The Letters of Ignatius · §1.5 · Ignatius of Antioch

Unity with the bishop as unity with God

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Ignatius is writing to the church in Ephesus, urging them to remain united around their bishop, elders, and deacons, and now grounds this in his own brief but spiritual bond with their bishop Onesimus.

If I could enjoy such closeness with your bishop in so short a time, a closeness not merely human but spiritual, how much more do I count you blessed, who are as closely united with him as the church is with Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is with the Father, so that all things may be in harmonious unity?

Let no one be deceived: if anyone is 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 does the prayer of the bishop and of the whole church?

So the one who does not come to the common assembly is already arrogant and has cut himself off. For it is written: "God opposes the arrogant" (Proverbs 3:34). Let us be eager, then, not to oppose the bishop, so that we may be subject to God.

Greek

Εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼ ἐν μικρῷ χρόνῳ τοιαύτην συνήθειαν ἔσχον πρὸς τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ὑμῶν, οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνην οὖσαν, ἀλλὰ πνευματικήν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς μακαρίζω τοὺς ἐγκεκραμένους οὕτως, ὡς ἡ ἐκκλησία Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ, καὶ ὡς Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τῷ πατρί, ἵνα πάντα ἐν ἑνότητι σύμφωνα ᾖ;

μηδεὶς πλανάσθω: ἑὰν μή τις ᾖ ἐντὸς τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, ὑστερεῖται τοῦ ἄρτου τοῦ θεοῦ. εἰ γὰρ ἑνὸς καὶ δευτέρου προσευχὴ τοσαύτην ἰσχὺν ἔχει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἥ τε τοῦ ἐπισκόπου καὶ πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας;

ὁ οὖν μὴ ἐρχόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ οὗτος ἤδη ὑπερηφανεῖ καὶ ἑαυτὸν διέκρινεν. γέγραπται γάρ: Ὑπερηφάνοις ὁ θεὸς ἀντιτάσσεται, σπουδάσωμεν οὖν μὴ ἀντιτάσσεσθαι τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ἵνα ὦμεν θεῷ ὑποτασσόμενοι.

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.