The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Summary

The Epistle to the Magnesians was written c. 107–110 AD by St. Ignatius from Smyrna, where he met a delegation from Magnesia led by their bishop Damas. It is a plea for unity under the bishop and one of the earliest Christian arguments that the faith of Christ has fulfilled and superseded the observances of the old Law.

Historical Context

Bound for Rome under guard during the reign of Emperor Trajan, Ignatius received at Smyrna the visits of neighbouring churches. The Magnesians came with their young bishop Damas, his presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and the deacon Sotio. Moved by their youth’s leader, Ignatius wrote to warn them not to presume upon Damas’s youth but to honour him as they would God the Father, and to guard against teachers who would draw them back into Judaizing practice.

Theological Significance

  • The Lord’s Day over the Sabbath: Ignatius gives one of the first explicit witnesses that Christians are “no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again.” Orthodox worship keeps this Paschal rhythm: every Sunday is a “little Pascha,” the day of the Resurrection.

  • Christ the Fulfilment of the Prophets: Against Judaizing, Ignatius argues that the very prophets “lived according to Jesus Christ” and looked to Him as their teacher. This is the Church’s typological reading of the Old Testament—the Law and the Prophets find their meaning and end in Christ, not the reverse.

  • The Threefold Ministry as Icon of Heaven: He exhorts the Magnesians to do nothing without the bishop, presbyters, and deacons, who image the Father, the apostolic council, and Christ the servant. This hierarchical order is, for Orthodoxy, an earthly icon of the heavenly harmony.

  • Unity in the Incarnate Christ: All this rests on the reality of the Incarnation—Christ who “was with the Father before the beginning of time” and truly “was born, and did eat and drink.” Genuine unity is communion in the one true God-made-man, not mere agreement among men.

  1. 0. Greeting
  2. 1. Reason of writing the epistle
  3. 2. I rejoice in your messengers
  4. 3. Honour your youthful bishop
  5. 4. Some wickedly act independently of the bishop
  6. 5. Death is the fate of all such
  7. 6. Preserve harmony
  8. 7. Do nothing without the bishop and presbyters
  9. 8. Caution against false doctrines
  10. 9. Let us live with Christ
  11. 10. Beware of Judaizing
  12. 11. I write these things to warn you
  13. 12. You are superior to me
  14. 13. Be established in faith and unity
  15. 14. Your prayers requested
  16. 15. Salutations

Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the (Church) blessed in the grace of God the Father, in Jesus Christ our Saviour, in whom I salute the Church which is at Magnesia, near the Mæander, and wish it abundance of happiness in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ.