Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 30-107 AD) : Brilliant Light in the Winter Sky by Chris White

Ignatius of Antioch being eaten by beasts

It was late in the fall when the emperor Trajan and his army arrived in Antioch.  It was time to resupply and rest for in two days they would be continuing their march east to battle the Parthians (ancient Persia) who had been encroaching upon the Roman frontiers.  Antioch Syria (now part of present-day Turkey) had a very large Christian community which had once been taught by both the Apostles Peter and Paul and was actually the place where people were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:19).  The Church of Antioch was born out of Roman persecution and had suffered from it sporadically for many years.  Ignatius of Antioch was the beloved bishop of the city and gave loving oversight to the church much like a father would his children.  

Antioch is in present-day Turkey

Antioch was a long ways from Rome and Trajan saw that this distance had provided the freedom for the Christian “disorder” as he called it, to take root there like an aggressive weed.  The citizens of Antioch were among those he and his army had come and would possibly give up their lives to defend but to his thinking they were hardly loyal to him.  Like other Roman emperors before and after, Trajan decided to make a stand against this movement.  Through the torture of several citizens, he learned who the Christians were and where they could be found and many in the Christian community were rounded up to be publicly “reconverted” to the gods of Rome (which among them was often the emperor himself) or be executed for treason.

Ancient "enhanced interrogation"

As a crowd assembled in the amphitheater to see what was going on, an elderly gentleman made his way through the streets to the gathering.  He was on a mission.  Trajan was seated on his portable throne to look upon the proceedings.  Church members were going to be brought forward and be asked if Caesar was lord.  If they said yes, they would be asked to fully apostasize by offering incense to the genius of the emperor.  If they denied Caesar and continued to only acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, they would be tortured and then put to death before Trajan left town.  But something entirely different happened that day.

A computer generated model of the ancient city

That same elderly gentleman seen on the streets was well-known to everyone in Antioch as bishop Ignatius.  Quite fearlessly Ignatius entered the theatre and walked directly towards Trajan.  Trajan’s guard tried to stop the meeting, but Trajan recognized that Ignatius must be a key person in town and wanted to hear what he had to say and so the two men met face to face.

“You have no call to harass these people!” said Ignatius.  “I am their spiritual leader and it is I who have taught them to give all their allegiance to the Lord Jesus.  The blame for this should fall upon me, and me alone.”

“And who are you old man?” replied Trajan.  “My given name is Ignatius, but my true name is Theophorus (meaning “God-bearer”) because as the bishop of this town, I bear the truth of God and the sacred meal of our religion which is the body and blood of our Lord and God Jesus of Nazareth.”

Most all of this was incomprehensible to Trajan, but as a skilled politician, senator, and military man, he had long ago learned to identify the strategic moment in most situations and this was certainly one of them.  Ignatius was the head of this subversive movement in Antioch and once he was disposed of, this whole Christian craze will likely die for lack of leadership or splinter apart with in-fighting about who will be his successor.

And with that thought in mind, Trajan had Ignatius the bishop of Antioch arrested and placed in chains and sent to Rome with a detachment of ten soldiers.  Normally the death sentence would have been executed then and there, but as I mentioned before, Trajan was a strategic thinker.  The people of Rome loved watching execution by wild animals as part of the entertainment program at the Circus Maximus.  Why not let them watch a great religious leader be torn apart in front of them at the very least, or, in a best case scenario, watch him cower in fear at the sight of the lions and renounce his faith in Christ and find his new found allegiance to Caesar in the capitol of the Empire?

