IN S. MARTYREM IGNATIUM DEIFERUM, MAGNAE ANTIOCHIAE ARCHIEPISCOPUM ROMAM ABDUCTUM, IBIQUE MARTYRIO AFFECTUM, ATQUE INDE RURSUS ANTIOCHIAM TRANSLATUM, LAUDATIO
A opulent and generous men provide frequent and successive banquets, both to display their own wealth and to show kindness to their friends. Such is also the grace of the Spirit, which provides us the proof of ITS own power, and displays great kindness to the friends of God, when IT serves up to us frequent and successive banquets of the martyrs. A short while ago, a girl just recently arrived at maturity and a virgin, the blessed martyr Pelagia, entertained us with much joy; today, the blessed and generous martyr Ignatius has taken up the succession of that festival. The individuals are different, but the table is one; the struggles are varied, but the crown is the same; the contests are disparate, but the prize is identical. For in outward contests, because they are labors of the body, men are rightly admitted alone; here, however, because the entire contest concerns the soul, the stadium is opened to both sexes, and spectators from both kinds are seated. And not only do the men gird themselves, so that the women, fleeing to the weakness of nature, might not appear to have an acceptable excuse; nor do the women alone bear themselves bravely, lest they overwhelm the male gender with shame; but from here and there many are proclaimed victors and carry off crowns, so that you may B learn by their works that in Christ Jesus there is neither male nor female—that neither nature, nor physical weakness, nor age, nor anything else of the sort can present an obstacle to those running the course of piety, if a generous eagerness, and a prudent mind, and the heat and fire of the fear of God have taken root in our hearts. Therefore, girls and women, men and youths, the aged, the slave and the free, and every rank, every age, and both natures are girded for these contests; and none at all are frustrated of their hope, who have brought a courageous resolution of mind to these struggles.
The time, therefore, now calls us to declare the illustrious deeds of this blessed man, but the mind is deterred and disturbed, hesitating while, in the great abundance of praises that flow around us on every side, it knows not what to say first, what second, what third. And the same thing happens to us as if someone had entered a meadow and, seeing many roses, many violets, lilies, and other spring flowers—multiple and diverse—were to be at a loss as to whom he should observe first or second, while individual flowers seize the eyes for themselves. In the same way we are also affected while, having entered this spiritual meadow of Ignatius's virtues, and contemplating in his soul not spring flowers, but the very fruits of the Spirit—various and diverse—we are moved and doubt whence above all we should begin, while all the things we have seen call us away from others and invite the eyes of the soul and the keenness of the mind toward the viewing of their own splendor. For consider yourselves: he ruled our Church so generously, and with such great diligence as Christ requires. For what Christ established as the greatest norm and rule for bishops, this man expressed by his deeds. For having heard Christ saying: “The good shepherd lays down his soul for the sheep” (John X, 11), with all fortitude he poured it out for the sheep.
C Having associated purely with the apostles, he partook of spiritual streams. What manner of man is it, then, fitting that he be, who was raised with them, lived everywhere with them, was a partaker of all things that were said or not said by them, and was judged by them to be worthy of such a principate? Again, the time appeared which required fortitude and a mind despising all present things, one which would burn with divine love and prefer the invisible to the visible: and he laid aside the flesh as easily as any other would have cast off a garment. Whom, therefore, shall we pursue first: the teaching of the apostles, which he exhibited in all things, or the contempt of the present life, or the excellence of the virtue by which he administered the Church? Whom shall we praise? The martyr? The bishop? Or the apostle? For the grace of the Spirit wove a triple crown with which it encircled his holy head—or rather, a manifold one. For if one should diligently consider the crowns one by one, he will find others sprouting for us. D If you please, let us begin at the top. Does this crown seem simple to you? Come then, let us consider it, and you will see two, and three, and even more brought forth for us from it. For I admire this man not only because he was deemed worthy of such a degree of honor, but because he obtained the dignity from those holy ones, and because the hands of the blessed apostles touched that sacred head. And it contributes not a little to his praise: not only that he obtained greater grace from heaven, or that they introduced into him a greater power of the Spirit, but that they testified that all the virtues that are in men were in him.
