Ignatius of Antioch

On the Office of Bishop

Epistles Written by Ignatius to Various Churches:

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians

Chapter 1: I received, therefore, your whole multitude in the name of God,
through Onesimus . . . your bishop in the flesh . . .
blessed be He who has granted unto you,
being worthy, to obtain such an excellent bishop.

Chapter 2: It is therefore befitting that
you should in every way glorify Jesus Christ,
who hath glorified you, that
by a unanimous obedience
"ye may be perfectly joined together
in the same mind, and in the same judgment,
and may all speak the same thing
concerning the same thing," and that,
being subject to the bishop and the presbytery,
ye may in all respects be sanctified.

Chapter 3: For even Jesus Christ, our inseparable life,
is the [manifested] will of the Father; as also
bishops settled everywhere
to the utmost bounds [of the earth]
are so by the will of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 4: Wherefore it is fitting that
ye should run together in accordance
with the will of your bishop,
which thing also ye do. For
your justly renowned presbytery, worthy of God,
is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the strings are to the harp.

Chapter 5: . . . your bishop . . .
I reckon you happy who are so joined to him as the Church is to Jesus Christ,
and as Jesus Christ is to the Father, that so all things may agree in unity!
For if the prayer of one or two possesses such power,
how much more that of the bishop and the whole Church!
He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride,
and condemned himself. For it is written, "God resisteth the proud."
Let us be careful, then,
not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop,
in order that we may be subject to God.

Chapter 6:  the bishop . . . For we ought to receive every one
whom the Master of the house sends
to be over His household,
as we would do Him that sent him. It is manifest, therefore, that
we should look upon the bishop
even as we would upon the Lord Himself.

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians

Chapter 2: I have had the privilege of seeing you,
through Damas your most worthy bishop,
and through your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius,
and through my fellow-servant the deacon Sotio,
whose friendship may I ever enjoy, inasmuch as
he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God,
and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 3: Now it becomes you also
not to treat your bishop too familiarly on account of his youth,
but to yield him all reverence,
having respect to the power of God the Father,
as I have known even holy presbyters do . . .
as being themselves prudent in God,
submitting to him, or rather not to him,
but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the bishop of us all.
It is therefore fitting that you should, after no hypocritical fashion,
obey [your bishop],
in honour of Him who has wired us [so to do],
since he that does not so deceives not the bishop that is visible,
but seeks to mock Him that is invisible.

Chapter 4: It is fitting, then,
not only to be called Christians, (cf. Acts 11:26)
    but to be so in reality:
as some indeed give one the title of bishop,
    but do all things without him.
Now such persons seem to me to be
not possessed of a good conscience,
seeing they are
not steadfastly gathered together according to the commandment.

Chapter 6: I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while
your bishop presides in the place of God,
and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles,
along with your deacons . . . Let nothing exist among you that may divide you ; but
be ye united with your bishop, and those that preside over you,
as a type and evidence of your immortality.

Chapter 7: As therefore the Lord did nothing without the Father,
being united to Him, neither by Himself nor by the apostles,
so neither do ye anything without the bishop and presbyters.

Chapter 13: with your most admirable bishop,
and the well-compacted spiritual crown of your presbytery,
and the deacons who are according to God.
Be ye subject to the bishop, and to one another,
as Jesus Christ to the Father, according to the flesh,
and the apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit . . .

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians

Chapter 1: Polybius your bishop has shown me . . .

Chapter 2: For,
since ye are subject to the bishop as to Jesus Christ,
ye appear to me to live not after the manner of men,
but according to Jesus Christ . . .
It is therefore necessary that, as ye indeed do, so
without the bishop ye should do nothing,
but should also be subject to the presbytery,
as to the apostle of Jesus Christ . . .
It is fitting also that the deacons,
as being [the ministers]
of the mysteries of Jesus Christ . . .

Chapter 3: . . . let all reverence the deacons
as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and
the bishop as Jesus Christ,
who is the Son of the Father, and
the presbyters as the Sanhedrin of God,
and assembly of the apostles.
Apart from these, there is no Church.
(the Sanhedrin was the Court of the Jewish Temple Priests
that tried and condemned Jesus then sent him to Pilate for execution.)

Chapter 7: . . . continue in intimate union
with Jesus Christ our God, and the bishop,
and the enactments of the apostles.
He that is within the altar is pure,
but he that is without is not pure; that is,
he who does anything apart from the bishop,
and presbytery, and deacons,
such a man is not pure in his conscience.

Chapter 12: . . . it becomes every one of you,
and especially the presbyters, to
refresh the bishop, to the honour of the Father,
of Jesus Christ, and of the apostles.

Chapter 13: . . . Fare ye well in Jesus Christ, while ye
continue subject to the bishop,
as to the command [of God],
and in like manner to the presbytery.

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians

Introduction: Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus,
to the Church of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, which is at Philadelphia, in Asia . . .
which I salute in the blood of Jesus Christ,
who is our eternal and enduring joy, especially
if [men] are in unity with the bishop,
the presbyters, and the deacons,
who have been appointed
according to the mind of Jesus Christ,
whom He has established in security,
after His own will, and by His Holy Spirit.

Chapter 1: WHICH bishop, I know,
obtained the ministry which pertains to the common [weal] . . .
by the love of God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ . . .

Chapter 2: . . .
where the shepherd is, there do ye as sheep follow . . .

Chapter 3: . . .
as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the bishop.

Chapter 4: have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and one cup to [show forth] the unity of His blood; one altar; as
there is one bishop, along with the presbytery
and deacons, my fellow-servants:
that so, whatsoever ye do,
ye may do it according to [the will of] God.

Chapter 7: Give heed to the bishop,
and to the presbytery and deacons . . .
He is my witness, for whose sake I am in bonds, that
I got no intelligence from any man.
But the Spirit proclaimed these words:
Do nothing without the bishop . . .
(Compare to Paul's similar claims)

Chapter 8: To all them that repent,
the Lord grants forgiveness,
if they turn in penitence to the unity of God,
and to communion with the bishop.

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans

Chapter 8: See that ye all follow the bishop,
even as Jesus Christ does the Father,
and the presbytery as ye would the apostles;
and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God.
Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop.
Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist,
which is [administered] either by the bishop,
or by one to whom he has entrusted it.
Wherever the bishop shall appear,
there let the multitude also be; even as,
wherever Jesus Christ is,
there is the Catholic Church.*
* First Recorded Occurrence of the phrase "Catholic Church"

It is not lawful without the bishop
either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast;
but whatsoever he shall approve of,
that is also pleasing to God,
so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.

Chapter 9: It is well to reverence both God and the bishop.
He who honours the bishop has been honoured by God;
he who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop,
does [in reality] serve the devil.

The Epistle of Ignatius to Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

Introduction: Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus,
to Polycarp, Bishop of the Church of the Smyrnaeans, or rather,
who has, as his own bishop, God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ

Chapter 4: Let nothing be done without thy consent.

Chapter 5: If any one can continue in a state of purity, to the honour of Him who is Lord of the flesh,
let him so remain without boasting. If he begins to boast, he is undone;
and if he reckon himself greater than the bishop, he is ruined. But
it becomes both men and women who marry,
to form their union with the approval of the bishop,
that their marriage may be according to God,
and not after their own lust.

Chapter 6: Give ye heed to the bishop,
that God also may give heed to you.
My soul be for theirs that are submissive
to the bishop, to the presbyters, and to the deacons,
and may my portion be along with them in God.