Ignatius of Antioch
2nd century · AD 108 · Early Fathers (before Nicaea) · 247 passages
Bishop of Antioch who wrote seven letters on his way to martyrdom in Rome, insisting on the reality of Christ's incarnation and the unity of the church.
Background on Ignatius of Antioch
In his own words on Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 8:4
And pray ye without ceasing in behalf of other men; for there is hope of the repentance, that they may attain to God. For "cannot he that falls arise again, and he that goes astray return?" Permit them, then, to be instructed by you. Be ye therefore the ministers of God, and the mouth of Christ. For thus saith the Lord, "If ye take forth the precious from the vile, ye shall be as my mouth." Be ye humble in response to their wrath; oppose to their blasphemies your earnest prayers; while they go astray, stand ye stedfast in the faith. Conquer ye their harsh temper by gentleness, their passion by meekness. For "blessed are the meek"; and Moses was meek above all men; and David was exceeding meek.
Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians
- Jeremiah 23:12
Wherefore, as children of light and truth, avoid the dividing of your unity, and the wicked doctrine of the heretics, from whom "a defiling influence has gone forth into all the earth." But where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow. For there are many wolves in sheep's clothing, who, by means of a pernicious pleasure, carry captive those that are running towards God; but in your unity they shall have no place.
Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians
Quoted verbatim from public-domain English translations of the fathers — Aquinas's Catena Aurea, the Ante-Nicene and Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, and related editions. Each quotation links to its source.