02 — The Journey to Rome
The arrest of Ignatius in Antioch, his condemnation to the beasts, and the long overland journey under military guard across Asia Minor to Rome — the journey on which every one of his surviving letters was written. What is secure here is reconstructed from the letters themselves; the dramatic trial-scenes of the later Martyrium Ignatii are not eyewitness and are flagged as such.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostolic Father)
The seven letters are travel documents. Ignatius wrote them as a prisoner already sentenced to die in the Roman arena, carried westward under guard during a pause at Smyrna and again at Troas. This section reconstructs the route — the “ten leopards” of his escort, the welcoming delegations of bishops and presbyters, and the precise mapping of which letter was written where — and is careful throughout to distinguish what the letters attest from what the later, legendary Acts dramatize.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Arrest and Condemnation | The arrest in Antioch and sentence ad bestias; the absence of a reliable trial account and the unreliable Trajan-hearing of the Martyrium; why he may have been sent to Rome; the “bereaved” church of Syria left “without a bishop” (Rom. 9; Magn. 14; Trall. 13) and the later “peace” restored to it (Phld. 10; Smyrn. 11; Pol. 7). |
| The Road Through Asia | The “ten leopards” (Rom. 5.1); the northern road through Philadelphia to Smyrna; the delegations from Ephesus (Onesimus), Magnesia (Damas), and Tralles (Polybius); the four letters from Smyrna (Eph., Magn., Trall., Rom.) and the three from Troas (Phld., Smyrn., Pol.); the sailing toward Philippi. |
See Also
- The Corpus — the seven letters mapped onto this itinerary
- Antioch and the See — the church Ignatius left behind in Syria
- Wheat of God — the martyrdom toward which the journey moved
- The Pre-Schism Church — the early-second-century Church of the journey’s world
References
- Lightfoot, J. B. The Apostolic Fathers, Part II: S. Ignatius, S. Polycarp. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1885.
- Holmes, Michael W. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
- Schoedel, William R. Ignatius of Antioch: A Commentary on the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.