Ignatius Of Antioch Quotes & Sayings

Where the bishop is present, there is the Catholic Church — Ignatius Of Antioch

A Christian is not his own master, since all his time belongs to God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. — Ignatius Of Antioch

For Faith is the beginning and the end is love, and God is the two of them brought into unity. After these comes whatever else makes up a Christian gentleman. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Our task is not one of producing persuasive propaganda; Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Christianity is not a matter of persuading people of particular ideas, but of inviting them to share in the greatness of Christ. So pray that I may never fall into the trap of impressing people with clever speech, but instead I may learn to speak with humility, desiring only to impress people with Christ himself. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I have many deep thoughts in God, but I take my own measure, lest I perish by boasting ... For I myself, though I am in chains and can comprehend heavenly things, the ranks of the angels and the hierarchy of principalities, things visible and invisible, for all this I am not yet a disciple. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God's bread, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave His Blood which is love that cannot perish. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Reverence the deacons as you would the command of God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

In like manner, everyone who has received from God the power of distinguishing and yet follows an unskillful pastor and receives a false opinion for the truth shall be punished ... Be not deceived: if any man follows him who separates from the truth, he shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and if any man does not stand aloof from the preacher of falsehood he shall be condemned to Hell. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but actually to be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name. — Ignatius Of Antioch

But pray unceasingly also for the rest of men, for they offer ground for hoping that they may be converted and win their way to God. Give them an opportunity therefore, of becoming your disciples. Meet their angry outbursts with your own gentleness, their boastfulness with your humility, their revilings with your prayers, their error with your constancy in the faith, their harshness with your meekness; and beware of trying to match their example. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is outrageous to utter the name of Jesus Christ and live in Judaism. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Take care, then, to be firmly grounded in the teachings of the Lord and his apostles so that you may prosper in all your doings both in body and in soul, in faith and in love, in the Son, and in the Father and in the Spirit, in the beginning and in the end, along with your most worthy bishop and his spiritual crown, your presbyters, and with the deacons, who are men of God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Take heed, then, often to come together to give thanks to God, and show forth His praise. For when you assemble frequently in the same place, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and the destruction at which he aims is prevented by the unity of your faith. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Wherefore it is fitting that ye also should run together in accordance with the will of the bishop who by God's appointment [515] rules over you. Which thing ye indeed of yourselves do, being instructed by the Spirit. For your justly-renowned presbytery, being worthy of God, is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the strings are to the harp. Thus, being joined together in concord and harmonious love, of which Jesus Christ is the Captain and Guardian, do ye, man by man, become but one choir; so that, agreeing together in concord, and obtaining [516] a perfect unity with God, ye may indeed be one in harmonious feeling with God the Father, and His beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord. For, says He, "Grant unto them, Holy Father, that as I and Thou are one, they also may be one in us." [517] It is therefore profitable that you, being joined together with God in an unblameable unity, should be the followers of the example of Christ, of whom also ye are members. [515] — Ignatius Of Antioch

I am God's wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ's pure bread. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is better for me to die in behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. — Ignatius Of Antioch

[Jesus] was born and baptized that by his suffering he might purify the water. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Be careful, therefore, to take part only in the one Eucharist; for there is only one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us with His Blood. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings ... let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the evil torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates, [1101] and servants of God. Please ye Him under whom ye fight, and from whom ye receive your wages. Let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism endure as your arms; your faith as your helmet; your love as your spear; your patience as a complete panoply. Let your works be the charge [1102] assigned to you, that ye may receive a worthy recompense. Be long-suffering, therefore, with one another, in meekness, as God is towards you. May I have joy of you for ever! [1103] Give — Ignatius Of Antioch

I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way ... Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I am God's wheat, and I shall be ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may become the pure bread of Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Let us therefore be of a reverent spirit, and fear the long-suffering of God, that it tend not to our condemnation. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I would rather die and come to Jesus Christ than be king over the entire earth. Him I seek who died for us; Him I love who rose again because of us. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I offer my life's breath for the sake of the Cross, which is a stumbling block to the unbelievers, but to us it is salvation and eternal life. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Jesus Christ who was of the race of David, who was the Son of Mary, who was truly born and ate and drank, was truly persecuted under Pontius Pilate, was truly crucified and died in the sight of those in heaven and on earth and those under the earth; who moreover was truly raised from the dead, His Father having raised Him, who in the like fashion will so raise us also who believe on Him. — Ignatius Of Antioch

May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs - let them come to me, provided only I make my way to Jesus Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is better to be silent and be real than to talk and not be real. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Let not then any one deceive you, as indeed you are not deceived, inasmuch as you are wholly devoted to God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ... ; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is better to keep silence and be something than to talk and be nothing. — Ignatius Of Antioch

It is impossible for a man to be freed from the habit of sin before he hates it, just as it is impossible to receive forgiveness before confessing his trespasses ... — Ignatius Of Antioch

