Ignatius of Antioch and Clement of Rome: Two Great Bishops and Saints of the Early Church

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (AD 35-107)

Ignatius was the third bishop of Antioch, Peter being the first, during a time when Antioch was one of three great Roman cities of the empire and second only to Rome and Alexandria.  With a population of over 300,000, Antioch is known as the place where believers were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26).  A pagan convert to Christianity, Ignatius lived during the final era of the apostles and was a disciple of the Apostle John.  He is credited with being the first to use the written terms “Catholic” (Universal) and “Christianity,” and much of his writing emphasized the Real Prescence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

During the latter part of his tenure as bishop, Christianity was unjustly perceived as a dangerous cult by the Roman government.  As such, the Emperor Trajan (r. 98-117) had Ignatius arrested for refusing to renounce Christ and worship Roman gods. Trajan, who may have wanted to make an example of the bishop, had him transported to Rome, yet along the way he was able to visit several churches and correspond with churches in Rome.  He encouraged the churches to avoid heresy and keep the tradition of the Apostles which they had received.   Yet he had a special message for those in Rome, and that was not to interfere with his imminent martyrdom.  It may be difficult for us to understand today, but Ignatius declared that he was “impatient to attain to Jesus Christ,” and did not want the churches to protest his death.  His love for the Lord led him to proclaim that it was better to die on behalf of the faith than to reign over all the ends of the earth. As to his death, Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, tells us that Ignatius was fed to wild beasts in the Colosseum.  His feast day in the West is October 17th and, in the East, December 20th.

Clement, Bishop of Rome (fl. ca. AD  80-100)

Clement was the fourth bishop of Rome in line after Peter. Clement had heard several of the Apostles during his life, and like Ignatius and Polycarp of Smyrna, he is considered among the first Apostolic “Fathers” who linked the Apostles to the Patristic era.  His authority as Bishop of Bishops (Pope) was known throughout the Catholic world and implied in his Letter to the Corinthians dated to AD 80, where Clement begins by apologizing for his tardy response (regarding an issue of sedition in the church), provides his counsel, and ends with, “If anyone disobey the things which have been said by Him [God] through us, let them know that they will involve themselves in transgression and no small danger.” Pope Benedict XVI described the letter as “almost canonical,” and could be considered the first act of Roman Primacy since Peter.  In addition, Clement stressed Apostolic Tradition, especially that of the Apostle Paul who established the church at Corinth and wrote two (now canonized) letters to the Corinthians.  The cause of death for Pope Clement I is unknown, but his feast day is November 23rd.