A to the Father, and the presbytery as the apostles; and respect the deacons as the commandment of God. Let no one do anything that has to do with the Church without the bishop. Let that Eucharist be considered valid which is under the bishop, or him to whom he commits it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop, either to baptize, or to hold a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve, that is also well-pleasing to Jesus Christ, that everything which is done may be safe and established. Finally, it is reasonable for us to awaken, while we still have time to repent toward God. It is good to recognize God and the bishop. He who honors the bishop is honored by God; he who does anything secretly without the bishop, worships the devil. Epist. ad Smyrn. capp. 8 et 9.
Ibidem pag. 514, the same occurs in the Vatican Parallels, though in some places it is slightly different from those described here by [the library of] Rochefoucauld.
[IDEM ibid., litt. a, tit. II, pag. 747, C.]
Of Saint IGNATIUS.
As many as are perfect, think those things which are perfect. For to those who wish to do well, God is ready to grant it. Ad Smyrn. cap. 11.
Ibidem pag. 314, *Vatican Parallels* exhibit only the latter part.
[IDEM ibid., litt. e, tit. XVII, pag. 515, A.]
Of the same, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP of Smyrna*.
Support everyone, as the Lord also does you. Bear with everyone in love; devote yourself to unceasing prayers. Ask for more understanding than you have. Be vigilant, possessing an unsleeping eye. Ad Polycarp. cap. 1.
Of the same.
Bear the illnesses of all, as a perfect athlete. Where there is more labor, there is also greater gain. If you love good disciples, that is no grace to you; rather, bring the more troublesome ones into subjection in gentleness. Not every wound is healed by the same plaster. Calm the irritations with fomentations. Therefore, you are composed of flesh and spirit, that you may blandly correct what is visible to your sight; but for those things which escape your view, pray that they may be revealed to you, so that you may lack nothing. Ad Polycarp. capp. 1 et 2.
[IDEM ibid., litt. v, tit. XVII, pag. 788, B.]
Of Saint IGNATIUS, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP*.
Stand like an anvil which is being struck. It is the mark of a great athlete to be beaten and to conquer. But especially because of God must we endure all things, that he also may endure us. Ad Polycarp. cap. 3.
[IDEM ibid., litt. d, tit. XXXIV, pag. 778, C.]
Of Saint IGNATIUS, from the *Epistle to POLYCARP*.
Let not slaves desire to be freed from the common
servitude, but rather let them serve more to the glory of God, that they may obtain a better freedom from God. Ad Polycarp. cap. 4.
IDEM ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLII, pag. 779, D.
From the Epistle to POLYCARP
A Attend to the bishop, that God may also attend to you. I am a substitute for those who are subject to the bishop, the presbytery, and the deacons; may my portion be with them in God. Ad Polycarp. cap. 6.IDEM ibid., litt. υ, tit. XVII, pag. 788, B.
From the same
Bear with one another in meekness, as God does with you always. Ad Polycarp. cap. 6.IDEM ibid., litt. χ, tit. IV, pag. 724, E.
IGNATIUS
A Christian has no power over himself, but gives his time to God. Ad Polycarp. cap. 7.IDEM ibid., litt. α, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, D.
From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS of holy IGNATIUS, the God-bearer
Let no man be deceived. If anyone be not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two has such power, how much more that of the bishop and of the whole Church? He, therefore, who does not assemble with B the others, is already proud, and has judged himself. For it is written: God resists the proud. Ad Ephesios, cap. 5.IDEM ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 779, D.
To the EPHESIANS
Let us be diligent not to resist the bishop, that we may be subject to God. And the more any one sees the bishop keeping silent, the more let him fear him. For every one whom the Master of the house sends for His own administration, we ought to receive as Him who sent him. The bishop, therefore, should be looked upon as the Lord Himself. Ad Ephes. capp. 5 et 6.Hic locus, nonnullis demptis, aliisque leviter immutatis, occurrit ibidem, pag. 750, D. IDEM ibid., litt. α, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, C.
From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS of holy IGNATIUS, the God-bearer
D Flee from divisions, as the beginning of evils. Some are accustomed to carry about the name of Christ in wicked deceit, while practicing other things unworthy of God, whom you ought to avoid as wild beasts. For they are rabid dogs, biting secretly; from whom you ought to be on your guard, as being hard to cure. Ad Ephes. cap. 7.Ad hunc locum Cl. LEQUIEN adnotat minus recte, verba ista, τοὺς μερισμοὺς φεύγετε, ὡς ἀρχὴν κακῶν,
κακῶν, neither in the sincere, nor in the interpolated epistles of Ignatius are they to be read. They exist, indeed, at the end of chapter 7 of the Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, as the most learned Cotelerius long ago warned regarding chapter 7 of the [Epistle] to the Ephesians, to which the remaining passages subjoined to them pertain; although it pleased the author of the Parallels to palm all these off on us as if they were written out of the Epistle to the Ephesians.
Idem ibid., litt. σ, tit. xi, pag. 687, A.
Carnal people cannot do spiritual things, nor can spiritual people do carnal things. A *Ad Ephes.* cap. 8.
Idem ibid., litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, C.
Our faith is our guide: but charity is the way that leads us up to God. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 9.
Idem ibid., litt. δ, tit. xii, pag. 777, E.
Of Saint Ignatius Theophorus, from the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.
These are the last times, brethren. Let us therefore be ashamed and fear the patience of God, lest it turn into judgment for us. For either let us fear the wrath to come, or let us love the present grace, so only that we be found in Christ Jesus. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 11.
Idem ibid., tit. xxx, pag. 778, B.
Of Ignatius Theophorus to the EPHESIANS.
When you assemble frequently, the powers of Satan are destroyed. His destruction is undone by the concord of your faith. B *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.
Idem ibid., litt. β, tit. i, pag. 775, A.
Of Saint Ignatius, from the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.
There is nothing better than peace, in which every war is extinguished. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.
This saying also exists in the Vatican Parallels, ibid., pag. 354, C, where it is noted less correctly as being taken from the interpolated Epistle to the Ephesians.
Idem ibid., litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, B.
Of the sacrosanct martyr Ignatius Theophorus, from his Epistle to the EPHESIANS.
Nothing escapes you, if you have faith and love toward Jesus Christ, which are the beginning and end of life. Now faith is the beginning; but love is the end. And these two being joined together in unity are God. And all other things are consequential to distinct goodness. No one who professes to have faith sins. No one who possesses love hates. D The tree is manifest from its fruit. So those who promise that they will be Christ's will be seen by what they do. For the work is not now of profession, but in the power of faith, if one be found at the end. *Ad Ephes.* cap. 13.
Idem ibid., litt. α, tit. lxxvi, pag. 772, D.
From the Epistle to the EPHESIANS.
Do not err, my brethren: those who corrupt houses shall not inherit the kingdom of God. If therefore those who act according to the flesh…
A die, how much more shall he who corrupts the faith by evil doctrine, for which Jesus Christ was crucified? For such a person, having become defiled, shall go into unquenchable fire, and likewise he who listens to him. Ad Ephes. cap. 16.
*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 779, E, 780, A.
Of the same to the MAGNESIANS
In honor of God who wills us to do so, it is fitting that we should obey the bishop without any hypocrisy. For one who does not deceive this bishop who is seen, but rather tries to outwit the invisible God. And to such a person, the account is not with flesh, but with God who knows secret things. It is fitting, therefore, not only to be called Christians but also to be so; just as some indeed call the bishop B by title, but do everything without him. Such persons do not seem to me to have a good conscience, because they do not gather together firmly according to the commandment. *Ad Magnes.* capp. 3 et 4.
*Idem ibid.*, cap. «Concerning brotherly love.»
All you who have received the same divine habits, revere one another, and let no one look upon his neighbor according to the flesh, but in Christ always love one another. *Ad Magnes.* cap. 6.
These things are cited by COTELERIUS in his notes to this place, transcribed from the *Parallelis Rupefucaldinis*, at that time still unpublished; which, however, the illustrious LEQUIEN omitted in his famous edition.
*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, A.
*From the same.*
Let there be nothing among you that can divide you, but be united with the bishop and those who preside, as a place and instruction of immortality. As therefore our Lord did nothing without the Father, neither C by himself nor through the apostles, so neither should you do anything without the bishop, nor attempt anything that seems right to you by yourselves. *Ad Magnes.* capp. 6 et 7.
*Idem ibid.*, litt. π, tit. xxv, pag. 785, C.
*From the Epistle of the same to the MAGNESIANS.*
Let us learn to live according to Christianity. For whoever is called by any other name than this, he is not of God. *Ad Magnes.* cap. 10.
*Idem ibid.*, litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, B.
*Of the same.*
Children of the light of truth, flee from division and evil doctrines. And where the pastor is, there follow like sheep. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 2.
APPENDIX TO THE GENUINE EPISTLES OF ST. IGNATIUS
*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 773, A.*
*From the Epistle to the Philadelphians.* A Abstain from evil plants, which Jesus Christ does not cultivate, because they are not the planting of the Father. Do not err, my brethren; if any man follows one who makes a schism, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 3.
*Idem ibid., litt. ε, tit. XLVIII, pag. 780, B, C.*
*Of the same.* But my witness is He in whom I am bound, that I did not learn it from human flesh. But the Spirit preached saying thus: Do nothing without the bishop; keep your flesh as the temple of God; love unity, flee divisions; be followers of Jesus Christ, as He also was of His Father. *Ad Philadelph.* cap. 7.
*Idem ibid., B.*
*Of the same.* When you are subject to the bishop, you appear to me to be living not according to man, but according to Jesus Christ, who died for our sake. *Ad Trall.* cap. 2.
*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, E.*
*From the Epistle to the Trallians.* C I exhort you, not I, but the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to use only Christian food, and to abstain from strange herbage, which is heresy. And they mix Jesus Christ with their own poison, gaining credit by being thought trustworthy, just as if one were to administer a deadly drug with honeyed wine, which he who is ignorant accepts with pleasure, and in that evil delight meets his death. Guard yourselves, therefore, against such persons. *Ad Trall.* cap. 6.
*Idem ibid., litt. υ, tit. XI, pag. 702, E.*
*Of Ignatius.* Let no one of you have anything against his neighbor, that you may not give occasion to the Gentiles; lest by reason of a few foolish men, the godly multitude, endowed with divine virtue, be blasphemed. *Ad Trall.* cap. 8.
*Idem ibid., litt. a, tit. LXXVI, pag. 772, E.*
*From the same.* D Flee from wicked offshoots, which produce deadly fruit; if any man tastes of it, he dies immediately. For these are not the planting of the Spirit. *Ad Trall.* cap. 11.
EXCERPTS FROM THE EPISTLES OF ST. IGNATIUS EDITED IN SYRIAC
Excerpts from the Epistles of St. Ignatius edited in Syriac by the learned Cureton and rendered into Latin by the same.
NOTE. The learned Cureton produced this version to serve the edition of the Ignatian epistles prepared by Bunsen. From Cureton’s larger work, entitled *Corpus Ignatianum*, we have added the variant readings, both from the codices of the Excerpts and from other Syriac fragments which, as we show, exhibit the same Syriac version from which the Excerpts were made. Cureton used three codices of the Excerpts: 1. The codex British Museum Additional MS. 12175, described in the first part of the 6th century, which exhibits only the epistle to Polycarp; this he marked with the sign α. 2. A second codex of the 7th or 8th century, which contains three epistles (Brit. Mus. add. ms. 14618); this he marked with the sign β. 3. A third codex, γ, of the 6th or 7th century (Brit. Mus. add. ms. 17192), which exhibits three epistles.
