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The Apostolic Fathers is a term assigned to leaders and writers in the early church era who had been in contact with or were taught by one or more of Jesus' apostles. The era from the death of John, the last apostle, to the death of Polycarp, John's longest living apostle is also called the sub-apostolic era and lasted from about A.D. 98 to 155. This first generation of early church fathers is held in high esteem because their writings reflect the teaching of the apostles before councils, creeds, and extensive hierarchy developed in the church. The two main pastoral concerns reflected in the writing of the apostolic fathers were unity among Christians in the churches and

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establishing a good moral reputation in the world. Though a formal church hierarchy was something to be developed later, a leader in the Roman Church named Clement is credited with writing a letter on behalf of the Roman Church to their fellow Christians in the Corinthian Church. Little is known of Clement of Rome other than what appears in the letter itself. Although the letter does not explicitly bear his own name, he does mention that he was a disciple of Peter and Paul, but does not consider himself on the level of the Apostles. Church historians recognize Clement as the fourth overseer of the Roman Church, following the Apostle Peter and two other overseers.

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Much later tradition suggests that Clement traveled to Palestine, wrote many books, and became a martyr by drowning while attached to an anchor in the Black Sea. According to this narrative, angels built Clement a tomb underwater, and once a year the people of that area were able to see it by the ebbing of the tide. The letter, or epistle, to the Corinthians was probably written in about A.D. 96. According to the first paragraph, it is the Roman Church's response to the Corinthian Church's inquiry about what to do following an incident in which some younger people caused an uproar and had some of their church presbyters or elders removed from their positions.

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Now to be clear, there was no single building that housed all the Christian congregations either in Rome or in Corinth. The first dedicated church building was not founded until the middle of the third century. Up until this time, all churches met in houses or other places that had many other uses besides as a religious meeting place for Christians. Therefore, this may have been limited to leaders of certain house churches in Corinth or for any local council the leaders may have held. At the outset of the letter, Clement assumes the guilt of the few rash and self-confident persons. He identifies the underlying sin as envy and proceeds to give a list of scriptural examples of envy, including Cain, Esau, Joseph's brothers, and several others.

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He also blamed envy for the deaths of Christian martyrs, including Peter, Paul, and a great multitude of the elect. He urged the rash youth to humble themselves and repent, which would imitate the humility, faithfulness, and hospitality of a host of biblical characters. His emphasis was on the equality of all members of the Corinthian Church, regardless of age or gender. Added to the reasons for loving one another was the expectation that Jesus would return soon and those who had died would be resurrected by the Almighty God.

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Clement identifies arrogance as a trait of those cursed by God, but moderation and humility as being traits of those blessed by God. As for leaders in the Corinthian Church, the Roman Church, through Clement, suggested that everyone in the Corinthian Church should be content with whatever roles they have, since leaders need followers and followers need leaders. He described this as a mutual advantage, reminiscent of Paul's teaching on the body of Christ in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Clement further encouraged the Corinthian Christians to do everything in an orderly

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fashion as God Himself created and regulated the universe and His people to perform tasks at proper times and in proper ways. Clement had in mind the proper replacement of elders in the Church, which, as said in motion by the Apostles, included elders serving terms of leadership for life, and new leaders being appointed only by the consent of the whole Church. Clement reminded the Corinthian Christians that their tendency toward divisiveness was something Paul had already addressed by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Paul's first epistle to them.

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In closing, Clement enjoined the Corinthian Christians to prioritize love and to repent as the occasions might warrant, for in the end, it is better for you that you should occupy a humble but honorable place in the flock of Christ, than that, being highly exalted, you should be cast out from the hope of his people. The best transitions of leadership, in the church or elsewhere, are those that happen peaceably, with love and humility. At the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea, one will find the city of Antioch, a few miles inland on the Orontes River.

