Introductory Note to the Spurious Epistles of Ignatius.
To the following introductory note of the translators nothing need be prefixed, except a grateful acknowledgment of the value of their labours and of their good judgment in giving us even these spurious writings for purposes of comparison. They have thus placed the materials for a complete understanding of the whole subject, before students who have a mind to subject it to a thorough and candid examination.
The following is the original Introductory Notice: —
We formerly stated that eight out of the fifteen Epistles bearing the name of Ignatius are now universally admitted to be spurious. None of them are quoted or referred to by any ancient writer previous to the sixth century. The style, moreover, in which they are written, so different from that of the other Ignatian letters, and allusions which they contain to heresies and ecclesiastical arrangements of a much later date than that of their professed author, render it perfectly certain that they are not the authentic production of the illustrious bishop of Antioch.
We cannot tell when or by whom these Epistles were fabricated. They have been thought to betray the same hand as the longer and interpolated form of the seven Epistles which are generally regarded as genuine. And some have conceived that the writer who gave forth to the world the “Apostolic Constitutions” under the name of Clement, was probably the author of these letters falsely ascribed to Ignatius, as well as of the longer recension of the seven Epistles which are mentioned by Eusebius.
It was a considerable time before editors in modern times began to discriminate between the true and the false in the writings attributed to Ignatius. The letters first published under his name were those three which exist only in Latin. These came forth in 1495 at Paris, being appended to a life of Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Some three years later, eleven Epistles, comprising those mentioned by Eusebius, and four others, were published in Latin, and passed through four or five editions. In 1536, the whole of the whole of the professedly Ignatian letters were published at Cologne in a Latin version; and this collection also passed through several editions. It was not till 1557 that the Ignatian Epistles appeared for the first time in Greek at Dillingen. After this date many editions came forth, in which the probably genuine were still mixed up with the certainly spurious, the three Latin letters only being rejected as destitute of authority. Vedelius of Geneva first made the distinction which is now universally accepted, in an edition of these Epistles which he published in 1623; and he was followed by Archbishop Usher and others, who entered more fully into that critical examination of these writings which has been continued down even to our own day.
The reader will have no difficulty in detecting the internal grounds on which these eight letters are set aside as spurious. The difference of style from the other Ignatian writings will strike him even in perusing the English version which we have given, while it is of course much more marked in the original. And other decisive proofs present themselves in every one of the Epistles. In that to the Tarsians there is found a plain allusion to the Sabellian heresy, which did not arise till after the middle of the third century. In the Epistle to the Antiochians there is an enumeration of various Church officers, who were certainly unknown at the period when Ignatius lived. The Epistle to Hero plainly alludes to Manichaean errors, and could not therefore have been written before the third century. There are equally decisive proofs of spuriousness to be found in the Epistle to the Philippians, such as the references it contains to the Patripassian heresy originated by Praxeas in the latter part of the second century, and the ecclesiastical feasts, etc., of which it makes mention. The letter to Maria Cassobolita is of a very peculiar style, utterly alien from that of the other Epistles ascribed to Ignatius. And it is sufficient simply to glance at the short Epistles to St. John and the Virgin Mary, in order to see that they carry the stamp of imposture on their front; and, indeed, no sooner were they published than by almost universal consent they were rejected.
But though the additional Ignatian letters here given are confessedly spurious, we have thought it not improper to present them to the English reader in an appendix to our first volume.1 We have done so, because they have been so closely connected with the name of the bishop of Antioch, and also because they are in themselves not destitute of interest. We have, moreover, the satisfaction of thus placing for the first time within reach of one acquainted only with our language, all the materials that have entered into the protracted agitation of the famous Ignatian controversy. 107
FOOTNOTES
1 [Spurious writings, if they can be traced to antiquity, are always useful. Sometimes they are evidence of facts, always of opinions, ideas and fancies of their date; and often they enable us to identify the origin of corruptions. Even interpolations prove what later partisans would be glad to find, if they could, in early writers. They bear unwilling testimony to the absence of genuine evidence in favour of their assumptions.]
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Tarsians
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church which is at Tarsus, saved in Christ, worthy of praise, worthy of remembrance, and worthy of love: Mercy and peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, be ever multiplied.