EPISTLE TO POLYCARP
Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who is rather visited by God the Father and by Jesus Christ our Lord, much peace!
I. 1. Because your mind, which is confirmed in God as if upon an immovable rock, is acceptable to me, I exceedingly glorify God A that I have been deemed worthy of your countenance, which I desire in God. I ask you, therefore, in the grace with which you are clothed, that you add to your course and intercede for all sons of men (i.e., for mankind), that they may live (i.e., be saved), and that you may champion decency in all diligence of body and of spirit. Let unanimity of care be yours: for there is nothing better than this. Sustain every man, even as our Lord sustains you. With every man draw out your spirit in charity, as you do. In prayers persevere. Ask for an understanding more ample than that which you already have. Watch, because you possess a spirit that does not sleep. With every man speak as the will of God requires. Sustain the infirmities of every man, as a perfect athlete; for where there is much labor, there is much gain.
B 3. As for those who are considered to be something and teach strange doctrines, do not let them stupefy you. But stand in the truth, as an athlete who has been struck: for it is the mark of a great athlete to be struck and [yet] to conquer. Especially observe, for the sake of God, that it is proper for us to sustain, so that He Himself may also sustain us. Be more diligent than you are. Distinguish the times: expect Him who is above time, Him who has no times, Him who is invisible, Him who for our sake became visible, Him who is intangible, Him who is impassible, Him who for our sake became passible, Him who in every way sustained all things for our sake.
II. 1. Let not widows be neglected: you be their curator next to our Lord; let nothing be done apart from your mind; nor do you do anything apart from the mind of God: indeed, you do not. Stand fast! Let the congregations be constant. Seek out every man by his name. Do not despise servants, male or female, but let them not be puffed up, but let them serve even more to the glory of God, so that they may be C dignified with a better liberty, which is from God; let them not desire to be set free from the common [fund], lest they be found servants of their own desires.
2. Do not love only the good disciples, but rather subject those who are evil in meekness. Not all wounds are healed by one medicine. Soften aggravations with gentleness. Be prudent as a serpent in all things, and simple as a dove with regard to what is required. For this reason you are of body and of spirit, that you may allure those things which are seen before your face, and that you may pray regarding those things which are hidden from you, that they may be manifested to you, so that you may be lacking in nothing and abound in all gifts. The time demands you, as a pilot does a ship, and as he who stands in a storm expects a harbor, so that you may be worthy of God. Watch as an athlete of God; for that which is proposed to us is life, which is eternal (i.e., eternal life), which is incorruptible, of which you are also convinced. In all things I will be for your soul, and my bonds, which you have loved.
II. 4. Do not neglect the widows: be their curator next to our Lord; nor let anything be done apart from your mind; nor do you do anything apart from the mind of God: indeed, you do not. Stand fast! Let the congregations be frequent. Seek out every man by his name. Do not despise servants, male or female; but neither let them be puffed up, but let them serve even more to the glory of God, so that they may be dignified with a better liberty which is from God; let them not desire to be set free from the common [fund], lest they be found servants of their own desires.
5. Flee from evil works; but rather speak on their behalf. Tell my sisters to love in our Lord and to be sufficient for their husbands in body and in spirit. And again, also command my brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to love their wives, as our Lord loves His Church. If a man can remain in strength in chastity, in honor of the body of our Lord, let him remain without boasting: if he boasts, he perishes; if he becomes known apart from the bishop, he is corrupt (by his own self).
A It is fitting, therefore, that men and women who are married be joined together with the consent of the bishop, so that their marriage may be in our Lord and not in concupiscence. Let all things, therefore, be done to the glory of God.
III. 6. Look to the bishop, that God also may look upon you. I will be for the souls of those who are subject to the bishop, and the presbyters, and the deacons; with them may I have my portion before God. Labor together, struggle together, run together, suffer together, sleep together, rise together. As the great stewards of God and the children of the house—that is, those of his household—and his ministers. Please him and serve him, that you may receive provisions from him. Let no one among you be rebuked. Let your baptism be to you as armor, and faith as a helmet, and charity as a spear, and patience as all armor (that is, a panoply). Let your works be your treasures, that you may receive the gift of God, as is just. Let your spirit be patient toward one another in meekness, as God is toward you. May I rejoice in you at all times.
7. A Christian has no power over himself, but is prepared to be subject to God. I ask for the peace of him—that is, greet him—who has been judged worthy to go to Antioch in my place, as I commanded you. [End.]
EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS
B The same author’s second [epistle], which is to the Ephesians. Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to the Church which is blessed in the greatness of God the Father and perfect: to the one which was set apart from the ages, that it may be at all times unto glory which remains and is unchangeable, and perfect and chosen in the passion of truth, in the will of the Father of Jesus Christ our God; to the one which is worthy of blessedness, to the one which is in Ephesus, in Jesus Christ, in joy which is irreproachable, [I wish] much peace.
I. 1. Because of my name which is held dear to me in God, that which is much loved, that which you acquired in nature, in a right and just will, and also in the faith and charity of Jesus Christ our Saviour, and C you are imitators of God, and fervent in the blood of God, and you have accomplished the work of your brotherhood with haste, when you heard that I was bound from Syria for the sake of the common name and hope, and I was hoping in your prayers to be devoured by beasts in Rome, that by this, being judged worthy, I might be strengthened that I may be a disciple of God; you showed diligence to come and see me. Since, therefore, we have received your abundance in the name of God in that Onesimus, who is your bishop in charity which is ineffable; him I pray you to love in Jesus Christ our Lord, and that all of you may be in his likeness, for he is blessed, he who gave you such a bishop, as you are worthy.
3. But because charity did not let me be silent toward you, for this reason I have taken the initiative to pray to you, that you might show diligence in the will of God.
8. For indeed, as for those things that were not planted in you, that which is in concupiscence, that which is able to torment—to torment you—behold, you live in God. I rejoice in you and I supplicate for you Ephesians, [who are] the Church which is celebrated in all ages. For they who are carnal cannot do spiritual things, nor they who are spiritual the carnal, just as neither [can] faith [do] the things that are alien to the faith, nor the defect of faith [do] the things of faith. For those things which you did in the flesh, even these you did as spiritual, because you did all things in Jesus Christ, and you are ready.
9. To the edification of God the Father, and you [are] raised on high by the machine of Jesus Christ, which is the cross, and you are drawn by the rope, which is the Spirit of holiness, and your winch is your faith, and your charity is the way which makes one ascend to the height to God.
II. 10. Pray for all the children of men; for there is for them the hope of repentance, that they may be judged worthy of God. Through your works, rather, let them become disciples. Against their harsh words, appease them in the meekness of your mind and in lenity; against their blasphemies…
A be yourselves praying, and against their error be armed with faith, and against their ferocity be placating and quiet. Do not be yourselves like them (or rather, be not yourselves similar in the way of error). Let us therefore be imitators in our Lord in meekness. And that one may rather be oppressed and defrauded and deprived... 14. This is not a work of persuasion (not that it is a work of promise); unless a man be found in the power of faith even unto the end. 15. It is better that a man be silent when he is something, than that he should be speaking when he is not; for if he speaks through those things that are, he works, and through those things that are silent he is known. 18. My spirit adores the cross, which is a stumbling-block to them who are not persuaded, but to you it is for salvation and for life which is eternal. 19. Hidden from the ruler of this world was the virginity of Mary, and the birth of our Lord, and the three mysteries of the cry, which were done in the lenity of God by the star; and here, in the manifestation of the Son, began to cease magic, and all bonds were loosened, and the ancient kingdom and the error of malice was destroyed. From then all things were moved together, and the solution of death was meditated, and there was a beginning for that which is perfected in God. Explicit.
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS
The third epistle of the same holy Ignatius. Ignatius, who is Theophorus, to the Church which has obtained mercy in the magnitude of the Most High Father, which presides in the place of the region of the Romans, which is worthy of God and worthy of life and beatitude and praise and commemoration and worthy to be blessed, and which presides in charity and is perfect in the law of Christ, B which is blameless, with much peace!
I. 1. From of old I have prayed to God that I might be counted worthy to see your faces, those which are worthy of God: now therefore, being in chains in Jesus Christ, I hope that I shall meet you and greet you in your peace, if it be the will that I be accounted worthy unto the end. For the beginning is well ordered, if I be accounted worthy to attain to the end, that I may receive my portion without hindrance, patiently. I fear your charity, lest it should injure me: for it is easy for you to do what you wish; but it is difficult for me to be accounted worthy of God, if indeed you do not spare me. 2. For it is not the time for me to be accounted worthy of God, nor you, if you are silent, in a work which is better than this. If you leave me, I shall be the word of God: but if C on the contrary you love my body, I shall again be made a voice to myself. You will not give me anything better than this, that I should be sacrificed to God, while the altar is ready, that you may be in charity, in one concord, and may praise God the Father in Jesus Christ our Lord, because He has deemed the bishop worthy to be God's, for He called him from the rising of the sun to the setting. It is good that I should die from the world unto God, that I may rise in Him in life. 3. Never have you envied anyone: others you have taught; only ask for strength for me, that it may be given to me from within and from without, not only that I may say it, but that I may also wish it, and not that I only be called a Christian, but also be found to be one. For if I be found to be one, then I may be called faithful, when also I no longer appear in the world. For there is not that which is seen that is good. Nor is it a work of persuasion, but Christianity is something great, when the world hates it.
II. 4. I write to all the Churches and I notify every man that I die freely for God, if it be that you do not hinder me. I beseech you, be not at an unreasonable love towards me. Suffer me to be the food of D beasts, that through them I may be accounted worthy of God. I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts I am ground, that I may be found the pure bread of God.
Provoke, yes, provoke those beasts, that they may become a tomb A for me, and leave nothing of my body, so that, when I have fallen asleep, I may not be a burden to anyone. Then I shall truly be made a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world no longer sees my body. Beseech our Lord for me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I am not one who commands you as Peter and Paul did: they were apostles, while I am a condemned man; they were indeed free men, but I, even until now, am a slave. But if I suffer, I shall be set free by Jesus Christ, and I shall rise in Him from among the dead as a free man.
III. And now, being in bonds, I am learning not to desire anything. B 5. From Syria even to Rome I am cast among beasts, by land and by sea, by night and by day, bound between ten leopards—that is, a company of soldiers—who, even when I show them kindness, act more wickedly toward me. Yet in their injuries I am becoming more of a disciple. But I am not by this justified. I rejoice in the beasts that are prepared for me, and I pray that they may be found ready for me; and I will provoke them to devour me quickly, and not as they do with some, whom they fear to approach; yes, even if they should be unwilling to approach me, I will force myself upon them.
IV. Acknowledge from my own self that which is expedient for me. Let nothing, of those things both seen and unseen, envy me anything, so that I may be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ. C Let fire and cross and beasts that are prepared, the tearing asunder of limbs, the scattering of bones, and the grinding of the whole body, and the hard torments of the devil come upon me, if only I may be accounted worthy of Jesus Christ.
