Syriac Recension of St. Ignatius’ Letters

The excerpts cited here are taken from The Antient Syriac Version of the Epistles of St. Ignatius to**** St. Polycarp, the Ephesians, and the Romans Together with Extracts from His Epistles, Collected from the Writings of Severus of Antioch, Timotheus of Alexandria, and Others: Edited with an English Translation and Notes : Also the Greek Text of These Three Epistles, Corrected According to the Authority of the Syriac Version. All emphasis will be mine.

“... Expect Him who is above times, Him to whom there are no times, Him who is unseen , Him who for our sakes became seen, Him who is impalpable, Him who is without suffering, Him who for our sakes suffered, Him who for our sakes endured every thing in every form...” (The First Epistle of St. Ignatius, to Polycarp, pp. 5, 7)

IGNATIUS, who is Theophoros, to the Church which is blessed in the greatness of God the Father, and perfected; to her who was separated from eternity that she should be at all times for the glory that continueth and changeth not, and is perfected and chosen in the purpose of truth, by the will of the Father of Jesus Christ our God ; to her who is deserving of happiness; to her who is at Ephesus * in Jesus Christ in joy unblameable; much peace.

BECAUSE your much-beloved name is acceptable to me in God, which ye have obtained in nature by a will pure and just, and also by the Faith and by the Love of Jesus Christ our Saviour , and ye are imitators of God, and ye are fervent in the blood of God , and have speedily accomplished the work congenial to you... and ye are prepared for the building of God the Father , and ye are raised on high by the engine of Jesus Christ, which is the Cross , and ye are drawn by the rope, which is the Holy Ghost , and your pulley is your Faith, and your Love the way that raiseth up on high to God. * Pray for all men, for there is hope of repentance for them, that they may be worthy of God...

Let us then be imitators in our Lord in gentleness, and that who rather may be injured, and unjustly used, and defrauded: not that the promise is the deed, unless that in the power of Faith a man be found even to the end. This is better that a man should be silent when he is something than that he should speak when he is not; that according to those things which he speaks he should act, and by those things of which he is silent he should be known.My spirit boweth down to that Cross , which is an offence to those who do not believe, but to you for salvation and for life eternal.

_There was hidden from the ruler of this worldthe virginity of Mary, and the birth of our Lord _ and the three mysteries of the shout, which were done in the quietness of God by means of the star; _and hereby the manifestation of the Son magic began to be dissolved and all bonds to be loosed, and the ancient kingdom, and the error of evil is destroyed. _From henceforth have all things been moved together, and the dissolution of death has been devised, and there is a commencement for that which is perfected in God. * (The Second Epistle of St. Ignatius, to the Ephesians, pp. 11, 13, 15)

“... Ye will not give me any thing which is better than this, that I should be sacrificed to God whilst the altar is prepared , that in love ye may be in one concord, that ye may praise God the Father in Jesus Christ our Lord because he deemed a Bishop worthy that he should be God's, when he called him from the East to the West. It is good that I should set from the world in God, that through Him I may rise in life. Ye have never envied any man. Ye have taught others. _Only pray for strength that it may be given to me from within and from without, that not only I may say, but also may will;and not that I may be called a Christian only, but also may be found to be so: for if I am found to be so, I am also able to be called so. Then am I faithful, when I am not seen in the world. For there is nothing seen that is good: _not that persuasion is the deed, but great is Christianity when the world hateth i t. I write to all the Churches, and I declare to all men, that willingly I die for God, if it be that you hinder me not. I beg of you, be not with me in the love that is not in its season. Leave me, that I may be for the beasts, that by means of them I may be worthy of God. I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts am I ground, that I may be found the pure bread of God. With provoking provoke ye the beasts, that they may be a grave for me, and may leave nothing of my body, that not even when I am fallen asleep may I be a burden upon any man. Then am I a disciple in truth to Jesus Christ, when the world seeth not even my body. Intreat our Lord for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. I am not commanding you like Peter and Paul, who are Apostles , but I one condemned: they then are free, but I am a slave even till now. But if I suffer, I am the freedman of Jesus Christ, and I shall rise from the dead in Him free... (The Third Epistle of St. Ignatius, to the Romans, pp. 19, 21)

“... Fire, and the cross, and the beasts which are prepared, cutting of the limbs, scattering of the bones, and crushing of the whole body, hard torments of the Devil, let them come upon me, and only may I be worthy of Jesus Christ. The pains of child-birth stand over me,and my love is crucified , and I have no fire in another love.* I do not desire the food of corruption, nor the desires of this world. The bread of God I seek, which is the body of Christ,and his blood. I seek the drink which is love incorruptible .... Know me from myself. For I am cautious, lest ye should not find satisfaction, and should be perplexed. For even I, not because I am bound, and because I am able to know heavenly things, and the places of angels, and the station of powers that are visible and invisible, am I on this account a disciple: for I am far short of the perfection which is worthy of God. † Be ye safe perfectly in the patience of Jesus Christ our God.” (Ibid., pp. 23, 25)

I.

