The Letters of Ignatius · §4.6 · Ignatius of Antioch

Death is gain, not the world

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Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, is writing to the church in Rome while being taken under guard to martyrdom there, and he is urging them not to prevent his death.

The ends of the world and the kingdoms of this age will profit me nothing. It is better for me to die into Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek the one who died for us; I want the one who rose for us. The pangs of my birth are upon me.

Forgive me, brothers and sisters: do not hinder me from living, do not wish me to die. Do not hand over to the world the one who wants to belong to God, and do not deceive him with worldly things. Let me receive pure light; when I arrive there, I will be a human being.

Allow me to be an imitator of the passion of my God. If anyone has him within himself, let him understand what I want, and let him suffer with me, knowing what constrains me.

Greek

Οὐδέν μοι ὠφελήσει τὰ πέρατα τοῦ κόσμου οὐδὲ αἱ βασιλεῖαι τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου. καλόν μοι ἀποθανεῖν εἰς Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἢ βασιλεύειν τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς. ἐκεῖνον ζητῶ, τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθανόντα: ἐκεῖνον θέλω, τὸν δἰ ἡμᾶς ἀναστάντα. ὁ δὲ τοκετός μοι ἐπίκειται.

σύγγνωτέ μοι, ἀδελφοί: μὴ ἐμποδίσητέ μοι ζῆσαι, μὴ θελήσητε με ἀποθανεῖν: τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ θέλοντα εἶναι κόσμῳ μὴ χαρίσησθε, μηδὲ ὕλῃ ἐξαπατήσητε: ἄφετέ με καθαρὸν φῶς λαβεῖν: ἐκεῖ παραγενόμενος ἄνθρωπος ἔσομαι.

ἐπιτρέψατέ μοι μιμητὴν εἶναι τοῦ πάθους τοῦ θεοῦ μου. εἴ τις αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχει, νοησάτω ὃ θέλω, καὶ συμπαθείτω μοι εἰδὼς τὰ συνέχοντά με.

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.