6. The pains of birth stand over me, and my love is crucified, and there is no fire in me for any other love. I do not desire the food of corruption, nor the desires of this world. I seek the bread of God, which is the body of Christ, and I seek His blood as a drink, which is love that suffers no corruption.
V. 9. My spirit and the love of the Churches that received me as the name of Jesus Christ salute you; even for those who are near to the way, both in body and in every city, have met me. D Now I am myself close to approaching Rome (Trall. 4). I know many things in God, but I restrain myself, that I may not perish through boasting. For now it behoves me to fear the more, and not to look upon those who puff me up. For those who say such things to me, afflict me. For I love to suffer, but I do not know if I am worthy. For the zeal, which is not seen by many, has a war with me. That meekness is therefore useful to me, in which the prince of this world is brought to naught (Trall. 5). I am able to write to you of heavenly things, but I fear lest I should do you harm. Acknowledge from my own self: I am cautious lest you should not find it sufficient and be hindered. For even I myself, not because I am bound, am able to know heavenly things and the places of the angels, and the stations of the powers, both things seen and unseen—it is not for this that I have become a disciple. For I fall far short of the perfection that is worthy of God (Rom. 10). Be ye perfect in the patience of Jesus Christ our God.
The three epistles of Ignatius, bishop and martyr, are finished.
THE LITURGY OF SAINT IGNATIUS
(RENAUDOT, Collection of Oriental Liturgies, 2nd ed., Frankfurt, 1847, in-4º, vol. II, p. 214.)
There is no need for a long discourse to prove the novelty of this Liturgy, as it sufficiently betrays itself. Its style, inflated with synonyms and epithets beyond measure, better suits the eloquence of wretched centuries than the simplicity of the early apostolic times, which the genuine writings of the Martyr Ignatius represent. Many testimonies occurring in theological books teach us that he once existed among the Syrians in their vernacular language, but above all, there are not a few excerpts from his genuine Epistles, which are found added to the Canons of the Councils in an ancient Syriac version, as represented by the parchment Medicean Codex. The interpreter added that these sentiments are not commonly referred to among the Canons, but by the name of so great a man, they hold a certain equal authority. We acknowledge that translation as having been made from the best codices, and by an author who, whoever he may have been, was not unlearned; moreover, we have observed that it is worthy of note that the codices he used, similar to that most celebrated Florentine one which the Latin translator employed, were centuries old and recognized no other than the true Epistles. But no church, except the Jacobite Church of Antioch, has hitherto held a Liturgy attributed to Ignatius; and we can think nothing else of this one than that, since it bore no singular title and was proper to the Church of Antioch, it received the name of Ignatius as that of its distinguished Bishop. It could also have been written by some Ignatius who held that see, for several were so called among the Patriarchs of the Jacobites, and through the fault of copyists, it was referred to the Martyr, which would be the work of a new man. But as much as was necessary has been said elsewhere regarding what judgment should be made of such titles.
In this very Liturgy, there is not to be found even the slightest trace of the Monophysite heresy, a note of greater antiquity than we suppose, which might seem probable to some. Yet it must be remembered, as has been observed elsewhere, that rarely among the Syrian Jacobites were those things which pertain to the confirmation of their doctrine concerning the mystery of the Incarnation accustomed to be inserted into liturgical prayers. That was proper only to the Egyptians, who joined to the Confession of the truth of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, another concerning the one nature in Christ. Therefore, the fact that nothing pertaining to it is found in this Liturgy of Ignatius is of no moment for proving its antiquity, since it bears so many indications of a later age from other sources. Among those, however, the commemoration made in the Diptychs of saints who flourished in the Church long after Ignatius had been consumed by martyrdom ought not to be counted; for those names could have been added, as is observed in others, because such commemorations were of ecclesiastical custom. But the fact that Dioscorus and Severus are explicitly commemorated makes it manifest that this Liturgy was proper to the Jacobites.
C
First Prayer before the Peace.
O holy God the Father, begetter of the eternal offspring, dispenser of goods and giver of tranquility and peace, who art magnificent beyond all comprehension of minds and rational souls in thy divine gifts which thou hast granted to us sinners and thy children, when thou providedst for us that we might administer them as is right and just: grant to us that with the utmost purity and chastity, and immunity from all deceit, we may give one another peace, with the embraces of the Holy Spirit, and in the bond of true charity, that, standing in one spiritual concord, and observing a peaceful unanimity, we may be rendered worthy of the blessed banquet and sanctification of thine only-begotten Son, with whom glory, honor, and power befit thee, with thy most holy Spirit. People. Amen. Priest. Peace. People. And with thy spirit. Deacon. Let everyone give the peace. People. All. Deacon. After. People. Before thee. Priest. Thou art good, blessed, and the giver of blessings toward all those who believe in thee. And now, O Lord, do not look upon the fact that we are unworthy, nor, because of our lack of faith, deprive thy faithful people before thee, O Lord, of thy divine grace, but placidly and kindly send thy blessings upon this congregation of those who adore thee: fill us with the grace and light of thy knowledge, and receive the prayers of thy flock, that in pure contemplation, with the fruitful first-fruits of good works, we may keep the feast together to thee, and exalt thee and thine only-begotten Son and thy Holy Spirit. People. Amen.
B
Priest, raising his voice. Who can explain with words the benefits of thy clemency, O Lord? Or who can recount the abundance of thy love toward men, O Blessed One? Thou who, when we were held with a multitude of impieties and bound by the chains of sins, hast made us worthy of a ministry such as this, exalted and great. Grant us that, being cleansed from the filth of sin, and having ourselves most purely in body and soul, we may be rendered worthy of that blessedness which hath been promised by thee to those who do thy will, and of the illumination and illustration of thy holy Spirit, that also by the function of the priesthood of thine only-begotten Son, through whom and with whom glory, honor, and empire befit thee with thy holy Spirit. People. Amen. Deacon. Let us stand, etc. People. Of mercy, etc. Priest. The charity, etc. People. And with thy spirit.
Liturgy of St. Ignatius
A Priest. Lift up your hearts. People. We lift them up unto the Lord. Priest. Let us give thanks unto the Lord. People. It is meet and right. Priest (bowing). It is truly meet that adoration be offered to thee with honor, praise, and exaltation, by all thy rational creatures, and at the same time to thine only-begotten Son, and to thy holy Spirit.
Raising his voice. Thou art he who, from sublime and immaterial substances, art honored, praised, and celebrated with perpetual glorification in the highest with supreme beauty and triumph, with pure and holy canticles, with sweet and pleasant citharas, with exaltations and triumphal hymns, with incessant festivals, and with songs that never cease, through incorporeal mouths, through tongues not of flesh, through the excellent proclamations of spiritual beings, through the equal concord of the fiery ones, through the pure voices of the thrones, through the great sound of the cherubim, and the most pure sanctifications of the seraphim, who terrifically clap their wings and, flying, thrice sanctify, cry out, vociferate, and say: People. Holy, Holy, Holy. Priest (bowing). For holy art thou, O God the Father; holy also is thine only-begotten Son; holy also is thy holy Spirit: who, through thy love toward man, hast made us like unto the heavenly ones, and hast so loved us that thou didst send thine only-begotten Son, coessential with thee, for our salvation: who took flesh ineffably, and was made man, as he willed and knew, and accomplished for our sake all things that were ours, sin excepted.
Raising his voice. Who accomplished the whole salutary dispensation for our sake, and through his holy sufferings demonstrated the truth of his advent in the flesh. In the night of the Passover, in which he was delivered up for the life and salvation of the world, he took bread into his holy hands, sanctified it [+], and broke [+], and gave [+] to his holy disciples and apostles, saying: Take, eat of it. This is my body which for you and many is prepared for the remission of sins and life eternal. People. Amen.
B Priest. Likewise also, when he had mingled the cup of life with wine and water [+], he sanctified [+] it, and gave it to his holy disciples, saying: Take, drink of it, all of you: This is my blood, which I give for the life of the world; but for you and for many it is prepared for the remission of sins, and for life eternal. People. Amen. Priest. Do this in my remembrance: for as often as ye shall eat this bread and drink this cup, ye shall commemorate my death, and confess my resurrection until I come. People. Thy death, etc. Priest (bowing). Remembering, therefore, all those things which were accomplished for us and on our behalf by thy dispensation, thy salutary nativity, thy divine baptism, thy life-giving burial, thy resurrection, thy Lord’s ascension, thy glorious assumption, and thy sitting at the right hand of the majesty of God and the Father: and we also commemorate thy second coming, which is to be feared and is full of trembling, when, arising with glory, thou shalt judge the living and the dead, showing thyself to be seen with terror; when the angels shall tremble at the splendor of thy judgment, and the archangels shall quake; the powers shall be shaken, the thrones shall be disturbed, and the celestial orders shall be struck with terror. Then shall all men, standing in pain, await the judge, feared and powerful; then shall be the place befitting justice, but grace shall offer no mercy; when the coals are burning, the flame consuming, the hell inextinguishable: when prayers shall be repelled, and supplications shall not be accepted, orations shall not be heard, and the obsecrations of everyone shall be cut off: spare us, O Lord, and stretch forth thy right hand over us all. Enter not into judgment with us, do not recall our iniquities to memory, do not set our voices to a strict examination: let us not be exiles from thy grace, nor strangers to thine inheritance: let us not be delivered to dire torments, nor to the worm that gnaws the breast, nor be included with the impious; C let us not be set among the wicked: let us not be participants of the unjust: let us not be cast into punishments and gnashing of teeth: do not deny us, as those who knew thee not: nor destroy us together with those who did not love thee.
But make thy salvation shine forth upon us; spare us according to thy love toward man. Send unto us the riches of thy clemency, set us at thy right hand; remember us all through thy mercy: save us according to the multitude of thy grace, and help us through thy clemency. Join us to thy flock, and number us among the orders of those whom thou lovest, make us worthy of thy kingdom, and lead us into thy bridal chamber. And because of these things thy Church and thy flock beseeches thee, and through thee and with thee thy Father, saying: People. Have mercy. Priest. We also, etc. People. We glorify thee. Deacon. How to be feared is this hour, etc. Priest says the invocation of the Holy Spirit. Have mercy upon us, O God the Father Almighty, and send upon us thy holy Spirit who fills all things, and is God over all, and coessential to thee and to thine only-begotten Son; who at every hour distributes gifts; and divides and gives to each, as he wills: who is present to all, and is not circumscribed by place, who contains the life of those who live, and is the perfecter of the holiness of the saints: that, by his descent sanctifying these pure mysteries, he may also cleanse me from my filth. Priest. Hear me, O Lord.
People. Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy. A
Priest, raising his voice. And may he, having descended and sanctified, make this bread indeed the holy and sanctifying Body; a body purifying and propitiatory; a body granting incorruption: the Body of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and eternal life to those who receive it.
People. Amen.
Priest. And may he make this chalice the living and life-giving Blood, pure and holy blood, a blood purifying and sanctifying; the Blood of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and eternal life to those who receive it.
People. Amen.
Priest. We, therefore, having been rendered worthy by the oblation of these holy mysteries; and having the eye of our mind illuminated through the knowledge of the truth, we pray and beseech you, that these proposed mysteries may be to us, and to those who receive them, for the stirring up of the vigilance of the soul, for the health of the body, for the true participation in the adoption of sons, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, for the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom: for the remission of offenses and sins, for goodness and love towards mankind befit you, and to you we render glory and thanksgiving, and likewise to your only-begotten Son, etc.