From the book of the Saint, my Lord Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, against the wicked Grammaticus.

Testimonies of the Holy Fathers who from the Apostolic times soundly delivered the mystery of the right word of Faith, and regarded Emmanuel one and the same in miracles and in suffering, and rejected the wicked distinction of a duality of natures after the unity.

Of Ignatius Bishop of Antioch and Martyr, from the Epistle to the Romans.

Permit ye me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God. But it is found in other copies than these, which are rather older, thus: -Permit ye me to be a disciple of the sufferings of my God.

Of the Same, from the Epistle to Polycarp.

Be thou observant of the times. Him who is ABOVE the times expect, Him who is WITHOUT TIMES, Him invisible , Him who for our sakes was visible, Him impalpable, Him without suffering, Him who for our sakes was subject to suffering, Him who in every manner endured for our sakes.

Of the Same, from the Epistle to the Ephesians.

When ye were inflamed by the blood of God, ye perfectly accomplished the deed worthy in kind. Of the Same, from the Epistle to those who were in Magnesia. Be careful that ye do every thing, since the Bishop sitteth in the place of God, and the Presbyters in the place of the session of the Apostles, who are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ; who was before the worlds with the Father , and in the end was manifested.

Of the Same, from the same Epistle.

For the divine Prophets lived in Jesus Christ ; on this account also they were persecuted, who from His grace were inspired with the Spirit , so that they, who are not persuaded may be persuaded, that there is one God, who manifested Himself through Jesus Christ his Son, who is His Word, who proceeded from silence, who in every thing pleased Him who sent him.- That then He proceeded from silence is this, that He was ineffably begotten of the Father , and as that the word is incomprehensible whatever it be or the mind; therefore it is right that He should be honoured in silence, and not that his divine and unprecedented birth should be inquired into ; who, when He has this exaltation, not changeably , but truly, for our sakes became man, and in every thing pleased the Father , when He fulfilled the obedience for us.

Of the Same, from the Epistle to the Trallians.

For when ye are subject to the Bishop as to Jesus Christ, ye appear to me that ye are not living as men, but as Jesus Christ, who for our sakes died, that when ye believe in his death ye may escape from this, (viz.) that ye shall die. (Ibid., pp. 29, 31)

Of the Same, from the Epistle to the Smyrneans.

I praise Jesus Christ God , who has thus made you wise. For I knew you that ye were perfect in immoveable Faith, as if ye were fixed to the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ , in flesh and in spirit, and ye are confirmed in love in the blood of Christ ; and it is confirmed to you that our Lord in truth is of the race of David in the flesh, but the Son of God by the will and by the power of God ; who was born in truth from the Virgin; who was baptized of John, in order that all righteousness may be fulfilled by Him: truly before Pontius Pilate and Herod the Tetrarch was He fixed for us in the flesh, of whose fruit we are from his suffering divinely blest, in order that He may raise a sign to eternity by his resurrection for his saints and his faithful, whether among the Jews or among the Gentiles, in one body of his church. For all these things He suffered for our sakes, that we may be saved; and truly He suffered, truly also He raised himself.

Of Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna and Martyr, from the Epistle to the Philippians.

In the same manner the deacons who are blameless before his righteousness, of the same God and Christ are deacons, and not of men.

Of the Same, from the same Epistle.

But God himself, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal Chief Priest himself, God Jesus Christ , build you up in faith and in truth, and in all gentleness, and in all absence of wrath, and patience, and endurance of Spirit, and in perseverance, and in chastity.

Of Clement, the third Bishop of Rome after the Apostles, from the second Epistle to the Corinthians.

My brethren, thus is it right for us to think concerning Jesus Christ as concerning God, as concerning the Judge of the quick and the dead ; and it is not right for us to think small things concerning our salvation: for if we think small things concerning it, small things also do we hope to receive. And when we hear as concerning small things, we sin, because we do not know from whence we are called, and by whom, and to what place; and how much Jesus Christ endured that he might suffer for us. (Ibid., pp. 33, 35)

V.

From the Book composed by my Lord Timotheus, Bishop of Alexandria, against the Council of Chalcedon.

Of the blessed Ignatius, Bishop and Martyr, from the Epistle to the Smyrneans.

Until they repent to that passion which is our resurrection. Let no man err. Even heavenly things and the glory of the angels, and the principalities, visible and invisible, if they do not believe in the blood of Christ, which is God's , even for them is there judgment. He who can receive it let him receive it. Let not place puff up a man: for all this is faith and love; than which there is nothing that is more esteemed.

Of the Same, from the Epistle to the Romans.

There is not any thing which is seen that is becoming; for our God Jesus Christ being in the Father is the more seen. The work is not of persuasion, but of greatness is the Christian when he is hated by the world. I write to all the churches, and I charge all men, that by my own will for God I die, if it be that you do not hinder.

