Without doubt Jesus had a special affection for little children. He would often take them up into his arms and bless them, rebuking sometimes adults who did not have the humility to understand that the kingdom of God belongs to those who have the joy and the trust of a child.  In confirmation of this he once said: - “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)  On one of these occasions Holy Tradition tells us there was a certain little boy who came to be blessed.  Jesus later died when this boy was still quite young of course, but his closeness to Christ eventually brought him to the feet of St John the Theologian, whose disciple he became along with another friend. The boy in question we now know and commemorate today as St Ignatius of Antioch the God-bearer; his friend St Polycarp of Smyrna the great martyr; both of them bishops, both of them giving their lives to confess their faith.

St Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch after St Peter and St Evodius.  By the time he became a bishop there in A.D. 67, Antioch was already a thriving Christian community. He spent probably 42 years there, teaching, pastoring and leading the Church before being arrested and taken to Rome where he died a martyr’s death in the Coliseum. Some icons of St Ignatius show him being attacked by two lions. This reminds us how important keeping the faith has always been to Orthodox Christians in the face of persecution and even death. As Tertullian said: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” (Apologetics Ch. 50)

Turning to the faith of St Ignatius, and bearing in mind his closeness to Christ through his friendship with St John, we are not surprised but indeed delighted by the purity of his Orthodox teaching.  Concerning Christ he wrote:

There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible, even Jesus Christ our Lord. —Letter to the Ephesians, ch. 7.

So, the great saint declared Christ to be God in the flesh and by his adherence to the Incarnation he proclaimed the good news that God had Himself come to save us all and to overturn death in the resurrection. This gave him a joy and a hope that would strengthen him as he faced his own sacrifice. That, however, was for later. During the 40 or more years that he served the Church in Antioch he gave witness to how the Church’s life had always been ordered, even from the very beginning. Remember that this is a very early testimony, even from the first century itself. We read in his surviving letters that this was a liturgical, sacramental Church with bishops, presbyters and deacons all exercising their priesthood in Christ with the People of God in unity. Those who falsely suppose, (that is the sects and the heretics), that the early church was some sort of ‘free for all’ with informal worship, attenuated sacraments and non-existent bishops will be brought up sharp by St Ignatius for in no way can they ignore his witness. Listen to what he says about the decency and good order to which St Paul had once himself alluded, (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Take care to do all things in harmony with God, with the bishop presiding in the place of God, and with the presbyters in the place of the council of the apostles, and with the deacons, who are dearest to me, entrusted with the business of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and is at last made manifest — Letter to the Magnesians 2, 6:1

and …..

Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize or give communion without the consent of the bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever is done will be safe and valid. — Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8.

There is an empty chair, a throne, in this church which will soon be occupied; it is the place of the Bishop. Even when he is not here, I represent him but I do not sit here. No one sits on the throne except the Bishop himself. On that throne there is often, as here, an icon of Christ the High Priest whom He and we all serve as the one, true Good Shepherd. Christ then, his Orthodox Catholic Church and the Bishop duly appointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, are all essential expressions of the fullness, health and harmony of the Orthodox Catholic Church. A bishop’s role, if he be faithful, is a very demanding one, calling for great love, fearless proclamation of the Gospel and a readiness always to sacrifice for the sake of the Kingdom of the God of Love. This St Ignatius exemplified to a very high degree such that we can rightly call him the “God-bearer.”

When St Ignatius teaches about the Eucharist he is equally powerful and clear. He anticipates the disputes and heresies of later centuries, if only because he had to face similar challenges for Orthodox teaching in his own time. He insists, as do we, that in the Divine Liturgy, in the Body and in the Blood, Christ is truly present and given to the faithful.

Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God ... They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes. — Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1

Let us then not perish by absenting ourselves from Holy Communion but rather let us take every opportunity to confess Christ by receiving Him in the Holy Mysteries with a repentant heart. Let us never receive the Holy Gifts negligently, presumptuously or unmindful of the great Gifts which the Father has given us in the persons of Christ and the Holy Spirit. There is no other way that we can be saved except by the Body and Blood of our Saviour and the deifying energies of the Holy Spirit.

St Ignatius had a very interesting teaching about his own forthcoming martyrdom in the context of the Eucharist. When you hear this quotation, think about the anticipation, the hope and the joy that he has that his death will bring life to others. He sees his martyrdom as a participation in the pure bread of Christ. It is a very daring and extraordinary insight but one that we should take to our own souls. Here is what he said:

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. (Letter to the Romans)

I am always personally challenged by this quotation when I hear it. The fires of martyrdom have always burned in the Christian church but in recent years, after seven decades of unrelenting persecution in Soviet Russia, we now face new threats in the middle and near East. I think it will always be thus until Christ comes again. Fallen humanity does not disbelieve in God, it hates God. It hates above all the God who is Infinite Love.  It is quite happy with the God of justice who in the name of the divine wrath they can usurp and legitimise all forms of vicarious human tyranny; but infinite love is something else, completely unacceptable. That must be overturned, destroyed, wiped from the face of the earth. Yet, this hubris is blind. It cannot see that killing God’s servants just creates more servants and emboldens His existing ones. If you want to kill us, kill us with kindness, not with cruelty. Kindness, comfort and ease are far more deadly to the Christian soul then cruel persecution and death. We welcome the fires of persecution because these will bake the bread, which is the grain of our souls and bodies, all fed into the furnace of affliction. That is why St Ignatius and his teaching will always be timely. He shows us how we also can be God-bearers, followers of Christ, those who take up our own cross and follow Him.