Sophia Scriptura

To the Trallians

Ad Trallianos · Τραλλιανοῖς

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Contents

  1. 0Ignatius greets the church at Tralles.
  2. 1.1The Trallians' bishop Polybius visited Ignatius in Smyrna.
  3. 1.2Ignatius praises God for the Trallians' goodwill.
  4. 2.1Obeying the bishop as Christ is living according to Christ, who died for us.
  5. 2.2Do nothing without the bishop, and submit to the presbyters as to the apostles.
  6. 2.3Deacons serve Christ's mysteries, not merely food and drink, and must be above reproach.
  7. 3.1Deacons, bishop, and presbyters together make the church.
  8. 3.2The bishop's gentle bearing commands respect even from unbelievers.
  9. 3.3Ignatius writes gently, not presuming to command as an apostle.
  10. 4.1Ignatius guards himself against pride and flattery.
  11. 4.2Ignatius longs to suffer but needs gentleness against the devil's hidden attack.
  12. 5.1Ignatius holds back deep teaching for fear of overwhelming his readers.
  13. 5.2Knowing heavenly mysteries does not make one a true disciple.
  14. 6.1Feed only on Christian teaching and avoid heresy.
  15. 6.2False teachers disguise poison with sweet words about Christ.
  16. 7.1Stay close to God, the bishop, and the apostles' teaching.
  17. 7.2Acting apart from the bishop, presbyters, and deacons defiles the conscience.
  18. 8.1Renew yourselves in faith and love, which are Christ's flesh and blood.
  19. 8.2Avoid quarrels that give outsiders reason to blaspheme God's name.
  20. 9.1Christ was truly born, truly suffered, and truly died.
  21. 9.2Christ truly rose, and the Father will raise believers in the same way.
  22. 10.1If Christ only seemed to suffer, Ignatius's martyrdom would be pointless.
  23. 11.1False teachers are poisonous growths, not the Father's planting.
  24. 11.2True believers are branches of the cross and members of Christ, their head.
  25. 12.1Ignatius sends greetings from Smyrna.
  26. 12.2Stay united in prayer and support your bishop.
  27. 12.3Ignatius asks for prayer that he may be found worthy of martyrdom.
  28. 13.1Greetings; pray for the church in Syria.
  29. 13.2Farewell: obey the bishop and presbyters, and love one another.
  30. 13.3Ignatius offers himself for the Trallians and trusts the faithful Father.

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
Smyrna, Asia (western Asia Minor) (probable)
Addressed to
The church at Tralles
Language
Greek
Genre
letter
Recension
middle recension (seven letters)
Reference system
chapter.section (Funk's divisions, as printed by Lake)
SBL abbreviation
Ign. Trall.
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