as represented by the presbytery of the
Church. But let us also cherish the Prophets, because they, for their part,
foreshadowed the Gospel; and they hoped in Him and waited for Him and were
saved by their belief in Him; for thus they were one with Jesus Christ. O
those lovable and wonderful saints! Their merits are attested by Jesus
Christ, and their message is part and parcel of the Gospel of our common
hope.
6. But should anyone expound Judaism, do not listen to him. It is
preferable, surely, to listen to a circumcised man preaching Christianity
than to an uncircumcised man preaching Judaism. But if neither of them
preaches Jesus Christ, they are to me tombstones and graves of the dead, on
which only the names of the dead are inscribed. Shun, then, the base
artifices and snares of the Prince of this world, for fear you may be
harassed by his scheming and grow weak in your love. Rather, come together,
all of you, with undivided heart. I thank my God that I have a good
conscience as concerning you, and that no one has occasion to boast that I
was a burden to anyone either secretly or openly, in great matters or in
small. But I also pray for all those in whose midst I spoke, that they may
not find in my words any testimony against them.
7. For, even though some were willing enough to lead my human spirit into
error, yet the Spirit is not led into error, since He proceeds from God.
Indeed, He knows where He comes from and whither He goes, and lays bare
what is secret. I cried out, while in your midst, and said in a ringing
voice--God's voice: "Give heed to the bishop and to the presbytery and to
the deacons." Some, however, suspected I was saying this because I had
previous knowledge of the division caused by some; but He for whose sake I
am in chains is my witness, that I had not learned it from any human
source. No, it was the Spirit who kept preaching in these words: "Apart
from the bishop do nothing; preserve your persons as shrines of God;
cherish unity, shun divisions; do as Jesus Christ did, for He, too, did as
the Father did."
8. I was doing my part, therefore, acting as a man trained to cherish
unity. Where there is division and passion, there is no place for God. Now,
the Lord forgives all if they change their mind and by this change of mind
return to union with God and the council of the bishop. I trust in the
grace of Jesus Christ, who will free you from all enslavement. I exhort you
never to act in a spirit of factiousness, but according to what you learnt
in the school of Christ. When I heard some say, "Unless I find it in the
official records--in the Gospel I do not believe"; and when I answered
them, "It is in the Scriptures," they retorted: "That is just the point at
issue." But to me the official record is Jesus Christ; the inviolable
record is His Cross and His death and His Resurrection and the faith of
which He is the Author. These are the things which, thanks to your prayer,
I want to be my justification.
9. Good, too, are priests; but better is the High Priest who was entrusted
with the Holy of Holies, who alone was entrusted with the hidden designs of
God. He is the door of the Father, through which enter Abraham and Isaac
and Jacob and the Prophets and the Apostles and the Church. All these are
means of being united with God. But the Gospel contains something special--
the Advent of the Savior Our Lord Jesus Christ, His Passion and His
Resurrection. The beloved Prophets announced His coming, whereas the Gospel
is the imperishable fulfillment. All things alike are good, provided your
faith is rooted in love.
10. Since it was reported to me that--thanks to your prayer and kindly
interest, inspired by Jesus Christ--the Church at Antioch in Syria is at
peace, it is proper that you, as a church of God, should appoint a deacon
to go there as God's ambassador, and congratulate the people in a public
meeting, and give glory to the Name. Blessed in Jesus Christ is he who is
to discharge this office; and you, too, will reap glory. If only you are
determined, it is not impossible to do this for God's name, just as the
neighboring Churches have, some of them, delegated bishops--others,
presbyters and deacons.
11. Now, as to Philo, the deacon from Cilicia, a man of attested merit, who
even now assists me in the ministry of the word of God together with Rheus
Agathopus, an exquisite character, who has been accompanying me from Syria
after turning his back upon this life--well, both these men testify (and I,
too, thank God on your behalf) that you received them kindly. May the Lord
do so to you! As for those who treated them with disrespect, may they be
redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ! In their love the brethren of Troas
wish to be remembered. It is from here that I send this letter through the
kindness of Burrus, who, as a testimonial of honor, was sent by the
Ephesians and Smyrnaeans to accompany me. These men will be honored by the
Lord Jesus Christ, in whom they hope with body and soul and spirit and
faith and love and concord. Farewell in Jesus Christ, our common Hope.