Chap. I. — His Own Sufferings; Exhortation to Stedfastness.
From Syria even unto Rome I fight with beasts: not that I am devoured by brute beasts, for these, as ye know, by the will of God, spared Daniel, but by beasts in the shape of men, in whom the merciless wild beast himself lies hid, and pricks and wounds me day by day. But none of these hardships “move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself,” (Act_20:24) in such a way as to love it better than the Lord. Wherefore I am prepared for [encountering] fire, wild beasts, the sword or the cross, so that only I may see Christ my Saviour and God, who died for me. I therefore the prisoner of Christ, who am driven along by land and sea, exhort you: “stand fast in the faith,” (1Co_16:13) and be ye steadfast, “for the just shall live by faith;” (Hab_2:4; Gal_3:11) be ye unwavering, for “the Lord causes those to dwell in a house who are of one and the same character.” (Psa_58:7, after the LXX)
Chap. II. — Cautions Against False Doctrine.
I have learned that certain of the ministers of Satan have wished to disturb you, some of them asserting that Jesus was born [only1] in appearance, was crucified in appearance, and died in appearance; others that He is not the Son the Creator, and others that He is Himself God over all.2 Others, again, hold that He is a mere man, and others that this flesh is not to rise again, so that our proper course is to live and partake of a life of pleasure, for that this is the chief good to beings who are in a little while to perish. A swarm of such evils has burst in upon us.3 But ye have not “given place by subjection to them, no, not for one hour.” (Gal_2:5) For ye are the fellow-citizens as well as the disciples of Paul, who “fully preached the Gospel from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum,” (Rom_15:19) and bare about “the marks of Christ” in his flesh. (Gal_6:17)
Chap. III. — The True Doctrine Respecting Christ.
Mindful of him, do ye by all means know that Jesus the Lord was truly born of Mary, being made of a woman; and was as truly crucified. For, says he, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus.” (Gal_6:14) And He really suffered, and died, and rose again. For says [Paul], “If Christ should become passible, and should be the first to rise again from the dead.”4 And again, “In that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.” (Rom_6:10) Otherwise, what advantage would there be in [becoming subject to] bonds, if Christ has not died? what advantage in patience? what advantage in [enduring] stripes? And why such facts as the following: Peter was crucified; Paul and James were slain with the sword; John was banished to Patmos; Stephen was stoned to death by the Jews who killed the Lord? But, [in truth,] none of these sufferings were in vain; for the Lord was really crucified by the ungodly.
Chap. IV. — Continuation.
And [know ye, moreover], that He who was born of a woman was the Son of God, and He that was crucified was “the first-born of every creature,” (Col_1:15) and God the Word, who also created all things. For says the apostle, “There is one God, the Father, of whom are all things; and 108 one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things.” (1Co_8:6) And again, “For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus;” (1Ti_2:5) and, “By Him were all things created that are in heaven, and on earth, visible and invisible; and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” (Col_1:16-17)
Chap. V. — Refutation of the Previously Mentioned Errors.
And that He Himself is not God over all, and the Father, but His Son, He [shows when He] says, “I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.” (Joh_20:16) And again, “When all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall He also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Co_15:28) Wherefore it is one [Person] who put all things under, and who is all in all, and another [Person] to whom they were subdued, who also Himself, along with all other things, becomes subject [to the former].
Chap. VI. — Continuation.
Nor is He a mere man, by whom and in whom all things were made; for “all things were made by Him.” (Joh_1:3) “When He made the heaven, I was present with Him; and I was there with Him, forming [the world along with Him], and He rejoiced in me daily.” (Pro_8:27, Pro_8:30) And how could a mere man be addressed in such words as these: “Sit Thou at My right hand?” (Psa_110:1) And how, again, could such an one declare: “Before Abraham was, I am?” (Joh_8:58) And, “Glorify Me with Thy glory which I had before the world was?” (Joh_17:5) What man could ever say, “I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me?” (Joh_6:38) And of what man could it be said, “He was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not?” (Joh_1:9-11) How could such a one be a mere man, receiving the beginning of His existence from Mary, and not rather God the Word, and the only-begotten Son? For “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, (Joh_1:1) and the Word was God.”5 And in another place, “The Lord created Me, the beginning of His ways, for His ways, for His works. Before the world did He found Me, and before all the hills did He beget Me.” (Pro_8:22-23, Pro_8:25)
Chap. VII. — Continuation.
