IGNATIUS, St. (surnamed Theophrastus), one of the
apostolical fathers of the church, was born in Syria,
and educated under the apostle and evangelist St. John,
and intimately acquainted with some other of the
apostles, especially St. Peter and St. Paul. Being fully
instructed in the doctrines of Christianity, he was, for
his eminent parts and piety, ordained by St. John,
and confirmed about the year 67 bishop of Antioch, by
these two apostles, who first planted Christianity in that
city, where the disciples also were first called Christians.
Antioch was then not only the metropolis of Syria,
but a city the most famous and renowned of any in the
east, and the ancient seat of the Roman emperors, as
well as of the viceroy and governors. In this impor-
tant seat he continued to sit somewhat above 40 years,
both an honour and safeguard of the Christian reli-
gion, till the year 107, when Trajan the emperor,
flashed with a victory which he had lately obtained
over the Scythians and Daci, about the ninth year of
his reign, came to Antioch to make preparations for a
war against the Parthians and Armenians. He en-
tered the city with the pomp and solemnities of a tri-
umph; and, as his first care usually was about the con-
cernments of religion, he began presently to inquire
into that affair. Christianity had by this time made
such a progress, that the Romans grew jealous and
uneasy at it. This prince, therefore, had already
commenced a persecution against the Christians in
other parts of the empire, which he now resolved to
carry on here. However, as he was naturally of a
mild
Ignatius. mild disposition, though he ordered the laws to be put in force against them if convicted, yet he forbade them to be fought after.
In this state of affairs, Ignatius, thinking it more prudent to go himself than stay to be sent for, of his own accord presented himself to the emperor; and, it is said, there passed a long and particular discourse between them, wherein the emperor expressing a surprise how he dared to transgress the laws, the bishop took the opportunity to assert his own innocency, and to explain and vindicate his faith and freedom. The issue of this was, that he was cast into prison, and this sentence passed upon him, That, being incurably over-ridden with superstition, he should be carried bound by soldiers to Rome, and there thrown as a prey to wild beasts.
He was first conducted to Seleucia, a port of Syria, at about 16 miles distance, the place were Paul and Barnabas set sail for Cyprus. Arriving at Smyrna in Ionia, he went to visit Polycarp bishop of that place, and was himself visited by the clergy of the Asian churches round the country. In return for that kindness, he wrote letters to several churches, as the Ephesians, Magnesians, and Trallians, besides the Romans, for their instruction and establishment in the faith; one of these was addressed to the Christians at Rome, to acquaint them with his present state, and passionate desire not to be hindered in the course of martyrdom which he was now hastening to accomplish.
His guard, a little impatient of their stay, set sail with him for Troas, a noted city of the lesser Phrygia, not far from the ruins of old Troy; where, at his arrival, he was much refreshed with the news he received of the persecution ceasing in the church of Antioch: hither also several churches sent their messengers to pay their respects to him; and hence too he dispatched two epistles, one to the church of Philadelphias, and the other to that of Smyrna; and, together with this last, as Eusebius relates, he wrote privately to Polycarp, recommending to him the care and inspection of the church of Antioch.
From Troas they sailed to Neapolis, a maritime town in Macedonia; thence to Philippi, a Roman colony, where they were entertained with all imaginable kindness and courtesy, and conducted forwards on their journey, passing on foot through Macedonia and Epirus, till they came to Epidamnium, a city of Dalmatia: where again taking shipping, they sailed through the Adriatic, and arrived at Rhegium, a port-town in Italy; directing their course thence through the Tyrrhenian sea to Puteoli, whence Ignatius desired to proceed by land, ambitious to trace the same way by which St Paul went to Rome: but this wish was not complied with; and, after a stay of 24 hours, a prosperous wind quickly carried them to the Roman port, the great harbour and station for their navy, built near Ollia, at the mouth of the Tyber, about 16 miles from Rome; whither the martyr longed to come, as much desirous to be at the end of his race, as his keepers, weary of their voyage, were to be at the end of their journey.
The Christians at Rome, daily expecting his arrival, were come out to meet and entertain him, and accordingly received him with a mixture of joy and sorrow;
but when some of them intimated, that possibly the populace might be taken off from desiring his death, he expressed a pious indignation, intreating them to cast no rubs in his way, nor do any thing that might hinder him, now he was hastening to his crown. There are many such expressions as this in his epistle to the Romans, which plainly show that he was highly ambitious of the crown of martyrdom. Yet it does not appear that he rashly sought or provoked danger. Among other expressions of his ardour for suffering, he said, that the wild beasts had feared and refused to touch some that had been thrown to them, which he hoped would not happen to him. Being conducted to Rome, he was presented to the prefect, and the emperor's letters probably delivered concerning him. The interval before his martyrdom was spent in prayers for the peace and prosperity of the church. That his punishment might be the more pompous and public, one of their solemn festivals, the time of their Saturnalia, and that part of it when they celebrated their Sigillaria, was pitched on for his execution; at which time it was their custom to entertain the people with the bloody conflicts of gladiators, and the hunting and fighting with wild beasts. Accordingly, on the 13th kal. January, i. e. December 20. he was brought out into the amphitheatre, and the lions being let loose upon him, quickly dispatched their meal, leaving nothing but a few of the hardest of his bones. These remains were gathered up by two deacons who had been the companions of his journey; and being transported to Antioch, were interred in the cemetery, without the gate that leads to Daphne; whence, by the command of the emperor Theodosius, they were removed with great pomp and solemnity to the Temple, a temple within the city, dedicated to the public genius of it, but now consecrated to the memory of the martyr.
St Ignatius stands at the head of those Antinocian fathers, who have occasionally delivered their opinions in defence of the true divinity of Christ, whom he calls the Son of God, and his eternal world. He is also reckoned the great champion of the doctrine of the episcopal order, as distinct and superior to that of priest and deacon. And one, the most important, use of his writings respects the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, which he frequently alludes to, in the very expressions as they stand at this day.—Archbishop Usher's edition of his works, printed in 1647, is thought the best: yet there is a fresher edition extant at Amsterdam, where, beside the best notes, there are the dissertations of Usher and Pearson.
St Ignatius's Bean, the fruit of a plant. See IGNATIA, BOYAN Index.