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{{Ignatius of Antioch}}
The '''Letter to the Smyrnaeans''' (often simply called '''''Smyrnaeans''''') was written by Saint [[Ignatius of Antioch]] around AD 110 to the [[Early Christians]] in [[Smyrna]].{{Cn|date=April 2013}}
The '''Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans''' (often simply called '''''Smyrnaeans''''') is an [[epistle]] from circa 110 A.D. attributed to [[Ignatius of Antioch]], a second-century [[bishop]] of [[Antioch]], addressed to the [[Early Christians]] in [[Smyrna]].


==Composition==
It mentions the [[resurrection of Jesus]]:
{{See also|Ignatius of Antioch#Epistles}}
⚫
(2:1a) "Now, he suffered all these things for our sake, that we might be saved. And he truly suffered, even as he truly raised himself up; not as certain unbelievers say, that he suffered in semblance, they themselves only existing in semblance." The term translated "semblance" is the Greek work "dokein" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B4%CE%BF%CE%BA%CE%B5%E1%BF%96%CE%BD δοκεῖν], "to seem") from which the heresy of [[docetism]] got its name. The primary purpose of the letter to the Smyrnaeans is to counter those who make the claims of docetism.
''Smyrnaeans'' is one of [[Ignatius of Antioch#Epistles|seven epistles]] attributed to Ignatius that are generally accepted as authentic. In 5th century, this collection was enlarged by spurious letters.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CHURCH FATHERS: Spurious Epistles (Ignatius of Antioch)|url=https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0114.htm|access-date=2020-09-19|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref>


It is clear that ''Smyrnaeans'' was written soon before the martyrdom of Ignatius, but it is uncertain when precisely this martyrdom occurred. Tradition places the martyrdom of Ignatius in the reign of [[Trajan]], who was emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD. While many scholars accept the traditional dating of Ignatius' martyrdom under Trajan, others have argued for a somewhat later date. [[Richard Pervo]] dated Ignatius' death to 135-140 AD,<ref name="pervo">{{cite book |last=Pervo |first=Richard I. |title=The Making of Paul: Constructions of the Apostle in Early Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RbGDwsknbdsC |location=Minneapolis, MN |publisher=Fortress Press |pages=134–135 |isbn=978-0-8006-9659-7 |author-link=Richard Pervo }}</ref> and [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Classics|classicist]] [[Timothy Barnes (classicist)|Timothy Barnes]] has argued for a date some time in the 140s AD.<ref name="date of ignatius">{{Citation | last = Barnes | first = Timothy D. | title = The Date of Ignatius | journal = The Expository Times | volume = 120 | number = 3 | pages = 119–130 | date = December 2008 | doi = 10.1177/0014524608098730 }}</ref>
⚫
To counter the teaching of the [[docetism|docetists]], who claimed that Jesus did not come in the flesh, Ignatius wrote the first 7 sections demonstrating the real incarnation of Jesus, thus saying about the [[Eucharist]] (7:1) "They [the docetists] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes".


==Content==
The letter is also the earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "[[catholic church]]".
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2019}}
⚫
The epistle mentions the [[resurrection of Jesus]]: "Now, he suffered all these things for our sake, that we might be saved. And he truly suffered, even as he truly raised himself up; not as certain unbelievers say, that he suffered in semblance, they themselves only existing in semblance" (2:1a). The term translated "semblance" is the Greek word "dokein" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B4%CE%BF%CE%BA%CE%B5%E1%BF%96%CE%BD δοκεῖν], "to seem"). This word is that from which the heresy of [[docetism]] (the heresy that the body of Jesus was merely a projected illusion) got its name. The primary purpose of the letter to the Smyrnaeans is to counter those who make the claims of docetism.

⚫
To counter the teaching of the [[docetism|docetists]], who claimed that Jesus did not come in the flesh, Ignatius wrote the first 7 sections demonstrating the real incarnation of Jesus, thus saying about the [[Eucharist]]: "They [the docetists] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" (7:1).

The letter is also the earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "Catholic Church.” Saint Ignatius, who wrote some 900 years before [[East–West Schism|the Great Schism]], uses the term "Catholic" to mean the "Universal Church" (as the term “Catholic” comes from the Greek ''katholikos,'' meaning “universal”).


