This episode contains Ignatius’ Epistle to the Romans and an account of his martyrdom. These two works have been included together because, while en route to his death, Ignatius wrote to the Church in Rome in order that they might not attempt to prevent the upcoming spectacle.

Through these works one might fairly criticize Ignatius for desiring and seeking to be martyred. While he does sometimes come off as such, I choose to understand this as the letter of one who has accepted his condemnation by the Roman emperor and, rather than fearing death, joyously accepts the crown of life promised to all who remain faithful to Christ until the end.

The account of Ignatius martyrdom is reminiscent of Luke's description of Paul's journey to Rome. Indeed, Ignatius and his companions were very much aware of the fact that they followed in Paul's footsteps. It remains encouraging to hear how early believers respected and revered the bishop of Antioch, the grace that he brought to the churches, and the glory that he brought to Christ through his death.

In listening to Ignatius’ epistles, two features stand out. First, they contain a glimpse of early Christian theology. Here we find echoes of the apostles’ creed and references to the miraculous details of Jesus’ birth. Second, Ignatius writes with a pastoral tone, expressing concern for the health of the churches and individuals to which he is writing. In describing how the church ought to function, we also find that he held a strong view of the authority of the Church and its local leaders.

The Ignatian epistles also present a case study of the difficulties involved in determining what is truly original. There are 15 epistles attributed to the author, but as of the late 1800s only seven were considered to be authoritative, in part because they were referenced by Eusebius as having existed in the 4th century. There are, however, multiple copies of each of these epistles: a shorter and longer one in Greek and a few in Syriac. Because of this, while we have little reason to doubt that the works contain original text by Ignatius, it would be impossible to claim that they were inerrant or that we have the entire, genuine article.

Given this difficulty, presented here are six of the seven shorter, Greek, versions of the following Ignatian epistles: The Epistle to the Ephesians; The Epistle to the Magnesians, The Epistle to the Trallians, the Epistle to the Philadelphians, the Epistle to the Smyrnæans, and the Epistle to Polycarp.