People. Amen.
Priest, bowing. Before you, O Lord, we beseech you, through this sacrifice which is perfect and complete through the Holy Spirit, for your holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, that it may be preserved secure and unshaken, and that the gates of hell may not prevail against it. And for our holy fathers and our rulers, especially for the blessed Patriarch B our N.N. and our Bishop N.N., with the rest of the Orthodox Bishops. Preserve them from evil incursions and from pernicious pastures. For Priests and Deacons, and every ecclesiastical order, preserving each one in that vocation to which he is called, without crime and accusation. Have mercy also on my frailness according to your mercy and clemency, and do not at the same time destroy me with my iniquities, but show C your goodness towards me, although I am unworthy: save me according to the multitude of your mercy, that through all I may glorify you in all the days of my life: that you may remove me from earthly thoughts, and that I may be pure and bright, and without spot, and as becomes the vigilance required in the ministry, may I holily handle these mysteries. For those also who are infirm in body and soul, and for those others who are in feared purifications, namely, in dangers and exiles, that you may grant health and relief to the former, and freedom and liberation to the latter. Bless also the crown of the year through your kindness; and may you ever remember the air D and all the fruits of the earth.
People. Lord, have mercy.
Priest, raising his voice. And preserve, O Lord, your faithful people, and deliver us from all stains and blemishes of sin, and from every kind of affliction, and from the evil and pernicious machinations of demons and wicked men, and from all intolerable pains; from the tyranny imposed upon our heads, and from most grave temptations deliver us: and grant us that, with the adornment of good and blessed works, we may enter into your holy sanctuaries, and may gloriously rejoice in spiritual gifts, and simultaneously offer to you acceptable sacrifices, and unceasingly give thanks to you and your only-begotten Son.
People. Amen.
Priest, bowing. Remember, O Lord, this blessed congregation of those who worship you, who stand before you with fear and faith: and of those who ask for the prayers of our infirmity. Remember, O Lord, all generally, and each one individually, granting what may be helpful and necessary for them. Remember also those who act excellently, and who produce the fruits of your holy Church; and do not forget those who have offered oblations: and remember those who wished to offer and could not.
People. Lord, have mercy.
Priest, raising his voice. Receive, O Lord, the oblations, tithes, and first-fruits, and fruits of peace, of the sacrifices of your servants, into the odor of sweetness, and recompense and send to us, O good recompenser, the grace of gifts, and the amplitude of the gifts which pertain to our aid, and the abundance of eternal goods, making us and them rich in works of piety and justice: communing us with angelic guards, and through an immaculate and apostolic confession: because you are magnificent in gifts, and to you we render glory and thanksgiving, and to your only-begotten Son, and to your Holy Spirit.
People. Amen.
Priest, bowing. Remember, O Lord, the faithful Orthodox Kings, and pacify their empire, and grant them to govern those subject to them with equity.
People. Lord, have mercy.
Priest, raising his voice. Be a defender and savior, O Lord, to your holy Church, and to all the spiritual sheep of your pasture; and save us through your strength, to which nothing is impossible, from every bitter famine, pernicious mortality, from wars and tumults, from deadly persecutions, and in tranquility and peace govern us with care, in all the days of our life, because we have no other hope of attaining salvation, except in you, O Lord. Destroy also through your power, the power of those who stand against your empire, and subject each one to the servitude of your holy name: because you are the victor, and the only warrior, and to you we render glory and thanksgiving.
People. Amen.
A Sacerdos bowing. Remembering, we make memory before you, Lord, and to entreat you we bring forward, first indeed the holy Mother of God, Mary, and the precursor John the Baptist, Stephen the first of the Deacons, and proto-martyr, and the host of holy Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors and the rest, whose names are written in the book of life.
People. Kyrie eleison.
Sacerdos raising his voice. That you may receive the intercessions of those yours, quietly accepting them, and accept their prayers, acceptable to your piety. We also, jointly pouring out our imperfect prayer before you at the same time, ask and entreat that you do not turn your face from us, nor in anger be far from us; do not destroy us in your fury, but according to your benevolence possess us, and through the abundance of your goodness, spare us. Shine your face upon us, and upon all the people of your inheritance, because it pleases you to grant salvation, and yours is peace and salvation: and to you we offer glory and thanksgiving, and to your only-begotten Son.
People. Amen.
Sacerdos bowing. Remember also, Lord, the chosen Fathers and saints, Patriarchs, and those who were interpreters and ministers of the sacred mysteries of your holy Church: especially indeed Ignatius, Dionysius, Julius, Athanasius, Basil, Gregory, Dioscorus, Severus, and the rest of the Apostles and Pastors, who have migrated to you.
People. Kyrie eleison.
A Sacerdos raising his voice. Quietly and peacefully receive through your kindness, Lord, the souls and spirits of your servants and worshippers who have migrated from this present life to you: especially indeed those for whom and by whom this sacrifice has been offered and perfected. Remember them, grant them rest, and place them in the habitations of light, in the places of the blessed spirits, in the heavenly Jerusalem, in the Church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and granting them the most happy memory and rest, through your love for mankind, Lord, grant them life devoid of old age, goods that do not pass away, and delights that have no end. May they obtain pardon through your clemency: may they obtain rest through your mercy: may they be hidden under the wings of your grace, and may they not be condemned: because they have hoped in you, and in your only-begotten Son, through whom we also hope to obtain mercy, etc.
People. Grant rest.
Sacerdos bowing. Spare, Lord God, and forgive all our iniquities, and those of them, nor impute them, because no one living is justified in your sight, nor is any one pure from filth and stains of sin, except you, Lord. We beseech and entreat the inscrutable abyss of your clemency, that to us who are weak and prone to sin, you may grant pardon through your mercy, and do not abandon us into hands from which we might be snatched into pernicious error, which leads us to destruction. But grant that we may walk in your ways, and do your will, and find mercy, C a tranquil end, and confidence pleasing to you, and standing without confusion before the terrible throne of your only-begotten Son, that in this, as in all things, your name, very worthy of honor and blessed, may be glorified and praised, and at the same time that of our Lord Jesus Christ and your holy Spirit, now, etc.
People. As it is.
Sacerdos. Peace.
People. And with your spirit.
Sacerdos. The mercy of God, etc.
People. And with your spirit.
Deacon says the Catholic [prayer]. Sacerdos breaks and signs the Oblation.
Deacon. Angel.
Sacerdos says the Prayer before the Our Father.
For indeed and without doubt, you are the holy Father of the holy Son, who in holiness is equal with the holy Spirit, who perfectly and with supreme power rest in the saints, and perpetually receive the sanctifications of those who sanctify you. You are the fount of soundness, and the origin of aids, you are the parent of mercy, and the father of clemency, compassionate, patron, helper and assistant, having care for the poor, and the refuge of the afflicted, companion of the journey for those navigating, haven and rest for those tossed by the sea, refuge of sinners, good physician of the infirm: who love the tears of the penitent, the cleanser of filth, in those
who are defiled, O bestower of gifts, treasury of riches. You are from the beginning, from eternity, from the age and forever, holy, and full of holiness, the sanctifier and perfecter of the saints; and we offer unto you the glorification and the chanting of hymns which we have lovingly learned from your holy Son, your beloved Son. And we ask that you grant unto us all, that with a pure heart, yet ardently kindled by a praiseworthy zeal, by pouring out our prayers and supplications before you, with the illumination of our minds, the chastity of our souls, and the triumphant praise of our tongues, we may cry out to you, we pray and say, Our A Father who art in heaven. *People.* Hallowed be thy name. *Priest raising his voice.* Do not, O Lord, permit us to be tossed by worldly or diabolical vexations beyond what we can bear, lest we be entirely in infirmity, sickness, and contrition of heart, and become alienated from your domestic familiarity, if you do not have care of us. Do not be unmerciful, O Lord, nor turn your face away from us, nor make your help far off; but look upon us, and send your grace to our aid. From all crimes free us, and do not lead us into temptation, because yours is the power and the eternal empire, and to you we render glory and thanksgiving. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace. *Deacon.* Before the reception of these holy mysteries which have been offered, let us again bow our heads before the merciful Lord. *People.* Before you, O Lord. *Priest raising his voice.* With every nature and creature of those in heaven and on earth, which adores you, O Lord, as we conceive with our mind, we also offer to you true adoration with the bowing of our neck; and we ask from your supreme charity that you illuminate our souls with your truth. Cleanse us with your hyssop: sanctify us with your holiness: turn us to your fear. May it please you to send to us your blessings, and in this manner and with such goods enriching us, do not permit that we should approach guiltily to this life-giving communion of the body and blood of your only-begotten Son, through whom and with whom D to you is glory and empire with your holy Spirit. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace. *People.* And with your spirit. *Priest.* May there be a blessing, etc. *People.* And with, etc. *Deacon.* With fear. *Priest.* Holy things to the holy. *People.* One holy Father. *Deacon.* Let us stand decently. *People.* We give thanks. *Priest.* Justly and according to truth, and most reasonably, all incessant praises, hymns, and triumphant exultations are due to your magnificence, because you have made us worthy through your clemency of this good and heavenly gift, of this incorruptible food; and we ask your ineffable love towards mankind, that you do not turn our feasts into mourning, nor our songs into wailing, nor cast down our heads before judgment; nor let us be ashamed on the last day, in which each one shall receive his fitting reward; when the Angels shall stand in fear, and your only-begotten Son shall judge. But just as you have shown yourself most merciful towards us, spare our pusillanimity, have mercy on the infirmity of our nature, not counting this your gift to us for judgment or condemnation, but for holiness, and for the vigilance and viaticum of our salvation. And to you is due glory, honor, and empire, and likewise to your only-begotten Son and your most holy Spirit. *People.* Amen. *Priest.* Peace. *People.* And with your spirit. *Deacon.* After, etc. *People.* Before you. *Priest raising his voice.* To you who were begotten from eternity, from eternal light, and were incarnate without any mutation, from a virginal womb, we give thanks, and we ask that your right hand rest upon us all perpetually. Affix glory to the priests of your altar, and constitute those ministering to you in honor. Adorn the elderly with gentleness and help them; curb the impulses of the young; educate children in modesty, and lead them to the highest apex of knowledge. Heal, O Lord, the infirm; wash away the stains of sins; seal with your cross the virgins; guard the bed of those joined in wedlock; send satiety to the needy; be a curator of orphans, and a comforter of widows. Spare those who have received your body; and those who have drunk of your blood, perfectly purify. Bless those who have attained salvation through your cross; sanctify also the lambs of your flock; bring your sheep to your fold: confirm your lambs in your doctrines, visit each one in his rank and order, through your mercy. But we, O Lord, your servants, and those performing the priesthood for you, make worthy of the vision of you; lead us all to your habitation; make our minds firm in your love; may our eyes see your formidable majesty; may our mouths be filled with your sanctifications; may our lips, O Lord, proclaim your praises, and of your blessed and holy Father, and of your Spirit, living, holy, life-giving, and consubstantial with you. *People.* Amen. *Deacon.* Bless, O Lord. *Priest.* Bless all.
