My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
On the 20th of December, Our Holy Orthodox Church Commemorates
the holy HIeromartyr IGNATIOS the God-bearer.
Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Fourth Tone
As a sharer of the ways and a successor to the throne of the Apostles,
O inspired of God, thou fondest discipline to be a means of ascent to
divine vision. Wherefore, having rightly divided the word of truth,
thou didst also contest for the Faith even unto blood, O Hieromartyr
Ignatius. Intercede with Christ our God that our souls be saved.
Kontakion Hymn of the Saint. Third Tone
The divine and brilliant day of thine illustrious contests doth proclaim
to all mankind Him that was born of a Virgin for it was for Him that thou
didst thirst to delight in , and didst haste to be devoured by beasts in
thy longing. Hence, O glorious Ignatius, the name God-bearer was
rightly given to thee.
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Saint Ignatius, our divine and God-bearing father, was Bishop of Antioch during the reign of the pagan Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.). He was known as Theophoros, that is “Bod-bearer” or “God-borne.” This Saint is said to have been the small child taken into the Holy Hands of the Master Christ and set in the midst of His Disciples. Jesus then said, “IF ANYONE DOTH WISH TO BE FIRST, HE SHALL BE LAST OF ALL AND SERVANT OF ALL.” And He took a little child and set him in their midst. And after He took him into His arms, He said to them, 35-37)”WHOSOEVER SHALL RECEIVE ONE OF SUCH LITTLE CHILDREN IN MY NAME RECEIVETH ME; AND WHOSOEVER SHALL RECEIVE ME, RECEIVETH NOT ME, BUT THE ONE WHO SENT ME FORTH” (Mark 9:35-37). Holy Tradition maintains that the Master most clearly manifested the seven-year-old lad’s future progress and proficiency in the Apostolic teaching.
The blessed Ignatius became a Disciple of the divine Evangelist John, together with the sacred Polycarp, commemorated by the Holy Church on the 23rd of February, who became Bishop of Smyrna. Saint Ignatios was ordained to the Priesthood by the holy Apostles. Thereafter, he was voted by them to become Bishop of Antioch, The divine Ignatios was instructed in all knowledge of the Faith and in every virtue by the sacred Apostles. As a zealous disciple of the Apostles, he underwent much suffering and persecution while heralding the word of the Faith. He ever showed himself to be a minister of Christ’s mysteries and teacher to the nations.
The Saint loved the spiritual gatherings, when the faithful came together to celebrate the Liturgy. He especially took spiritual delight in the chanting of psalms and hymns by the congregation. Socrates, in The Ecclesiastical History, speaks of Saint Ignatius’ institution of antiphonal chanting, writing: “We must now however make some allusion to the origin of this custom in the Church of responsive singing, that is, ANTIPHONAL CHANTING. Ignatius, third bishop of Antioch in Syria from the Apostle Peter, who also had held intercourse with the Apostles themselves, SAW A VISION OF ANGELS HYMNING THE HOLY TRINITY IN ALTERNATE CHANTS. Accordingly, he introduced the mode of chanting he had observed in the vision into the Churches. Such is the account we have received in relation to these responsive hymns.”
During his reign Trajan engaged in fierce war against the Christians. He attempted to compel them to pay homage to his pagan gods whom he believed had assisted him in gaining significant victories. Epistles were dispatched to all the cities of the Empire stating that, IF THE CHRISTIANS REFUSED TO OFFER SACRIFICE, THEY WERE TO SUFFER BITTER PUNISHMENT AND THEN A PITILESS DEATH. Not long afterward (114 A.D.), Trajan returned to war to take up the campaign on the Empire’s Eastern frontier. The cause of hostilities was Parthian interference in Armenia, the buffer-state on the frontier between the Romans and Parthians. Chosroes of Parthia supplanted a Roman nominee by one of his own on the Armenian throne. Thus, Trajan left Rome, visited (Seleucia). He is believed to have wintered in Antioch and to have witnessed firsthand the city left in ruins from an earthquake, during which even he escaped through a window.
