The Letters of Ignatius · §1.15 · Ignatius of Antioch

Silence and action reveal the true disciple

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Ignatius is writing to the Ephesians, urging them to be true disciples whose deeds match their words, because God dwells in them.

It is better to be silent and to be, than to speak and not be. Teaching is good, if the one who speaks also does. There is one teacher, who spoke and it came to be; and the things he has done in silence are worthy of the Father.

The one who truly possesses the word of Jesus is able to hear even his silence, so that he may be perfect, so that through what he speaks he acts, and through what he is silent about he is known.

Nothing escapes the Lord's notice; even our hidden things are near to him. Let us therefore do everything as if he dwells in us, so that we may be his temples and he may be in us as our God. This is indeed the case, and it will appear before our face, because of which we rightly love him.

Greek

Ἄμεινόν ἐστιν σιωπᾶν καὶ εἶναι, ἦ λαλοῦντα μὴ εἶναι. καλὸν τὸ διδάσκειν, ἐὰν ὁ λέγων ποιῇ. εἶς οὖν διδάσκαλος, ὃς εἶπεν, καὶ ἐγένετο: καὶ ἃ σιγῶν δὲ πεποίηκεν ἄξια τοῦ πατρός ἐστιν.

ὁ λόγον Ἰησοῦ κεκτημένος ἀληθῶς δύναται καὶ τῆς ἡσυχίας αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν, ἵνα τέλειος ᾖ, ἵνα δἰ ὦν λαλεῖ πράσσῃ καὶ δἰ ὦν σιγᾷ γινώσκηται.

οὐδὲν λανθάνει τὸν κύριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κρυπτὰ ἡμῶν ἐγγὺς αὐτῷ ἐστιν. πάντα οὖν ποιῶμεν ὡς αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικοῦντος, ἵνα ὦμεν αὐτοῦ ναοὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν θεὸς ἡμῶν: ὅπερ καὶ ἔστιν καὶ φανήσεται πρὸ προσώπου ἡμῶν, ἐξ ὦν δικαίως ἀγαπῶμεν αὐτόν.

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.