Christianity is greatest when it is hated by the world. — Ignatius Of Antioch

You must all follow the lead of the bishop, as Jesus Christ followed that of the Father; follow the presbytery as you would the Apostles; reverence the deacons as you would God's commandment. — Ignatius Of Antioch

My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Pray without ceasing on behalf of other men ... For cannot he that falls rise again? — Ignatius Of Antioch

Now do I begin to be a disciple of Christ, and care for nothing in this world, that so I may find Jesus. Let fire, or the cross, or wild beasts, or the breaking of my bones, or the cutting of me to pieces, or the shattering of my whole body, yea, all the tortures of the devil - let them all come upon me, only let me enjoy my God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Even the heavenly powers and the angels in their splendor and the principalities, both visible and invisible, must either believe in the Blood of Christ, or else face damnation. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Let no rank puff up anyone; for faith and love are paramount - the greatest blessings in the world. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Only let it be in the name of Jesus Christ, that I may suffer together with Him! I endure everything because He Himself, Who is perfect man, empowers me. — Ignatius Of Antioch

The Lord did nothing either of himself or through his apostles without his Father, with whom he is united; so too, you should undertake nothing without the bishop and the presbyters priests. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. [] Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. [] Whatsoever [the bishop] shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be, even as wheresoever Christ Jesus is, there is the catholic church. — Ignatius Of Antioch

The proper thing, then, is not merely to be styled Christians, but also to be such. — Ignatius Of Antioch

As for me, my charter is Jesus Christ, the inviolable charter is His cross and His death and resurrection, and faith through Him. — Ignatius Of Antioch

You ... are stones of the temple of the Father, prepared for the Father's building, and drawn up on high by the instrument of Jesus Christ, which is the Cross (cf. Jn. 12:32), making use of the Holy Spirit as a rope, while your faith was the means by which you ascended, and your love the way which led up to God. You, therefore, as well as all your fellow-travelers, are God-bearers, temple-bearers, Christ-bearers, bearers of holiness, adorned in all respects with the commandments of Jesus Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Do everything as if He were dwelling in us. Thus we shall be His temples and He will be within us as our God - as He actually is. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was in the flesh to the Father, and the apostles to Christ and to the Father and to the Spirit, so that there may be unity in flesh and in spirit. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David, and for drink I desire His Blood, which is love incorruptible. — Ignatius Of Antioch

From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated. — Ignatius Of Antioch

For some are in the habit of carrying about the name in wicked guile, while they still practice things unworthy of God. You must flee these as you would wild beasts. For they are ravening dogs, who bite secretly, against whom you must be on your guard, since they are men who can scarcely be cured. — Ignatius Of Antioch

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. — Ignatius Of Antioch

We recognize a tree by its fruit, and we ought to be able to recognize a Christian by his action. The fruit of faith should be evident in our lives, for being a Christian is more than making sound professions of faith. It should reveal itself in practical and visible ways. Indeed it is better to keep quiet about our beliefs, and live them out, than to talk eloquently about what we believe, but fail to live by it. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Wherever the bishop shall appear, let the multitude of also be, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic [i.e., universal] church. It is not lawful either to baptize or to celebrate a love feast without the bishop, but whatever he approves of, that is also pleasing to God. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Your accord and harmonious love is a hymn to Jesus Christ ... in perfect harmony, and taking your pitch from God, you may sing in unison and in one voice to the Father through Jesus Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

But look at the men who have those perverted notions about the grace of Jesus Christ which has come down to us, and see how contrary to the mind of God they are ... They even abstain from the Eucharist and from the public prayers, because they will not admit that the Eucharist is the self-same body of our Savior Jesus Christ which flesh suffered for our sins, and which the Father of His goodness raised up again. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Being come together in the same place, let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and in joy undefiled. There is one Jesus Christ, than Whom nothing is more excellent. Therefore all should run together as into one temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from the Father, and is with and has gone to one. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Let no man's place, or dignity, or riches, puff him up; and let no man's low condition or poverty abase him. For the chief points are faith towards God, hope towards Christ, the enjoyment of those good things for which we look, and love towards God and our neighbor. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Now I begin to be a disciple ... Let fire and cross, flocks of beasts, broken bones, dismemberment ... come upon me, so long as I attain to Jesus Christ. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing, of visible or invisible things, so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limbs, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus! — Ignatius Of Antioch

I would rather die for Christ than rule the whole earth. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Nothing is more precious than peace, by which all war, both in Heaven and Earth, is brought to an end. — Ignatius Of Antioch

I greet you from Smyrna together with the Churches of God present here with me. They comfort me in every way, both in body and soul. My chains, which I carry about on me for Jesus Christ, begging that I may happily make my way to God, exhort you: persevere in your concord and in you community prayers. — Ignatius Of Antioch

Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips, and the world in your heart. — Ignatius Of Antioch