And after a few things,

It is better for me that I should die for the sake of Jesus Christ, than that I should reign over the ends of the earth. Him I seek who died for us ; Him I desire who for our sakes rose. The child-birth is set over me. Leave me, my brethren ; do not hinder me from (life) ; do not wish that I may die. Him who seeketh that he may be God's, do not make him dwell in the world : neither do ye by any thing material entice me. Leave me, that I may receive the pure light. When I go thither a man shall I be. Permit ye me to be an imitator of the suffering ofmy God. If any man possess himself in himself, let him understand what I wish, and let him suffer with me, knowing those things which surround me.

Many proofs of the holy Fathers,which shew that the mother of God is the Virgin, and that the true God himself is Jesus Christ, and that He is one and the same Son, who of God and the Father was divinely confessed, and of the Holy Virgin by the taking of the flesh was written among the generations, and that at the birth, which was in the flesh, of the Word he sustained sufferings and death, and that Christ himself is the Word of God.

Of the blessed Ignatius, Bishop and Martyr, from the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Where is the wise? Where is the disputer? Where is the boasting of those who are called knowing? For our God Jesus Christ was conceived of Mary , by the dispensation of God, of the seed of David, and of the Holy Ghost : who was born and baptized, that being passible he may purify the water. And there deceived the ruler of this world, the virginity of Mary and her child-birth, and in the same manner also the death of the Lord, the three mysteries of the shout, which were done in the silence of God.

Of the same.

Permit ye me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God.

Of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna and Martyr, from his Epistle to the Philippians.

But God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Chief Priest of Eternity himself, God Jesus Christ , build you up in the faith and in the truth and in all gentleness.

Of Clement, Bishop of Rome, from the first Epistle on Virginity.

Understandest thou then what honour chastity requires? Knowest thou then the glory with which virginity has been glorified? The womb of the Virgin bore our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Word ; and when our Lord was made man by the Virgin, in this conduct did he conduct himself in the world: by this thou mayest know the glory of Virginity.

From the same, from the beginning of the third Epistle.

My brethren, thus it is becoming to us, to think concerning Jesus Christ as concerning God , as concerning the Judge of the quick and the dead; and it is not right for us, that we should think small things respecting our salvation; for in this that we think small things concerning it, small things also we expect that we shall receive. And when we hear as concerning small things we sin, in that we do not know from whence we have been called, and from whom, and to what place, and all those things which Jesus Christ endured that he should suffer for our sakes.

Of the same.

There is one Christ our Lord who saved us, who is from the first spirit, but became in the flesh , and thus called us.

VI.

Of Saint Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch and Martyr, from the Epistle to the city of Philadelphia.

Do not err my brethren; he who cleaveth to him that rendeth the Church, doth not inherit the kingdom of God.

Of Saint Ignatius Theophorus, from the Epistle which he wrote to the Church in Asia.

Let no man err. Even heavenly things and the glory of angels and principalities, visible and invisible, unless they believe in the blood of Christ, who is God , even for them is there judgment.

Again, of the Same, from the Epistle to the Ephesians.

For there is one Physician, carnal and spiritual, made and not made, God in man , true life in death, from Mary and from God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord.

VII.

And again, the blessed Ignatius, Patriarch of Antioch,who was the second after Peter the Apostle : He also said thus in the Epistle to the Ephesians: Ignatius: But there deceived the Ruler of this world, the virginity of Mary and her child-birth; and in the same manner also the death of our Lord.

Of Saint Ignatius, Patriarch of Antioch, who was the second after the Apostles, from the Epistle to the Romans.

Permit ye me to be an imitator of the sufferings of my God. And again, he says. My spirit boweth down to thy Cross , which is an offence to those who do not believe, but to us for Salvation and for life eternal.

VIII.

Of Saint Ignatius the God- clad Martyr and Archbishop of Antioch, from the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Who taught that Christ was first passible in the flesh and then impassible. There is one Physician carnal and spiritual, made and not made, God among men, true life in death , from Mary and from God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord.

IX.

Also Ignatius the God-clad and Martyr, when he wrote to the Ephesians, taught that Christ in that he was passible, that is, in the flesh, after the trial of sufferings and death was impassible at the last, when although in that he was God at all times he was impassible at all times. Thus then said Ignatius.

There is one Physician carnal and spiritual, made and not made, God among men, true life in death , both from Mary and from God, first passible and then impassible, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Ibid., pp. 43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53)

Further Reading

Ignatius on Christ as the Uncreated, Timeless & Ageless God

Ignatius’s Proclamation of Christ's Essential Deity

Athanasius Confirms Ignatius’ Christology

Ignatius on Jesus’ Physical, Bodily Resurrection

Bart Ehrman, Ignatius, the Trinity, & the True Church

IGNATIUS’ SHORTER AND LONGER LETTERS TO THE TRALLANS

IGNATIUS’ SHORTER & LONGER LETTERS TO EPHESUS

IGNATIUS’ SHORTER & LONGER LETTERS TO ROME

IGNATIUS’S SHORTER & LONGER EPISTLE TO POLYCARP