Ignatius of Antioch quotes - page 3

Ignatius of Antioch was an early Christian bishop and theologian, recognized as one of the Apostolic Fathers. His letters addressed to Christian communities are important sources for the development of early Church doctrine and organization. He is revered for his faith and martyrdom during the Roman persecutions. Here are 63 of his quotes:

... 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

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

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

It is outrageous to utter the name of Jesus Christ and live in Judaism.

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

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 am writing to all the Churches and I enjoin all, that I am dying willingly for God's sake, if only you do not prevent it. I beg you, do not do me an untimely kindness. Allow me to be eaten by the beasts, which are my way of reaching to God. I am God's wheat, and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become the pure bread of Christ.

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

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

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

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