MARTYRDOM OF SAINT IEROMARTYR IGNATIUS THE THEOPHORUS
(Hefele, *Patr. apost.*, 3rd ed., Tübingen 1847, in-8°)
I. *Ignatius’ pastoral care and longing for martyrdom.*
When Trajan had not long before taken up the rule of the Romans, Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, was a man apostolic in all things. A He was pastoring the Church of the Antiochians with great care, having with difficulty weathered the old tempests of the many persecutions under Domitian, just as a good pilot, with the rudder of prayer and fasting, and with assiduity in teaching, and by a constant intensity of the spirit, resisted the opposing storm; fearing lest he should lose any of the faint-hearted or simpler ones. Therefore, he rejoiced indeed at the tranquility of the Church, with the persecution resting for a short time; but he grieved in his soul, because he had not yet attained to the true charity B toward Christ, nor to the perfect order of a disciple. For he reflected in his mind that, by the confession which is made through martyrdom, he would become more like Christ. C Whence, remaining for a few years still in the Church, and like a divine lamp illuminating the understanding of each person through the interpretation of the divine Scriptures, he became master of his own prayers.
II. *Ignatius is condemned by Trajan.*
For after this, in the ninth year of his reign, Trajan, having been exalted by his victory over the Scythians and the Dacians and many other D nations...
and thinking that there were still lacking to his complete subjection the pious system of the Christians, and having threatened that if they would not choose the worship of demons, A they must yield along with all the nations to endure persecution, he compelled all who lived piously either to sacrifice or to die. Then, therefore, fearing for the Church of the Antiochenes, the noble soldier of Christ was led voluntarily to Trajan, who was staying at that time in Antioch, but was hastening to go against Armenia and the Parthians.
And when he stood in the presence of the Emperor Trajan, he said, "Who are you, wretched man, who are eager to transgress our decrees, and at the same time persuade others to perish miserably?"
Ignatius replied: "No one calls Theophorus a wretched man; for the demons have departed from the servants of God. But if, because I am hostile to them, you call me an evildoer towards the demons, I confess it. For having Christ as my heavenly King, I dissolve their plots."
Trajan said, "And who is Theophorus?"
Ignatius replied: "He who has Christ in his breast." B
Trajan said, "Do we not seem to you, then, to have gods in our minds, whom we also use as allies against our enemies?"
Ignatius replied: "You err in calling the demons of the nations gods; for there is one God who made heaven and earth and sea and all things that are in them; and one Christ Jesus, the only-begotten Son of God, whose kingdom may I enjoy!"
Trajan said, "Do you speak of Him who was crucified under Pontius Pilate?"
Ignatius replied: "I speak of Him who took my sin upon the cross along with its inventor, and who, condemning all demonic error and malice, subjected it to the feet of those who bear Him in their hearts."
Trajan said, "Do you therefore carry within yourself the crucified one?"
Ignatius replied: "Yes; for it is written: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them.'" C
Trajan pronounced sentence: "We command that Ignatius, who says that he carries within himself the crucified one, be bound in chains by soldiers and led to great Rome, to become food for beasts for the enjoyment of the people."
When the holy martyr heard this sentence, he cried out with joy: "I thank you, O Master, that You have deigned to honor me with complete love for You, having bound me in iron chains together with Your apostle Paul." D
Having said these things, and having gladly taken on the bonds, and having first prayed for the Church and commended it with tears to the Lord, like an excellent ram heading a good flock, he was seized by the beast-like ferocity of the soldiers, to be led away to Rome for food for bloodthirsty beasts.
III. S. Ignatius sails to Smyrna.
With great readiness and joy, therefore, and with a desire to suffer, he descended from Antioch to Seleucia, and from thence he set sail; and after many toils, having arrived at the city of the Smyrneans, A he descended from the ship with great joy, and hastened to see the holy Polycarp, the bishop of the Smyrneans, who was his fellow-disciple; for they had both long ago been disciples of the holy apostle John. Having lodged with him, and having shared with him in spiritual gifts, and even priding himself on his chains, he besought him to assist his purpose; and he mainly besought the whole Church (for the cities and Churches of Asia were receiving the holy man through their bishops, presbyters, and deacons, for all were hastening to him, if by any means they might receive a portion of a spiritual gift), but especially the holy Polycarp, so that by means of the beasts he might quickly become hidden from the world and appear before the face of Christ. B
IV. Ignatius writes to the Churches, especially the Roman.
And these things he said, and thus he testified, extending his love for Christ so much that he was about to grasp heaven through his good confession and the zeal of those who were praying with him for his struggle, and that he might render a reward to the Churches that had met him through their leaders, by sending letters of thanksgiving to them, from which spiritual grace distilled together with prayers and exhortations. Seeing, therefore, that all were kindly disposed toward him, he feared lest the affection of the brethren might cut short his zeal toward the Lord, now that the beautiful gate of martyrdom had been opened to him. The things which he wrote to the Church of the Romans follow.
Here the Epistle of S. Ignatius to the Romans is read. See above, col. 685.
V. Ignatius is led from Smyrna to Rome.
After, therefore, as he desired, he had settled the resisting brethren in Rome by his epistle, he set sail from Smyrna (for the Christ-bearer C was being urged by the soldiers to reach the spectacles in great Rome, so that, being given over to wild beasts before the eyes of the Roman people, he might obtain the crown of the struggle), and arrived at Troas. Thence, being led to Neapolis, he journeyed through Philippi in Macedonia, and to that part of Epirus which is situated near Epidamnus, D and finding a ship in the maritime places, he sailed the
Adriatic Sea, and thence entering the Tyrrhenian, passed by islands and cities. Being shown to the holy man at Puteoli, he himself indeed longed to go ashore, as he wished to walk in the footsteps of the apostle Paul. But when a A violent wind falling upon them did not permit it—the ship being urged on from the stern—he blessed the love of the brethren in that place, and thus sailed past. Therefore, in one day and the same night, we were borne along by favorable winds, we indeed against our will, groaning at the separation from that just man which was soon to come upon us. But to him the matter was turning out according to his prayer, as he was hastening to depart from the world more quickly, that he might reach the Lord whom he loved. For when he had sailed into the ports of the Romans, as the unclean parade was about to end, the soldiers were vexed at the delay, but the bishop, rejoicing, obeyed those who were urging him on.
VI. Ignatius Devoured by Beasts at Rome
B Thence they went from him to that which is called Portus (for the fame of the holy martyr was already spread abroad). We met with the brethren who were filled with fear and joy—rejoicing indeed that they had been deemed worthy of the fellowship of the Theophorus, but fearing because such a man was being led to death. He also instructed some who were fervent and saying that they would quiet the people so that they would not seek the destruction of the just man, to remain quiet. And he, having immediately perceived the matter by the Spirit, and having embraced all, and having asked from them true love—conversing with them more than he had in his epistle, and having persuaded them not to begrudge him his haste toward the Lord—thus, after the kneeling of all the brethren, and after he had prayed to the Son of God for the Churches, for the cessation of the persecution, C and for the love of the brethren toward one another, he was led with haste to the amphitheater. Then, immediately cast in according to the former mandate of Caesar, as the games were about to end (for it was a famous day, as they supposed, that which is called in the Roman tongue the thirteenth, on which they were zealously assembled), he was thus thrown to the fierce beasts beside the temple, so that the desire of the holy martyr Ignatius might be fulfilled, according to that which is written: "The desire of the just is acceptable," and so that he might not become burdensome to any of the brethren by the collection of his remains, just as he had earlier desired in his epistle that his consummation might take place. For only the harder parts of his holy remains were left, which were taken to D Antioch and deposited in a linen cloth, as a treasure
A inestimable, left to the holy Church by the grace that was in the martyr.
VII. Ignatius appears after death to those who are sleeping.
These things happened on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of January, that is, the twentieth of December, when Sura and Senecio were consuls among the Romans for the second time. We ourselves were witnesses of these things, and having passed the whole night in tears, and having prayed on bended knees with much entreaty to the Lord that He might certify us weak ones concerning what had happened, and having fallen asleep for a little while, some of us suddenly saw the blessed Ignatius standing over us and embracing us, while others again beheld him praying for us, and others still saw him dripping with sweat, as if he had come from much labor and was standing by the Lord. B Having, therefore, seen these things with great joy, and having compared the visions of our dreams, we praised God, the giver of all good things, and pronounced the holy man blessed; and we have made known to you both the day and the time, that, assembling ourselves together at the time of his martyrdom, we may have communion with the athlete and noble martyr of Christ, who trampled upon the devil and finished his course of desire, begotten of the love of Christ, in Christ Jesus our Lord, by whom and with whom to the Father be glory and power with the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen.
MARTYRDOM OF SAINT IGNATIUS
BISHOP OF ANTIOCH IN SYRIA
From an ancient interpretation, found in the Cottonian manuscripts, and first published by James Ussher.
(GALLAND., Vet. Patr. Biblioth., I, 299, Venice 1765, in-folio.)
CAPUT I. C
When Trajan assumed the empire of the Romans, Ignatius, the disciple of Saint John the apostle and evangelist—a man in all things apostolic—undertook to govern the Church of the Antiochenes, which had long been agitated by storms and persecutions. Like a good helmsman, he repelled all assaults by his prayers and fastings, and by constant teaching and spiritual labor he turned aside the storm that hung over them by his own virtue; fearing D lest he might lose any one who was faint-hearted or infirm. Finally, he rejoiced in the steadfastness of the Church, when it rested for a little while from persecution. He also considered within himself that he could never truly attain to the love of God, nor reach the perfect order of doctrine, unless he approached the Lord through the confession made by martyrdom. Wherefore, remaining for a few years in the Church, he, as a deific lamp, merited by his constant prayers to illuminate the hearts of each one through the exposition of the Scriptures.
A with your apostle Paul, to be bound in iron chains." Saying this, and receiving the chains with gladness, and praying first for the Church, and commending it with tears to the Lord; like a great ram, the leader of a good flock, he was led by the most ferocious soldiers, in the cruelest of hands, to Rome for consumption by beasts.
CHAPTER III.
Taking up the blessed Ignatius, therefore, he arrived at Seleucia; from whence they were also to sail. And holy Ignatius, after much labor, looking towards the city of the Smyrneans, descended from the ship with much joy, hastening to see holy Polycarp, the bishop of the Smyrneans, his fellow-servant. Both, however, had been disciples of the apostle John. Seeing him brought to himself, the blessed Polycarp, and communicating with him spiritually, and rejoicing with him in his bonds, asked him to proceed to his purpose. But the whole Church more generally asked him through the holy bishop Polycarp, and through the holy priests and deacons. And all the churches of Asia hastened to him, so that they might be partakers of his spiritual blessing. But especially they exhorted the holy Polycarp to encourage him, so that, having been perfected by the beasts, and having become invisible to the world, he might be presented before the sight of Christ.
