Saint ignatius of antioch biography template

Patriarch of Antioch from 68 to 107

Ignatius of Antioch (; Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, romanized: Ignátios Antiokheías; died c. 108/140), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (Ἰγνάτιος ὁ Θεοφόρος, Ignátios ho Theophóros, 'the God-bearing'), was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This correspondence forms a central part of a later collection of works by the Apostolic Fathers. He is considered one of the three most important of these, together with Clement of Rome and Polycarp. His letters also serve as an example of early Christian theology, and address important topics including ecclesiology, the sacraments, and the role of bishops.

Life

Nothing is known of Ignatius' life apart from the words of his letters and later traditions. It is said Ignatius converted to Christianity at a young age. Tradition identifies him and his friend Polycarp as disciples of John the Apostle. Later, Ignatius was chosen to serve as Bishop of Antioch; the fourth-century Church historian Eusebius writes that Ignatius succeeded Evodius.Theodoret of Cyrrhus claimed that St. Peter himself left directions that Ignatius be appointed to this episcopal see. Ignatius was called Theophorus (God Bearer). A tradition exists that he was one of the children whom Jesus Christ took in his arms and blessed.

Veneration

Ignatius' feast day was kept in his own Antioch on 17 October, the day on which he is now celebrated in the Catholic Church and generally in western Christianity, although from the 12th century until 1969 it was put at 1 February in the General Roman Calendar.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church it is observed on 20 December. The Synaxarium of the Coptic

A Biography of St. Ignatius Loyola:
The Founder of the Jesuits

George Traub, S.J., and Debra Mooney, Ph.D.



The Early Years

Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola, whom we know as St. Ignatius, was born in the Castle Loyola, in the Basque country of northeastern Spain, in 1491, during the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

Iñigo was the youngest of 13 children, raised in a family culture of high Catholic piety but lax morals. He experienced the contradictions between the ideals of church and crown and the realities of his own family. His father had several children by another woman, and his grandfather's lawless behavior led to the top two floors of the Loyola castle being demolished by order of the crown.

Iñigo hardly knew his mother, Marina Saenz de Licona y Balda Maria; she died when he was a child. His father, Don Beltrán Yañez de Oñaz y Loyola, died when he was 16. One of his brothers went on the second voyage of Columbus and another died in battle also far away.

Iñigo was raised to be a courtier and diplomat in service to the crown, having received a chivalric yet academically sparse education typical of his class. He spent some time as a page at court. Winning personal glory was his passion. He was a fancy dresser, an expert dancer, a womanizer, sensitive to insult, and a rough punkish swordsman who used his privileged status to escape prosecution for violent crimes committed with his priest brother at carnival time.

The Soldier

In the spring of 1521, a very large French army attacked the fortress town of Pamplona. A tiny band of Spanish soldiers trying to defend the town were ready to surrender; all of them except Iñigo de Loyola. He would hold off the French single-handedly. But a French cannonball shattered his leg and put an end to his stand. The French admired the courage of the man. They carried him on a litter back home to his castle of Loyola.

His leg was not the only th

If your experience is anything like mine, you look around the world today and see a culture increasingly hostile to Christianity. Something as simple as a trip to the local library with the kids has shifted in recent years from a pleasant morning out in the community to an aggressive confrontation with anti-Christian ideology.

Perhaps, as I do, you hurry your kids past the first few shelves of showcased new acquisitions with their rainbows and gender-ambiguous main characters to the all-but-forgotten “Books on CD” wall in the back of the kids’ section, where you scan the titles for familiar classics and let your kids know which ones they’re “allowed to check out.”

A Cross to Bear

One of the benefits of knowing church history is the realization that our own cultural moment is not all that unique. The world is not worse than it was in the past, nor is it better. In some ways it is different, yet in the most significant ways, it is the same. Our most recent run-in with godless ideology may have taken place in the public library of Antioch, Illinois, but over 1900 years ago, followers of Christ were first called Christians in the city for which our town is named (Acts 11:26). In this ancient Antioch, around AD 107, a man named Ignatius was condemned to death by wild beasts in the colosseum in Rome for the crime of being a Christian. We may face the ill will of our neighbors at times, just for being Christian, but when we read the stories and examples of men and women like Saint Ignatius, we are encouraged to bear whatever our crosses are in this life with joyful hearts. 

Ignatius of Antioch

Ignatius of Antioch is commemorated on October 17th and is remembered as one of the earliest church fathers. Born around AD 30, Ignatius knew those who saw the risen Christ personally. He was a disciple of John. There is even a legend that he was one of the little children who sat on Jesus’ lap when Jesus welcomed them with the famous words, “Let the little children come

Ignatius is believed to have been born about the year 35 AD and to have come from Syria. Nothing is known of his early life and career except that he became the third Bishop of Antioch in Syria about the year 69 (only about 40 years after the death of Jesus), and he is believed to have been a student of the Apostle John. He is said to have become bishop after St Peter and St Evodius (who died about the year 67). Eusebius, in his history of the Church, records that Ignatius succeeded Evodius. Theodoret even suggests that Peter appointed Ignatius bishop.

What we do know about Ignatius begins with his final journey from Antioch to Rome, which he made as a prisoner condemned to death for being a Christian during the persecution of the Emperor Trajan. In a letter to the Christians at Rome he wrote:

From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated.

Altogether on this journey, he wrote seven letters, which give us important insights into the theology of the Churches in the period immediately following the Apostolic Church period. They speak of ‘ecclesiology’ (the nature of the Church), the Sacraments (which were still developing) and the role of the bishops (roles that were also being developed). Four of these letters were written at Smyrna, where he had been received with great honour by Polycarp and many other Christians. These letters were addressed to the church communities at Ephesus, Magnesia, Tralles, and Rome. At Troas he wrote the remaining three letters to Polycarp and to the church communities at Philadelphia and Smyrna.

The letters reveal and affirm strongly Ignatius’ devotion to Christ and his belief in the Divinity and Resurrection from the dead. They also urge unity in the communities in and through the celebration of the Eucharist and its chosen presider, the local bishop. Ignatius speaks