But I explain what this means. Paul, writing to Titus; and when I say Paul, I do not understand only him, but also Peter, and James, and John, and all their choir. For just as in a lyre, although the strings are diverse, yet the harmony is one: so also in the choir of the apostles, although the persons are diverse, yet the teaching is one, because the artist was one, the Holy Spirit, who moved their souls. And Paul, showing this, said: "Whether, therefore, they or I, so we preach" (1 Cor. XV, 11). This man, therefore, writing to Titus, and teaching what sort of man a bishop ought to be...
In S. Martyrem Ignatium
A for he says, "The bishop must be blameless, as God's steward; not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, disciplined, holding fast to the faithful Word as taught, that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and to reprove those who contradict" (Tit. 1. 7-9). And writing again to Timothy about this same matter, he says something like this: "If anyone aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a noble task. A bishop must therefore be irreproachable, the husband of one wife, sober, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, an apt teacher, not violent, not a drunkard, but gentle, peaceable, and free from the love of money" (1 Tim. 3. 1-3). Do you see what great precision of virtue he requires in a bishop? Just as a master painter, having mixed various colors, works with all precision when he is about to fashion an archetype of a royal likeness, so that all who copy it and write from it may have an accurate likeness; so too the blessed Paul, as if painting a certain royal portrait and constructing its archetype, having mixed the various colors of virtue, signed for us the finished characters of the episcopacy, so that everyone who ascends to this authority, looking at that one, may manage all his affairs with such precision. Growing bold, therefore, I would say that the blessed Ignatius copied all of this with precision in his own soul, and he was irreproachable and blameless, and neither arrogant, nor quick-tempered, nor a drunkard, nor violent, but peaceable, free from the love of money, upright, holy, disciplined, holding fast to the faithful Word as taught, sober, self-controlled, respectable, and all the rest that Paul required. And who is the proof of these things? He says: These same people who said these things ordained him, and those who exhort others with such precision to conduct the testing of those who are to ascend to this throne of authority would not have done this in a cursory manner; but if they had not seen all this virtue planted in the soul of this martyr, they would not have entrusted this authority to him. For indeed they knew accurately how great a danger lies upon those who perform such ordinations simply and as it happens. And Paul shows this very thing again, writing and saying to the same Timothy: "Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in the sins of others" (1 Tim. 5. 22). What do you say? Another has sinned, and do I share in the crimes and the punishment? Yes, he says, if you have provided the power for the wickedness. And just as one who has handed a sharpened sword to a madman and one who is deranged—if the crazed man commits any murder, the one who gave the sword bears the blame—so too, any man who has provided the power from this authority to one living in wickedness draws the whole fire of that man's sins and daring deeds upon his own head; for he who provided the root is in every way the cause of those things that grow from it. Do you see how the double crown of the episcopacy appeared to us even then, and how the dignity of those who ordained him made the authority more brilliant, having witnessed to every proof of virtue in him?
3. Do you wish that I also reveal to you another crown springing from this very fact? Let us consider the time B during which he was entrusted with this authority. For it is not the same thing to manage the Church now as it was then, just as it is not the same to travel along a trodden and well-constructed road after many travelers, as it is to travel one that is being cut for the first time and has chasms and stones, and is full of wild beasts, and has not yet received a single traveler. For now, by the grace of God, there is no danger for bishops, but there is deep peace on every side, and we all enjoy tranquility, with the word of piety extended to the ends of the inhabited world, and rulers keeping our faith with precision. But then, nothing of this sort existed, but wherever one looked, there were precipices, and abysses, and wars, and battles, and dangers, and rulers, and kings, and peoples, and cities, and nations, and relatives, and strangers conspiring against those who believed. And this was not the only terrible thing, but also that many of the believers themselves, as those who had just tasted of strange doctrines for the first time, were in need of much condescension, and were still disposed to be weaker, and were often tripped up; and this troubled the teachers no less than the wars from without, or rather, even much more. For the battles and conspiracies from without even provided them much pleasure on account of the hope of the prizes laid up in store. Because of this, even the apostles were returning from the face of the council rejoicing that they had been scourged, and Paul cries out, saying, "I rejoice in my sufferings" (Col. 1. 24), and he boasts in his tribulations everywhere. But the wounds of his own people and the falls of his brothers C did not even allow them to breathe, but like a very heavy yoke, it pressed and dragged down the neck of their souls continuously. Hear, then, Paul, who so rejoices in his sufferings, how bitterly he suffers for these. "For who," he says, "is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?" (2 Cor. 11. 29). And again, "I fear that when I come, I may not find you such as I wish, and that I may be found by you such as you do not wish" (2 Cor. 12. 