Trajan a man skilled in war and politics

Normally the trans-shipment of a prisoner was done by sea, but with winter closing in the sea route was not going to work.  And so, even as Trajan’s army marched east towards Persia, Ignatius of Antioch, his Roman guard detail, and a few friends who were allowed to attend to him began the march west moving first though Anatolia (Asia Minor) and then joining the via Egnatia in Macedonia which would take them overland to Rome.  All along the way to Rome, in something providentially akin to the book of Acts, local Christians come to meet Ignatius, most likely feeding him and his traveling companions, and then staying to hear a brief homily (short sermon).  Ignatius also takes time to dictate letters to Christian communities and friends such as bishop Polycarp of Smyrna along the way.  These letters are the primary source of information we have about Ignatius as a person but also what he believed.  Because he is a person who lived during the apostolic age and just into the sub-apostolic age, his writings give us a picture of the pattern of life and theology of the earliest church.

Possible routes that could have been taken

The question I ask when I read these letters is why these receiving congregations thought these letters valuable enough to collect them long after the fact (which they did) and why Ignatius, in the absence of there existing anything remotely akin to a monarchial bishop in the day, felt the freedom to exhort these congregations who had their own bishop?

Read the full text of the Ignatian Epistles

If there is any truth to some of the later accounts that come to us through the historian Eusebius and other church fathers, Ignatius, though not an apostle, was an eyewitness of Jesus himself but also knew personally the Apostles Peter and Paul, and was later taught, along with Polycarp, by the Apostle John in Ephesus.  The Martyrium of Ignatius says that when Jesus took a child into his arms and said let the children come to me (Mk. 9:36) the actual child he held was Ignatius at possible 4 years of age.  This is very possible if Ignatius lived to be in his 80s.  The bulk of his letters are to congregations in Asia Minor with the exception of the final one directed to the Church of Rome.  It could be that Ignatius was simply well-known in that part of the world because he was one of the last living eyewitnesses at the time or just as plausible, he actually knew many of the congregational leaders because of his strong connection to Ephesus and the Apostle John.  Whatever the reasons, the letters of Ignatius were valuable at the time they were written and are of greater importance today as the only testimony from an era in Christian history we know so little about.

So what do we learn from the epistles of Ignatius?  In all of them there are three principle concerns: Christian unity, remaining steadfast in sound doctrine, and finally that Ignatius himself would bravely face his martyrdom.  Ignatius considered being killed by the Romans for his testimony of Christ to be the ultimate form of discipleship, laying down his life for his church, even as Christ did at the cross.

Christian unity is a theme that must be understood in the context of the schismatic churches and teaching that were in blossom during this time.  Ignatius is the first Christian to actually use the term “catholic church” in his writing.  For him, this church went beyond local congregation to a world wide body of true Christians walking faithfully with the Lord and in unity with one another.  The basis for that unity was walking in fellowship and concord with your local bishop.  The bishop was the spiritual father of the area who was in charge of all instruction and celebration of the Eucharist.  Churches had a divinely charged threefold ministry of bishop, elders, and deacons and these correspond to the Father, Son, and the Apostles.

Two of the controversies that Ignatius dealt with in his day was those who believed Jesus was God but didn’t have a true human body but rather only appeared to have one as a concession to our weakness as humans.  The other was the age-old issue of whether Christians should keep the Sabbath day or not.  To these issues we find Ignatius quite direct and unequivocal.  He directly states that Jesus is God and that Jesus is God incarnate.  I would guess that even as a young lad, Ignatius would have noticed or not if Jesus didn’t have a real physical body when he held him.  This is important as Ignatius shows us the earliest theology is very much that of the later ecumenical councils.  To the Sabbath, Ignatius points out that Christians have always worshipped on Sunday because this is the day of the resurrection of Christ and it is the new day of God’s choosing for worship.  Once again, something Christians believed long before the day of Constantine and his legislation of Sunday as a day of rest for all.

Christ and Apostles Mosaic in Antioch

Most important is the theme of martyrdom as a sacrifice and offering in the letters.  It has a benefit for the faith of the entire church.  The mood of his correspondence on this topic is exaltation bordering on mania. Martyrdom is following Christ in his passion.  This was the highest form of discipleship.  Ignatius sets his face like flint to Rome in this matter.  This may have been partly out of an internal fear that he apostasize to save his own life or that a rumor get started that he did.  