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It is in a very important location because it links the eastern and western worlds. There was no important city located there until the Greeks conquered the area in the 4th century AD. When the Greeks conquered a new area, they brought their culture, art, architecture, philosophy and religion to the region. The process of making a new area Greek is called Hellenization. The Greeks Hellenized the new cities in their empire. The Greeks built buildings in classical Greek style in Antioch and it soon became an important city to trade, politics and religion that connected and Western worlds. In 64 BC, General Pompey of the Roman army captured the

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city of Antioch from the Greeks and it remained an important city in the Roman Empire for many centuries. One can imagine the variety of religious conversations overheard in the city streets from the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Phoenicians who established their places of worship throughout the city. Add to the mix a few Eastern cults and no small number of Hellenistic Jews who were brought to the city or migrated there when it was still controlled by the Greeks. It was a truly cosmopolitan city which reflected the cultural and religious diversity of its population, but all under Roman rule. Following the martyrdom of Stephen in Jerusalem in the mid-30s AD, many followers of Jesus migrated northward to Antioch to take refuge there.

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Acts 8-1 and 11-19. This is where followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Acts 11-26. The earliest and most well-known Christian missionary work of the first century had its genesis in Antioch. Paul and Barnabas were sent out by the Church of Antioch to the northern Mediterranean world. Paul's three missionary journeys and his trip to Rome were responsible for the spread of Christianity to the Jews and Gentiles around the Roman Empire. By the end of the first century, Antioch

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had a population of 300,000, making it the third largest city in the Roman Empire, many of whom were Christians. It was not only an important city to the empire, but to Christianity in its earliest and most vulnerable stage. Christians in Antioch were among the most persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire. Some well-known monastic communities also spread east from Antioch. Before and after Christianity became the legal and eventually official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, Antioch was recognized as one of the major centers of Christianity. It boasted a robust theological school to train people for ministry that rivaled the theological schools in Alexandria and Carthage.

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Since the city's population was so big, its location so crucial to the exchange of ideas, and its school so influential, the bishops of Antioch would wield significant influence over matters of church doctrine for centuries to come in the early church era. Along with Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem, the city of Antioch was crucial to the growth and direction of Christian life and thought. Toward the end of the first century AD, Ignatius became the third overseer, or bishop, of the churches in Antioch at the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. His bishopric also included the churches in the region of Syria. There was no central church building in Antioch or Syria. The church

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was made up of a series of house churches around town and throughout the countryside. While the exact date of Ignatius' birth is uncertain, historians believe it was either in AD 30 or 35. He had such a close relationship with God that he was given the nickname Theophorus, which means one who bears God. A much later tradition changed the Greek slightly to Theophorus, which means one whom God bears. The claim was thus made that Ignatius was the little child whom Jesus placed on his lap in the 18th chapter of Matthew. Thus it was later held that God in the flesh bore Ignatius on his knee. It is a sweet story, but it is not found in the earliest literature by or about Ignatius. By describing Ignatius' birth during Jesus' ministry, the story does demonstrate that

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Ignatius was likely in his 70s when he was arrested and put on trial in Antioch before Emperor Trajan himself, or before one of his emissaries. Though nothing is known about the trial itself, Christians in that era were often brought before a magistrate or governor, questioned along with witnesses as to if they really were Christians, and then punished accordingly. The result of the trial is that Ignatius was found guilty of being a Christian, and therefore sentenced to death. Most of what is known to us about the life and beliefs of Ignatius come from his seven letters, or epistles, written to six churches and to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna.

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These seven letters were written in about AD 107, when Ignatius was escorted by Roman soldiers from Antioch to Rome. While he was on his way to Rome, he was visited by many Christians who were guilty of the same crime of which Ignatius had been convicted, simply being a Christian. His first major stop along the way was in the town of Smyrna, where Polycarp was the bishop. From that location, Ignatius wrote letters to the churches in Ephesus, Magnesia, and Tralis, which lay to the south of Smyrna.

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He also sent another letter ahead to Rome. When he arrived at Troas, he wrote letters to the churches in Philadelphia and Smyrna, as well as to their bishop, Polycarp. How did Ignatius die? His epistle to the Romans indicates that he was anticipated being attacked by wild beasts in the Roman Colosseum for the entertainment of the crowds. Ignatius heard that some Christians in Rome were planning to rescue him in some way, so he would not have to endure a martyr's death. However, he pleaded with them, not to show an untimely kindness to me.