20). And after a little: "Lest when I come again to you, my God may humble me, and I may grieve for many of those who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, and lewdness, and fornication that they committed" (ib. v. 21). And you see him constantly in tears and lamentations because of his own people, and ever fearful and trembling for those who have believed. Just as, therefore, we admire a pilot not when he is able to save those on board while the sea is quiet and the ship is borne along by favorable winds, but when, with the sea raging, the waves rising, the passengers themselves within in faction, and a great storm besetting those on board from within and without, he is able to guide the vessel with all safety: so too we must marvel at and admire those who were entrusted with the Church then much more than those who manage it now, when there is much war from within and without, when the plant of the faith was still more tender and in need of much care, when, like a newborn babe, the multitude of the Church needed much providence and a certain very wise soul to nurse it. And so that you may learn more clearly of what crowns those men were worthy who then…
On the Martyrdom of St. Ignatius
A those entrusted with the Church, and how great effort and danger it was in the beginning and at the start to undertake such an office, I shall bring you a testimony from Christ, which proves these things I have said and confirms my own judgment. For when He saw many coming to Him, and wishing to show the apostles that the prophets had labored more than they, He said: "Others labored, and you have entered into their labors" (John 4:38). And yet the apostles labored much more than the prophets; nevertheless, because those former ones first sowed the word of piety and led the souls of men, ignorant of the truth, toward it, the greater part of the labor is credited to them.
For it is not, it is definitely not, the same labor to teach after many other teachers have arrived, and to be the first to cast the seeds oneself. For that which has been prepared by meditation and habit is easily accepted; but that which is heard for the first time disturbs the minds of those who learn, and causes much trouble for the teachers. This, indeed, was disturbing the listeners in Athens, and for this reason they were turning away from Paul, accusing him and saying, "You are bringing some new things to our ears" (Acts 17:20). For if even at this time, the governance of the Church provides for its rulers much toil and labor, reflect on how the labor was double, triple, and manifold in those days, when perils, and battles, and plots, and constant fears were impending. Words cannot explain the difficulty that those holy men then endured; but he alone will know it who experiences it by experience itself.
B I will name a fourth crown from the episcopate offered to us. What is this? That he himself was entrusted with our own fatherland. For if it is arduous to govern one hundred or even fifty men, how much virtue and wisdom must one be judged to possess to administer such a famous city and to govern a people extending to two hundred thousand? For as in armies, the Praetorian guards and those who are more numerous are committed to more skilled leaders, so also in cities, the larger and more populous are assigned to more approved men. Moreover, the principal care for this city was God’s, a thing which He showed by the event itself: because He whom He appointed over the whole world, Peter, to whom He gave the keys of heaven, to whose judgment and power He entrusted all things, him He commanded to dwell here for a long time; so, indeed, our city seemed to Him a match for the world. But because I have made mention of Peter, I have noticed a fifth crown woven from him, since he succeeded him in the dignity of the episcopate. For as if one were to tear out a great stone from the foundations and seek to place another in its stead that was in every way its equal, if he did not wish to disturb the whole structure and render it weaker, so when Peter was about to depart from Antioch, the grace of the Spirit substituted another preceptor, equal to Peter, lest the building already constructed should become weaker through the feebleness of a successor.
C We have enumerated, therefore, five crowns: from the magnitude of the office, from the dignity of those who ordained him, from the difficulty of the times, from the size of the city, from the virtue of him who handed over the office to him. With everything thus woven together, one could have added a sixth and a seventh, and even more than these; but lest we spend the whole time in the consideration of the episcopate and be excluded from recounting those things that pertain to him as a martyr, let us hasten in turn to his struggles. A grave war was once stirred up against the Churches, and as if a most savage tyranny were occupying the world, men were being snatched from the middle of the forum, guilty of no crime, but because they turned away from their errors and hastened to the true religion of piety, because they had departed from the superstition of demons, because they recognized the true God, and were worshipping His only-begotten Son: and thus, all who had embraced the faith of Christ, though they were worthy of crowns, admiration, and honor, were subjected to the most grievous and numberless tortures, and the prelates of the Churches were so subjected much more. For the devil, being crafty and apt for weaving plots, hoped that if he had taken away the shepherds, he would easily tear apart the folds. But He who catches the crafty in their craftiness, showing that His Churches are not governed by men, but that those who believe in Him are always governed by Him, permitted this to happen, in order that when he saw that, with the rulers taken away, religion was not diminished, nor the preaching of truth extinguished, but rather increased, even he himself, and those who served him, might all understand from the facts themselves that the discipline of the Christians does not depend on men, but takes root in the heavens, and that it is God who guards the Churches everywhere, and that those who wage war against God can never be superior.