A But afterwards, when in the ninth year of his reign Trajan had returned from his victory over the Scythians and Dacians and various nations; and he thought that he might lose his empire unless he inclined the most pious worship of the Christians toward idolatry; he compelled all the worshipers of God either to sacrifice or certainly to die. Then, fearing for the Church of the Antiochians, the most valiant soldier of Christ, Ignatius, went of his own accord to Trajan, who was passing through Antioch at that time and hastening to Armenia and the Parthians. And when he stood before the face of King Trajan, Trajan said: "Who are you, demoniac, who hasten to transgress our commands, and persuade others to perish evilly?" Ignatius said: "No one calls a Theophorus 'demoniac'; for demons wander far from the servants of God. I know indeed that I am troublesome to them; on account of this you called me 'demoniac' wrongfully. For I confess that I have Christ as King; and I dissolve their counsels." Trajan said: "And who is 'Theophorus'?" Ignatius said: "He who has Christ in his breast." Trajan said: "And do we not seem to you to have gods in our breast, whom we have as helpers against our enemies?" Ignatius said: "You err, deeming the demons of the nations to be gods. For there is one God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them: and one only-begotten Jesus Christ, His Son, whose friendship I have acquired." Trajan said: "Do you mean him who was crucified under Pontius Pilate?" Ignatius said: "I mean Him who crucified my sin, and its inventor; and who casts down every malice of the devil, and subjects it under the feet of those who carry Him in their heart." Trajan said: "Do you, therefore, carry Christ within yourself?" Ignatius said: "Yes. For it is written: 'I will dwell in them and walk among them.'" Trajan said: "I have judged that Ignatius, who says he contains the crucified one within himself, be led bound by soldiers to the great city Rome, as food for beasts for the entertainment of the people." Hearing this sentence, the holy martyr Ignatius exulted with joy, saying: "I give thanks to You, Lord, because You have perfectly honored me in Your love, and have made me worthy to be bound in iron chains with Your apostle Paul."
FROM CHAPTER V.
C And proceeding from there, he approached Troy. Brought to Neapolis, he crossed Macedonia on foot, and Epirus which is near Epidamnus by the sea; and embarking from thence on a ship, he sailed across the Adriatic sea. And when he ascended from there to the Tyrrhenian [(21)] region, it was shown to the holy bishop Pontiolus [(22)] that he himself would be passing through. And coming out to meet him, he was hastening to follow his footsteps like the apostle Paul. And he was not able to follow, the wind of the ship pressing upon the prow. And Ignatius, beatifying his brother in love in that place [(23)], sailed thus. Finally, having used favorable winds for one day and that night, they arrived at the city of Rome [(24)].
A Tiberianus, Governor of Palestine Prima, to the Emperor Trajan. A Report on the Christians (25).
To the most invincible Emperor, the most divine Caesar, Trajan.
I am exhausted from punishing and putting to death the Galileans (who come to us under the name of Christians) according to your mandates. Yet they do not cease to reveal themselves for execution. And although I have labored much, both with exhortations and threats, so that they would not dare to indicate to me that they are professors of that sect, they accept the persecution and do not grow quiet. Therefore, may your Majesty deign to proclaim to my imperial authority what is good to be done.
B Understanding that peace had been restored to his Antiochene church—a matter which occurred on the occasion of this report by Tiberianus, as we indicated in the note on the Epistle to the Philadelphians from John Malalas of Antioch and Suidas—the words of Suidas regarding Trajan are these: "He granted to the Christians a certain respite from punishment. For those who in those times bought their offices from the Romans, in order to gain the favor of the emperors who were then living, brought various punishments upon the Christians. Whence also Tiberianus, governing the first nation of the Palestinians, reported to him, saying that it no longer sufficed to kill the Christians, since they were delivering themselves to punishment of their own accord. Hence, Trajan forbade all those under him to punish them."
C Metaphrastes, however, with the name of Pliny omitted (perhaps because he might have found it corrupted in those Acts), set forth the whole matter in this way: "But the King Trajan, having learned thereafter of the matters concerning the God-bearer Ignatius, how he had gallantly completed the contest of martyrdom, and how, according to his own verdict, he became food for wild beasts; and hearing many things also regarding the Christians in the various regions, that they do nothing contrary to the laws, and do nothing unholy, but together at dawn they worship Christ as the Son of God, and practice all self-control regarding the partaking of both food and drink, and touch nothing of those things which the law forbids; having heard these things, he was moved to repentance for what had already been done, and is said to have issued a decree such as this: that the race of the Christians should indeed be sought out and made known everywhere, but when found, they should not be put to death, yet neither, on the other hand, should they hold office or handle the administrations of public affairs. Thus, not only the life of Ignatius, but also his death, became the source of many good things."
D The Emperor Trajan later, when he had learned about the divine Ignatius, and how bravely he had finished the contest of martyrdom, and that, as he himself had rendered the sentence, he had been devoured by the beasts; and had also heard many things of the Christians who were in the region, that they did nothing, namely, beyond the laws, nor performed any impious act, but rising at dawn worshipped Christ as the Son of God, and performed every abstinence in food and drink, and touched nothing of those things which the law prohibits; when he, I say, had heard these things, he was led to repentance for those things which had been done; and he is said to have proposed such a decree: that the race of the Christians should be inquired after, and be known to all; yet those found should not be killed; but neither should they hold office, nor undertake any administration of the Republic. Thus, not only the life of Ignatius, but...
also the death of many good men was the conciliation; because this, doubtless, rendered the persecution milder, *τὸν διωγμόν μετριώτερον*, as Zonaras has it in the history of Trajan.
Under the third consulate of Trajan, which falls in the hundredth year of the Christian era, we have already indicated in the chronological table of the first years of Trajan that C. Pliny entered upon his honorary consulship on the Kalends of September; and in the same argument, Lipsius confirms that that famous panegyric to Trajan was delivered by him in that same year and day. Baronius, however, wants this to have been done under the fourth consulate of Trajan: who also thinks that in the following year Pliny undertook the administration of the province, and sent these letters to Trajan; and implies that he can rightly be refuted for this error of Eusebius, in whom they were placed in the eleventh year of the same emperor, or rather the tenth, as Joseph Scaliger edited from the more emended codices of the Eusebian Chronicle. Let Baronius himself be consulted, at the year of Christ 104 (nos. 1 and 5), which D. Petavius correctly numbers as 102 of the common Christian era in his Chronicle; although he does not correctly refer this history to it. How weak are the foundations upon which the Baronian opinion, which he followed, was based, has already long since been shown by P. Halloix, *Notat. in Vit. Ignatii, cap. 14, quæst. 1.* USSER.
C. Pliny Secundus, Propretor of Bithynia, Report to the same concerning the same
AIt is my custom, Lord, to refer to you all matters about which I am in doubt. For who is better able to guide my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never been present at trials of Christians: therefore I do not know what is customary, or to what extent, it is usual to punish or to investigate. And I have hesitated not a little, whether any distinction is made for ages, or whether those of the most tender years differ in no respect from the stronger; whether pardon is granted for repentance; or if a man has been a Christian at all, whether it profits him nothing to have ceased; whether the name itself, even if free from crimes, is punished, or the crimes associated with the name?
Meanwhile, among those who were brought before me as Christians, I have followed this method. I interrogated them as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment: those who persisted I ordered to be led away. For I did not doubt (whatever it was that they confessed) that their stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved to be punished. B There were others of similar derangement, whom (because they were Roman citizens) I noted were to be sent to the City: soon in the very process, as is wont to happen, the crime spreading, more varieties occurred. An anonymous document was presented, containing the names of many, who denied that they were Christians, or had been, when they called upon the gods with me, and offered incense and wine to your image (which I had ordered to be brought with the images of the gods for this reason), and furthermore cursed Christ (none of which things are those who are truly Christians said to be coerced into doing): I thought they should be released. Others named by an informer said they were Christians, and soon denied it; that they had been, but had ceased, some three years ago, some even more years, none of them also before twenty; all of whom also worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They affirmed, however, that this had been the sum of their fault, or error, that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn, and to say a song to Christ as if to a god, between themselves; and to bind themselves by an oath not to commit any crime, but rather not to commit theft, nor robbery, nor adultery, not to break their word, not to deny a deposit when called upon; which having finished, it was their custom to depart, and to return again to take food, a sharing which was common and harmless; which they had ceased to do, however, after my edict, in which, according to your mandates, I had forbidden secret societies (*hetærias*). C For which reason I believed it to be more necessary to investigate from two slave-women, who were called deaconesses, what was true, even by tortures. But I found nothing other than a perverse and excessive superstition, and therefore, having deferred the investigation, I have run to consult you.
For the matter has seemed to me worthy of consultation, especially because of the number of those in danger. For many of every age, of every order, and even of both sexes, are called into danger, and will be called. Nor has the contagion of this superstition pervaded cities only, but also villages and fields, which seems capable of being stopped and corrected. It is certainly sufficiently established that temples which were by now almost desolate have begun to be attended, and sacred rites, long interrupted, to be repeated, and victims to be sold everywhere; of which, until now, a very rare buyer was found. From which it is easy to infer what a throng of people can be corrected, if there be a place for repentance.
Trajan the Emperor, Rescript concerning the Christians
Trajan to Pliny, Greetings. You have followed, my Secundus, the course you ought to have in examining the causes of those who were reported to you as Christians. For in general, nothing that has, as it were, a fixed form can be established. D They are not to be sought out; if they are reported and convicted, they are to be punished: provided, however, that he who denies that he is a Christian, and makes this manifest in fact (that is, by supplicating our gods), although he may have been suspected in the past, may obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymous, baseless accusations ought to have no place in any crime. For both the worst example, and it is not of our age.
A Trajan’s reply is a sentence confused by necessity! He forbids them to be sought out as if they were innocent, yet commands them to be punished as if they were guilty. He spares and he rages: he pretends not to see and he punishes. Why do you circumvent yourself with your own censorship? If you condemn, why do you not also investigate? If you do not investigate, why do you not also absolve? Military stations are distributed throughout the provinces for the tracking down of robbers; every soldier acts against those guilty of treason and public enemies, and the investigation extends even to their associates and accomplices. Only the Christian is not allowed to be sought out, but is allowed to be brought forward, as if an inquiry could have any other purpose than that of accusation. You punish, therefore, one who is brought forward whom no one wanted to be sought out; and he, I suppose, does not merit punishment because he is guilty, but because he was found, although he should not have been sought.
S. POLYCARP, MARTYR, BISHOP OF THE SMYRNAEANS. PROLEGOMENA
(HEFELE, *Patrum apostolicorum Opera*, 3rd ed., Tübingen 1847, 8vo.)CONCERNING THE EPISTLE OF S. POLYCARP.
I. Concerning the fatherland, family, place, and time of the birth of S. Polycarp, we have no certain knowledge. However, what has come down to us concerning the life of this apostolic man, Gallandius has well collected (1). That he was instructed by the apostles and associated familiarly with many who had seen the Lord, Irenæus, his disciple, testifies in these words: "And Polycarp, who was also instructed by the apostles and associated with many who had seen Christ." Subsequently, that he was appointed bishop of the Smyrnaeans by the very familiars and ministers of the Lord, Eusebius records (3), following Irenæus in the place cited, writing thus: "Polycarp, an associate of the apostles, having been entrusted with the episcopate of the Church in Smyrna by those who had seen B and served the Lord." Yet that his Church’s episcopate was received by him from John the apostle, Tertullian reveals (4): "Let them, therefore," he says, "bring forth the origins of their churches; let them unroll the order of their bishops, running down from the beginning through successes in such sort that that first bishop shall have some one of the apostles or apostolic men—who, moreover, remained steadfast with the apostles—as his author and predecessor... just as the Church of the Smyrnaeans records that Polycarp was placed there by John." Nor does Jerome rightly write otherwise (5): "Polycarp, a disciple of John the apostle, and ordained Bishop of Smyrna by him."
