The Letters of Ignatius · §1.12 · Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius's bonds and Paul's example

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Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, is writing to the church in Ephesus while being taken under guard to Rome, and here he speaks of his chains and of Paul's memory of the Ephesians.

Let nothing be fitting for you apart from this, in which I carry around my bonds, my chains, which are spiritual pearls. Through your prayer may I be granted to rise in them, and may I always share in that prayer, so that I may be found in the inheritance of the Ephesian Christians, who always agreed with the apostles in the power of Jesus Christ.

I know who I am and to whom I write. I am condemned; you have been shown mercy. I am under danger; you are established.

You are fellow-travelers with those being killed for God, fellow believers with Paul, who was sanctified, who bore witness, and who is worthy of blessing. May I be found in his footsteps when I attain God. In every letter he remembers you in Christ Jesus.

Greek

χωρὶς τούτου μηδὲν ὑμῖν πρεπέτω, ἐν ᾧ τὰ δεσμὰ περιφέρω, τοὺς πνευματικοὺς μαργαρίτας, ἐν οἷς γένοιτό μοι ἀναστῆναι τῆ προσευχῇ ὑμῶν, ἦς γένοιτό μοι ἀεὶ μέτοχον εἶναι, ἵνα ἐν κλήρῳ Ἐφεσίων εὑρεθῶ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, οἳ καὶ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πάντοτε συνῄνεσαν ἐν δυνάμει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ

Οἶδα, τίς εἰμι καὶ τίσιν γράφω. ἐγὼ κατάκριτος, ὑμεῖς ἠλεημένοι: ἐγὼ ὑπὸ κίνδυνον, ὑμεῖς ἐστηριγμένοι:

πάροδός ἐστε τῶν εἰς θεὸν ἀναιρουμένων, Παύλου συμμύσται τοῦ ἡγιασμένου. τοῦ μεμαρτυρημένου, ἀξιομακαρίστου, οὖ γένοιτό μοι ὑπὸ τὰ ἴχνη εὑρεθῆναι, ὅταν θεοῦ ἐπιτύχω, ὃς ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιστολῇ μνημονεύει ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

About this text

The seven letters Ignatius of Antioch wrote on his way to martyrdom in Rome, urging each church to stand united with its bishop.

Ignatius of Antioch (d. c. 110) was the bishop of Antioch in Syria. He wrote these letters while being taken under guard from Syria to Rome, where he expected to be executed for his Christian faith during the reign of Emperor Trajan.

The letters were written in great haste, modelled after the biblical epistles of Paul, Peter, and John. Ignatius wrote to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome from Smyrna, and to Philadelphia, Smyrna, and Polycarp the bishop of Smyrna from Troas. In them he urges each church to unite around its bishop, the council of elders, and the deacons as the visible order willed by God. He warns against teachers who deny the real flesh, suffering, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and against any return to Judaism.

A reader will meet bishops such as Onesimus of Ephesus, Damas of Magnesia, Polybius of Tralles, and Polycarp of Smyrna, along with deacons and companions who visited Ignatius. , and he reports words of the Spirit. He presents his own coming death by wild beasts as the completion of his discipleship.

New English from the Greek base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Ignatius of Antioch The Apostolic Fathers Kirsopp Lake Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press London William Heinemann 1912 1 Loeb Classical Library (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.