ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH THE LITTLE CHILD WHOM JESUS HELD ON HIS LAP WHEN HE SPOKE THE WORDS,
- Saints Of The Church
- Jan 16, 2024
St. Ignatius, otherwise known as Theophorus, which in Greek means "God-Bearer,"
led the Christian Church during a critical period of her history. Orthodox tradition had maintained that he was the little child Christ held on His lap when he spoke the words, "Let the children come unto me." What is known for certain is that he grew up to be a disciple of St. John, and St. Peter personally ordained him a Bishop.
Bishop of Antioch, Syria (now in Turkey), known mainly from seven highly regarded letters that he wrote during a trip to Rome, as a prisoner condemned to be executed for his beliefs. He was apparently eager to counteract the teachings of two groups, the Judaizers, who did not accept the authority of the New Testament, and Docetists, who held that Christ's sufferings and death were apparent but not real. Ignatius untiringly affirmed that the New Testament was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and insisted upon the reality of Christ's human nature. For him, Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection were a vital guarantee of "life everlasting" in the risen Christ. Ignatius believed that, had Christ died only in appearance, his own suffering and his readiness to sacrifice his life for Christ would have no meaning. The letters have often been cited as a source of knowledge of the Christian church at the beginning of the 2nd century.
The letters of Ignatius abound in warnings against false doctrines and false teachers and in admonitions to preserve peace and concord by willing subordination in all religious matters to the clergy and, above all, to the bishop. Nevertheless, he frequently assures his readers that their own church gives no cause for concern and that his words are prompted merely by pastoral solicitude.
