Greeting and Praise for the Bishop of Philadelphia
1 Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church of God the Father and of Jesus Christ that is in Philadelphia in Asia, which has found mercy and is firmly established in the harmony of God, and rejoices without wavering in the passion of our Lord and in His resurrection, fully assured in all mercy. I greet this church in the blood of Jesus Christ, which is eternal and lasting joy, especially if they are united with the bishop and the presbyters who are with him, and with the deacons who have been appointed according to the mind of Jesus Christ, whom He confirmed and established by His Holy Spirit according to His own will. I have found that this bishop of yours holds the ministry that serves the common good, not on his own initiative or through human beings, nor for empty glory, but in the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And I am amazed at his gentleness; his silence is more powerful than other people's speech. 2 For he is tuned in harmony with the commandments, like a lyre with its strings. So my soul blesses his godly mind, for I have found that it is virtuous and perfect, that is, the unshakable and calm temper he has, living in all godly gentleness.
Following the Shepherd
1 So, as children [of the light] of the truth, avoid division and false teachings; and where the shepherd is, follow there like sheep. 2 For many wolves who seem trustworthy use corrupting pleasure [in their teaching] to take captive those who run in God's race; but where you are united, they will find no place.
Avoiding Those Who Cause Division
1 Stay away from harmful weeds, which Jesus Christ does not cultivate, because they are not planted by the Father. Not that I have found division among you; rather, I have found a filtering out. 2 For all who belong to God and to Jesus Christ are with the bishop; and all who repent and enter the unity of the Church will also belong to God, so that they may live according to Jesus Christ. 3 Do not be deceived, my brothers. If anyone follows someone who causes a schism, he does not inherit the kingdom of God. If anyone walks in strange teaching, he has no share in the passion.
One Eucharist, One Altar, One Bishop
1 So be careful to observe one eucharist (for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup for union in His blood; there is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow servants), so that whatever you do, you may do it according to God.
The Gospel and the Prophets
1 My brothers, my heart overflows completely with love for you; and rejoicing beyond measure I watch over your safety; yet not I, but Jesus Christ, in whose chains I am all the more afraid, because I am not yet perfected. But your prayer will make me perfect [for God], so that I may attain the inheritance in which I have found mercy, taking refuge in the Gospel as the flesh of Jesus and in the Apostles as the presbytery of the Church. 2 And we love the prophets too, because they also pointed to the Gospel in their preaching and set their hope on Him and waited for Him; and having faith in Him they were saved in the unity of Jesus Christ, holy men worthy of all love and admiration, approved by Jesus Christ and counted together in the Gospel of our common hope.
Ignatius on Judaism and Circumcision
1 But if anyone proposes Judaism to you, do not listen to him; for it is better to hear Christianity from a man who is circumcised than Judaism from one who is uncircumcised. But if either of them does not speak about Jesus Christ, I regard them as tombstones and graves of the dead, on which only the names of men are written. 2 So avoid the evil tricks and plots of the prince of this world, so that you are not crushed by his schemes and grow weak in your love. Instead, all of you gather together with an undivided heart. 3 And I thank my God that I have a good conscience in my dealings with you, and no one can boast, either in secret or openly, that I was a burden to anyone in small things or in great. And for all among whom I spoke, I pray that they may not turn it into a testimony against themselves.
Ignatius Says the Spirit Spoke Through Him
1 For even though some people wanted to deceive me according to the flesh, the spirit is not deceived, since it is from God; for it knows where it comes from and where it is going, and it searches out hidden things. I cried out when I was among you; I spoke in a loud voice, with God's own voice: Pay attention to the bishop and the presbytery and the deacons. 2 Yet there were some who suspected me of saying this because I knew in advance about the division of certain people. But He for whom I am in chains is my witness that I did not learn it from any human being; it was the Spirit who was preaching, saying this: Do nothing without the bishop; keep your flesh as a temple of God; love unity; avoid divisions; be imitators of Jesus Christ, as He also was of His Father.
Ignatius Disputes with Those Who Appeal to the Archives
1 So I did my part, as a man committed to unity. But where there is division and anger, God does not live. Now the Lord forgives everyone who repents, if in repenting they return to the unity of God and to the council of the bishop. I have faith in the grace of Jesus Christ, who will strike off every chain from you; 2 and I urge you, do nothing out of rivalry, but according to the teaching of Christ. For I heard some people say, If I do not find it in the archives, I do not believe it in the Gospel. And when I said to them, It is written, they answered me, That is the question. But for me, the archive is Jesus Christ; the untouchable archive is His cross and His death and His resurrection, and faith through Him; by these I want to be justified through your prayers.