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Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through whom I will be allowed to make it to God. I am the wheat of God. Let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, so I may be found to be the pure bread of the Christ. Ignatius believed that if he died in Christ, so also Ignatius would be raised in Christ in his own resurrection into heaven. While it may sound strange today to hear of a Christian wishing to die for his faith, Ignatius set an example for the early church by going so far as to say,

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May I enjoy the wild beasts who are prepared for me. I want them to rush upon me, and I will urge them to do devour me quickly. Ignatius was not suicidal, he was wanting the Roman Christians to not interfere with his martyrdom. So as he had lived for Christ faithfully, Ignatius might also die for Christ faithfully. Polycarp received word of Ignatius' successful martyrdom. Ignatius would be revered in all corners of the Christian church throughout her history as a holy example of one who bore God faithfully in his life, death, and writings. Following his martyrdom, Ignatius' bones were brought back to Antioch and eventually

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returned to Rome. His faithfulness is celebrated in the West on October 17th and in the East on both December 17th and 20th. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, was sentenced to death in AD 107. He was escorted from Antioch to Rome to be martyred. Along the way he was visited by Christians who encouraged him and brought reports of how their churches were doing. Ignatius wrote six letters, or epistles, to some of these churches, and a letter to Polycarp,

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the Bishop of Smyrna. The letters had several themes in common, but the most important theme was church unity. According to Ignatius, the most important thing for the churches to do to maintain unity was to treat their own leaders with honor. The bishop of each city's churches should be honored and obeyed like God himself, the presbyters or elders should be honored and obeyed like the apostles, and the deacons should be treated with honor too. Although it was important for every Christian to honor one another, honoring and obeying church leaders was important to the unity of the church. Ignatius recognized two hindrances to this unity among the churches. One was

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heresy or incorrect doctrinal teaching, especially about the person of Jesus Christ. During Ignatius' day, a heretical group called the Docetists infiltrated the church. The Docetists believed Jesus was fully God, but they could not imagine his being fully human. They taught that Jesus only seemed to be human, but like a ghost, he was too spiritual to be a fully physical being. Ignatius warned his Christian friends to beware of false teaching and instead embrace the full humanity and divinity of Jesus. The other hindrance to unity among a city's churches

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who operate separately from the bishop. Ignatius advised Christians not to do anything apart from their bishops because they were all a part of the same body of believers. While unity within each city's churches was the most important theme in Ignatius' letters, he also emphasized the importance of good behavior. He taught that people with bad doctrine behave badly, and people with good doctrine should behave well and worthy of

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the name of Christ. In other words, the fruit people bear is indicative of what kind of doctrine they hold, and God will judge all people, both good and bad, in the end. This good behavior would not only promote unity within the church, but also would pave the way for the world's hearing and seeing the gospel lived out in the lives of the church. One letter Ignatius wrote is different from the other six because it is written to Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna. It was like a letter from an older bishop to a younger one. As a fellow bishop, Ignatius encouraged Polycarp

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to press on and keep doing his ministry carefully. In Polycarp's efforts to bear the struggles of all, Ignatius urged Polycarp not only to pay attention to the needs of the good disciples but also of those who are more troublesome too. When heretics might try to persuade Polycarp of their views he should stand firm as does an anvil that is hammered. Ignatius encouraged Polycarp to care for the widows and slaves in his congregation and encourage slaves, wives, husbands, and single people to be content in their relationship with God.

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While the letter was written to Polycarp, Ignatius knew Polycarp's congregation would be listening in on the details, so he reminded them to do all things, including marriage, with the approval of their bishop, paying attention to him in all things, and not deserting him or the church. Rather, they should be patient with one another in humility, as God is patient with them. Although Ignatius was facing the end of his life, his emphasis was on the unity of the Church, which should be centered on the leadership of local churches and an accurate understanding of Jesus Christ. Ignatius' pleas for Christians to live in unity, truth, and good behavior continue to be emphases of the Church throughout the centuries. and good behavior continue to be emphases of the Church throughout the centuries.

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The Apostolic Fathers

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