This is Part 2 in a series on the writings of the early Christians. Click here for the whole series.
Today I'm going to highlight an excerpt from the writings of Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius died around the year 107 A.D., making him one of the earliest Christians whose authenticated writings --- mostly in the form of epistles, or letters, to various churches --- became part of the historical record. (Clement of Rome, about whom I wrote last time, died in 97 A.D.)
Ignatius is thought to have personally known John the Evangelist. He was martyred in the Roman amphitheater.
Today's selection is from the Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans. It's nice and short: an easy read. After the greeting, Ignatius opens with a concise creed that I like very much:
For I have observed that ye are perfected in an immoveable faith, as if ye were nailed to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit, and are established in love through the blood of Christ, being fully persuaded with respect to our Lord, that He was truly of the seed of David according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the will and power of God; that He was truly born of a virgin, was baptized by John, in order that all righteousness might be fulfilled by Him; and was truly, under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch, nailed [to the cross] for us in His flesh. Of this fruit we are by His divinely-blessed passion, that He might set up a standard s for all ages, through His resurrection, to all His holy and faithful [followers], whether among Jews or Gentiles, in the one body of His Church.
Now, He suffered all these things for our sakes, that we might be saved. And He suffered truly, even as also He truly raised up Himself, not, as certain unbelievers maintain, that He only seemed to suffer, as they themselves only seem to be [Christians]. And as they believe, so shall it happen unto them, when they shall be divested of their bodies, and be mere evil spirits.
For I know that after His resurrection also He was still possessed of flesh, and I believe that He is so now....
He really hits all the main points there, doesn't he? Jesus Christ, Son of God, born of a virgin, baptized by John, crucified, suffered, resurrected. He leaves out "died," but it's pretty firmly implied.
The "unbelievers" referred to are the Docetics. A large part of the letter is a condemnation of Docetism, a heresy which maintains that Jesus Christ did not really have a human body and did not really suffer, but only appeared to do so.
This letter contains an important piece of historical evidence regarding the doctrine of transubstantiation --- that the Eucharist, i.e. the communion host and the contents of the communion cup, is truly and substantially the flesh of Christ. A number of influential Protestant writers claim that this belief was not held by the early Christians. A prominent example is L. Boettner's Roman Catholicism; in this widely cited work, Boettner lists the doctrine of transubstantiation among "Catholic Inventions" and dates it to the year 1215.
But the primary sources tell a different story. Of the Docetics, Ignatius writes:
They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again.
That makes it pretty plain that Ignatius, along with the rest of the early Christians, firmly confessed that the Eucharist (holy Communion) is the real flesh of Christ. If not, he would not have used the Docetics' disbelief in this doctrine as an argument against them.
I hope to write more on this letter later. Here is one tidbit that I think is neat:
Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.
Ignatius of Antioch is the first writer known to have used the term "Catholic Church." So next time you hear someone say, as I heard once in an ecumenical Bible study, Back in the early Church, there was no such thing as "Catholics" or "Protestants" --- you can tell him that he is half right.
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