Bishop of Antioch and Disciple of the Apostle
Antioch in Syria was one of the principal centers of early Christianity, the city where, according to the Acts of the Apostles, the disciples were first called Christians. Ignatius led its church as second bishop, succeeding Euodius, who is numbered among the Seventy Apostles. By the received tradition Ignatius had been a disciple of John the Theologian, placing him in direct continuity with the apostolic generation.
Beyond his teaching and pastoral care, Ignatius is credited with introducing antiphonal singing—the alternating chant of two choirs—into the worship of the Church. The synaxarion relates that he established this practice after seeing in a vision the angels praising God in alternating choirs.
Confession Before Trajan and Condemnation
Under the emperor Trajan, who reigned from 98 to 117, an edict required all to give thanks to the pagan gods, and Christians who refused to worship the idols were to be put to death. When Trajan passed through Antioch, he was told that Bishop Ignatius openly confessed Christ and taught the people to scorn riches, to lead a virtuous life, and to preserve virginity.
Rather than allow his flock to suffer, Ignatius came voluntarily before the emperor to avert persecution of the Christians of Antioch. He rejected Trajan's persistent demands that he sacrifice to the idols, and the emperor accordingly condemned him to be sent to Rome and thrown to the wild beasts.
The Seven Epistles
While being conducted to Rome under guard, Ignatius wrote seven letters that survive as his enduring legacy: to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Trallians, the Romans, the Philadelphians, the Smyrnaeans, and to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna. His route through Asia Minor included stays at Smyrna, where he was met by delegations from several churches, and at Troas.
In these epistles he stressed the unity of the faith, urged obedience to the bishop and the right order of the Church, and warned against heretics—particularly those who denied the true humanity of Christ. Writing to the Romans, he begged them to do nothing that would deprive him of martyrdom, declaring, by his own account, that from Syria as far as Rome he fought with beasts both by land and sea.
Martyrdom and the Translation of His Relics
Ignatius was martyred at Rome, by tradition devoured by lions in the amphitheatre, around the year 107. The synaxarion relates that when the faithful gathered what remained of his body, the name of Jesus Christ was found inscribed in gold within his heart.
His relics were first carried back and buried outside the Daphne gate at Antioch, and later brought into the city itself. After the Persian capture of Antioch, the relics were translated to Rome and placed in the church of the Hieromartyr Clement; sources give the date as 540 or 637. The Church keeps his memory on December 20 and commemorates the translation of his relics on January 29.