Hear a dramatic reading of Ignatius' epistle to Rome 

Ignatius writes “Near the sword is near to God.” And elsewhere “I am the wheat of Christ, and am ground by the teeth of wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God.”  This echoes the teaching of Jesus about God’s judgment being a separation of the wheat and the chaff (Mt. 3:12).  As he sends a letter forward to the Christians in Rome he writes: do not show inopportune kindness to me but let me meet my doom as a witness and martyr.  He asks several times in the letter for their non-intervention.  This request to me is quite intriguing.  Does it suggest that they did have some power to save him?  Were there powerful people in the Roman church or did they have people on the inside of the military who could arrange for a timely escape?

Cave church of St. Peter in Antioch today

Traditionally it is believed that Ignatius was fed to the lions during the Saturnalia festival in December at the Circus Maximus.  Although grueling and violent, the lions were apparently quick and thorough leaving only a few bones behind at the end of their meal.  Schaff writes, “His faithful friends who accompanied him to Rome dreamed that night that they saw him standing next to Christ covered in sweat as if he had just come from great labor.”  This dream gave them the joyful confidence their bishop  was with the Lord and they carried his remains (or should I say leftovers) home for burial in Antioch.

Recently Pope Benedict XVI wrote that Ignatius is a ‘doctor of unity’ because he teaches the church that unity comes by common faith in Christ but also our devoted efforts to one another because we are part of a common body.  To this I add the summation of Michael Holmes:  “Just as we become aware of a meteor only when, after traveling silently through space for untold millions of miles, it blazes briefly through the atmosphere before dying in a shower of fire, so it is with Ignatius, bishop of Antioch in Syria.” As we recall the brave witness of this early Christian bishop, truly a brilliant light is still seen by all in the skies of winter.

Circus Maximus in Rome today where Ignatius was killed

 

 

 

Sources

Ferguson, Everett.  Church History vol. 1 : From Christ to the Pre-Reformation.  (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 2013).

Frend, W. H. C.  Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church.  (Cambridge : James Clarke and Co. Ltd., 2008)

Ignatius.  Letter to the Ephesians, Letter to the Romans.  The Early Christian Fathers.  Bettenson, ed.  (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1984)

“Ignatius of Antioch”  Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiological Literature.  McClintock and Strong eds.  (Grand Rapids : Baker, 1981)

“Ignatius of Antioch”  Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity.  Angelo di Berardino ed.  (Downers Grove : Intervarsity, 2008)

Jefford, Clayton N.  The Apostolic Fathers : An Essential Guide.  (Nashville : Abingdon Press, 2005)

Pope Benedict XVI.  The Fathers.  (Huntington : Our Sunday Visitor Publishing, 2008)

Saint of the Day: Lives, Lessons, and Feasts.  Foley and McCloskey O.F.M. eds., rev.  (Cincinnati : St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2001)

Schaff, Philip.  History of the Christian Church Vol. 2.  (Grand Rapids :  Eerdmans, 1994)

The Apostolic Fathers in English.  Michael W. Holmes, translator and ed.  ( Grand Rapids : Baker Academic, 2006)

St. Lazarus of Bethany:4 Days Dead and the Friend of Jesus by Chris White

The story of St. Lazarus is forever intertwined with his personal friendship with Jesus of Nazareth and the miracle wrought on his behalf by the Lord.  Lazarus, whose name means “God Helps”, and his two older sisters Martha and Mary are some of the few people we know by name who were actually personal friends of the Lord.  They had a large home in Bethany (2 miles from Jerusalem) which Jesus visited several times and we know that during Passion week it is likely this same home that served as headquarters for Him and the other disciples.

