Chapter Twelve -- Ignatius's Letter to the Smyrneans Translation and Commentary
Chapter Twelve -- Ignatius's Letter to the Smyrneans Translation and Commentary
{L503} The church at Smyrna and its bishop Polycarp were especially dear to Ignatius. Of all the cities and communities of Asia Minor he chose Smyrna as his main stopping-off point en route to Rome. Along with the following letter to Polycarp (see chapter 13), this letter to the church itself indicates that those troubles facing the other churches were also present in Smyrna. John the Seer also wrote a short letter to the church at Smyrna (Rev 2:8-11) from which we infer that there must have been quite a clash between Jews and Gentile Christians there as in Philadelphia. We can infer from Ignatius's letter that the heresy threatening the church in Smyrna was some form of Docetism (3:1-3) fueled by some claim to visions and private revelations. In this letter too we learn that the denial of a real Incarnation of the Son of God led to its natural consequence, i.e. the denial of the humanity of Jesus in the Eucharist (7:1).
Salutation
{L504} Ignatius, called Theophorus, to the church of God the Father and of his beloved Jesus Christ. Your church in Smyrna of Asia has received mercy in every gracious gift, fulfilled in faith and love, not lacking in any gift, most worthy of God, and bearing holiness. Greetings in the blameless Spirit and Word of God.
Chapter 1
{L505} (1) I glorify Jesus Christ, the God who made you wise, for I know that you have been prepared in an unshakable faith, as you were nailed to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ in flesh and spirit and established in love in the blood of Christ, having been fulfilled for our Lord. He is truly from the tribe of David according to the flesh, but the Son of God according to the will and power of God, truly born of a virgin, baptized by John that all righteousness may be fulfilled by him. [1] (2) Truly he was nailed [to the cross] in the flesh for us under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch -- we received from the fruit of his divinely blessed suffering -- that he might carry the banner [2] for the ages through the resurrection for his holy and faithful ones, whether Jew or Gentile, in the one body of his church.
{L506} 1 An allusion to Mt 3:13-17.
{L507} 2 sussemon ("banner"), i.e. a battle standard such as the Roman armies carried. Ignatius seems to allude to Is 5:26 but here conceives of the cross as the banner which leads the army of God (cf. the church militant).
Chapter 2
{L508} (1) He suffered all these things for us to be saved. And truly he suffered as he also truly raised himself. It is not like some unbelievers say, that he only seemed to suffer. [3] They are ones who only seem to be. It will happen to them as they imagine since they will be bodiless and demonic. [4]
{L509} 3 The Docetists in Tralles also used the language of appearance.
{L510} 4 Later Christian authors speak about the damned as bodiless demons. See Camelot p. 134.
Chapter 3
{L511} (1) I for one know and believe that he was in the flesh after the resurrection. (2) When he came to those around Peter, he said to them, "Take, handle me and see that I am not an incorporeal spirit." [5] Immediately they touched and believed in him, being mingled with his flesh and spirit. [6] For this reason they too despised death and were found to be above death. (3) After the resurrection he ate and drank with them as a fleshly being even though he was spiritually united to the Father. [7]
{L512} 5 daimonion ("an incorporeal spirit"), usually translated demon in the NT, is also used in Greek to mean any spirit, good or bad.
{L513} 6 Perhaps the story of Thomas the apostle is in Ignatius's mind. See Jn 20:24-29 where Jesus appeared to him. The phrase "mingled with his flesh and spirit" in some MSS is "mingled with his flesh and blood." The choice of the verb "mingle" may allude to the Eucharist. As many fathers will later say, the one who receives the flesh and blood of Christ in the sacrament is as truly united and mingled with Christ as those who accompanied him during his earthly pilgrimage.
{L514} 7 This insistence on Jesus being bodily present to the apostles is emphasized by Paul in 1 Cor 15:3-8.