D Nor did the devil contrive only this, but another thing no less grave. For he did not allow the bishops to be slaughtered in the cities over which they presided; but he took pains that, being abducted to foreign cities, they should be taken from the midst. He did this, at once so that they would be despoiled of necessary things, and so that, exhausted by the labor of the journey, they might be rendered weaker; which he also did in the case of this blessed man. For he took care to have him abducted from our city to Rome, proposing for him longer stretches of a journey, so that he might break down the man's constancy through the length of time and the journey, ignorant that, having Jesus as a companion and a fellow-traveler of such a journey, he was becoming much stronger and was providing a greater proof of the virtue that was with him, and was confirming the Churches more. For the cities that were on that route, running together from all sides, were inciting the champion and sending him off with great provisions, competing with him through prayers and supplications. And they themselves were receiving no common consolation from him, seeing a martyr running toward death with as much alacrity as was fitting for one who was setting out for the kingdom of heaven. And by the event itself they were learning from his ready soul that it was not death to which he was hastening, but a kind of pilgrimage, and a crossing, and an ascent into heaven. Teaching these things both by words and by deeds in every city, he departed. And just as the Jews, when they had Paul bound and saw to it that he was sent to Rome, thought they were sending him to his death, yet for the Jews dwelling there...
[593] [GREEK COLUMN] [595] as it was with Ignatius, and with even greater abundance. For he went forth not only as a teacher to those who inhabit Rome, but to all the cities situated between, a teacher admirable in persuading men to despise the present life, to consider the things that are seen as nothing, to yearn for the things that are to come, to look toward heaven, and to turn aside from none of the terrors of the present life. These things, and more than these, did he teach them by his deeds as he journeyed, like some sun rising from the East and running toward the West; or rather, even more radiant than that. For the sun runs on high, bringing a perceptible light, but Ignatius shone from below, infusing an intelligible light of doctrine into souls. And while that sun, as it departs into the regions of the West, is hidden and straightway brings on night, this man, having arrived at the regions of the West, rose from there even more brightly, having benefited all along the way most greatly; and when he set foot in the city, he taught that city itself to philosophize. For this reason God permitted him to end his life there, so that his [599] death might serve as a school of piety for all who inhabit Rome. For you, by the grace of God, stand in no further need of proof, being rooted in the faith; but they who inhabit Rome, since there was much impiety there at that time, stood in need of greater assistance. For this reason, Peter and Paul, and after them he too, were all sacrificed there; this was so that they might cleanse the city, which had been polluted by the blood of idols, with their own blood; and this, that they might provide the proof of the resurrection of the crucified Christ through their deeds, persuading those who inhabit Rome that they would not have despised the present life with such pleasure had they not been strongly persuaded that they were going to ascend to the crucified Jesus and touch Him in the heavens. For truly the greatest proof of the resurrection is the fact that the slaughtered Christ displayed such power after His death as to persuade living men to disregard country, and home, and friends, and kin, and life itself for the sake of the confession of Him, and to choose lashes, and perils, and death instead of the present pleasures. For these were not the triumphs of a dead man, nor of one who remained in the grave, but of one who had risen and was alive. For how could it be reasonable—when He was alive, all the apostles who were with Him, having become weaker from fear, betrayed the Master and fled—but when He had died, that not only Peter and Paul, but even Ignatius, who had neither seen Him nor enjoyed His company, should display such fervor for Him as to surrender his very soul for His sake?