Mary, Martha and Jesus

From what we read in the Gospels, Jesus loved all three of this family which shows his love and appreciation for the different varieties of personalities one finds in the world.  Mary, the quiet one, Martha the busy and active one, and Lazarus, the retiring one, all have a place in his accepting love.  In John’s gospel chapter 11 we read that Lazarus fell sick and his sisters sent for Jesus to come, but Jesus delays coming to his sickbed for the purpose of working his greatest miracle (aside from His own resurrection).

When Jesus arrives in Bethany from Galilee he finds himself at a house of mourning.  In this we learn a couple of things about the customs surrounding death in this culture and time.  First of all Martha is surrounded by mourners as she greets Jesus.   It was the sacred duty of Jews to come and assist a family in mourning.  They would accompany to the grave and file around the family of the deceased and speak to them words of consolation.

 Alfred Edersheim notes that Lazarus, though a friend and follower of Jesus, was not considered an apostate in his synagogue.  For in the time of Jesus there was an elaborate code of behavior surrounding the death of someone in the synagogue that had apostasized or was considered fallen away from God.  They would dress in white, and instead of being somber, they would be festive and full of laughter.  It was to show complete disrespect to the dead to be glad they were gone.  Obviously Lazarus had lived a good and holy life and was being mourned appropriately in his passing.

Jesus’ delay in coming was neither neglect nor a denial of their request.  The sisters believed if the Lord just heard about it, he would make the illness go away.  Jesus did come but his delay was purposeful that it might glorify God and sharpen the faith of his friends and followers.  There is reason to believe that the Jews held the belief that the spirit of a person hovered over the body until the end of the third day when corruption set in.  Jesus made certain that it was understood by all that Lazarus was sleeping in the dust of death.

Lazarus Tomb in Holy Land

In the Bible, we are given nothing about Lazarus as to what he said or did.  We are told by the Apostle John that Jesus loved him deeply and wept over him as he stood at the door of his tomb.  Did he weep over what Lazarus had gone through in the journey of death or was he weeping because of what this would cost Lazarus personally to return from the grave and leave heaven behind.

Jesus then had, to the horror of the family because of the odor, the door of the tomb opened, and after a prayer, called Lazarus by name to come forth.  If you believe Jesus is who He said He was, the specificity of the name being called becomes an important detail.  Had Jesus said “come forth” all the dead in the family tomb would have come back to life.   Thus we read that only Lazarus came forth and needed to be unbound from his burial linens and was restored to his sisters and friends to the astonishment of nearly everyone.

Our curiosity about this experience is not satisfied.  We know nothing of what Lazarus experienced or if he even had a memory of it.  We know nothing of whether his values or thinking in any way changed through this experience.  What we do learn are a couple of things here:

1. That the wisdom of divine love does not always shield its subjects from suffering, sorrow, and    death.  The Lord sometimes puts His loved ones in uncomfortable places for a greater purpose.

2. Man and God are combined in the miracle.  As the man, Jesus sympathizes in our sorrows, as God he has the power to banish them.

3. He alone is the resurrection and the life.  He is our resurrection and he is our life.  When we die, we are beyond the help of anyone except the one who has the power to raise from the dead.  What we know from Lazarus’ resurrection is that in like manner, the Lord will come for us in our death.

Like everything related to Jesus’ life and ministry, this event brought about different responses from different people.  Some who witnessed this miracle believed in Jesus completely, while others for fear that Jesus would surpass their place in the religious establishment began plotting immediately to have Jesus murdered (which eventually took place not long afterward in Jerusalem).  Still others plotted to kill Lazarus as well to destroy him as evidence of Christ’s power to raise people from the dead.

From this point we move beyond the pages of scripture to the traditions of the church about what happened to Lazarus after this event.  It is believed he was raised from the dead at age 30 and lived an additional 30 years.  There is also a legend that Lazarus never smiled again the remainder of his life because he knew that once again he would have to undergo death.  From here the story of Lazarus of Bethany diverges in two directions that might be contradictory but also might be true with a little reconciliation.

