Life and setting
Ignatius wrote a series of letters while being taken under guard toward Rome for execution. The letters address unity, church order, the reality of Christ’s incarnation and suffering, and Ignatius’s expectation of martyrdom.
Apostolic Fathers • Early Church
Ignatius of Antioch
1st century – c. 107–115 • Bishop of Antioch and martyr
Why this person matters
His letters are major early witnesses to Christian belief about Jesus, Eucharistic practice, bishops and the identity of the churches soon after the apostolic period.
What should not be sanitized
The shorter Greek recension is generally treated as the most reliable form of his letters; later expanded recensions complicate the manuscript history.