---
id: inacio-de-antioquia-epistles-eng-kirsopp-lake-1912
type: texto_primario
title: "Epistles"
subtitle: null
author: Ignatius of Antioch
year_original: null
language: eng
translation:
  - Kirsopp Lake
publisher: Harvard University Press
area: null
era: null
tags: []
status: rascunho
project: pedra_angular
source: "Ignatius of Antioch. Epistles. Ed. Kirsopp Lake. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912. Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University (CC BY-SA 4.0). URN: null"
related: []
---

# Epistles

**Ignatius of Antioch**

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912.
Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University (CC BY-SA 4.0).
URN: `null`

---

## Texto

<!-- estrutura TEI não mapeada: subtype="epistle" — revisão manual necessária [^pa1] -->

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus,i.e. The God-bearer. In the 3rd century Acts of Ignatius the Emperor asks And who is Theophorus? and Ignatius replied He who has Christ in his heart. toGreeting the Church, worthy of all felicitation, which is at Ephesus in Asia,—blessed with greatness by the fulness of God the Father, predestined from eternity for abiding and unchangeable glory, united and chosen through true suffering by the will of the Father and Jesus Christ our God,—abundant greeting in Jesus Christ and in blameless joy.

I became acquainted through God with yourThe fame of the Ephesians much beloved name, which you have obtained by your righteous nature, according to faith and love in Christ Jesus our Saviour, You are imitators of God, and, having kindled your brotherly Or natural, congenial, as Lightfoot suggests: the translation given is that of Zahn. task by the blood of God, you completed it perfectly.

For when you heard that I had been sent a prisoner from Syria for the sake of our common name and hope, in the hope of obtaining by your prayers the privilege of fighting with beasts at Rome, that by so doing I might be enabled to be a true disciple, you hastened to see me.

Seeing then that I received inThe bishop, Onesimus the name of God your whole congregation in the person of Onesimus, a man of inexpressible love and your bishop, I beseech you by Jesus Christ to love him, and all to resemble him. For blessed is he who granted you to be worthy to obtain such a bishop.

Now concerning my fellow servant, Burrhus,Other members of the Ephesian church your deacon by the will of God, who is blessed in all things, I beg that he may stay longer, for your honour and for that of the bishop. And Crocus also, who is worthy of God and of you, whom I received as an example of your love, has relieved me in every way,—may the Father of Jesus Christ refresh him in like manner,—together with Onesimus and Burrhus and Euplus and Fronto, in whose persons I have seen you all in love.

May I ever have joy of you, if I be but worthy. It is, therefore, seemly in every way to glorify Jesus Christ, who has glorified you, that you may be joined together in one subjection, subject to the bishop and to the presbytery, and may in all things be sanctified.

I do not give you commands as if I were someExhortation to Unity one great, for though I am a prisoner for the Name, I am not yet perfect in Jesus Christ; for now I do but begin to be a disciple, and I speak to you as to my fellow learners. For I needed to be prepared Literally anointed. The allusion is to the preparation of a gymnast or gladiator. by you in faith, exhortation, endurance, long-suffering.

But since love does not suffer me to be silent concerning you, for this reason I have taken upon me to exhort you that you liveLiterally run. in harmony with the will of God. For Jesus Christ, our inseparable life, is the will of the Father, even as the bishops, who have been appointed throughout the world, are by the will of Jesus Christ.

Therefore it is fitting that you should live inObedience to the Bishop harmony with the will of the bishop, as indeed you do. For your justly famous presbytery, worthy of God, is attuned to the bishop as the strings to a harp. Therefore by your concord and harmonious love Jesus Christ is being sung.

Now do each of you join in this choir, that being harmoniously in concord you may receive the key i.e. in the musical sense of the word. of God in unison, and sing with one voice through Jesus Christ to the Father, that he may both hear you and may recognise, through your good works, that you are members of his Son. It is therefore profitable for you to be in blameless unity, in order that you may always commune with God.

For if I in a short time gained such fellowshipThe necessity of subordination to the bishop with your bishop as was not human but spiritual, how much more do I count you blessed who are so united with him as the Church is with Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is with the Father, that all things may sound together in unison!

Let no man be deceived: unless a man be within the sanctuary he lacks the bread of God, for if the prayer of one or two has such might, how much more has that of the bishop and of the whole Church?

So then he who does not join in the common assembly, is already haughty, and has separated himself.There is a curious mixture of tenses in the Greek: Lightfoot takes the final aorist as gnomic: but it is possible that Ignatius is, at least in part, referring to some special instance. For it is written God resisteth the proud: let us then be careful not to oppose the bishop, that we may be subject to God.Or, with the alternative reading, by our submission we may belong to God.

And the more anyone sees that the bishop isThe silence of the bishop silent, the more let him fear him. For every one whom the master of the house sends to do his business ought we to receive as him who sent him. Therefore it is clear that we must regard the bishop as the Lord himself.

Indeed Onesimus himself gives great praise to your good order in God, for you all live according to truth, and no heresy dwells among you; nay, you do not even listen to any unless he speak concerning Jesus Christ in truth.

For there are some who make a practice ofWarning against heretical preachers carrying about the Name with wicked guile, and do certain other things unworthy of God; these you must shun as wild beasts, for they are ravening dogs, who bite secretly, and you must be upon your guard against them, for they are scarcely to be cured.

There is one Physician, who is both flesh and spirit, born and yet not born, who is God in man, true life in death, both of Mary and of God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let none therefore deceive you, and indeed youPraise of the Ephesians have not been deceived, but belong wholly to God. For since no strife is fixed among you which might torture you, you do indeed live according to God. I am dedicatedLit. The refuse of: the word was used of criminals and others whose death was regarded as a piacular sacrifice, and so it came to mean a sacrifice of this kind. Ultimately it lost its meaning so far as to become merely a form of epistolary politeness. and devoted to you Ephesians, and your Church, which is famous to eternity.

They who are carnal cannot do spiritual things, neither can they who are spiritual do carnal things, just as faith is incapable of the deeds of infidelity, and infidelity of the deeds of faith. But even what you do according to the flesh is spiritual, for you do all things in Jesus Christ.

I have learnt, however, that some from elsewhereTheir abstinence from heresy have stayed with you, who have evil doctrine; but you did not suffer them to sow it among you, and stopped your ears, so that you might not receive what they sow, seeing that you are as stones of the temple of the Father, made ready for the building of God our Father, carried up to the heights by the engine of Jesus Christ, that is the cross, and using as a rope the Holy Spirit. And your faith is your windlass and love is the road which leads up to God.