And that our bodies are to rise again, He shows when He says, “Verily I say unto you, that the hour cometh, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live.” (Joh_5:25, Joh_5:28) And [says] the apostle, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1Co_15:53) And that we must live soberly and righteously, he [shows when he] says again, “Be not deceived: neither adulterers, nor effeminate persons, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor fornicators, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor thieves, can inherit the kingdom of God.” (1Co_6:9) And again, “If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; our preaching therefore is vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” (1Co_15:13-14, 1Co_15:17-19, 1Co_15:32) But if such be our condition and feelings, wherein shall we differ from asses and dogs, who have no care about the future, but think only of eating, and of indulging6 such appetites as follow after eating? For they are unacquainted with any intelligence moving within them.
Chap. VIII. — Exhortations to Holiness and Good Order.
May I have joy of you in the Lord! Be ye sober. Lay aside, every one of you, all malice and beast-like fury, evil-speaking, calumny, filthy speaking, ribaldry, whispering, arrogance, drunkenness, lust, avarice, vainglory, envy, and everything akin to these. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” (Rom_13:14) Ye presbyters, be subject to the bishop; ye deacons, to the presbyters; and ye, the people, to the presbyters and the deacons. Let my soul be for theirs who preserve this good order; and may the Lord be with them continually!
Chap. IX. — Exhortations to the Discharge of Relative Duties.
Ye husbands, love your wives; and ye wives, your husbands. Ye children, reverence your parents. Ye parents, “bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph_6:4) 109 Honour those [who continue] in virginity, as the priestesses of Christ; and the widows [that persevere] in gravity of behaviour, as the altar of God. Ye servants, wait upon your masters with [respectful] fear. Ye masters, issue orders to your servants with tenderness. Let no one among you be idle; for idleness is the mother of want. I do not enjoin these things as being a person of any consequence, although I am in bonds [for Christ]; but as a brother, I put you in mind of them. The Lord be with you!
Chap. X. — Salutations.
May I enjoy your prayers! Pray ye that I may attain to Jesus. I commend unto you the Church which is at Antioch. The Churches of Philippi,7 whence also I write to you, salute you. Philo, your deacon, to whom also I give thanks as one who has zealously ministered to me in all things, salutes you. Agathopus, the deacon from Syria, who follows me in Christ, salutes you. “Salute ye one another with a holy kiss.” (1Pe_5:14) I salute you all, both male and female, who are in Christ. Fare ye well in body, and soul, and in one Spirit; and do not ye forget me. The Lord be with you!
FOOTNOTES
1 Some omit this.
2 That is, as appears afterwards from chap. v., so as to have no personality distinct from the Father.
3 The translation is here somewhat doubtful.
4 Act_26:23 (somewhat inaccurately rendered in English version).
5 Some insert here Joh_1:3.
6 Literally, “coming also to the appetite of those things after eating.” The text is doubtful.
7 Literally, “of the Philippians.”
The Epistle of Ignatius to the Antiochians
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the Church sojourning in Syria, which has obtained mercy from God, and been elected by Christ, and which first (Comp. Act_11:26) received the name Christ, [wishes] happiness in God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chap. I. — Cautions Against Error.
The Lord has rendered my bonds light and easy since I learnt that you are in peace, that you live in all harmony both of the flesh and spirit. “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,1 beseech you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” (Eph_4:1) guarding against those heresies of the wicked one which have broken in upon us, to the deceiving and destruction of those that accept of them; but that ye give heed to the doctrine of the apostles, and believe both the law and the prophets: that ye reject every Jewish and Gentile error, and neither introduce a multiplicity of gods, nor yet deny Christ under the pretence of [maintaining] the unity of God.
Chap. II. — The True Doctrine Respecting God and Christ.