A We doubt with good reason whether that distinguished testimony which is attributed in the Apocalypse of John (II, 8, 11) to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna ought to be referred to our Polycarp, since neither the year of Saint Polycarp’s birth nor the time when the Apocalypse was written has become perfectly known to us.
B Irenaeus (6) paints a graphic picture of his gifts of mind and body, his piety, his learning, and the gravity of his character, addressing Florinus in these words: "I saw you, when I was still a boy, in lower Asia with Polycarp, conducting yourself splendidly in the palace, and striving greatly to win his approval. For I remember the events of that time better than those which have happened recently; ... so much so that I can even name the place where the blessed Polycarp was wont to sit and discourse; also his manner of walking and his entry, the whole shape of his life and his bodily form; and, in short, the discourses which he held to the people, and the familiar intercourse which he had with John, as he used to relate, and with the others who had seen the Lord Himself; and how he used to recall their sayings; and whatever things he had heard from them concerning the Lord. Concerning his miracles also and his doctrine, just as he had received them from those who had seen the Word of life for themselves, Polycarp used to relate in the very same way, agreeing in all things with the Sacred Scripture." Thus far Irenaeus, who also elsewhere summarizes his thought to the same effect (7): "But even Polycarp... whom we also saw when we were still adolescents (for he lived a very long time, and in extreme old age, having suffered a glorious and illustrious martyrdom, he departed from this life), always taught what he had learned from the apostles, and what the Church even now hands down, and what alone is true."
After narrating these things, and with few words intervening, the holy Father recalls this fact also, which is worthy of mention: "For Polycarp himself," he says, "when Marcion once chanced to meet him and said, ‘Recognize us,’ he replied, ‘I recognize the firstborn of Satan.’" C These things took place at Rome. For while Antoninus was reigning and Anicetus was governing the Church, Saint Polycarp set out for Rome, that he might resolve the differing opinions concerning the celebration of Easter. But neither could persuade the other to depart from his own custom. Therefore, in peace, and with the bond of charity in no way broken, Polycarp parted from Saint Anicetus, after he had brought back not a few to the Church, having deserted the errors of Valentinus and Marcion.
The Acts of his martyrdom tell us of the death of Saint Polycarp. However, the year in which the excellent prelate departed from this life is a matter of dispute among the learned and the masters of chronology. Pearson holds that Polycarp suffered in the year 147, whom Dodwell, Cave, Lardner, and Gallandius follow (8). According to Baraterius and Stieren (9) the martyrdom of Polycarp ought to be referred to the year 161; according to Norisius and Tillemont to the year 166; according to Scaliger, Valesius, Gieseler, and Neander, to the year 167; finally, Baronius, Usserius, Nourrius, and others maintain that Polycarp was crowned with martyrdom in the year 169. If you listen to Petit, the passion of Polycarp belongs to the year 175; Basnagius rejects his death to the year 178 (10).
II. Nor did the excellent pastor instruct his flock only by word and example, but he further edified them with writings filled with sacred doctrine, and altogether worthy of an apostolic man. Concerning these, Irenaeus has these things to say in the letter just praised (11): "But it is also possible to know [this] from his letters, which he sent either to the neighboring Churches, strengthening them, or to some of the brethren, admonishing and exhorting them." Yet of the various Polycarpian epistles, only one has reached us, which is that to the Philippians; a most luminous one, indeed, in the judgment of Irenaeus himself (12), from which whoever takes thought for their own salvation will be able, if they wish, to know both the character of his faith and his preaching of the truth; so much so that it is no wonder if it was held in such high esteem and honor among the primitive Christians that it was accustomed to be read in their sacred assemblies, as we know to have been the practice even up to the age of Jerome (13).
III. Regarding the authenticity of our epistle, called into doubt by the Magdeburg Centuriators, Dallaeus, and others (14), the most learned Nicolaus le Nourry (15) has argued excellently; by recording his words, I think I do something pleasing for the readers: "There is no one," he says, "who does not easily notice in this epistle all the marks and characteristics of an apostolic writer. For everywhere the words, the style, the genius, and all other things openly betray that it was written by a man truly apostolic, indeed even by Polycarp himself." D Nor indeed does the epistle itself alone, but also most substantial witnesses, greater than any exception, very firmly assert the same thing. The procession of these is led by Irenaeus, Bishop of Lugdunum, and Polycarp's...
own disciple, who, in recognizing or designating the epistles of his master, could not be deceived. For indeed, regarding this epistle of Polycarp, he handed down this to memory (16): "There is also an epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, most sufficient, from which those who wish and care for their own salvation can learn both the character of his faith and the preaching of the truth..." Eusebius subscribed to the opinion of Irenaeus. And lest anyone be able to stir up any dispute as to which epistle of Polycarp is spoken of, he faithfully transcribed several passages from that same epistle, which are still found in it even now. He says, then, as follows (17): "And Polycarp also makes mention of these same letters (the epistles of St. Ignatius) in his epistle to the Philippians which is in circulation, saying in his own words, etc." (There follow the words of Polycarp from chapters 9 and 13). And in another book, Eusebius says (18): "Polycarp indeed, in the aforementioned writing to the Philippians, which is in circulation to this day, uses some testimonies from the first epistle of Peter (e.g., c. 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 10)." Jerome concurs with Eusebius, and he too gave his own testimony to the same epistle (19): "Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, and ordained by him Bishop of Smyrna; he was the prince of all Asia, etc. He wrote a very useful epistle to the Philippians, which is read to this day in the assembly of Asia." From these words of Jerome, we learn not only that this epistle is ascribed to Polycarp by him, but furthermore that, having been preserved with the greatest care in the churches, it was held there in the highest esteem.
These three most substantial witnesses we could join with countless others, were there any need: Photius, Maximus, Theodoret, and all the rest who subsequently committed to writing something concerning this epistle of Polycarp. But since no greater diligence and faith could be desired than that of those whom we have already cited, we gladly dispense with the useless labor of naming others.
IV. Now we must speak of the integrity. Dallæus, since he could not hope that he might reject the whole epistle, contends that its last part was certainly falsely attributed to Polycarp, with Moynius agreeing. But: a) Eusebius (Hist. eccl. III, 36) cites this later part of the epistle, and from it (c. 13), as from the preceding parts, transcribed certain words of Polycarp. b) Eusebius, as Pearson well teaches (23-24), could neither be deceived nor deceive. For the whole epistle was exposed to all; it was publicly read in the Asiatic churches at that time when Eusebius wrote; Jerome knew it, and whose version of it, had he not been occupied with other matters, he would have devoted himself to, and yet he never rejected the Eusebian text. Therefore, concerning that particle which Eusebius wrote, there can be no doubt, unless we also doubt the whole epistle at the same time without any reason.
That which Dallæus brings forward from the epistle itself against its integrity, you will easily perceive to be of no moment. a) The critic contends that because a most seemly conclusion to the epistle is found in chapter 12, the remainder was therefore added later. But St. Paul and Clement of Rome also used such conclusions before the end of the whole epistle; cf. Rom. XVI, 23; Eph. VI, 21; I Clem. ad Cor. chaps. 20, 38, 45, 50, 58.
It is certain, therefore, that this epistle had no other author than Polycarp. Therefore, one must marvel at Dallæus, who directs all the forces of his wit so that he might cast some doubt, or at least suspicion, in any way whatsoever, upon some part of this epistle, which he felt did not favor his false opinions. For he relies on no other foundation to prove this than the *Stichometry*, which is appended at the end of the *Chronography* of Nicephorus of Constantinople (20). That this fragment was not written by Nicephorus at all, and is falsely attributed to him by Dallæus, Nourrius and Pearson have taught by invincible moments of reasoning (21).
b) "The impostor," if you listen to Dallæus, "speaks in such a way that he signifies that Ignatius, at the time when these things were written, was still alive." He says in chapter 13: "Concerning Ignatius himself, and those who are with him, what you have learned more certainly, signify." But the author of the first part (c. 9) affirms most openly that Ignatius was already dead. This is a futile argument. For if those words in chapter 13, because of which the Greek (καὶ περὶ Ἰγνατίου καὶ περὶ τῶν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ) is still extant, were accused of falsehood, no one would certainly contend that Ignatius is signified or hinted at as still being alive to them.
V. We are taught from the epistle itself that the epistle of St. Polycarp was written shortly after the martyrdom of St. Ignatius, in chapter 13. Cf. above, that which [was written] concerning the time of the death of St. Ignatius. For the names of Ignatius and Polycarp are placed here nakedly, and nothing is affirmed concerning the epistles or their supposititious nature. Rather, it is evident from the context that these two Fathers are separated only by the canon of Holy Scripture. A, B, C, D
A of Ignatius (in the preface to his Epistles). VI. This epistle is found incomplete in all Greek manuscripts. Where the manuscripts fail, the epistle of Barnabas is continuously appended, but with the beginning truncated. The entire epistle of Polycarp, however, was preserved for us by an ancient version, which was first published at Paris in 1498 by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples, having been discovered by himself. Petrus Halloix first brought the epistle to light in Greek and Latin at Douai in 1633, from a transcript by François Turrian, transmitted to him by the most learned man Jacques Sirmond, S.J. Fourteen years later, James Ussher obtained another exemplar, which he had transcribed with his own hand and shared with Isaac Vossius; he compared it with Halloix’s edition and published this Polycarpian epistle with an ancient interpreter at London in 1647; Cotelerius subsequently presented it adorned with a new interpretation. In the year 1709, the outstanding edition of Thomas Smith appeared, and Gallandius followed it. Finally, William Jacobson prepared a new edition in 1838 and 1840 (vol. II), using the Vatican, Parisian, and Medicean-Laurentian manuscripts. VII. The doctrine of Polycarp has been discussed by Lumper, Heynsius, Junius and van Gilse, Möhler, and others.
CONCERNING THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. POLYCARP
I. Among the most eminent monuments of ecclesiastical antiquity, the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna concerning the martyrdom of St. Polycarp is justly reckoned, so much so that Eusebius deemed it necessary to insert it almost in its entirety into his History. Furthermore, his illustrious interpreter Valesius went so far as to affirm that the martyrdom of Polycarp and his companions was the first to be consigned to writing, and that no acts of martyrs older than these exist; nor did he hesitate, consequently, to conclude that this epistle of the Smyrnaeans was placed first by Eusebius in the book he entitled *A Collection of Ancient Martyrdoms*. However, the most learned man is to be received with some qualification; for the genuine Acts of the martyrdom of St. Ignatius had not yet been discovered at the time he held this opinion. So says Gallandius. II. This remarkable epistle concerning the martyrdom of St. Polycarp may most rightly, as Smith teaches, be termed *ἐγκύκλιος* or encyclical, as is evident from the inscription; as it was transmitted to various Churches, both those nearby in Asia Minor and elsewhere in other provinces, *κατὰ πάντα τόπον* (in every place). Eusebius wrongly interprets this—referring only to those who were situated *κατὰ Πόντον* (along the Pontus)—for *πάσαις ταῖς κατὰ πάντα τόπον* (to all [the churches] in every place), whereas it ought to be propagated and extended to all the Churches where the profession of the Christian religion flourished, especially those scattered throughout the East, by the Philadelphians themselves, as far as was in their power, to be communicated to the brethren B further afield; for the same appears in the series of all [the Churches], and the particular Church to which it is directed, under a changed name. III. Valesius contends that this epistle was written by the Smyrnaeans not immediately after the martyrdom of Polycarp, but some time later, saying: "Since the Philomelienses had heard of Polycarp’s martyrdom only by rumor and hearsay, they sent a letter to the Church of Smyrna, asking that all things which had occurred during the passion of the blessed man might be written down in detail and sent to them." This, indeed, the Smyrnaeans most willingly performed, writing to them the epistle which we have in our hands. They indicate this by these words (c. 20): *ὑμεῖς μὲν οὖν ἠξιώσατε διὰ πλειόνων δηλωθῆναι ὑμῖν τὰ γενόμενα* (You, therefore, asked that the events be made known to you in greater detail). But that these acts were written in the first year after the death of St. Polycarp is evident from the fact that the first anniversary of this martyrdom had not yet been celebrated, as we see from chapter 18. IV. The epistle concerning the martyrdom of Polycarp, written in the name of the Church of Smyrna by Evarestus, was carried to the Philomelienses by a certain Marcus, or Martianus. Irenaeus had a copy of this epistle, which Gaius, his disciple, transcribed, and after him a certain Socrates the Corinthian, and another, Pionius by name. V. Concerning the best edition of the Epistle of the Smyrnaean Church, see Jacobson, whom we have followed. Refer to what we have noted below regarding the inscription of this Epistle.