You are then all fellow travellers, and carry with you God, and the Temple, and Christ, and holiness, and are hi all ways adorned by commandments of Jesus Christ. And I share in this joy, for it has been granted to me to speak to you through my writing, and to rejoice with you, that you love nothing, according to human life, but God alone.

Now for other men pray unceasingly, forExhortation to prayer and lowliness there is in them a hope of repentance, that they may find God. Suffer them therefore to become your disciples, at least through your deeds.

Be yourselves gentle in answer to their wrath; be humble minded in answer to their proud speaking; offer prayer for their blasphemy; be stedfast in the faith for their error; be gentle for their cruelty, and do not seek to retaliate.

Let us be proved their brothers by our gentleness and let us be imitators of the Lord, and seek who may suffer the more wrong, be the more destitute, the more despised; that no plant of the devil be found in you but that you may remain in all purity and sobriety in Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the Spirit.

These are the last times. Therefore let us beThe approach of the end: the fear of God modest, let us fear the long-suffering of God, that it may not become our judgment. For let us either fear the wrath to come, or love the grace which is present,—one of the two,—only let us be found in Christ Jesus unto true life.

Without him let nothing seem comely to you, for in him I carry about my chains, the spiritual pearls in which may it be granted me to rise again through your prayers, which I beg that I may ever share, that I be found in the lot of the Christians of Ephesus, who also were ever of one mind with the Apostles in the power of Jesus Christ.

I know who I am and to whom I write. I amContrast between himself and his readers condemned, you have obtained mercy; I am in danger, you are established in safety;

you are the passage for those who are being slain for the sake of God, fellow-initiates with Paul, who was sanctified, who gained a good report, who was right blessed, in whose footsteps may I be found when I shall attain to God, who in every Epistle makes mention of you in Christ Jesus.

Seek, then, to come together more frequentlyExhortation to more frequent assemblies to give thanksIt is probable that there is here an allusion to the Eucharist. and glory to God. For when you gather together frequently the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his mischief is brought to nothing, by the concord of your faith.

There is nothing better than peace, by which every war in heaven and on earth is abolished.

None of these things are unknown to you ifFaith and Love you possess perfect faith towards Jesus Christ, and love, which are the beginning and end of life; for the beginning is faith and the end is love, and when the two are joined together in unity it is God, and all other noble things follow after them.

No man who professes faith sins, nor does he hate who has obtained love. The tree is known by its fruits: so they who profess to be of Christ shall be seen by their deeds. For the deed is not in present profession, but is shown by the power of faith, if a man continue to the end.

It is better to be silent and be real, than toSpeech and silence talk and to be unreal. Teaching is good, if the teacher does what he says. There is then one teacher who spoke and it came to pass, and what he has done even in silence is worthy of the Father.

He who has the word of Jesus for a true possession can also hear his silence, that he may be perfect, that he may act through his speech, and be understood through his silence.

Nothing is hid from the Lord, but even our secret things are near him. Let us therefore do all things as though he were dwelling in us, that we may be his temples, and that he may be our God in us. This indeed is so, and will appear clearly before our face by the love which we justly have to him.

Do not err, my brethren; they who corruptWarning against false teachers families shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

If then those who do this according to the flesh suffer death, how much more if a man corrupt by false teaching the faith of God for the sake of which Jesus Christ was crucified? Such a one shall go in his foulness to the unquenchable fire, as also shall he who listens to him.

For this end did the Lord receive ointment on his head that he might breathe immortality on the Church. Be not anointed with the evil odour of the doctrine of the Prince of this world, lest he lead you away captive from the life which is set before you.

But why are we not all prudent seeing that we have received knowledge of God, that is, Jesus Christ? Why are we perishing in our folly, ignoring the gift which the Lord has truly sent?

My spirit is devotedSee note on viii. 1, p. 183. to the cross, which is anTrue doctrine offence to unbelievers, but to us salvation and eternal life. Where is the wise? Where is the disputer? Where is the boasting of those who are called prudent?

For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary by the dispensation of God, as well of the seed of David as of the Holy Spirit: he was born, and was baptized, that by himself submittingOr perhaps by his suffering; but the allusion seems to be to the Baptism, not to the Passion. he might purify the water.

And the virginity of Mary, and her giving birthThe mystery of the Nativity and its manifestation were hidden from the Prince of this world, as was also the death of che Lord. Three mysteries of a cry which were wrought in the stillness of God.

How then was he manifested to the world? A star shone in heaven beyond all the stars, and its light was unspeakable, and its newness caused astonishment, and all the other stars, with the sun and moon, gathered in chorusCf. Ign. Rom. ii. The metaphor is probably from the chorus or choir which gathered round the altar in heathen ceremonial, and sang a sacrificial hymn. round this star, and it far exceeded them all in its light; and there was perplexity, whence came this new thing, so unlike them.

By this all magic was dissolved and every bond of wickedness vanished away, ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom was destroyed, for God was manifest as man for the newness of eternal life, and that which had been prepared by God received its beginning. Hence all things were disturbed, because the abolition of death was being planned.

If Jesus Christ permit me through your prayers.Promise of future doctrinal exposition and it be his will, in the second book,This second book was either never written, or at all events is not extant in the genuine recension: but a later editor has supplied a second epistle to the Ephesians which is undoubtedly not genuine. which I propose to write to you, I will show you concerning the dispensation of the new man Jesus Christ, which I have begun to discuss, dealing with his faith and his love, his suffering and his resurrection;

especially if the Lord revealThis appears to be the only possible translation. But the text is not improbably corrupt. to me that you all severally join in the common meeting in grace from his name,Or possibly, as Lightfoot thinks, ἐξ ὀνόματος means every individual of you. It is in any case a strange phrase. in one faith and in Jesus Christ, who was of the family of David according to the flesh, the Son of Man and the Son of God, so that you obey the bishop and the presbytery with an undisturbed mind, breaking one bread, which is the medicine of immortality, the antidote that we should not die, but live for ever in Jesus Christ.

May my soul be given for yours, and for themFinal greetings whom you sent in the honour of God to Smyrna, whence I also write to you, thanking the Lord and loving Polycarp as I do also you. Remember me as Jesus Christ also remembers you.

Pray for the Church in Syria, whence I am led a prisoner to Rome, being the least of the faithful who are there, even as I was thought worthy to show the honour of God. Farewell in God our Father and in Jesus Christ, our common hope.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to heri.e. the Church.Greetings who is blessed in the Grace of God the Father by Christ Jesus, our Saviour, in whom I greet the Church which is in Magnesia on the Maeander, and bid it in God the Father and in Christ Jesus abundant greeting.