For Moses, the faithful servant of God, when he said, “The Lord thy God is one Lord,” (Deu_6:4; Mar_12:29) and thus proclaimed that there was only one God, did yet forthwith confess also our Lord when he said, “The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brimstone from the Lord.” (Gen_19:24) And again, “And God2 said, Let Us make man after our image: and so God made man, after the image of God made He him.” (Gen_1:26-27) And further “In the image of God made He man.” (Gen_5:1, Gen_9:6) And that [the Son of God] was to be made man [Moses shows when] he says, “A prophet shall the Lord raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me.” (Deu_18:15; Act_3:22, Act_7:37)
Chap. III. — The Same Continued.
The prophets also, when they speak as in the person of God, [saying,] “I am God, the first [of beings], and I am also the last,3 and besides Me there is no God,” (Isa_44:6) concerning the Father of the universe, do also speak of our Lord Jesus Christ. “A Son,” they say, has been given to us, on whose shoulder the government is from above; and His name is called the Angel of great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, the strong and mighty God.” (Isa_9:6) And concerning His incarnation, “Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son; and they shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isa_7:14; Mat_1:23) And concerning the passion, “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before her shearers is dumb, I also was an innocent lamb led to be sacrificed.” (Isa_53:7; Jer_11:19)
Chap. IV. — Continuation.
The Evangelists, too, when they declared that the one Father was “the only true God,” (Joh_17:3) did not omit what concerned our Lord, but wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” (Joh_1:1) And concerning the incarnation: “The Word,” says [the Scripture], “became flesh, and dwelt among us.” (Joh_1:14) And again: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Mat_1:1) And those very apostles, who said “that there is one God,” (1Co_8:4, 1Co_8:6; Gal_3:20) said also that “there 111 is one Mediator between God and men.” (Eph_4:5-6; 1Ti_2:5) Nor were they ashamed of the incarnation and the passion. For what says [one]? “The man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself” (1Ti_2:5) for the life and salvation of the world.
Chap. V. — Denunciation of False Teachers.
Whosoever, therefore, declares that there is but one God, only so as to take away the divinity of Christ, is a devil,4 and an enemy of all righteousness. He also that confesseth Christ, yet not as the Son of the Maker of the world, but of some other unknown5 being, different from Him whom the law and the prophets have proclaimed, this man is an instrument of the devil. And he that rejects the incarnation, and is ashamed of the cross for which I am in bonds, this man is antichrist. (Comp. 1Jo_2:22, 1Jo_4:3; 2Jo_1:7) Moreover, he who affirms Christ to be a mere man is accursed, according to the [declaration of the] prophet, (Jer_17:5) since he puts not his trust in God, but in man. Wherefore also he is unfruitful, like the wild myrtle-tree.
Chap. VI. — Renewed Cautions.
These things I write to you, thou new olive-tree of Christ, not that I am aware you hold any such opinions, but that I may put you on your guard, as a father does his children. Beware, therefore, of those that hasten to work mischief, those “enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose glory is in their shame.” (Phi_3:18-19) Beware of those “dumb dogs,” those trailing serpents, those scaly6 dragons, those asps, and basilisks, and scorpions. For these are subtle wolves,7 and apes that mimic the appearance of men.
Chap. VII. — Exhortation to Consistency of Conduct.
Ye have been the disciples of Paul and Peter; do not lose what was committed to your trust. Keep in remembrance Euodias,8 your deservedly-blessed pastor, into whose hands the government over you was first entrusted by the apostles. Let us not bring disgrace upon our Father. Let us prove ourselves His true-born children, and not bastards. Ye know after what manner I have acted among you. The things which, when present, I spoke to you, these same, when absent, I now write to you. “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema.” (1Co_16:22) Be ye followers of me. (Comp. 1Co_4:16) My soul be for yours, when I attain to Jesus. Remember my bonds. (Comp. Col_4:18)
Chap. VIII. — Exhortations to the Presbyters and Others.
Ye presbyters, “feed the flock which is among you,” (1Pe_5:2) till God shall show who is to hold the rule over you. For “I am now ready to be offered,” (2Ti_4:6) that I “may win Christ.” (Phi_3:8) Let the deacons know of what dignity they are, and let them study to be blameless, that they may be the followers of Christ, Let the people be subject to the presbyters and the deacons. Let the virgins know to whom they have consecrated themselves.
Chap. IX. — Duties of Husbands, Wives, Parents, and Children.
