Ignatius letters

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Ignatius depicted on an Orthodox icon

From Ignatius of Antioch , the second bishop of Antioch, seven letters that are now recognized as genuine have survived, which are commonly referred to as Ignatius ' letters and are summarized.

Addressees of the letters are the churches in Ephesus , Magnesia ( letter of Ignatius to the Magnesians ), Tralleis , Rome , Philadelphia and Smyrna as well as Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna . With the exception of Rome, all of the places mentioned are in Asia Minor .

The Epistles of Ignatius used to be the most important source for Christianity in the beginning of the 2nd century, a time that is poorer in written sources on Christianity than any other post-Christian period. They exerted a significant influence on the theology that followed. Today this early dating is only rarely represented.

Emergence

According to general opinion, the letters were written when Ignatius was brought to Rome for execution after his arrest in Antioch. Traditionally, this event is dated to the first decade of the 2nd century (107–110), according to more recent research not until the second half of the 2nd century. Chains and a sometimes unsystematic line of thought also speak for a production in great haste and without prior planning. Ignatius wrote the first four letters in Smyrna, and the other three in Troas.

The Medium Review , published in 1646, has been the authentic version of the Ignatius letters since the editions of Zahn (1873) and Lightfoot (1885). At first, Harnack located the letters in the time of Hadrian (117-138) or even Antoninus Pius (138-161), but later cautiously followed the opinion of Zahn and Lightfoot that the letters were written under Trajan (up to 117). The dating question was first reopened by Joly and later, with other arguments and more reverberation, by Huebner .

The outcome of the discussion on Huebner's theses is assessed differently. Ehrman sticks to the traditional dating (up to 117). Barnes follows Andreas Lindemann and locates the letters in the 140s. According to Schmithals , the letters were written under Marcus Aurelius (161–180). Zwierlein sees an origin in Rome around 180 and asks whether Ignatius of Antioch is a fictional character.

content

Ignatius 'letters testify to Ignatius' encounters with Christians who came to him on his path of suffering and supported him. Ignatius himself wrote in gratitude to the congregations whose members he praised. His letters are largely an encouragement to the Christian life and an invitation to cling to Christian teaching.

In addition to these general statements, echoes of Ignatius' theological understanding and the ecclesiastical questions of his time can be found in the letters.

Against heresies

In the letters Ignatius warns the Christian communities against Judaizing tendencies ("It is monstrous to speak of Jesus Christ and to practice Judaism") and Docetism . In the letter to the Magnesians (para. 9) he mentions in this connection that Sunday has replaced the Sabbath as a Christian holiday.

Community structure

Ignatius' letters were respected in the growing church, since Ignatius gave the episcopate an important role. He demanded loyalty from parishioners to the bishop, who in turn relies on presbyters and deacons . Earlier writings, e.g. B. Paul's letters , knew either bishops and deacons or presbyters, but no hierarchy; nor was the number of office holders in a parish unclear. Ignatius describes for the first time a (perhaps idealized) church structure that corresponds to later church customs.

For this very reason, the letters were rejected by the Protestant churches after the Reformation. Partly in the 19th century all Ignatius letters (together with the forgeries that arose later) were regarded as fake. Today the short versions of the seven letters of Ignatius are generally considered to be authentic.

Eucharistic celebration

The Eucharist is a central element of being a Christian for Ignatius. In this context he speaks of the “remedy for immortality ” (Letter to the Ephesians).

Martyrdom

In his letters Ignatius expresses a strong wish , which may seem rather strange to today's readers, to die violently as a martyr , which he sometimes depicts in drastic pictures. He sees martyrdom as the ultimate Christian witness of faith. With the letter to the Romans, Ignatius tries to prevent the Christians of Rome from opposing his martyrdom. In this context, the question of his future burial place is central. Ignatius does not want a grave as the apostles have (therefore: “I do not command you like Peter and Paul”), but as a disciple of Christ, whose grave was empty, he doesn't want to own a grave; rather, the lions are to become his grave. Ignatius testifies that the Roman community looked after the graves of martyrs and the apostles.

Pseudo Ignatius Letters

Of the seven real letters, there are fake longer versions that are dated to the late 2nd century or later. There are also 13 fake Ignatius letters, all of which were probably written in the late 4th century and were intended to place certain positions under the authority of Ignatius during the Christological controversy of that time . These late writings are today an important source for the internal church discussion of their time.

Sources and Editions

The letters are contained in the Florentine Codex Mediceo Laurentianus , but without the letter to the Romans. There is also a Latin translation and Syrian fragments.

German translations of the letters offer:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Timothy D. Barnes : The Date of Ignatius . In: The Expository Times . tape 120 , no. 3 , December 2008, p. 119-130 , here p. 121 , doi : 10.1177 / 0014524608098730 .
  2. ↑ Reinhard Huebner : Theses on the authenticity and dating of the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch . In: Journal of Ancient Christianity . tape 1 , no. 1 , January 1997, p. 44–72 , here pp. 46–47 , doi : 10.1515 / zach.1997.1.1.42 .
  3. ^ Robert Joly: Le dossier d'Ignace d'Antioche . Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 1979, ISBN 2-8004-0688-7 .
  4. ↑ Reinhard Huebner : Theses on the authenticity and dating of the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch . In: Journal of Ancient Christianity . tape 1 , no. 1 , January 1997, p. 44-72 , doi : 10.1515 / zach.1997.1.1.42 .
  5. ↑ For reverberation see Brandon Cline, Trevor Thompson: Ignatius Redux: Bart Ehrman on Ignatius and his letters . In: The Journal of Religion . tape 83 , no. 3 , July 2006, p. 442–454 , here p. 445 , doi : 10.1086 / 503697 (list of literature).
  6. ↑ Brandon Cline, Trevor Thompson: Ignatius Redux: Bart Ehrman on Ignatius and his letters . In: The Journal of Religion . tape 83 , no. 3 , July 2006, p. 442–454 , here p. 445 , doi : 10.1086 / 503697 : “Ehrman dismisses [Hübners] position with the following: 'Most scholars, however, have remained unpersuaded by this thesis and find sufficient grounds for accepting the traditional date'.”
  7. ↑ Andreas Lindemann: Answer to the "Theses on the authenticity and dating of the seven letters of Ignatius of Antioch" . In: Journal of Ancient Christianity . tape 1 , no. 2 , January 1997, p. 185–194 , doi : 10.1515 / zach.1997.1.2.185 .
  8. ↑ Timothy D. Barnes : The Date of Ignatius . In: The Expository Times . tape 120 , no. 3 , December 2008, p. 119-130 , doi : 10.1177 / 0014524608098730 .
  9. ↑ Walter Schmithals : To Ignatius of Antioch . In: Journal of Ancient Christianity . tape 13 , no. 2 , January 2009, p. 181–203 , here p. 203 , doi : 10.1515 / ZAC.2009.16 .
  10. ↑ Otto Zwierlein : The original versions of Martyria Polycarpi et Pionii and the Corpus Polycarpianum . tape 2 : Text history and reconstruction. Polycarp, Ignatius and the editor Ps.-Pionius . De Gruyter, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-037100-0 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  11. ↑ Stefan Heid: The beginnings of the veneration of the apostolic graves in Rome . In: Stefan Heid (ed.): Petrus and Paulus in Rome. An interdisciplinary debate . Freiburg im Breisgau 2011, p. 283-308 .