Knowing the great orderliness of your lovePrayer for the church towards God I gladly determined to address you in the faith of Jesus Christ.

For being counted worthy to bear a most godly name I sing the praise of the Churches in the bonds which I carry about, and pray that in them there may be a union of the flesh and spirit of Jesus Christ, who is our everlasting life, a union of faith and love, to which is nothing preferable, and (what is more than all) a union of Jesus and the Father. If we endure in him all the evil treatment of the Prince of this world and escape, we shall attain unto God.

Forasmuch then as I was permitted to see youThe representatives of the Magnesians in the person of Damas, your godly bishop, and the worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and my fellow servant the deacon Zotion, whose friendship I would enjoy because he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus Christ,The sentence is unfinished: possibly the text is corrupt.

Now it becomes you not to presume on theThe bishop of Magnesia youth of the bishop, but to render him all respect according to the power of God the Father, as I have heard that even the holy presbyters have not taken advantage of his outwardly youthful appearance, but yield to him in their godly prudence, yet not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, to the bishop of all.

For the honour therefore of him who desired us, it is right that we yield obedience without hypocrisy, for a man does not merely deceive this bishop who is seen, but is dealing wrongly with him who is invisible. And in this matter his reckoning is not with flesh, but with God, who knows the secret things.

It is right, then, that we should be reallyObedience to tho bishop Christians, and not merely have the name; even as there are some who recognize the bishop in their words, but disregard him in all their actions. Such men seem to me not to act in good faith, since they do not hold valid meetings according to the commandment.

Seeing then that there is an end to all, that theThe fate of unbelievers choice is between two things, death and life, and that each is to go to his own place;

for, just as there are two coinages,This is perhaps a reference to Mt. xxii. 19. the one of God, the other of the world, and each has its own stamp impressed on it, so the unbelievers bear the stamp of this world, and the believers the stamp of God the Father in love through Jesus Christ, and unless we willingly choose to die through him in his passion, his life is not in us.

Seeing then that I have looked on the whole congregationExhortation to harmony in faith in the persons mentioned above, and have embraced them, I exhort you:—Be zealous to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God and the presbyters in the place of the Council of the Apostles, and the deacons,The sentences seem to be unfinished: the Apostolic Constitutions ii. 26 say Let the Deacon be honoured as a type of Holy Sprit. who are most dear to me, entrusted with the service of Jesus Christ, who was from eternity with the Father and was made manifest at the end of time.

Be then ail in conformity with God, and respect one another, and let no man regard his neighbour according to the flesh, but in everything love one another in Jesus Christ. Let there be nothing in you which can divide you, but be united with the bishop and with those who preside over you as an example and lesson of immortality.

As then the Lord was united to the Father andObedience to the bishop and presbyters did nothing without him, neither by himself nor through the Apostles, so do you do nothing without the bishop and the presbyters. Do not attempt to make anything appear right for you by yourselves, but let there be in common one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope in love, in the joy which is without fault, that is Jesus Christ, than whom there is nothing better.

Hasten all to come together as to one temple of God, as to one altar, to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from the one Father, and is with one, and departed to one.

Be not led astray by strange doctrines or by oldWarning against Judaism fables which are profitless. For if we are living until now according to Judaism, we confess that we have not received grace.

For the divine prophets lived according to Jesus Christ. Therefore they were also persecuted, being inspired by his grace, to convince the disobedient that there is one God, who manifested himself through Jesus Christ his son, who is his Word proceeding from silence, who in all respects was well-pleasing to him that sent him.

If then they who walked in ancient customsLife with Christ came to a new hope, no longer living for the1 Sabbath, but for the Lord’s Day, on which also our life sprang up through him and his death,—though some deny him,—and by this mystery we received faith, and for this reason also we suffer, that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ our only teacher;

if these things be so, how then shall we be able to live without him of whom even the prophets were disciples in the Spirit and to whom they looked forward as their teacher? And for this reason he whom they waited for in righteousness, when he came raised them from the dead.This is possibly a proleptic reference to final resurrection, but more probably to the belief, found in many documents of a later date, that Jesus by the descent into Hades set free, and took into Paradise, the righteous dead. Cf. especially the Gospel of Nicodemus or Acta Pilati.

Let us then not be insensible to his goodness.Christianity and Judaism for if he should imitate us in our actions we are lost.The meaning appears to be if God should treat us according to human standards none of us should see salvation. For this cause let us be his disciples, and let us learn to lead Christian lives. For whoever is called by any name other than this is not of God.

Put aside then the evil leaven, which has grown old and sour, and turn to the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be salted in him, that none among you may be corrupted, since by your savour you shall be tested.

It is monstrous to talk of Jesus Christ and to practise Judaism. For Christianity did not base its faith on Judaism, but Judaism on Christianity, and every tongue believing on God was brought together in it.

Now I say this, beloved, not because I knowWarning as to the true faith that there are any of you that are thus, but because I wish to warn you, though I am less than you, not to fall into the snare of vain doctrine, but to be convinced of the birth and passion and resurrection which took place at the time of the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate; for these things were truly and certainly done by Jesus Christ, our hope, from which God grant that none of you be turned aside.

Let me have joy of you in all things, if I bePraise of the Magnesians but worthy. For even though I am in bonds I am not to be compared to one of you that have been set free. I know that you are not puffed up; for you have Jesus Christ in yourselves. And I know that when I praise you your modesty increases the more, as it is written, The righteous man is his own accuser.

Be diligent therefore to be confirmed in theFirmness in tho faith ordinances of the Lord and the Apostles, in order that you may prosper in all things whatsoever ye do in the flesh and in the spirit, in faith and love, in the Son and the Father and the Spirit, at the beginning and at the end, together with your revered bishop and with your presbytery, that aptly woven spiritual crown, and with the godly deacons.

Be subject to the bishop and to one another, even as Jesus Christ was subject to the Father, and the Apostles were subject to Christ and to the Father, in order that there may be a union both of flesh and of spirit.

I know that you are full of God, and I haveRequest for the prayers of the Magnesians exhorted you briefly. Remember me in your prayers, that I may attain to God, and remember the Church in Syria, of which I am not worthy to be called a member. For I need your united prayer in God and your love, that the Church which is in Syria may be granted refreshment from the dew of your Church.

