Jan. 29 – Ignatius the God-bearer
The Translation of the Relics of the Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer (commemorated December 20). According to tradition, St. Ignatius was the very child whom the Lord Jesus Christ took into His arms when He said to His disciples: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:2–5), which is why he is called the God-Bearer. He is also called God-Bearer because he always carried God in his heart, as he himself told the Emperor Trajan. Ignatius was born in Antioch, the chief city of Syria, and here he was also bishop. He was a disciple of the holy apostles Peter and John and assisted them in the work of preaching. Having become bishop, he labored tirelessly: he preached the faith to unbelievers, confirmed the newly converted in it, restored those who had fallen during persecutions, supported the faint-hearted and inexperienced, guarded against false teachers, and strengthened the martyrs for the faith.
Emperor Trajan, having defeated the Scythians and other barbarous peoples, attributed the victory to his gods and demanded that all his subjects offer sacrifices to idols. The Christians refused, and a persecution began against them with terrible bloodshed. Emperor Trajan, learning that St. Ignatius taught not to worship idols, became angry with him and resolved to punish him. Arriving in Antioch, he summoned Ignatius before him.
“Who are you, wicked demon, that you do not yourself obey our laws and incite others to do the same?” – “No one has ever called the God-Bearer a demon,” Ignatius replied. “If you call me evil for demons, that is true, because I am indeed burdensome to them. By prayer and fasting I destroy their schemes and put them to flight.” – “And who is this God-Bearer?” asked Trajan. “He who has Christ in his soul,” answered Ignatius. “So you carry your Christ within you?” the emperor asked again. “Do we not also carry gods in our souls, who help us win victories over our enemies?” – “You err in calling demons gods,” replied the saint. “There is only one God, who created all things.” – “Abandon your faith and do what pleases me, and you will be counted among my friends; I will make you high priest of Zeus (Jupiter, the chief pagan god) and father of the senate,” said Trajan. “I am ready to please anyone, especially the emperor, if it is for good and not for harm to the one who pleases and to the one pleased,” said St. Ignatius. “But who are your gods Zeus, Venus, and the others?… Our God, for our salvation, became man, accepted the cross, death, and burial, rose again, and having overthrown the power of the enemy, ascended again to heaven.”
Then the emperor condemned the bishop to be devoured by wild beasts for the amusement of the people in Rome. “I thank You, O Lord!” said the saint at this, and he himself put chains upon himself. Many of the Antiochians, out of love for their hierarch, resolved to accompany him to Rome. On the journey, the saint wrote epistles to his flock, in which he urged them to preserve unanimity and love, to attend prayer gatherings more often, to obey their pastors, to shun false teachers, and so on. Ignatius feared that the Roman Christians might attempt to intercede to cancel the imperial decree concerning his execution, and while still on the way he wrote to them not to do so.
At the place of execution, the holy hieromartyr, turning to the people, said aloud: “Know, citizens, that I am condemned to death not for any crime, but for faith in the true God.” Scarcely had he spoken these words when the lions rushed upon him and tore him to pieces in a single moment. This took place in the year 107. The Christians gathered the remains of St. Ignatius’s body and buried them. Later they were transferred to Antioch. Miracles flowed from them. St. Ignatius left seven epistles to his flock, in which he taught obedience to the pastors of the Church, preservation of the unity of faith, and caution against heretics or false teachers.
He introduced into church worship what is called antiphonal singing—that is, alternating singing between two choirs—as he had heard such singing in heaven. His bones were transferred by his disciples from Rome to Antioch in 107, and in 438 (according to others, in 637), after the capture of Antioch by the Persians, they were again transferred to Rome, where they now rest in the church of St. Pope Clement.
Martyrs Roman, Jacob, Philotheus, Verechiy, Aviv, Julian, and Parigorius were tortured in Samosata in 297 for fearlessly rebuking the madness of idol worship. They were hanged on a tree and their heads were nailed.
Martyrs: Silouan the Bishop, Luke the Deacon, and Mokios the Reader—after tortures, imprisonment in prison, and torment by starvation—were given over to be devoured by wild beasts in the year 312 in Phoenicia. The beasts did not manage to touch them, because they prayed to God and immediately reposed in peace. They were judged because it had been reported to the governor that they despised idols and believed in Christ.