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{Portal|Christianity|Catholicism}}
* [[Christianity in the 1st century]]
* [[Christianity in the 1st century]]
* [[Christianity in the 2nd century]]
* [[Christianity in the 2nd century]]
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* [[History of early Christianity]]
* [[History of early Christianity]]
* [[List of Patriarchs of Antioch]]
* [[List of Patriarchs of Antioch]]

==References==
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://early.xpian.info/eng/ignatiusofantioch.html An extensive catalogue of English translations of Ignatius's letter to the Smyrnaeans]
*[http://www.ccel.org/l/lake/fathers/ignatius-smyrnaeans.htm Greek text of the ''Letter to the Smyrnaeans'']
*[http://www.ccel.org/l/lake/fathers/ignatius-smyrnaeans.htm Greek text of the ''Letter to the Smyrnaeans'']
*{{wikisource-inline|Epistle to the Smyrnaeans}}
*{{wikisource-inline|Epistle to the Smyrnaeans}}
*[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm Online text]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm Online text]


{{Seven churches of Asia}}
{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2nd-century Christian texts]]
[[Category:Apocryphal epistles]]
[[Category:Apocryphal epistles]]
[[Category:Ancient Smyrna]]
[[Category:Ancient Smyrna]]

{{Christian-book-stub}}

Latest revision as of 00:04, 9 January 2025

Part of a series of articles on
Ignatius of Antioch
Main article
Ignatius of Antioch
Epistles of Ignatius

Epistle to the Ephesians
Epistle to the Magnesians
Epistle to the Trallians
Epistle to the Romans
Epistle to the Philadelphians
Epistle to the Smyrnaeans

Epistle to Polycarp
Related epistles
Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans (often simply called Smyrnaeans) is an epistle from circa 110 A.D. attributed to Ignatius of Antioch, a second-century bishop of Antioch, addressed to the Early Christians in Smyrna.

Composition

[edit]
See also: Ignatius of Antioch § Epistles

Smyrnaeans is one of seven epistles attributed to Ignatius that are generally accepted as authentic. In 5th century, this collection was enlarged by spurious letters.[1]

It is clear that Smyrnaeans was written soon before the martyrdom of Ignatius, but it is uncertain when precisely this martyrdom occurred. Tradition places the martyrdom of Ignatius in the reign of Trajan, who was emperor of Rome from 98 to 117 AD. While many scholars accept the traditional dating of Ignatius' martyrdom under Trajan, others have argued for a somewhat later date. Richard Pervo dated Ignatius' death to 135-140 AD,[2] and British classicist Timothy Barnes has argued for a date some time in the 140s AD.[3]

Content

[edit]

The epistle mentions the resurrection of Jesus: "Now, he suffered all these things for our sake, that we might be saved. And he truly suffered, even as he truly raised himself up; not as certain unbelievers say, that he suffered in semblance, they themselves only existing in semblance" (2:1a). The term translated "semblance" is the Greek word "dokein" (δοκεῖν, "to seem"). This word is that from which the heresy of docetism (the heresy that the body of Jesus was merely a projected illusion) got its name. The primary purpose of the letter to the Smyrnaeans is to counter those who make the claims of docetism.

To counter the teaching of the docetists, who claimed that Jesus did not come in the flesh, Ignatius wrote the first 7 sections demonstrating the real incarnation of Jesus, thus saying about the Eucharist: "They [the docetists] abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes" (7:1).

The letter is also the earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "Catholic Church.” Saint Ignatius, who wrote some 900 years before the Great Schism, uses the term "Catholic" to mean the "Universal Church" (as the term “Catholic” comes from the Greek katholikos, meaning “universal”).

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "CHURCH FATHERS: Spurious Epistles (Ignatius of Antioch)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  2. ^ Pervo, Richard I. The Making of Paul: Constructions of the Apostle in Early Christianity. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-0-8006-9659-7.
  3. ^ Barnes, Timothy D. (December 2008), "The Date of Ignatius", The Expository Times, 120 (3): 119–130, doi:10.1177/0014524608098730
[edit]
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