The Ephesians greet you from Smyrna,Final greetings whence also I am writing to you; they, like yourselves, are here for the glory of God and have in all things given me comfort, together with Polycarp the bishop of the Smyrnaeans. And the other Churches also greet you in honour of Jesus Christ. Farewell in godly concord and may you possess an unhesitatingThe translation a spirit that knows no division is possible, and perhaps suits the context here better than unhesitating, but the latter rendering seems to be justified by Trallians i,1. A somewhat different shade of meaning is found in Ignatius, Ephesians iii, 2. spirit, for this is Jesus Christ.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to theGreetings Holy Church which is at Tralles in Asia, beloved of God the Father of Jesus Christ, elect and worthy of God, having peace in the flesh and in the Spirit through the passion of Jesus Christ, who is our hope through our resurrection unto him. Which Church I also greet in the Divine fulness after the apostolic fashion, and I bid her abundant greeting.

I have learned that you possess a mind freeThe virtue of the Trallians from blame and unhesitating in endurance, not from habit, but by nature, as Polybius your bishop showed me, when he visited me in Smyrna by the will of God and of Jesus Christ, and so greatly rejoiced with me, prisoner for Jesus Christ as I was, that I saw your whole congregation in his person.

I received therefore your godly benevolence through him, and gave God glory that I found you, as I had learnt, imitators of God.

For when you are in subjection to the bishop asSubmission to the bishop, presbyters and deacons to Jesus Christ it is clear to me that you are living not after men, but after Jesus Christ, who died for our sake, that by believing on his death you may escape death.

Therefore it is necessary (as is your practice) that you should do nothing without the bishop, but be also in subjection to the presbytery, as to the Apostles of Jesus Christ our hope, for if we live in him we shall be found in him.

And they also who are deacons of the mysteries of Jesus Christ must be in every way pleasing to all men. For they are not the ministers of food and drink, but servants of the Church of God; they must therefore guard against blame as against fire.

Likewise let all respect the deacons as JesusThe reverence due to them Christ, even as the bishop is also a type of the Father, and the presbyters as the council of God and the college of Apostles. Without these the name of Church is not given.

I am confident that you accept this. For I have received the example of your love, and I have it with me in the person of your bishop, whose very demeanour is a great lesson, and whose meekness is a miracle,Or, possibly, is his power. and I believe that even the godless pay respect to him.

I am sparing you in my love, though I might write more sharply on his behalf: I did not think myself competent, as a convict, to give you orders like an Apostle.

I have many thoughts in God, but I take theIgnatius’ need of humility measure of myself that I perish not through boasting, for at present it is far better for me to be timid, and not to give heed to them who puff me up. For they who speak thus are a scourge to me.

For I desire to suffer, but I know not if I am worthy, for the jealousy of the devilThis is probably the meaning: an alternative translation would be: Ambition is not obvious, etc. But cf. the letter to the Romans v. 3. is to many not obvious, but against me it fights the more. I have need therefore of meekness, by which the prince of this world is brought to nothing.

Am I not able to write to you heavenly things?Reason for simple teaching Yes, but I am afraid that I should do you harm seeing you are babes. Pardon me, for I refrain lest you be choked by what you cannot receive.

For I myself, though I am in bonds and can understand heavenly things, and the places of the angels and the gatherings of principalities, and things seen and unseen, not for this am I a disciple even now, for much is lacking to us, that we may not lack God.

I beseech you therefore (yet not I but the loveWarning against heresy of Jesus Christ) live only on Christian fare, and refrain from strange food, which is heresy.

For these men mingle Jesus Christ with themselves in specious honesty, mixing as it were a deadly poison with honeyed wine, which the ignorant takes gladly in his baneful pleasure, and it is his death.

Beware therefore of such men; and this will beThe need of remaining loyal to the bishop possible for you, if you are not puffed up, and are inseparable from God, from Jesus ChristOr possibly from our God Jesus Christ. and from the bishop and the ordinances of the Apostles.

He who is within the sanctuary is pure, but he who is without the sanctuary is not pure; that is to say whoever does anything apart from the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons is not pure in his conscience.

It is not that I know that there is any thing ofWarning against the snares of the devil this kind among you, but I warn you because you are dear to me, and I foresee the snares of the devil. Therefore adopt meekness and be renewed in faith, which is the flesh of the Lord, and in love, which is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Let none of you have a grudge against his neighbour. Give no occasion to the heathen, in order that the congregation of God may not be blasphemed for a few foolish persons. For Woe unto him through whom my name is vainly blasphemed among any.

Be deaf therefore when anyone speaks to youThe history of Jesus Christ apart from Jesus Christ, who was of the family of David, and of Mary, who was truly born, both ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth;

who also was truly raised from the dead, when his Father raised him up, as in the same manner his Father shall raise up in Christ Jesus us who believe in him, without whom we have no true life.

But if, as some affirm who are without God,Against docetism—that is, are unbelievers—his suffering was only a semblance (but it is they who are merely a semblance), why am I a prisoner, and why do I even long to fight with the beasts? In that case I am dying in vain. Then indeed am I lying concerning the Lord.

Fly from these wicked offshoots, which bearAgainst heresy deadly fruit, which if a man eat he presently dies. For these are not the planting of the Father.

For if they were they would appear as branches of the Cross (and their fruit would be incorruptible) by which through his Passion he calls you who are his members. The head therefore cannot be borne without limbs, since God promises union, that is himself.

I greet you from Smyrna together with theExhortation to unity and love Churches of God that are present with me, men who in all things have given me rest in the flesh and in the spirit.

My bonds exhort you, which I carry about for the sake of Jesus Christ, praying that I may attain to God; continue in your present harmony and in prayer with one another. For it is right that each of you, and especially the presbyters, should refresh the bishop, to the honour of the Father, of Jesus Christ, and of the Apostles.

I entreat you to listen to me in love, that I become not by my writing a witness against you. And pray for me also, for· I have need of your love in the mercy of God, that I may be granted the lot which I am set to obtain, that I be not found reprobate.

The love of the Smyrnaeans and Ephesians greetFinal greetings you: remember in your prayers the Church in Syria, in which I am not worthy to be reckoned, being the least of its members.

Farewell in Jesus Christ. Submit yourselves to the bishop as to the commandment, and likewise to the presbytery. Let each of you individually love one another with an undivided heart.

My spirit is consecrated to you not only now, but also when I attain to God. For I am still in peril, but the Father is faithful in Jesus Christ to fulfil both your and my prayer, in which may you be found blameless.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to her whoGreeting has obtained mercy in the greatness of the Most High Father, and of Jesus Christ his only Son; to the Church beloved and enlightened by the will of him who has willed all things which are, according to the love of Jesus Christ, our God, which also has the presidency in the country of the land of the Romans, worthy of God, worthy of honour, worthy of blessing, worthy of praise, worthy of success, worthy in its holiness, and preeminent in love, named after Christ, named after the Father, which also I greet in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father; to those who are united in flesh and spirit in every one of his commandments, filled with the grace of God without wavering, and filtered clear from every foreign stain, abundant greeting in Jesus Christ, our God, in blamelessness.

