Life and significance
A bishop on the road to martyrdom
Ignatius was an early bishop of Antioch, known in the Church as Theophoros, the God-bearer. Under the emperor Trajan he was arrested and taken under guard toward Rome, where he was condemned to die before the wild beasts.
During the journey he wrote to Christian communities about fidelity to Christ, unity around the bishop and Eucharist, resistance to false teaching, and the meaning of martyrdom. These letters preserve one of the clearest voices from the generation immediately following the apostles.
Biography source:
The Martyrdom of St Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, in Rome
· Coptic Synaxarium