Let the husbands love their wives, remembering that, at the creation, one woman, and not many, was given to one man. Let the wives honour their husbands, as their own flesh; and let them not presume to address them by their names. (Comp. 1Pe_3:6) Let them also be chaste, reckoning their husbands as their only partners, to whom indeed they have been united according to the will of God. Ye parents, impart a holy training to your children. Ye children, “honour your parents, that it may be well with you.” (Eph_6:1, Eph_6:3)
Chap. X. — Duties of Masters and Servants.
Ye masters, do not treat your servants with haughtiness, but imitate patient Job, who declares, “I did not despise9 the cause10 of my man-servant, or of my maid-servant, when they contended with me. For what in that case shall I do when the Lord makes an inquisition regarding me?” (Job_31:13-14) And you know what follows. Ye servants, do not provoke your masters to anger in anything, lest ye become the authors of incurable mischiefs to yourselves.
Chap. XI. — Inculcation of Various Moral Duties.
Let no one addicted to idleness eat, (Comp. 2Th_3:10) lest he become a wanderer about, and a whoremonger. Let drunkenness, anger, envy, reviling, clamour, and blasphemy “be not so much as named among you.” (Eph_5:3) Let not the widows live a life of pleasure, lest they wax wanton against the word. (1Ti_5:6, 1Ti_5:11) Be subject to Caesar in everything in which subjection implies no [spiritual] danger. 112 Provoke not those that rule over you to wrath, that you may give no occasion against yourselves to those that seek for it. But as to the practice of magic, or the impure love of boys, or murder, it is superfluous to write to you, since such vices are forbidden to be committed even by the Gentiles. I do not issue commands on these points as if I were an apostle; but, as your fellow-servant, I put you in mind of them.
Chap. XII. — Salutations.
I salute the holy presbytery. I salute the sacred deacons, and that person most dear to me,11 whom may I behold, through the Holy Spirit, occupying my place when I shall attain to Christ. My soul be in place of his. I salute the sub-deacons, the readers, the singers, the doorkeepers, the labourers12 the exorcists, the confessors.13 I salute the keepers of the holy gates, the deaconesses in Christ. I salute the virgins betrothed to Christ, of whom may I have joy in the Lord Jesus.14 I salute the people of the Lord, from the smallest to the greatest, and all my sisters in the Lord.
Chap. XIII. — Salutations Continued.
I salute Cassian and his partner in life, and their very dear children. Polycarp, that most worthy bishop, who is also deeply interested in you, salutes you; and to him I have commended you in the Lord. The whole Church of the Smyrnaeans, indeed, is mindful of you in their prayers in the Lord. Onesimus, the pastor of the Ephesians, salutes you. Damas,15 the bishop of Magnesia, salutes you. Polybius, bishop of the Trallians, salutes you. Philo and Agathopus, the deacons, my companions, salute you, “Salute one another with a holy kiss.” (2Co_13:12)
Chap. XIV. — Conclusion.
I write this letter to you from Philippi. May He who is alone unbegotten, keep you stedfast both in the spirit and in the flesh, through Him who was begotten before time16 began! And may I behold you in the kingdom of Christ! I salute him who is to bear rule over you in my stead: may I have joy of him in the Lord! Fare ye well in God, and in Christ, being enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
FOOTNOTES
1 Literally, “in the Lord.”
2 The ms. has “Lord.”
3 Literally, “after these things.”
4 Comp. Joh_6:70. Some read, “the son of the devil.”
5 Or, “that cannot be known.”
6 The text is here doubtful.
7 Literally, “fox-like thoes,” lynxes being perhaps intended.
8 Some think that this is the same person as the Euodias referred to by St. Paul, Phi_4:2; but, as appears from the Greek (ver. 3, αἵτινες), the two persons there mentioned were women.
9 Literally, “if I did despise.”
10 Or, “judgment.”
11 Literally, “the name desirable to me,” referring to Hero the deacon.
12 A class of persons connected with the Church, whose duty it was to bury the bodies of the martyrs and others.
13 Such as voluntarily confessed Christ before Gentile rulers.
14 Some insert here a clause referring to widows.
15 Or, as some read, “Demas.”
16 Literally, “before ages.”
The Epistle of Ignatius to Hero
A Deacon of Antioch
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to Hero, the deacon of Christ, and the servant of God, a man honoured by God, and most dearly loved as well as esteemed, who carries Christ and the Spirit within him, and who is mine own son in faith and love: Grace, mercy, and peace from Almighty God, and from Christ Jesus our Lord, His only-begotten Son, “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from the present evil world,” (Gal_1:4) and preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom.