Forasmuch as I have gained my prayer to GodHope of seeing the Romans to see your godly faces, so that I have obtained more than I asked,—for in bondage in Christ Jesus I hope to greet you if it be his will that I be found worthy to the end.

For the beginning has been well ordered, if I may obtain grace to come unhindered to my lot. For I am afraid of your love, lest even that do me wrong. For it is easy for you to do what you will, but it is difficult for me to attain to God, if you do not spare me.

For I would not have you men-pleasers butHis desire not to be saved from the beasts God-pleasers, even as you do indeed please him. For neither shall I ever have such an opportunity of attaining to God, nor can you, if you be but silent, have any better deed ascribed to you. For if you are silent concerning me, I am a word of God; but if you love my flesh, I shall again be only a cry.

Grant me nothing more than that I be poured out to God, while an altar is still ready, that forming yourselves into a chorusCf. note on Eph. xix., p. 193. of love, you may sing to the Father in Christ Jesus, that God has vouchsafed that the bishop of Syria shall be found at the setting of the sun, having fetched him from the sun’s rising. It is good to set to the world towards God, that I may rise to him.

You never have envied anyone, you taughtRequest that they should pray for him others. But I desire that those things may stand fast which you enjoin in your instructions.

Only pray for me for strength, both inward and outward, that I may not merely speak, but also have the will, that I may not only be called a Christian, but may also be found to be one. For if I be found to be one, I can also be called one, and then be deemed faithful when I no longer am visible in the world.

Nothing visible is good, for our God, Jesus Christ, being now in the Father, is the more plainly visible.The sentence is clumsily expressed: apparently Ignatius means nothing directly visible is good, and Jesus Christ, who is no longer visible, being in the Father, is more clearly perceived by the eye of faith, but he has sacrificed clearness to a paradoxical playing with the words. Christianity is not the work of persuasiveness, but of greatness, when it is hated by the world.

I am writing to all the Churches, and I giveHis desire to suffer injunctions to all men, that I am dying willingly for God’s sake, if you do not hinder it. I beseech you, be not an unseasonable kindness Apparently a partial quotation from the proverb preserved by Zenobius ἄκαιρος εὔνοι’ οὐδὲν ἔχθρας διαφέρει an unseasonable kindness is nothing different from hostility. to me. Suffer me to be eaten by tlie beasts, through whom I can attain to God. I am God’s wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread of Christ.

Rather entice the wild beasts that they may become my tomb, and leave no trace of my body, that when I fall asleep I be not burdensome to any. Then shall I be truly a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world shall not even see my body. Beseech Christ on my behalf, that I may be found a sacrifice through these instruments.I.e. the wild beasts.

I do not order you as did Peter and Paul; they were Apostles, 1 am a convict; they were free, I am even until now a slave. But if I suffer I shall be Jesus Christ’s freedman, and in him I shall rise free. Now I am learning in my bonds to give up all desires.

From Syria to Rome I am fighting with wildHis journey, and expectation of martyrdom beasts, by land and sea, by night and day, bound to ten leopards (that is, a company of soldiersThe first impression made by this passage is that leopards was the name of some regiment, and that the following words are an explanatory gloss; but there is no evidence for this use of leopard. Τάγμα is perhaps the equivalent of manipulus in the later sense of ten men. The whole passage is rendered stranger still by the fact that it is the first instance of the word leopard in Greek or Latin literature.), and they become worse for kind treatment. Now I become the more a disciple for their ill deeds, but not by this am I justified.

I long for the beasts that are prepared for me; and I pray that they may be found prompt for me; I will even entice them to devour me promptly; not as has happened to some whom they have not touched from fear; even if they be unwilling of themselves, 1 will force them to it.

Grant me this favour. I know what is expedient for me; now I am beginning to be a disciple. May nothing of things seen or unseen envy me my attaining to Jesus Christ. Let there come on me fire, and cross, and struggles with wild beasts, cutting, and tearing asunder, rackings of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the devil, may I but attain to Jesus Christ!

The ends of the earth and the kingdoms of thisThe glory of martyrdom world shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die in Christ Jesus than to be king over the ends of the earth. I seek Him who died for our sake. I desire Him who rose for us. The pains of birth are upon me.

Suffer me, my brethren; hinder me not from living, do not wish me to die. Do not give to the world one who desires to belong to God, nor deceive him with material things. Suffer me to receive the pure light; when I have come thither I shall become a man.

Suffer me to follow the example of the Passion of my God. If any man have him within himself, let him understand what I wish, and let him sympathise with me, knowing the things which constrain me.

The Prince of this world wishes to tear me inThe temptations of the devil, and his own feelings pieces, and to corrupt my mind towards God. Let none of you who are present help him. Be rather on my side, that is on God’s. Do not speak of Jesus Christ, and yet desire the world.

Let no envy dwell among you. Even though when I come I beseech you myself, do not be persuaded by me, but rather obey this, which I write to you: for in the midst of life I write to you desiring death. My lust has been crucified, and there is in me no fire of love for material things; but only water living and speaking in me, and saying to me from within, Come to the Father.

I have no pleasure in the food of corruption or in the delights of this life, I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David, and for drink I desire his blood, which is incorruptible love.There is here perhaps a play on the words: the word translated love was also used either as a synonym for the Eucharist, or, as some think, as the name of a religious meal originally connected with the Eucharist.

I no longer desire to live after the manner ofDesire of martyrdom men, and this shall be, if you desire it. Desire it, in order that you also may be desired.

I beg you by this short letter; believe me. And Jesus Christ shall make this plain to you, that I am speaking the truth. He is the mouth which cannot lie, by which the Father has spoken truly.

Pray for me that I may attain. I write to you not according to the flesh, but according to the mind of God. If I suffer, it was your favour: if I be rejected, it was your hatred.

Remember in your prayers the Church in SyriaThe Church in Syria which has God for its Shepherd in my room. Its bishop shall be Jesus Christ alone,—and your love.

But for myself I am ashamed to be called one of them, for I am not worthy; for I am the least of them, and born out of time; but I have obtained mercy to be someone, if I may attain to God.

My spirit greets you, and the love of the Churches which have received me in the Name of Jesus Christ, not as a mere passer by, for even those which did not lie on my road according to the flesh went before me from city to city.

Now I am writing these things to you fromFinal greetings Smyrna by the blessed Ephesians, and Crocus, a name very dear to me, is also with me, and many others.

Concerning those who have preceded me from Syria to Rome to the glory of God, I believe that you have received information; tell them that I am close at hand; for they are all worthy of God and of you, and it is right for you to refresh them in every way.