The High Priest and the Door of the Father
1 The priests too were good, but the High Priest is better, to whom the holy of holies has been entrusted; for to Him alone have the hidden things of God been entrusted. He Himself is the door of the Father, through which Abraham and Isaac and Jacob enter, and the Prophets and the Apostles and the whole Church; all these things come together in the unity of God. 2 But the Gospel has something distinctive: the coming of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His passion and resurrection. For the beloved Prophets pointed to Him in their preaching; but the Gospel is the completion of immortality. All things together are good, if you believe through love.
Sending a Deacon to Antioch
1 Since, in answer to your prayer and to the tender sympathy you have in Christ Jesus, I have received word that the church in Antioch of Syria is at peace, it is fitting for you, as a church of God, to appoint a deacon to go there as God's ambassador, so that he may congratulate them when they gather together and glorify the Name. 2 Blessed in Jesus Christ is the one who will be counted worthy of such a service; and you yourselves will be glorified. Now if you want to, it is not impossible for you to do this for the name of God, just as the nearest churches have sent bishops, and others presbyters and deacons.
Philo, Rhaius Agathopus, and Farewell
1 As for Philo the deacon from Cilicia, a man of good reputation, who is now also serving me in the word of God, together with Rhaius Agathopus, a chosen man who is following me from Syria, having said farewell to this present life: they also testify about you, and I myself thank God for you, because you received them, as I trust the Lord will receive you. But may those who dishonored them be redeemed through the grace of Jesus Christ. 2 The love of the brothers in Troas greets you; I am writing to you from there by the hand of Burrhus, who was sent with me by the Ephesians and Smyrnaeans as a mark of honor. The Lord Jesus Christ will honor them, on whom their hope is set in flesh and soul and spirit, by faith, by love, by harmony. Farewell in Christ Jesus our common hope.
An Introduction to Ignatius' Epistle to the Philadelphians
3 min read
Ignatius, the leader of the Christian community in Antioch in Syria, wrote this Greek letter in the first part of the second century CE, while ten Roman soldiers were taking him to Rome to be killed by wild beasts. He had stopped in Philadelphia on the way, and after writing letters from Smyrna, he wrote this one from Troas, farther along his route.1 The letter's two main themes are the passion and resurrection of Jesus and unity with the bishop, presbyters, and deacons, which Ignatius very likely stresses in response to members of the Philadelphian community who were challenging the authority of their leaders.2 Ignatius names none of the Philadelphians in the letter, which very likely reflects the cooler relations between him and this community.3 In Epistle to the Philadelphians 7:1–2, Ignatius recalls crying out during his visit, with what he describes as the voice of the Spirit, that the Philadelphians should do nothing without the bishop.
Ignatius' language often resembles the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John. In Epistle to the Philadelphians 6:1, he says that anyone who does not speak about Jesus, whether circumcised or not, is like a tombstone with only a name written on it, which appears to adapt Paul's statement that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything in 1 Corinthians 7:19 and Galatians 5:6 and 6:15.4 The image of tombstones also recalls the whitewashed tombs of Matthew 23:27, although descriptions of people as graves with only a name left on them are closer in Greek and Roman writers.5 In Epistle to the Philadelphians 7:1, Ignatius says that the Spirit knows where it comes from and where it is going, language close to John 3:8. This is the strongest possibility in Ignatius' letters of direct use of the Gospel of John, although the phrase may have been known apart from it.67 In Epistle to the Philadelphians 9:1, Ignatius compares Jesus to the high priest entrusted with the holy of holies, a comparison close to Hebrews 9:1–12, and calls him the door of the Father, an image closest to John 10:7 and 10:9 that may also echo Psalm 118:20.89
In Epistle to the Philadelphians 8:2, Ignatius quotes some people who told him, "If I do not find it in the archives, I do not believe it in the Gospel." One perspective is that the "archives" are written sources about Jesus, such as a written gospel. Another perspective is that the "archives" are the books of the Hebrew Bible. Josephus, a Jewish historian of the first century CE, describes these books as public records comparable to the archives of other ancient nations, and Philo of Alexandria calls them sacred records.10 When Ignatius answers, "It is written," his opponents reply, "That is the question," and Ignatius then calls Jesus himself, his cross, death, and resurrection, the archives that cannot be violated.11 Ignatius calls this group's teaching Judaism in Epistle to the Philadelphians 6:1, but its members may not have been practicing circumcision at all. They were more likely uncircumcised Christians interested in interpreting the Hebrew Bible, and their skill in interpreting it may be what threatened the community's leaders.1213
Notes