Chap. I. — Exhortations to Earnestness and Moderation.
I exhort thee in God, that thou add [speed] to thy course, and that thou vindicate thy dignity. Have a care to preserve concord with the saints. Bear [the burdens of] the weak, that “thou mayest fulfil the law of Christ.” (Gal_6:2) Devote1 thyself to fasting and prayer, but not beyond measure, lest thou destroy thyself2 thereby. Do not altogether abstain from wine and flesh, for these things are not to be viewed with abhorrence, since [the Scripture] saith, “Ye shall eat the good things of the earth.” (Isa_1:19) And again, “Ye shall eat flesh even as herbs.” (Gen_9:3) And again, “Wine maketh glad the heart of man, and oil exhilarates, and bread strengthens him.” (Psa_104:15) But all are to be used with moderation, as being the gifts of God. “For who shall eat or who shall drink without Him? For if anything be beautiful, it is His; and if anything be good, it is His.” (Ecc_2:25 (after LXX.); Zec_9:17) Give attention to reading, (Comp. 1Ti_4:13) that thou mayest not only thyself know the laws, but mayest also explain them to others, as the earnest servant3 of God. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier; and if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully.” (2Ti_2:4) I that am in bonds pray that my soul may be in place of yours.
Chap. II. — Cautions Against False Teachers.
Every one that teaches anything beyond what is commanded, though he be [deemed] worthy of credit, though he be in the habit of fasting, though he live in continence, though he work miracles, though he have the gift of prophecy, let him be in thy sight as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, (Comp. Mat_7:15) labouring for the destruction of the sheep. If any one denies the cross, and is ashamed of the passion, let him be to thee as the adversary himself. “Though he gives all his goods to feed the poor, though he remove mountains, though he give his body to be burned,” (1Co_13:2) let him be regarded by thee as abominable. If any one makes light of the law or the prophets, which Christ fulfilled at His coming, let him be to thee as antichrist. If any one says that the Lord is a mere man, he is a Jew, a murderer of Christ.
Chap. III. — Exhortations as to Ecclesiastical Duties.
“Honour widows that are widows indeed.” (1Ti_5:3) Be the friend of orphans; for God is “the Father of the fatherless, and the Judge of the widows.” (Psa_68:5) Do nothing without the bishops; for they are priests, and thou a servant of the priests. They baptize, offer sacrifice,4 ordain, and lay on hands; but thou ministerest to them, as the holy Stephen 114 did at Jerusalem to James and the presbyters. Do not neglect the sacred meetings5 [of the saints]; inquire after every one by name. “Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example to the believers, both in word and conduct.” (1Ti_4:12)
Chap. IV. — Servants and Women Are Not to Be Despised.
Be not ashamed of servants, for we possess the same nature in common with them. Do not hold women in abomination, for they have given thee birth, and brought thee up. It is fitting, therefore, to love those that were the authors of our birth (but only in the Lord), inasmuch as a man can produce no children without a woman. It is right, therefore, that we should honour those who have had a part in giving us birth. “Neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man,” (1Co_11:11) except in the case of those who were first formed. For the body of Adam was made out of the four elements, and that of Eve out of the side of Adam. And, indeed, the altogether peculiar birth of the Lord was of a virgin alone. [This took place] not as if the lawful union [of man and wife] were abominable, but such a kind of birth was fitting to God. For it became the Creator not to make use of the ordinary method of generation, but of one that was singular and strange, as being the Creator.
Chap. V. — Various Relative Duties.
Flee from haughtiness, “for the Lord resisteth the proud.” (Jam_4:6; 1Pe_5:5) Abhor falsehood, for says [the Scripture], “Thou shalt destroy all them that speak lies.” (Psa_5:6) Guard against envy, for its author is the devil, and his successor Cain, who envied his brother, and out of envy committed murder. Exhort my sisters to love God, and be content with their own husbands only. In like manner, exhort my brethren also to be content with their own wives. Watch over the virgins, as the precious treasures of Christ. Be long-suffering, (Pro_14:29) that thou mayest be great in wisdom. Do not neglect the poor, in so far as thou art prosperous. For “by alms and fidelity sins are purged away.”6
Chap. VI — Exhortations to Purity and Caution.
