- Beginning of the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ
- Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer, Bishop of Antioch (107)
- There is a tradition
that it was the young boy Ignatius whom Christ took upon his knee to explain to His followers
that they must become as children to enter the Kingdom. He knew the holy Apostles personally
and, with St Polycarp (February 25) was a disciple of St John the Evangelist. He succeeded
Evodus as second Bishop of Antioch, the capital of Syria and at that time one of the largest cities
in the world. Here, during the persecutions of Domitian, he strengthened the faithful, brought
many pagans to Christ, and prayed that he himself would be granted the crown of martyrdom.
His flock called him the Godbearer, a title that he did not refuse, for he said that all Christians
after their Baptism are truly Bearers of Christ, clothed in the Holy Spirit.
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When peace was restored to the Church for awhile, the holy Bishop devoted himself to
organizing the young Church on strong foundations at a time when the last of the Apostles had
only recently passed away. He established the principle that the Grace imparted to the Apostles
at Pentecost was handed down to the bishops appointed by them, and so on through the
generations: the Apostolic Succession.
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The Emperor Trajan, passing through Syria to make war in Armenia, spent some time in
Antioch and initiated a persecution of Christians. Rejoicing that the time of martyrdom had at
last arrived, Ignatius presented himself before the Emperor and eloquently declared his faith in
Christ.
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"So you are a disciple of the one crucified under Pontius Pilate?" asked the Emperor.
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"I am the disciple of Him who has nailed my sin to the Cross, and has trodden the Devil
and his devices underfoot."
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"Why do you call yourself the Godbearer?"
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"Because I carry the living Christ within me!"
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"Therefore, let the bearer of the Crucified One be taken in chains to Rome, there to be
fed to the lions for the amusement of the people."
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And so it was. During the long and difficult journey to Rome, cruelly mistreated by his
guards, the Saint wrote a series of letters to the young churches which remain one of the
treasures of the Church. In Smyrna, he was able to meet with his fellow-disciple Polycarp and
entrust to him the care of the churches whose shepherd he had been. As Trajan had ordered, In
Rome he was taken to the amphitheater and, as the Synaxarion says, "entered the arena as
though approaching the holy altar to serve his last Liturgy in the presence of the faithful, who
were crowded among pagans on the steps of the amphitheatre." In a few moments he was
completely devoured by the lions, save for a few bones. These were gathered by the faithful and
returned to Antioch.
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In his Letter to the Romans, the holy Bishop wrote to some who wished to rescue him from
his martyrdom: "I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I
may be found to be the pure bread of God."
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source:http://www.abbamoses.com |