I write this to you on the 24th of August. Farewell unto the end, in the endurance of Jesus Christ.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to theGreetings Church of God the Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is in Philadelphia in Asia, which has obtained mercy, and is established in the harmony of God, and rejoices in the Passion of our Lord without doubting, and is fully assured in all mercy in his resurrection; I greet her in the blood of Jesus Christ, which is eternal and abiding joy, especially if men be at one with the bishop, and with the presbyters and deacons, who together with him have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, and he established them in security according to his own will by his Holy Spirit.

I know that your bishop obtained the ministry,The Bishop of Philadelphia which makes for the common good, neither from himself nor through men, nor for vain-glory, but in the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And I was amazed at his gentleness, and at his ability to do more by silence than those who use vain words.

For he is attuned to the commandments as a harp to its strings. Therefore my soul blesses his godly mind, recognising its virtue and perfection, and the unmoveable and passionless temper by which he lives in all godly gentleness.

Therefore as children of the light of truth fleeWarning against heresy from division and wrong doctrine. And follow as sheep where the shepherd is.

For there are many specious wolves who lead captive with evil pleasures the runners in God’s race, but they will find no place if you are in unity.

Abstain from evil growths, which Jesus ChristWarning against schism does not tend, because they are not the planting of the Father. Not that I have found division among you but filtering.The meaning is that the Christians at Philadelphia had filtered out the impurity of heresy from their church.

For as many as belong to God and Jesus Christ,—these are with the bishop. And as many as repent and come to the unity of the Church,—these also shall be of God, to be living according to Jesus Christ.

Be not deceived, my brethren, if any one follow a maker of schism, he does not inherit the kingdom of God; if any man walk in strange doctrine he has no part in the Passion.

Be careful therefore to use one Eucharist (forThe one Eucharist there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup for union with his blood, one altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and the deacons my fellow servants), in order that whatever you do you may do it according unto God.

Brethren, I am overflowing with love to you,Petition for their prayers and exceedingly joyful in watching over your safety. Yet not I, but Jesus Christ, whose bonds I bear, but am the more fearful in that I am not yet perfected; but your prayer will make me perfect for God, that I may attain the lot wherein I found mercy, making the Gospel my refuge as the flesh of Jesus, and the Apostles as the presbytery of the Church.

AndThe Christian prophets the prophetsHe probably means the Christian prophets: cf. the Didache and Hermas. also do we love,An alternative translation is let us love. because they also have announced the Gospel, and are hoping in him and waiting for him, by faith in whom they also obtain salvation, being united with Jesus Christ, for they are worthy of love and saints worthy of admiration, approved by Jesus Christ, and numbered together in the Gospel of the common hope.

But if anyone interpret Judaism to you do notAgainst Judaism listen to him; for it is better to hear Christianity from the circumcised than Judaism from the uncircumcised. But both of them, unless they speak of Jesus Christ, are to me tombstones and sepulchres of the dead, on whom only the names of men are written.

Flee then from the wicked arts and snares of the prince of this world, lest you be afflicted by his device, and grow weak in love; but come all together with undivided heart.

But I thank my God that I have a good conscience towards you, and that no one can boast either secretly or openly that I was a burden to anyone in small or in great matters. And I pray for all among whom I spoke, that they may not turn it to a testimony against themselves.

For even if some desired to deceive me afterHis conduct in Philadelphia the flesh, the spirit is not deceived, for it is from God. For it knoweth whence it comes and whither it goes and tests secret things. I cried out while I was with you, I spoke with a great voice,— with God’s own voice,—Give heed to the bishop. and to the presbytery and deacons.

But some suspected me of saying this because I had previous knowledge of the division of some persons: but he in whom I am bound is my witness that I had no knowledge of this from any human being, but the Spirit was preaching, and saying this, Do nothing without the bishop, keep your flesh as the temple of God, love unity, flee from divisions, be imitators of Jesus Christ, as was he also of his Father.

I then did my best as a man who was set onExhortation to unity unity. But where there is division and anger God does not dwell. The Lord then forgives all who repent, if their repentance lead to the unity of God and the council of the bishop. I have faith in the grace of Jesus Christ, and he shall loose every bond from you.

But I beseech you to do nothing in factiousness, but after the teaching of Christ. For I heard some men saying, if I find it not in the charters in the Gospel I do not believe,The Greek, without punctuation, is as ambiguous as the English: If I find it not in the charters,—in the Gospel I do not believe, or If I find it not in the charters, in the Gospel, I do not believe. Probably the former should be preferred on the ground that the charters probably means the Old Testament. and when I said to them that it is in the Scripture, they answered me, that is exactly the question. But to me the charters are Jesus Christ, the inviolable charter is his cross, and death, and resurrection, and the faith which is through him;—in these I desire to be justified by your prayers.

The priests likewise are noble, but the HighThe old and new Dispensations Priest who has been entrusted with the Holy of Holies is greater, and only to him have the secret things of God been entrusted. He is the door of the Father, through which enter Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the Prophets and the Apostles and the Church. All these things are joined in the unity of God.

But the Gospel has somewhat of preeminence, the coming of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, his passion, and the resurrection. For the beloved prophets had a message pointing to him, but the Gospel is the perfection of incorruption. All things together are good if you hold the faith in love.

Since it was reported to me that the ChurchThe Church in Syria which is in Antioch in Syria is in peace, in accordance with your prayers, and the compassion which you have in Christ Jesus, it is proper for you, as a Church of God, to appoint a deacon to go as the ambassador of God to it, to congratulate those who are gathered together, and to glorify the Name.

Blessed in Jesus Christ is he who shall be found worthy of such a ministry, and you yourselves shall be glorified. And if you have the will it is not impossible for you to do this for the sake of the Name of God, even as the neighbouring Churches have sent bishops, and others presbyters and deacons.

But concerning Philo, the deacon from Cilicia,Thanks and final greetings a man of good report, who is at present serving me in the word of God, with Rheus Agathopous, an elect man who is following me from Syria, and has renounced this life;—these bear you witness (and I also thank God on your behalf) that you received them even as the Lord received youOr possibly even as may the Lord receive you. but may those who treated them with disrespect be redeemed by the grace of Jesus Christ.

The love of the brethren at Troas salutes you; and I am writing thence to you by the hand of Burrhus, who was sent with me by the Ephesians and Smyrnaeans as a mark of honour. The Lord Jesus Christ shall reward them, on whom they hope in flesh and soul and spirit, in faith, in love and in harmony. Farewell in Christ Jesus, our common hope.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to theGreeting Church of God the Father and the Beloved Jesus Christ, which has obtained mercy in every gift, and is filled with faith and love, and comes behind in no gift, most worthy of God, and gifted with holiness,—the Church which is in Smyrna in Asia—abundant greeting in a blameless spirit and in the Word of God.