Keep thyself pure as the habitation of God. Thou art the temple of Christ. Thou art the instrument of the Spirit. Thou knowest in what way I have brought thee up. Though I am the least of men, do thou seek to follow me, be thou an imitator of my conduct. I do not glory in the world, but in the Lord. I exhort Hero, my son; “but let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord.” (1Co_1:31; 2Co_10:17) May I have joy of thee, my dear son, whose guardian may He be who is the only unbegotten God, and the Lord Jesus Christ! Do not believe all persons, do not place confidence in all; nor let any man get the better of thee by flattery. For many are the ministers of Satan; and “he that is hasty to believe is light of heart.” (Ecclus. 19:4)
Chap. VII. — Solemn Charge to Hero, as Future Bishop of Antioch.
Keep God in remembrance, and thou shalt never sin. Be not double-minded (Comp. Jam_1:6, Jam_1:8) in thy prayers; for blessed is he who doubteth not. For I believe in the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His only-begotten Son, that God will show me, Hero, upon my throne. Add speed, therefore,7 to thy course. I charge thee before the God of the universe, and before Christ, and in the presence of the Holy Spirit, and of the ministering ranks [of angels], keep in safety that deposit which I and Christ have committed to thee, and do not judge thyself unworthy of those things which have been shown by God [to me] concerning thee. I hand over to thee the Church of Antioch. I have commended you to Polycarp in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chap. VIII. — Salutations.
The bishops, Onesimus, Bitus, Damas, Polybius, and all they of Philippi (whence also I have written to thee), salute thee in Christ. Salute the presbytery worthy of God: salute my holy fellow-deacons, of whom may I have joy in Christ, both in the flesh and in the spirit. Salute the people of the Lord, from the smallest to the greatest, every one by name; whom I commit to thee as Moses did [the Israelites] to Joshua, who was their leader after him. And do not reckon this which I have said presumptuous on my part; for although we are not such as they were, yet we at least pray that we may be so, since indeed we are the children of Abraham. Be strong, therefore, O Hero, like a hero, and like a man. For from henceforth thou shalt lead (Comp. Deu_31:7, Deu_31:23) in and out the people of the Lord that are in Antioch, and so “the congregation of the Lord shall not be as sheep which have no shepherd.” (Num_27:17)
Chap. IX. — Concluding Salutations and Instructions.
Salute Cassian, my host, and his most serious-minded partner in life, and their very dear 115 children, to whom may “God grant that they find mercy of the Lord in that day,” (2Ti_1:18) on account of their ministrations to us, whom also I commend to thee in Christ. Salute by name all the faithful in Christ that are at Laodicea. Do not neglect those at Tarsus, but look after them steadily, confirming them in the Gospel. I salute in the Lord, Maris the bishop of Neapolis, near Anazarbus. Salute thou also Mary my daughter, distinguished both for gravity and erudition, as also “the Church which is in her house.” (Col_4:15) May my soul be in place of hers: she is the very pattern of pious women. May the Father of Christ, by His only-begotten Son, preserve thee in good health, and of high repute in all things, I to a very old age, for the benefit of the Church of God! Farewell in the Lord, and pray thou that I may be perfected. 116
FOOTNOTES
1 Literally, “having leisure for.”
2 Literally, “cast thyself down.”
3 Literally, “athlete.”
4 The term ἱερουργέω, which we have translated as above, is one whose signification is disputed. It occurs once in the New Testament (Rom_15:16) where it is translated in our English version simply “ministering.” Etymologically, it means “to act as a priest,” and we have in our translation followed Hesychius (Cent. iv.), who explains it as meaning “to offer sacrifices.” [The whole passage in the Epistle to the Romans, where this word occurs may be compared (original Greek) with Mal_1:11, Heb_5:1, etc.]
5 Specifically, assemblies for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
6 Prov. 15:27 (after LXX.: Pro_16:6 in English version)
