About this work
The Letter to the Ephesians is one of the seven letters preserved in the Middle Recension of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Writing as a prisoner on his way from Syria toward Rome, Ignatius thanks the Ephesian Christians for the care they showed him through their representatives and repeatedly praises their faith and love. The letter develops some of his characteristic themes: unity in the Church, harmony with the bishop and presbytery, steadfastness against deceptive teaching, and a Christian life in which profession and conduct agree. It also contains concentrated statements about Jesus Christ, his incarnation, suffering, resurrection, and the life believers receive in him.
Historical context
Ignatius states that he is writing from Smyrna while being led in chains from Syria to Rome. The Ephesian church had sent representatives to meet and assist him, including their bishop Onesimus, and Ignatius names Burrhus and Crocus among those who refreshed him. His circumstances give the letter its unusual combination of pastoral counsel and personal testimony: he writes as a condemned prisoner who regards his approaching suffering as part of his discipleship. The letter also reflects concerns about traveling teachers and rival teaching, while presenting the local church's unity around its ministers as a safeguard for common faith and worship.
Contents
After an elaborate greeting, Ignatius thanks the Ephesians for their delegation and praises their unity with Bishop Onesimus. He urges harmony with the bishop and presbytery, frequent common worship, humility, prayer for opponents, and a faith expressed in conduct rather than words alone. He warns against deceptive teaching and contrasts it with the confession of Jesus Christ. The later chapters reflect on Christ's incarnation, passion, resurrection, and the mysteries surrounding his coming, before closing with Ignatius's travel situation, greetings, and a request for prayer for the Church in Syria.
Text & source details
Editions
- Edition
- Original Greek
- Reader label
- Ancient Greek
- Publication
- Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1 (1912); corrected Open Apostolic Fathers transcription.
- Date
- 1912
- Rights
- Open Apostolic Fathers transcription licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Edition
- Voices of the Fathers Modern English
- Reader label
- Modern English — VOTF
- Translator
- Voices of the Fathers editorial project
- Publication
- Voices of the Fathers
- Date
- 2026
- Rights
- Voices of the Fathers Modern English is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), to the extent copyright and related rights subsist in the translation and associated editorial material. Commercial reuse requires separate permission from Voices of the Fathers. The underlying ancient text and identified public-domain source editions retain their respective status.
- Edition
- Kirsopp Lake (1912)
- Reader label
- English — Lake (1912)
- Translator
- Kirsopp Lake
- Publication
- Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1 (1912).
- Date
- 1912
- Rights
- Public domain in the United States.
Text and edition sources
Corrected Open Apostolic Fathers transcription based on Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1 (1912).
Applies to: Ancient Greek CC BY-SA 4.0.Letter to the Ephesians, Voices of the Fathers Modern English, Voices of the Fathers, 2026, CC BY-NC 4.0.
Applies to: Modern English — VOTF Source websiteLetter to the Ephesians, Voices of the Fathers Modern English, Voices of the Fathers, 2026.
Applies to: Modern English — VOTF Voices of the Fathers Modern English is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 for noncommercial reuse with attribution, to the extent copyright and related rights subsist in the translation/editorial contribution. Underlying ancient texts and identified public-domain sources retain their own status.Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, bilingual Greek-English edition (1912).
Applies to: English — Lake (1912)Perseus canonical-greekLit TEI transcription of Kirsopp Lake, The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1 (1912).
Applies to: English — Lake (1912) CC BY-SA 4.0.