I give glory to Jesus Christ, the God who hasThe faith of the Smyrnaeans thus given you wisdom; for I have observed that you are established in immoveable faith, as if nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, both in flesh and spirit, and confirmed in love by the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded as touching our Lord, that he is in truth of the family of David according to the flesh, God’s son by the will and power of God, truly born of a Virgin, baptised by John that all righteousness might be fulfilled by him,

truly nailed to a tree Tree is not expressed in the Greek: but seems to be implied by the fruit in the next sentence, though the exact meaning of the passage is obscure. in the flesh tor our sakes under Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch, (and of its fruit are we from his divinely blessed Passion) that he might set up an ensign for all ages through his Resurrection, for his saints and believers, whether among the Jews, or among the heathen, in one body of his Church.

For he suffered all these things for us that weAgainst Docetism might attain salvation, and he truly suffered even as he also truly raised himself, not as some unbelievers say, that his Passion was merely in semblance,—but it is they who are merely in semblance, and even according to their opinions it shall happen to them, and they shall be without bodies and phantasmal.

For I know and believe that he was in theThe Resurrection in the flesh flesh even after the Resurrection.

And when he came to those with Peter he said to them: Take, handle me and see that I am not a phantom without a body. And they immediately touched him and believed, being mingled both with his flesh and spirit. Therefore they despised even death, and were proved to be above death.

And after his Resurrection he ate and drank with them as a being of flesh, although he was united in spirit to the Father.

Now I warn you of these things, beloved,Warning against heretical teachers knowing that you also are so minded. But I guard you in advance against beasts in the form of men, whom you must not only not receive, but if it is possible not even meet, but only pray for them, if perchance they may repent, difficult though that be,—but Jesus Christ who is our true life has the power over this.

For if it is merely in semblance that these things were done by our Lord I am also a prisoner in semblance. And why have I given myself up to death, to fire, to the sword, to wild beasts? Because near the sword is near to God; with the wild beasts is ,with God; in the name of Jesus Christ alone am I enduring all things, that I may suffer with him, and the perfect, man himself gives me strength.

There are some who ignorantly deny him, butAgainst Docetism rather were denied by him, being advocates of death rather than of the truth. These are they whom neither the prophecies nor the law of Moses persuaded, nor the gospel even until now, nor our own individual sufferings.

For they have the same opinion concerning us. For what does anyone profit me if he praise me but blaspheme my Lord, and do not confess that he was clothed in flesh? But he who says this has denied him absolutely and is clothed with a corpse.

Now I have not thought right to put into writing their unbelieving names; but would that I might not even remember them, until they repent concerning the Passion, which is our resurrection.

Let no one be deceived; even things in heavenThe universal judgment and the glory of the angels, and the rulers visible and invisible, even for them there is a judgment if they do not believe on the blood of Christ. He that receiveth let him receive. Let not office exalt anyone, for faith and love is everything, and nothing has been preferred to them.

But mark thoseThe unchristian behaviour of heretics who have strange opinions concerning the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary they are to the mind of God. For love they have no care, none for the widow, none for the orphan, none for the distressed, none for the afflicted, none for the prisoner, or for him released from prison, none for the hungry or thirsty.

Th ey abstain from Eucharist and prayer, becauseHeretics and the Eucharist they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ who suffered for our sins, which the Father raised up by his goodness. They then who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes; but it were better for them to have love, that they also may attain to the Resurrection.

It is right to refrain from such men and not even to speak about them in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets and especially to the Gospel, in which the Passion has been revealed to us and the Resurrection has been accomplished. But flee from divisions as the beginning of evils.

See that you all follow the bishop, as JesusSubmission to the Bishop and the Presbyters Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as if it were the Apostles. And reverence the deacons as the command of God. Let no one do any of the things appertaining to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints.

Wherever the bishop appears let the congregation be present; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful either to baptise or to hold an agapeAgapé means love: the name was given to some kind of religious meal. The context here suggests that it is a synonym for the Eucharist, but the point is doubted by some scholars. In the A.V. of Jud. 12 it is translated Love feasts. without the bishop; but whatever he approve, this is also pleasing to God, that everything which you do may be secure and valid.

Moreover it is reasonable for us to return toHonour due to the Bishop soberness, while we still have time to repent towards God. It is good to know God and the bishop. He who honours the bishop has been honoured by God; he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop is serving the devil.

Let all things then abound to you in grace, for you are worthy. In all respects you have refreshed me, and may Jesus Christ give refreshment to you. You have loved me in my absence, and in my presence. God is your reward, and if for his sake you endure all things, you shall attain to him.

You did well to receive as deacons of God,Thanks to the Smyrnaeans Philo and Rheus Agathopous, who followed me in the cause of God; and they also give thanks to the Lord for your sake that you refreshed them in every way. Assuredly shall nothing be lost for you.

May my spirit be for your life, and my bonds, which you treated neither with haughtiness nor shame. And he who is perfect hope, Jesus Christ, shall not be ashamed of you.

Your prayer reached the Church which is inThe Church in Syria Antioch in Syria, and I greet all men as one who comes thence in bonds which are most seemly in God’s sight, though I am not worthy to be from thence, for I am the least of them; but by the will of God I have been thought worthy, not that I am conscious of deserts,Or, possibly, by my own complicity. but by the grace of God, and I pray that this may be given to me to the end, and that by your prayers I may attain to God.

In order then that your work may be perfect both on earth and in heaven, your Church ought to appoint for the honour of God a delegate of God to go to Syria, and congratulate them that they have gained peace, and have recovered their proper greatness, and that their proper constitution has been restored. 3. It appeared to me therefore a deed worthy of God for you to send one of your number with a letter to join in extolling the tranquillity which they have obtained from God, and that through your prayers they were now gaining a haven. As you are perfect, so also may your counsel be perfect. For if you desire to do well God is ready to help you.

The love of the brethren who are at TroasGreetings from Troas salutes you, whence I am writing to you by Burrhus, whom you together with the Ephesians your brothers sent with me, and he has in every way refreshed me. Would that all imitated him, for he is a pattern of the ministry of God. In all things grace shall reward him.

I salute the godly bishop, and the revered presbytery, and the deacons my fellow-servants, and you all, individually and together, in the name of Jesus Christ, and in his flesh and blood. by his Passion and Resurrection both of flesh and spirit, in union with God and with you. Grace be to you, mercy, peace and endurance for ever.

