Sophia Scriptura

To the Ephesians 5.3

Ignatius of Antioch · To the Ephesians · ca. 110 (range ca. 105–135) · Smyrna · Read in context

Summary: Those who avoid the assembly are proud; to be subject to God, do not oppose the bishop.

Greek text · Lake, LCL 24:178

ὁ οὖν μὴ ἐρχόμενος ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ οὗτος ἤδη ὑπερηφανεῖ καὶ ἑαυτὸν διέκρινεν. γέγραπται γάρ· Ὑπερηφάνοις ὁ θεὸς ἀντιτάσσεται, σπουδάσωμεν οὖν μὴ ἀντιτάσσεσθαι τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ἵνα ὦμεν θεῷ ὑποτασσόμενοι.

English · Claude translation

So whoever does not come to the assembly is already proud and has separated himself. For it is written, “God opposes the proud.” Let us be eager, then, not to oppose the bishop, so that we may be subject to God.

About this passage

Source
Lake, LCL 24:178 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 172–277 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Also in
PG 5:649a (found by text match)
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912); made independently of existing English translations.
Scripture
Topics
Church office

Notes

Translation notes

  • “The assembly” (ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό): literally “to the same place,” the church's gathering.
  • “Has separated himself” (ἑαυτὸν διέκρινεν): or “has passed judgment on himself.”
  • The quotation is Prov 3:34 in the Greek form also quoted in Jas 4:6 and 1 Pet 5:5.

Cite this passage

Ign. Eph. 5.3 (PG 5:649a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-ephesians/5/3/).

Plain text
Ign. Eph. 5.3 (PG 5:649a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-ephesians/5/3/).

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