Church History · About AD 107

Ignatius of Antioch and the Word Catholic

Ignatius, bishop of Antioch and a student of the apostles, was marched to Rome to face the lions. On the way he wrote seven letters, and in one of them he became the first known writer to call the church catholic, meaning universal.

Read it in the Bible: Acts 11:26 Ephesians 4:4-6 1 John 4:2-3 Matthew 16:18

Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch in Syria, the same city where the disciples were first called Christians. About AD 107, under the emperor Trajan, he was arrested and marched across Asia Minor to Rome to be killed by wild animals. On the way he wrote seven short letters. In his letter to the church at Smyrna he used a word no Christian writer had used for the church before: catholic. That makes his letters one of the most important windows we have into the church right after the apostles.

Who Was Ignatius of Antioch?

Ignatius led the church in Antioch around the end of the first century. Early tradition says he knew the apostles, and many writers link him with the apostle John. Some later stories say Peter himself appointed him, but those traditions are hard to prove. What we can say is that he was a church leader while people who had heard the apostles were still alive.

He also gave himself a nickname, Theophorus, which means God bearer. That is a strong name to put on your own letterhead, but by the end of the trip he had earned it.

Antioch matters in the Bible story. It was the home base for Paul's missionary journeys.

The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch. Acts 11:26

When Did Ignatius Write His Seven Letters?

The traditional date is about AD 107, during Trajan's reign. Many historians prefer a range of about 105 to 115, and a few argue for a later date. We don't know the exact year, but the early 100s is the common view.

Roman soldiers led him overland, and churches along the way sent people to greet him. He wrote to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia and Smyrna, plus a personal letter to Polycarp, the young bishop of Smyrna. Later writers padded his collection with extra letters and longer versions, so scholars speak of the seven genuine letters, often called the middle recension.

What Did Ignatius Mean by the Word Catholic?

The word comes from the Greek katholikos, from kata, meaning according to, and holos, meaning whole. Put together it means universal, or throughout the whole. In chapter 8 of his letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ignatius urged believers to stay united with their bishop. In the classic English translation the line reads:

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. Ignatius, To the Smyrnaeans 8

Ignatius was not naming a denomination. There was only one church, and he meant the whole body of believers everywhere, gathered around Jesus. The phrase Roman Catholic came into wide English use much later, in the 1600s. When the Apostles' Creed says, I believe in the holy catholic church, Protestants who recite it mean the same thing Ignatius meant: the universal church of every true believer.

Paul taught the same idea of one church long before the word was coined.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:4 to 6

What Else Did Ignatius Teach?

His letters fight a false teaching called Docetism. Docetists said Jesus only seemed to have a real body. Ignatius pushed back hard. He insisted that Jesus was truly born, truly suffered under Pontius Pilate, and truly rose in the flesh. John had warned about the same error.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 1 John 4:2

Ignatius also stressed unity, love and staying with the church's leaders. He describes one bishop with elders and deacons in each city, which is one of the earliest clear pictures of that pattern. Catholic and Orthodox Christians see this as support for the office of bishop. Many Protestants note that the New Testament often uses bishop and elder for the same role, and they read Ignatius as a witness to how things were developing in his area. Both sides agree he is an early and valuable witness.

His letter to the Romans is the most moving. He begged the church there not to try to rescue him. He is often quoted as calling himself the wheat of God, ground by the teeth of wild beasts so he could become pure bread for Christ.

Who Were the Apostolic Fathers?

Ignatius belongs to a group scholars call the Apostolic Fathers. These are the earliest Christian writings after the New Testament, by leaders who lived close to the time of the apostles. The main ones are:

Clement of Rome, who wrote a letter to the church in Corinth about AD 96 to calm a fight over church leaders. Tradition says he knew Peter and Paul.
Polycarp of Smyrna, a student of John, who received a letter from Ignatius and later died as a martyr about AD 155.
The Didache, a short church manual also called The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Most scholars date it to the late first or early second century. It covers baptism, the Lord's Supper, fasting and prayer.
Other works such as the Letter of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas, which some early churches read but did not include in the New Testament.

None of these writings are Scripture. Still, they show what the church believed and practiced in the generation after the apostles. Again and again they quote or echo the books we now call the New Testament.

How Did Ignatius Die?

Tradition says Ignatius was killed by wild beasts in the Colosseum in Rome. The early sources don't give us a detailed account of his death the way we have for Polycarp, so the specifics come from later writers. What is clear is that he went willingly and wrote like a man who had already made up his mind. The Martyrdom of Polycarp page on this site picks up the story with his friend in Smyrna.

Why Ignatius Still Matters Today

Ignatius reminds us that the church is bigger than any one building, city or label. When he said catholic, he meant every believer everywhere who belongs to Jesus. That is still true. A Baptist in Tampa, an Orthodox believer in Antioch and a Pentecostal in Lagos who trust Christ belong to the same family.

He also shows that the earliest Christians believed Jesus was really God and really human, and they were willing to die for it. Jesus said His church would stand, and Ignatius was one of the first to stake his life on that promise.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

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Questions People Ask

Who first used the word catholic for the church?

The earliest known use is by Ignatius of Antioch in his letter to the Smyrnaeans, written about AD 107. He wrote that wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church. He used the word to mean universal, the whole church everywhere, not a denomination.

What does the word catholic mean?

Catholic comes from the Greek word katholikos, meaning universal or according to the whole. In the early church it described the one worldwide body of believers. Today it is also the name of the Roman Catholic Church, but many Protestants still use the small c meaning in the creeds.

Did Ignatius know the apostles?

Early tradition says he did, and many writers connect him with the apostle John. He led the church in Antioch around AD 100, while people who had heard the apostles were still alive. The exact details of his contact with the apostles can't be proven.

What are the seven letters of Ignatius?

He wrote to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, Rome, Philadelphia and Smyrna, and one personal letter to Polycarp. Scholars accept these seven as genuine. Later writers added other letters under his name that are not authentic.

Who are the Apostolic Fathers?

They are the earliest Christian writers after the New Testament, including Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache and a few others. Their writings are not Scripture. They show what the church believed in the generation right after the apostles.

Sources

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