 According to one version of the story, Lazarus escaped to Cyprus because of death threats by the Jews.  When he arrived, he was appointed by Paul and Barnabas (who first brought Christianity to Cyprus) as the bishop of Kition (modern-day Larnaca).  There he lived out the remainder of his days and died being buried inside the church he had led for so many years.  Later, representatives of the Eastern Roman Emperor came in search of his relics taking at least some of his bones from Cyprus to Constantinople to be placed in a new cathedral there.

Another version of the story is that the Jews in a rage put Lazarus, Martha, and Mary to sea in a boat with no oars or sails and they drifted to France where they lived the remainder of their lives with Lazarus preaching and becoming the bishop of Marseille.  There is also a legend that he died as a martyr after making many converts in Gaul.  There is a tomb to St. Lazare that possibly contains bones taken from Constantinople in the 4^th Crusade (1204 AD) by the Franks as the spoils of war.  This would explain their presence in France.

At first these might seem like contradictory facts but both are certainly possible.  In the Mediterranean of Lazarus’ day, travel from Judea to Marseille and back again could have been done readily over the sea.  Could it be that he never went back to Judea for fear of the Jews and lived in Cyprus until his death but indeed had gone to France first?

There is another story that Lazarus longed to visit with Mary the mother of Jesus, whom he knew and sent her a letter.  She wouldn’t think of him coming to see her because of the danger in Jerusalem but offered to come to Cyprus.  Lazarus being a man of means sent a boat for her and John the Apostle whom Jesus had placed in charge of his mother’s care.  The boat was blown off course by a storm and they ended up in Ephesus (Asia Minor) but eventually did visit Cyprus.  It is said the bishop’s robe that Lazarus wore was made by hand and given to him by Mary.

Lazarus Church in Cyprus

Today’s Church of Lazarus in Larnaca is a beautiful and peaceful place.  At the front of the nave is a reliquary with part of a skull bone visible that was taken from the tomb of Lazarus beneath the church.  An inscription reads “Lazarus, 4 days dead and the friend of Jesus”.  I have visited this wonderful church and consider it a great place to pray and meditate on the wonderful story of this resurrection miracle performed by Jesus on his dear friend. 

As we must all contemplate our own mortality it is especially comforting to know the Lord who calls us His friends, is one and the same as who called forth Lazarus.   For this story is the story of everyone who dies in the grace of Christ.

Sources

Blaiklock, E. M.  Today’s Handbook of Bible Characters.  (Minneapolis : Bethany House Publishing, 1979)

Edersheim, Alfred.  The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.  (McClean : McDonald Publishing, 1886)

“Lazarus”  Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.  McClintock and Strong Eds.  (Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1981)

“Lazarus of Bethany”  Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Vol. 2   Walter A. Elwell Ed. (Grand Rapids : Baker Books, 1988)

“Lazarus of Bethany”  Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels.  Green, McKnight, and Marshall Eds.  (Downers Grove:  Intervarsity, 1992)

Lockyer, Herbert  All the Miracles of the Bible.  (Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1961)

Whatever Happened to the Apostle Philip? by Chris White

Just as there is a tomb in Ephesus for John, in the nearby resort city of Hieropolis in modern Turkey there is a tomb for Philip.  By all indications in scripture, Philip was a close friend of the Apostle John.  This might account for why they lived and died in close proximity to one another.  Hieropolis was a huge health resort town with mineral springs which attracted both the ancients and people of today as visitors.  It would have been a strategic spot to spread the gospel of Christ.  Church tradition has it that Philip was martyred for his faith by being hung from large hooks.  Another tradition states that he and his daughters were all clubbed to death in the same city.  In 560 AD, Pope John III had his body removed from its tomb in Turkey and placed in a Church in Rome.  In Hieropolis (the sacred city) today there are the remains of a great church built in the shape of an eight point star that once stood over the site of Philip’s martyrdom.