Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the church that has received mercy in the majesty of the Father Most High and Jesus Christ, His only Son; to the beloved and enlightened church in the will of the one who wills all things, through the love of Jesus Christ, our God, which also presides in the place of the Romans: worthy of God, of honor, of blessing, of praise, of success, of purity, and presiding in love, named after Christ and the Father, which I greet in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father; united in flesh and spirit in all His commands, filled with the grace of God without distinction, and cleansed from every foreign stain. Wishing you unblemished joy in Jesus Christ, our God.
Ⅰ
Since I prayed to God and was granted to see your faces, which are worthy of God, I asked even more to receive from you; for being bound in Christ Jesus, I hope to greet you, if indeed it is the will that I be deemed worthy to reach the goal.
2 The beginning is well managed if I indeed obtain the grace to partake of my share without hindrance. For I fear your love, that it might wrong me. For you can easily do what you want, but it is difficult for me to reach God if you do not spare me.
Ⅱ
I do not want you to please people, but to please God, as you are doing. For I will never have a better opportunity to reach God, nor will you, if you remain silent, be credited with a greater work. If you remain silent about me, I become the word of God; but if you desire my flesh, I will still be a human voice.
2 Do not deny me the privilege of being offered to God, now that the altar is ready, so that you may form a choir of love and sing to the Father in Christ Jesus, because God has granted that the Bishop of Syria should be brought from east to west. It is good to go from the world to God, to rise in Him.
Ⅲ
You have never envied anyone; instead, you have taught others. I want what you have taught to be confirmed and true.
2 Just pray for me for strength, both inside and outside, so I may not only speak but also want to act, so I may not only be called a Christian but be found as one. If I am found as one, then I can truly be called one and truly be faithful when I am no longer in the world.
3 Nothing that seems good is really good; for our God, Jesus Christ, is more visible when He is with the Father. Christianity is not about stubbornness but about greatness, especially when the world hates it.
Ⅳ
I write to all the churches and tell everyone that I willingly die for God if you do not stop me. I beg you, do not show me untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, through which I can reach God. I am God's wheat, and I will be ground by the teeth of beasts to become pure bread of Christ.
2 Rather, encourage the beasts so they may become my grave and leave nothing of my body, so I won’t be a burden to anyone when I fall asleep. Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ, when the world will no longer see my body. Pray to Christ for me, that through these instruments I may be found as a sacrifice.
3 I do not command you like Peter and Paul did. They were apostles, but I am condemned; they were free, but I am still a slave. Yet if I suffer, I will become free in Jesus Christ and rise as a free man in Him. Now I am learning, while in chains, to desire nothing.
Ⅴ
From Syria to Rome, I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, night and day, bound to ten leopards, which is a group of soldiers who even when treated kindly become worse. Through their mistreatment I learn, but I am not justified by this.
2 I hope the beasts prepared for me are ready, and I pray they find me quickly. I will even coax them to devour me quickly, not like some who were afraid and were not touched. And if they do not want to willingly, I will force them.
3 Forgive me; I know what is best for me. Now I begin to be a disciple. Let nothing visible or invisible envy me, so that I may attain Jesus Christ. Fire, cross, wild beasts, cutting and tearing of bones, chopping of limbs, crushing of the whole body, and all the evil torments of the devil—let them come upon me, only so I may reach Jesus Christ.
Ⅵ
The ends of the world and the kingdoms of this age are of no use to me. It is better for me to die in Jesus Christ than to rule the ends of the earth. I seek Him who died for us; I want Him who rose for us. Birth is near for me.
2 Forgive me, brothers; do not hinder me from living, do not want me to die. Do not give back to the world the one who wants to belong to God, nor deceive him with worldly things. Let me receive pure light; when I get there, I will be truly a man.
3 Allow me to be an imitator of the suffering of my God. If someone has Him within themselves, let them understand what I want and sympathize with me, knowing what holds me back.
Ⅶ
The ruler of this age wants to take me and corrupt my devotion to my God. So, let none of you present help him; instead, be on my side, which is to say, on God's side. Do not speak of Jesus Christ while desiring the world.
2 Let no evil reside in you. Even if I were there to urge you, listen to me; rather, listen to what I write to you. For I write to you alive, longing to die. My love is crucified, and there is no earthly fire in me; instead, there is living water speaking within me, saying, "Come to the Father."
3 I do not delight in the food of decay or the pleasures of this life. I want the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who is from the seed of David, and I want His blood to drink, which is unending love.
Ⅷ
I no longer want to live by human standards. This will happen if you are willing. Be willing, so that you may also be desired.
2 I ask you in a few words: believe me. Jesus Christ will reveal these things to you, because I speak truly; the honest mouth, in which the Father has truly spoken.
3 Pray for me, so that I may succeed. I did not write to you with fleshly thoughts, but according to the will of God. If I suffer, you wanted it; if I am rejected, you hated it.
Ⅸ
Remember in your prayers the church in Syria, which now takes God as its shepherd instead of me. Only Jesus Christ and your love will watch over it.
2 I am ashamed to be called one of them, for I am not worthy, being the least of them and an unworthy one. But I will be shown mercy if I attain God's favor.
3 My spirit greets you, along with the love of the churches that received me in the name of Jesus Christ, not as a passing visitor but truly. Even those not directly connected to me helped me along the way from city to city.
Ⅹ
I write this to you from Smyrna, through the most blessed Ephesians. Also with me are many others, including Crocus, a name very dear to me.
2 About those who came with me from Syria to Rome for the glory of God, I believe you already know. You also indicated that I am near. They are all worthy of God and of you; it is fitting for you to support them in every way.
3 I wrote this to you on the 23rd of August. Stay strong until the end with the patience of Jesus Christ.