I salute the families of my brethren with theirFinal greetings wives and children, and the maidens who are called widows. Farewell in the power of the Father. Philo who is with me greets you.

I salute the house of Tavia, and pray that she be confirmed in faith and love, both of the flesh and spirit. I salute Alce, a name most dear to me, and the incomparable Daphnus, and Eutecnus,It is not impossible that εὔτεκνον is an adjective meaning with good children, and referring to Daphnus. Zalm takes this view. and all others by their several names. Farewell in the grace of God.

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to Polycarp,Greeting who is bishop of the Church of the Smyrnaeans, or rather has for his bishop God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, abundant greeting.

Welcoming your godly mind which is fixed asSalutation and exhortation to diligence if on immovable rock, I glory exceedingly that it was granted me to see your blameless face wherein I would fain have pleasure in God.

I exhort you to press forward on your course, in the grace wherewith you are endued, and to exhort all men to gain salvation. Vindicate your office with all diligence, both of the flesh and spirit. Care for unity, for there is nothing better. Help all men, as the Lord also helps you; suffer all men in love, as you indeed do.

Be diligent with unceasing prayer. Entreat for wisdom greater than you have, be watchful and keep the spirit from slumbering. Speak to each individually after the manner of God. Bear the sicknesses of all as a perfect athlete.No other translation is possible: athlete was, both then and later, a favourite name for Christians who strove to excel in virtue, especially in ascetic practices. Where the toil is greatest, is the gain great.

If you love good disciples, it is no credit to you;The need of caring for the weaker brethren rather bring to subjection by your gentleness the more troublesome. Not all wounds are healed by the same plaster. Relieve convulsions by fomentations.

Be prudent as the serpent in all things and pure as the dove for ever. For this reason you consist of flesh and spirit, that you may deal tenderly with the things which appear visibly; but pray that the invisible things may be revealed to you, that you may lack nothing and abound in every gift.

The time calls on you to attain unto God, just as pilots require wind, and the storm-tossed sailor seeks a harbour.The general meaning of this passage is fairly clear, but the details are hopelessly obscure. Possibly something has dropped out of the text. Be sober as God’s athlete. The prizeθέμα means a money-prize which was given in some of the Greek games instead of the στέφανος or crown. is immortality and eternal life, of which you have been persuaded. In all things I am devoted to you,—I and my bonds, which you loved.

Let not those that appear to be plausible, butAgainst heretics teach strange doctrine, overthrow you. Stand firm as an anvil which is smitten. The task of great athletes is to suffer punishment and yet conquer. But especially must we endure all things for the sake of God, that he also may endure us.

Be more diligent than you are. Mark the seasons. Wait for him who is above seasons, timeless, invisible, who for our sakes became visible, who cannot be touched, who cannot suffer, who for our sakes accepted suffering, who in every way endured for our sakes.

Let not the widows be neglected. Be yourself their protector after the Lord. Let nothing be doneHis duty to members of the church without your approval, and do nothing yourself without God, as indeed you do nothing; stand fast.

Let the meetings be more numerous. Seek all by their name.

Do not be haughty to slaves, either men or women; yet do not let them be puffed up, but let them rather endure slavery to the glory of God, that they may obtain a better freedom from God. Let them not desire to be set free at the Church’s expense, that they be not found the slaves of lust.

Flee from evil arts, but rather preach againstThe need of purity and of abstinence from boasting them. Speak to my sisters that they love the Lord,! and be content with their husbands in flesh and in spirit. In the same way enjoin on my brothers in the name of Jesus Christ to love their wives as the Lord loved the Church.

If any man can remain in continence to the honour of the flesh of the Lord let him do so without boasting. If he boast he is lost, and if it be made known except to the bishop, he is polluted. But it is right for men and women who marry to be united with the consent of the bishop, that the marriage be according to the Lord and not according to lust. Let all things be done to the honour of God.

Give heed to the bishop, that God may also give heed to you. I am devoted to those who are subject to the bishop, presbyters, and deacons; and may it beAdvice to the community mine to have my lot with them in God. Labour with one another, struggle together, run together, suffer together, rest together, rise up together as God’s stewards and assessors and servants.

Be pleasing to him in whose ranks you serve, from whom you receive your pay,—let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism remain as your arms, your faith as a helmet, your love as a spear, your endurance as your panoply, let your works be your deposits that you may receive the back-payIt was the custom in the Homan army to pay to the soldiers only the half of any gratuities allowed them. The other half was deposited in a regimental savings bank, and was paid out to each soldier, when, and if, he was honourably discharged from the service. due to you. Be therefore long-suffering with one another in gentleness, as God is with you. May I have joy in you always.

Since the Church which is in Antioch has peaceThe Church in Antioch through your prayers, as it has been reported to me, I was myself the more encouraged in the freedom from care given by God, if I may but attain to God through my sufferings, that I may be found your disciple at the resurrection.Or perhaps a disciple at your resurrection.

You ought, O Polycarp, most blessed of God, to summon a godly council, and elect someone who is very dear to you and is zealous, who can be called God’s courier; appoint him to go to Syria to glorify your zealous love to the glory of God.

A Christian has no power over himself, but gives his time to God. This is the work of God and of yourselves when you complete it. For I believe in the grace of God that you are ready to do the good deeds which are proper for God. I exhort you by no more than these few lines, for I recognise your fervour for the truth.

Since I could not write to all the ChurchesRequest for Polycarp to write to other Churches because of my sudden sailing from Troas to NeapolisThe modern Cavalia, on the coast of Macedonia, between Constantinople and Salonica; the Roman road comes down to the sea there, and is still in fair preservation. as the will of God enjoins, you shall write as one possessing the mind of God to the Churches on the road in front of me, that they also shall treat me in the same way (let those who can send messengers, and the others send letters through those whom you send, that youModern English obscures the fact that this you is plural. The others are singular. may be glorified by a memorable deed), as is worthy of you.

I greet all by name, and the wife of theFinal greetings ProcuratorOr, perhaps, of Epitropus. with the whole house of herself and her children. I greet my beloved Attalus. I greet him who shall be appointed to go to Syria. Grace will be with him through all, and with Polycarp, who sends him.

I bid you farewell always in our God, Jesus Christ; may you remain in him in the unity and care of God. I greet Alce, a name very dear to me. Farewell in the Lord.

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*Ὁ Διαφορεύς παρῆν*

[^pa1]: Nota do processador Pedra Angular: estrutura TEI da edição de origem não mapeada — texto extraído em modo plano, sem marcadores estruturados de capítulo/seção; reestruturação manual pendente.