Chapter 4
{L515} (1) These are the things I warn you about even though I know that you hold them. I am protecting you in advance from the beasts in human form. Not only should you not receive them; if possible you should not meet with them. Rather, pray for them that somehow they may repent even if it is difficult. [8] Jesus Christ, our true life, has authority over this. (2) If these things only seemed to be done by the Lord, then I only seem to have been bound. Why have I surrendered myself to death, to fire, to the sword, to beasts? However, near the sword is near to God; to be among the beasts is to be in God [9] when it is in the name of Jesus Christ. I endure all things to suffer with him. He who became the perfect man strengthens me. [10]
{L516} 8 Ignatius is referring specifically to repentance with respect to the church and its unity. See Philad 3:2; 8:1, and below Smyrn 5:3.
{L517} 9 "to be among the beasts is to be in God." To bring Ignatius's Greek into English at this point is difficult. Ehrman has "to be in the presence of the wild beasts is to be in the presence of God" and Holmes has "with the beasts means with God." The preposition metaxu means "in between" or "among" (cf. Latin inter). Ignatius uses metaxu with both beasts and God but he is drawing on the wider range of meaning implicit in the word. Metaxu therion means "among the beasts" but it sounds strange in English to say "among God." However, Ignatius is saying that to be among the beasts puts the victim inside the very heart of God. Here is another of Ignatius's ways of stressing suffering as a means of drawing near to God.
{L518} 10 See Paul in Phil 4:13.
Chapter 5
{L519} (1) Some deny him in ignorance, or rather, are denied by him since they are advocates of death more than of the truth. Neither the prophets nor Moses persuaded them. (2) But even now neither the gospel nor our human sufferings have persuaded them. They think the same thing about us. What profit does anyone give me if he praises me but blasphemes my Lord by refusing to confess that he bears flesh? The one who does not say this [happened] has completely denied him since he is a carrier of death. (3) It did not seem to me [appropriate] to inscribe their names since they are unbelievers. However, may it never be mine even to remember them until they turn back to the passion which is our resurrection. [11]
{L520} 11 Here Ignatius shows how intimately the sufferings and resurrection are two parts of the one Paschal Mystery. Embracing the sufferings of Christ is inextricably bound up with his resurrection. One cannot be had without the other. Again, Ignatius shows himself to be imbued with the central truths of Paul's theology, i.e. union with Christ in his death and resurrection.
Chapter 6
{L521} (1) Let no one be deceived. If the heavenly powers, the glory of angels, and the visible and invisible rulers do not believe in the blood of Christ, [12] judgment awaits them. Let the one who can receive this do so. Position should not cause anyone to boast. Faith and love are the whole matter and nothing should be judged about this in advance. (2) You have noted those who teach heterodox things about the grace of Jesus Christ which came to us. How they are contrary to the mind of God! They are not concerned about love, neither the widow, the orphan, the afflicted -- whether bound or free, the hungry nor the thirsty.
{L522} 12 What does it mean to "not believe in the blood of Christ?" It certainly refers to the saving efficacy of his bloody death on the cross. In the light of what Ignatius says in chapter 7, it probably also means that they should believe in his blood in the Eucharist to be saved.
Chapter 7
{L523} (1) They abstain from the Eucharist and from [set times of] prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, that flesh which suffered for our sins but which the Father raised in his kindness. [13] Those who contradict the gift of God with strife will die. It would have been more profitable for them to love that they may also rise [again]. (2) It is proper to avoid such people and not to speak about them in private or in public. Rather, it is profitable to hold to the prophets, and especially to the gospel in which the passion has been shown us and the resurrection completed. It is these divisions which you should flee as the beginning of evils. [14]
{L524} 13 In keeping with what was said in 6:1, Ignatius now insists on the real human (fleshly) presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. For a fuller explanation of this passage, see the essay on the Eucharist in chapter 5.
{L525} 14 In some MSS this sentence begins chapter 8.