Eusebius bore witness to this, for he inserted the greater part of it into his History, with these words (41): A “At that time, Polycarp was perfected by martyrdom amidst the persecutions that threw Asia into the greatest tumult. His end, which is still extant in writing, I consider it necessary that I should commit to the memory of this history. The writing is from the person of the Church which he himself led, making known to the parishes in Pontus the events concerning him, etc.” The words of our Epistle follow.
In the same place, after Eusebius has brought forth much from that epistle, he concludes with these words: “Such, then, was the end that the marvelous and apostolic Polycarp was counted worthy of, as the account of the brethren of the Church of the Smyrnaeans, in which we have revealed their B Epistle, has established.”
Irenaeus (42) also spoke words concerning the martyrdom of St. Polycarp: “For he remained for a long time; and being very elderly, having testified gloriously and most illustriously, he departed this life.”
Similarly, Jerome (43): “But later, in the reign of M. Antoninus and L. Aurelius Commodus, in the fourth persecution after Nero, at Smyrna, with the proconsul sitting in judgment, and the entire people crying out against him in the amphitheater, he was given to the fire.”
VI. No one, so far as I know, has called the entirety of the Epistle of the Smyrnaean Church into doubt, and even the most rigorous critics have granted it their praise (44). To those things which we have brought forth above (n. 1) from Valesius, we shall add what the most illustrious Scaliger declared in his Eusebian *Animadversions* (p. 121). These, he says, are those most ancient martyrdoms of the Church, by the reading of which the spirit of the pious is so deeply moved that one never returns from them satiated; that this is indeed the case, everyone can perceive according to their own capacity and the manner of their conscience. Certainly, I have never seen anything in ecclesiastical history from the reading of which I have departed more moved, so that I seem to no longer be myself.
In our own times, Möhler, in particular, has pleaded the cause of this epistle (45).
Heumann (46) and others have contended that some shreds, especially the story about the dove in ch. 16, were added to our Epistle by later hands; not entirely unjustly, as it seems.
For my part, I consider the final portion of chapter 22, which speaks of Pionius, to be spurious and composed by the one who forged those supposititious Acts of St. Polycarp which we mentioned above, and which D were falsely ascribed to Pionius, and which the genuine Epistle of the Smyrnaeans did not include. For through the words *kathōs dēlōsō en tō kathexēs* [as I shall reveal in what follows], the Pseudo-Pionius indicates that in the following (i.e., in the spurious acts that were added) he would declare what Polycarp had revealed to him through a vision.
VII. Petrus Halloixius was the first to edit the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna in Greek and Latin (though the Greek was not complete) in his *Vitis Patrum Orient.*, vol. I (47). Ussher published it complete in 1647 in London from a manuscript Greek *Menologion* of the Barocci collection; then Cotelerius did so in Paris. Ruinart later wove the same into his *Acta martyrum sinceris*, and Smith added it to his 1709 edition of the Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp. Gallandius followed Smith. Jacobson published the newest and most elegant edition in 1838 and 1840 (edit. II) at Oxford, using three codices: the Baroccian, the Parisian, and the Caesar-Vindobonensis.
VIII. Regarding the doctrine of this epistle, see Lumper, *Hist. theol. crit.*, vol. II, pp. 453-459.
IX. Let us add, finally, what Thomas Smith, an eyewitness, reports regarding the amphitheater of Smyrna, where the glorious martyr St. Polycarp died, and regarding his tomb, in these words (48): “To the sides,” he says, “of the other gate of the citadel, which is toward the east, there are still to be seen two eagles, the insignias of the Romans, fairly large and indeed beautifully delineated. From here, as we descended, we entered the ample amphitheater toward the *notapeliotes* [southeast], where St. Polycarp was crowned with martyrdom, its stone steps having been carried off by the Turks to adorn their houses. On its sides are two caverns, in which lions used to be kept, opposite one another. The tomb of St. Polycarp, which is still preserved on the side of the mountain facing the south-southeast, is visited solemnly by the Greeks on his feast day, consecrated to his memory, according to the custom that prevails among them. It is situated in a small shrine, perhaps a chapel of a church, contiguous to a pathway through which one must pass. This monument, if it is damaged and defiled by atmospheric erosion, or by the Turks, or by Western Christians who carry off fragments of marble as if they were relics, acts to the praise of those who restore it; an earthenware pot is also placed there, into which almost everyone, out of that veneration in which they are held toward the *Megalomartyr* who remained unmoved in spirit to die for Christ, is brought to cast a few small coins, so that it may endure for all time.” Such are the words of Smith.
THE EPISTLE OF SAINT POLYCARP, BISHOP OF SMYRNA AND HIEROMARTYR, TO THE PHILIPPIANS
Polycarp and the presbyters with him to the Church of God which dwells at Philippi: mercy to you and peace from God Almighty and from Jesus Christ our Saviour be multiplied.
I. Praise for kindness towards the imprisoned brethren and for firm faith.
I rejoiced greatly with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, that you received the images of true love and escorted, as became you, those who were wrapped in holy bonds, which are the diadems of those truly elected by God and our Lord. And that the firm root of your faith, preached from ancient times, remains even until now and bears fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ, who endured to face even death for our sins, "whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of hell." A In whom, though you do not see Him, you believe, and believing you exult with joy inexpressible and glorified; B into which many desire to enter, knowing that "by grace you are saved, not from works," but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
II. Adhortation to virtue.
"Wherefore, having girded up your loins, serve God in fear" and truth, abandoning empty vanity and the error of the multitude, "believing in Him who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead,"
and gave Him glory A and a throne at His right hand; to Him all things in heaven and on earth are subject; whom every breath serves; who is coming as judge of the living and the dead; whose blood God will require of them that do not believe in Him. But He who raised Him from the dead will raise us also, if we do His will and walk in His commandments and love what He loved, abstaining from all injustice, fraud, avarice, detraction, and false witness; “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,” or blow for blow, or curse for curse; being mindful, however, of what the Lord said while teaching: “Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again;” and that “Blessed are the poor and they who suffer persecution, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
III. I do not write these things arrogantly.
These things, brethren, I write to you concerning righteousness B, not because I arrogate anything to myself, but because you have invited me. For neither I, nor any other like me, is able to equal the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul; who, when he was with you, in the presence of the men of that time, taught accurately and firmly the word of truth; and who also, being absent, wrote letters to you, into which, if you look, you will be able to be built up into the faith which has been given to you, “which is the mother of us all,” with hope following, and love going before, towards God and Christ and towards your neighbor. For if any one be within these, he has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; for he who has love is far from all sin.
IV. Fugiamus avaritiam; doceamus nos ipsos, uxores et viduas.
“For the beginning of all evils is the love of money.” Knowing, therefore, that “we brought nothing into this world, nor have we anything to carry out,” let us arm ourselves with the C arms of righteousness, and let us teach ourselves first to walk in the commandment of the Lord; then also
teach our wives to walk in the faith that has been given to them, and in love and in chastity, A loving their own husbands in all truth, and loving all equally in all self-restraint, and to train their children in the discipline of the fear of God. Let us teach the widows to be discreet concerning the faith of the Lord, interceding without ceasing for all, keeping far from all slander, detraction, false testimony, love of money, and every evil; knowing that they are the altar of God, and that He clearly perceives all things, and that nothing escapes Him, neither the reasonings, nor the thoughts, nor any of the hidden things of the heart.
V. Duties of deacons, young men, and virgins.
Knowing, therefore, that “God is not mocked,” we ought to walk worthily of His commandment and glory. Similarly, B deacons must be blameless in the sight of His righteousness, as ministers of God and of Christ, and not of men; not slanderers, not double-tongued, not lovers of money, but temperate in all things, compassionate, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all; to whom, if we are pleasing in this present age, we shall receive also the future one, just as He promised to us that He would raise us from the dead, and that if we conduct ourselves worthily of Him, “we shall also reign with Him,” if we believe. In like manner C also, the young men must be blameless in all things, before all caring for chastity, and restraining themselves from every evil. For it is good to be cut off from the desires that are in the world, because every such “desire wars against the spirit,” and “neither fornicators, nor the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind shall inherit the kingdom of God,” nor those who do things that are contrary. Wherefore it is necessary to abstain from all these, being subject to the presbyters and deacons, as to God and Christ; and the virgins must walk in an blameless and pure conscience.
VI. Duties of presbyters and common duties.
And the presbyters must be compassionate and merciful D toward all, bringing back those who have gone astray, visiting all the infirm, not neglecting the widow, or the orphan, or the poor; but “providing always for that which is good in the sight of God and of men,” abstaining from all wrath, respect of persons, and unrighteous judgment;
far from all covetousness; not quickly believing against anyone; not severe in judgment, knowing that we are all debtors of sin. If therefore we beseech the Lord that He would forgive us, we ought also to forgive A; for we are before the eyes of the Lord and God, and "all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and each must give an account for himself." Let us therefore so serve Him with fear and all reverence, as He Himself commanded, and as the apostles who preached the Gospel to us, and the prophets who foretold the coming of our Lord; being zealous for that which is good, abstaining from scandals and from false brethren and from those who bear the name B of the Lord in hypocrisy, who deceive empty-headed men.
VII. Flee from the Docetæ, and persevere in fastings and prayer.
"For everyone who shall not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an antichrist"; and whosoever shall not confess the testimony of the cross is of the devil; and whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own desires, and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, this man is the first-born of Satan. Therefore, C leaving behind the vanity of the many and their false teachings, let us turn back to the word which was delivered to us from the beginning, "watching unto prayer," and persevering in fastings, beseeching the all-seeing God "not to lead us into temptation," as the Lord said: "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
VIII. Persevere in hope and in patience.
Let us therefore without ceasing persevere in our hope and the pledge of our righteousness, which is D Christ Jesus, "who bore our sins in His own body upon the tree, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth"; but for our sake, that we might live in Him, He endured all things. Let us therefore become imitators of His patience; and if we suffer for His name, let us glorify Him. For this is the example He set for us in Himself, and we have believed this.
IX. Practice patience by the example of Ignatius, etc.
I beseech you all, therefore, that you be obedient to the word of righteousness,