5. So that all who inhabit Rome might learn these things by deed, God permitted the saint to be perfected there. And that this is the cause, I will confirm it from the very manner of his death. For he did not receive the sentence of condemnation outside the walls, nor in a prison, nor in some corner, but in the midst of the theater, with the whole city sitting to watch above, he endured his martyrdom, having beasts let loose upon him, so that under the eyes of all he might set up a trophy against the devil, and make all the spectators zealots of his own triumphs, not only dying so nobly, but dying with pleasure. For he did not look upon the beasts as one about to be torn from life, but as one called to a better and more spiritual life, so gladly did he behold them. Whence is this evident? From the words he uttered when he was about to die. For having heard that this manner of punishment awaited him, "May I enjoy," he said, "those beasts." For such are those who love; whatever they may suffer for their beloved, they accept with pleasure, and then seem to be filled with their desire, when the things occurring are most grievous; an occurrence which took place in his case as well. For he hastened to emulate the apostles not only by his death, but by his fervor; and hearing that they had departed with joy after being lashed, he wished himself to imitate the masters not only in his end, but in his joy; for this reason he said, "May I enjoy the beasts." And he deemed those mouths to be far milder than the tongue of the tyrant, and very reasonably so; for that tongue invited men to Gehenna, while the mouths of these beasts sent men to the Kingdom. Since, therefore, he ended his life there, or rather, since he ascended to heaven, he returned then a victor crowned. For this, too, was a part of the providence of God, to bring him back to us again and distribute the martyr among the cities. For that city received his dripping blood, but you have been honored with his remains; you enjoyed his episcopacy, they enjoyed his martyrdom; they saw him struggling, winning, and being crowned, but you possess him perpetually; God took him from you for a short time, and bestowed him upon you with greater glory. And just as they who borrow money return whatever they receive with interest, so too God, having borrowed this precious treasure from you for a short time, and having shown it to that city, returned him to you with greater splendor. For you sent forth a bishop, and you received a martyr; you sent him forth with prayers, and you received him with crowns; and not you alone, but all the cities in between. For how do you think they were affected when they saw the remains being brought back? What joy they reaped! How they exulted! With what eulogies they pelted the crowned victor from every side! For just as when a noble athlete has wrestled down all his competitors and comes forth from the arena with bright glory, the spectators, immediately receiving him, do not allow him to touch the ground, carrying him homeward and pelting him with countless encomia; so too, the cities one after another received that saint then from Rome, and carrying him upon their shoulders, sent him on his way to this city, extolling the crowned victor, hymning the judge of the contest, laughing the devil to scorn, because his sophistry was turned against him in the opposite sense, and what he thought to do against the martyr, this has become for his sake. And at that time he benefited and set right all those cities; and from that time even until the present—
A day he enriches the city; and like a perpetual treasure, which is drawn from each day and does not fail, while it makes all those who participate in it more prosperous, so too does this blessed Ignatius send home everyone who comes to him filled with blessings, confidence, a noble spirit, and great courage.
Therefore, let us not come to him today only, but every day, plucking spiritual fruits from him. For it is true: whoever comes to him with faith will reap great benefits. For the bodies of the saints are not the only things filled with spiritual grace, but also their shrines and monuments. B For if this happened in the case of Elisha—that a dead man, touching his tomb, broke the bonds of death and returned to life—then how much more now, when grace is more abundant, and the power of the Spirit is greater, is it possible for one who touches the shrine with faith to draw great power from it? For this reason, God has granted us the relics of the saints, desiring to lead us to the same zeal through them, and to provide us with a kind of harbor and a sure consolation from the evils that are always overtaking us. Therefore, I exhort all of you—if anyone is in despondency, or in sickness, or in afflictions, or in any other struggle of life, C or in the depths of sins—to come here with faith. And having set aside all those things, he will return with much joy, being able to carry away a more tranquil conscience just from the sight of the shrine, and he who had labored—far more than he who had labored with his own intellect, having worked out his peace from the contemplation of the saints alone—must come here, and even if one is in prosperity, or in honor, or in power, or in much confidence toward God, let not this person despise the benefit. For having come here D and seen the saint, he will keep those good things more secure, and the memory of this man's achievements will make his own soul more moderate, and will not permit his conscience to be puffed up and swell because of his good deeds. For it is not of little importance for those who are in prosperity to bear their good fortune with moderation, and not to be puffed up with pride. Therefore, this treasure is useful to everyone, and a suitable refuge, for the sake of those who are in temptations, that they may be delivered from them, and for the sake of those who have prosperity and good fortune, that those good things may remain firm for them; for those who are in sickness, that they may return to health, and for those who are in good health, that they may not fall into illness. Considering all these things, let us prefer our dwelling here to every pleasure and delight, so that by rejoicing and gaining profit, we may be able to become roommates and table-companions of these saints, through the prayers of the saints themselves, and by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.