Fathers of the Church
St Ignatius was a successor of St Peter as bishop of Antioch. Condemned to death by being thrown to wild animal, he was brought to Rome for execution and was martyred there under the Emperor Trajan in 107. On the journey to Rome he wrote seven letter to different churches. In these he discussed Christ, the structure of the Church, and the Christian life in a manner at one wise and learned. At Antioch, this day was observed in his memory as early as the fourth century.
As he travels to Rome to meet his fate as food for the wild animals he writes this letter to the Romans. (an excerpt follows) “All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. ‘For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul;
Him I seek, who died for us: Him I desire, who rose again for our sake. This is the gain which is laid up for me.”
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