Chapter 8
{L526} (1) You all should follow the bishop as Jesus Christ does the Father. Follow too the presbytery as the apostles, and honor the deacons as the command of God. Let no one do anything that is proper for the church without the bishop. Let that Eucharist be considered valid that is under the bishop or performed by one to whom he entrusts it. (2) Wherever the bishop appears, let there be the fullness [of the church] as wherever Christ Jesus appears, there is the catholic church. [15] It is not lawful to baptize or to hold an agape feast without the bishop. [16] On the other hand, what he approves is pleasing to God so that everything that is practiced may be certain and valid. [17]
{L527} 15 Here is the earliest known occurrence of the phrase "catholic church," though Ignatius uses it as if it were already a standard term rather than his own creation. This, of course, is one of the four marks of the church that will later be expressed in the Nicene creed: "I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church." The word katholikos ("catholic") means universal and describes an essential feature of the church Christ founded. Christ intended the church to be for people of every nation, language, and ethnic group. Many commentators translate this "universal" to distinguish it from the Catholic Church that is centered in the See of Rome. Such a distinction is difficult to justify as katholikos already begins to take on specific meaning in the second century. See the essay on the church in chapter 4.
{L528} 16 Most scholars of early Christianity think that holding an agape feast (poieo agapen) was a large meal of which the celebration of the Eucharist was a part. Gradually these two parts were separated and the agape feast faded into disuse.
{L529} 17 Ignatius gives us evidence that the validity of church practices was tied to apostolic succession in his mind. See chapter 4 on the church.
Chapter 9
{L530} (1) Finally, it is reasonable to become sober again and, as we have opportunity, to repent toward God. It is a good thing to recognize God and the bishop. The one who honors the bishop has been honored by God. The one who does something secretly from the bishop serves the devil. (2) For you, let everything abound in grace for you are worthy. You have refreshed me in every way and Jesus Christ has refreshed you. You have loved me whether I was absent or present. May God reward you for whose sake, if you endure all things, you will reach him.
Chapter 10
{L531} Now as for Philo and Rheus Agathopous who have followed me for the word of God, you have done well to receive them as deacons of Christ, of God. They give thanks to the Lord for you because you have refreshed them in every way. Nothing will be lost for you. (2) My spirit and my bonds are your substitute soul, [18] which things you need neither take pride in nor be ashamed of. Nor will the perfect faith, [19] that is Jesus Christ, ever make you ashamed.
{L532} 18 "substitute soul." For the theological significance of antipsuchon in Ignatius, see the essay on martyrdom in chapter 2.
{L533} 19 Some MSS have "hope" which is the reading that Ehrman chose.
Chapter 11
{L534} (1) Your prayer has gone up for the church in Antioch of Syria. So, being bound with the most God-worthy fetters, I greet all although I am not worthy to be from there since I am the least. But I was counted worthy by [God's] will, not from conscience but from God's grace which I beg to be given in perfect measure that I may attain God by your prayers. (2) Therefore, that your work may be perfect on earth and in heaven, it is fitting that your church chose an ambassador for God's honor so that, having arrived in Syria, you may rejoice with them. This is because they will be at peace when they receive their own greatness, and their own corporate body [20] is restored. (3) It seemed to me a worthy matter to send someone of yours with a letter that it may celebrate the calm coming to them by God's design and since they already happened to find safe harbor by your prayer. Since you are perfect, set your mind on perfect things! God is ready to supply [what you need] for you who are willing to do good.
{L535} 20 somateion ("corporate body"). This word occurs only here in the Ignatian corpus.
Chapter 12
{L536} (1) The love of the brothers in Troas greets you and so I write through Burrhus whom you sent with me together with the Ephesians, our brothers. He has refreshed me in every way. O that all would imitate him because he is a stellar example of a deacon of God! Grace will reward him in every way. (2) Now as for your worthy bishop, the God-honoring presbytery, and my fellow servants, the deacons, and in fact all who have human things in common, I greet them in the name of Jesus Christ, in his flesh and blood, in suffering and resurrection, in the unity of God, both corporeal and spiritual. Grace to you, mercy, peace, patience continually.
Chapter 13
{L537} (1) I greet the homes of my brothers with their wives and children along with the virgins who are called widows. Farewell from me in the power of the Spirit. [21] Philo who is with me greets you. (2) I greet the house of Tavia which I wish to be established in faith and love bodily and spiritually. I greet Alce, a person very desired by me. [22] I also greet the incomparable Daphne and Eutecnus and all by name. Farewell in the grace of God.
{L538} 21 Some MSS have "the Spirit of the Father" which is the reading Ehrman and others accept.
{L539} 22 Lit. "a name desired by me," but name is often used as a synecdoche for the person as in the Bible.