It was at this time that Ignatius, engaged in his pastoral duties, was reported to Trajan. The Emperor was informed that the bishop was teaching the people to venerate the God Who of late had been crucified and suffered an evil death. Trajan also learned that Ignatius was exhorting the people to preserve their virginity and to despise ease, comfort, and every sweet delight of this life. He received intelligence that the worst crime of Ignatius was his contempt for the deities and imperial ordinances. Trajan immediately sent to have Ignatios brought before him. Trajan, as seen on his commemorative column memorializing his victory in the Dacian Wars, was a tall and distinctive figure. He was energetic for a sixty-year-old man and was accustomed to suffering hardship and danger with the men under his command. As for Saint Ignatius, he was a man of Apostolic character in every way. He had been governing the Church of the Antiochenes during the storm of persecution, even from the time of Domitian (81-96 A.D.). As a good pilot, he held the helm of the Church by means of prayer, fasting, assiduous teaching, and spiritual earnestness. He withstood the enemy’s surge to gain the faithful, lest he should lose any of the faint hearted or over-simple. It was the Saint’s ardent prayer that he make his confession by martyrdom. Now Trajan, being full of himself after gaining the victory over the Docians, was put out that the Christians were the only people not in complete subjection, unless they submitted to the service of the idols, or more correctly, the devils. Therefore, the pious were constrained to either offer sacrifice or to die. Saint Ignatius, refusing such vile homage, therefore, came forth of his own free will before Trajan.
As the two stood face to face, Trajan asked, “Who art thou, wretch of a devil, that art so ready to disobey our royal orders, whilst thou seducest others also, that they may come to an equally bad end?” Saint Ignatius answered, “No one who bears God can be called a wretch of a devil. I say this, on one hand because the devils stand aloof from the slaves (servants) of God; but, on the other hand, if thou sayest this because I am troublesome to the devils, then I concur. For since I have the heavenly King Christ, I confounded the devices of the devils.” Trajan said, “And who is he that bearest God?” Saint Ignatius answered “The one who has Christ in his heart.” Trajan asked, “Does thou not think that we too have gods in our hearts, since we have them as allies against our enemies?” Saint Ignatius replied, “Thou art deceived when thou callest the demons of the nations gods. There is one God Who created the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are therein, and one Christ Jesus, the Only-begotten Son of the God and Father, Whose friendship I would be prepared to take risks to enjoy. If thou, O Emperor, wouldst come to acknowledge Him, thou shalt set firm the throne of thy kingdom and wear a splendid diadem on thy brow.” Trajan remarked, “Thou speakest, does thou not, of the One who was crucified by Pontius Pilate?” Saint Ignatius declared, “I speak of Him Who blotted out the bond written against us and nailed it to the Cross, He put off the principalities and the powers, openly making them an example and triumphing over them in it” (cf. Colossians 2: 14-15). He sentenced every malice of the demons to be trampled underfoot by those who carry Jesus in their heart.” Trajan then inquired, “Dost thou bear this Jesus in thy heart?” Saint Ignatius answered, “Yes, for it is written: “I WILL DWELL IN THEM, AND WALK ABOUT IN THEM”.
The Emperor attempted to ply the holy man with promises , favors, and gifts. Then he reverted to threats of punishment and torture. Trajan then pronounced the sentencing and had it written up officially. Saint Ignatios was bound with chains. He was then given charge of a body of soldiers, who were commended to deliver him to the theater in Rome. They were given orders that at a public holiday, when the populace was gathered together, they were to cast Ignatius tot the wild animals. He was to be a spectacle and a diversion for thousands of spectators while being torn to pieces. (Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)
(To be continued)
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“Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!”
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry).
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George
The Eastern Orthodox Christian Ethos 