The Letters of Ignatius · §7.1 · Ignatius of Antioch

Exhortation to Polycarp as bishop

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Ignatius is writing to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and has just greeted him; now he begins his direct exhortation to him as a bishop.

I welcome your purpose in God, fixed as on an immovable rock, and I glorify Him exceedingly, because I have been deemed worthy of your blameless face. May I have benefit from it in God.

I urge you, by the grace with which you have been clothed, to press on in your course and to urge everyone, so that they may be saved. Defend your place with all care, both fleshly and spiritual. Care for unity, than which nothing is better. Bear everyone, as the Lord also bears you. Endure everyone in love, just as you are already doing.

Devote yourself to unceasing prayers. Ask for understanding greater than what you have. Keep watch, possessing a sleepless spirit. Speak to each person according to the manner of God. Bear the illnesses of everyone as a perfect athlete. Where there is more labor, there is much gain.

Greek

Ἀποδεχόμενός σου τὴν ἐν θεῷ γνώμην ἡδρασμένην ὡς ἐπὶ πέτραν ἀκίνητον, ὑπερδοξάζω, καταξιωθεὶς τοῦ προσώπου σου τοῦ ἀμώμου, οὗ ὀναίμην ἐν θεῷ.

παρακαλῶ σε ἐν χάριτι ᾗ ἐνδέδυσαι, προσθεῖναι τῷ δρόμῳ σου καὶ πάντας παρακαλεῖν, ἵνα σώζωνται. ἐκδίκει σου τὸν τόπον ἐν πάσῃ ἐπιμελείᾳ σαρκικῇ τε καὶ πνευματικῇ. τῆς ἑνώσεως φρόντιζε, ἧς οὐδὲν ἄμεινον, πάντας βάσταζε, ὡς καὶ σὲ ὁ κύριος: πάντων ἀνέχου ἐν ἀγάπῃ, ὥσπερ καὶ ποιεῖς.

προσευχαῖς σχόλαζε ἀδιαλείπτοις: αἰτοῦ σύνεσιν πλείονα ἧς ἔχεις: γρηγόρει ἀκοίμητον πνεῦμα κεκτημένος. τοῖς κατ’ ἄνδρα κατὰ ὁμοήθειαν θεοῦ λάλει: πάντων τὰς νόσους βάσταζε ὡς τέλειος ἀθλητής. ὅπου πλείων κόπος, πολὺ κέρδος.

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.