Sophia Scriptura

To the Smyrnaeans

Ad Smyrnaeos · Σμυρναίοις

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Contents

  1. 0Ignatius greets the church at Smyrna.
  2. 1.1Ignatius praises the Smyrnaeans' firm faith in Christ's true birth and baptism.
  3. 1.2Christ was truly crucified; through his resurrection he gathers Jews and Gentiles into one church.
  4. 2.1Christ truly suffered and truly rose, against those who say he only seemed to.
  5. 3.1Christ remained in the flesh after his resurrection.
  6. 3.2The risen Christ invited the disciples to touch him, proving he was not a ghost.
  7. 3.3The risen Christ ate and drank with his disciples.
  8. 4.1Avoid the false teachers entirely, but pray for their repentance.
  9. 4.2If Christ only seemed to suffer, Ignatius's chains would be meaningless.
  10. 5.1Those who deny Christ's real suffering are themselves denied by him.
  11. 5.2Denying that Christ had flesh is denying him completely.
  12. 5.3Ignatius will not name the false teachers until they repent.
  13. 6.1Even heavenly powers are judged if they do not believe in Christ's blood; faith and love are everything.
  14. 6.2The false teachers show no love or care for those in need.
  15. 7.1The docetists avoid the Eucharist because they deny it is Christ's flesh.
  16. 7.2Avoid the false teachers and attend to the prophets and the gospel.
  17. 8.1A valid Eucharist is one held under the bishop or his appointee.
  18. 8.2Where the bishop is, there the people should be, as the catholic church is where Christ is.
  19. 9.1Honoring the bishop is honoring God.
  20. 9.2Ignatius thanks the Smyrnaeans for their love.
  21. 10.1Ignatius thanks them for welcoming his companions.
  22. 10.2The Smyrnaeans were not ashamed of Ignatius's chains, nor will Christ be ashamed of them.
  23. 11.1Ignatius, least of the Antiochene Christians, asks prayer to reach God.
  24. 11.2Smyrna should send an envoy to congratulate the church at Antioch on its peace.
  25. 11.3Ignatius urges the Smyrnaeans to send a messenger with a letter to Antioch.
  26. 12.1Greetings from Troas; praise for Burrhus, who helps Ignatius write.
  27. 12.2Ignatius greets the whole church in Christ's flesh and blood.
  28. 13.1Greetings to families and to the consecrated women.
  29. 13.2Final personal greetings.

About this work

Author
Ignatius of Antioch
Attribution
authentic · One of the seven letters of the 'middle recension', accepted as genuine by most scholars since the work of Zahn and Lightfoot. A minority dates them later or doubts their authenticity; longer, interpolated versions and further spurious letters also circulated.
Date
ca. 110 (range ca. 105–135) (disputed) · Traditionally dated to the reign of Trajan (98–117), from Eusebius; some scholars place the letters in the 120s or 130s.
Written at
Troas, Asia (western Asia Minor) (probable)
Addressed to
The church at Smyrna
Language
Greek
Genre
letter
Recension
middle recension (seven letters)
Reference system
chapter.section (Funk's divisions, as printed by Lake)
SBL abbreviation
Ign. Smyrn.
Clavis
CPG 1025 (unverified)
Text from
Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 172–277 (Printed edition in the public domain; digital text CC BY-SA 4.0)
Critical editions
Michael W. Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007); Bart D. Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers, LCL 24-25 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003) (cited, not reproduced)
CTS URN
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg1443.tlg001